Tuesday, December 22, 2009

State Lawmakers Pass Sweeping Education Reform

State lawmakers passed sweeping education reforms in a race to get hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money. 400-million dollars are up for grabs under President Barack Obama's ‘Race to the Top Competition.' Fewer than half the states are likely to win the money. State lawmakers said this legislation should give Michigan a better chance.

Lawmakers are calling this the biggest education reform in 20 years. They passed five bills to make up this race to the top package. The changes would make it easier to remove poor performing teachers and create a merit-based pay system to reward good performance. The bills also allow for some thirty additional charter schools. The measure also increased the dropout age from 16 to 18. Of course lawmakers hope all of these are things help qualify Michigan for the federal money....


Click here to read the rest of the article.

Florida's Fort Pierce charter school closing?

By James Kirley

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — An injunction that would have kept students in classes and public money flowing to a 14-month-old charter high school has been denied by a circuit court judge, leaving a state hearing as the school’s last chance to survive.

On Friday, Circuit Judge William Roby dismissed a complaint and request for an injunction by The Charter School of Fort Pierce.

Roby said the charter school had failed to show that irreparable harm will result without an injunction.

“On the other hand, after extensive review, it appears that the school board, which is responsible for all public schools and public school students in St. Lucie County, found that deficiencies at the school pose an immediate threat to the educational welfare of students attending the school,” Roby wrote.

The St. Lucie County School Board voted unanimously Nov. 10 to close the school after district officials and a third-party audit indicated the publicly funded, privately run charter school was operating in the red. The charter school filed for an injunction Nov. 19.

Like all public schools, the charter school got state funding based on student enrollment. But it never achieved the enrollment envisioned in its business plan.

The charter school posted the school district’s only “F” when school grades based on results of the 2009 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results were released last spring. Charter school officials said their first-ever grade was because many of their students had struggled and performed poorly in traditional public schools in prior years...


Click here to read the rest of the article.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Performance pay works in the Prince George's schools

By William R. Hite Jr. and Donald J. Briscoe

Performance pay is supposed to be the third rail of education reform. But in Prince George's County, we have shown that it doesn't have to be.

Two years ago, we agreed to reward teachers and principals who elevate student achievement in high-need schools. Our program shows that the government can be a catalyst for school reform and that the Obama administration's plans to dramatically expand incentive programs are essential to changing school systems that currently fail, or cannot afford, to reward effective teaching.

It also shows what administrators and teachers can accomplish when we work together. During the 2006-07 school year, Prince George's schools and the unions joined hands to create and implement the district's first pay-for-performance program, supported by a five-year, $17 million grant from the federal government's Teacher Incentive Fund. TIF helps states and school districts develop innovative systems to reward teachers and principals who boost student achievement in high-need schools.

Yes, we had our disagreements as we worked out how to supplement the existing compensation system, which is based largely on seniority and qualifications, not performance. But thanks to the involvement of teachers and administrators selected by the unions, we were able to create a voluntary program that provides up to $10,000 in bonuses for effective teachers in high-need schools and as much as $12,000 for administrators who work to turn around struggling schools. Two committees that included teachers and administrators designed both the cash-incentive structure and the program's professional development system, which helps teachers improve classroom instruction and assists teachers and administrators in earning their bonuses...

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Is Arne Duncan giving up on education reform?

By David Ellison- Oakland Tribune

TO CHARTER OR not to charter? That is the question.

Hamlet pondered whether to battle "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" or to just give up. My fear is that, in pushing for more charter schools, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has given up.

Charters never really became laboratories for innovation.

They simply adopted the "new ideas" all public schools would if they had the freedom and the funds: longer school days and years, smaller schools and class sizes, careful selection of motivated, gifted teachers, strict accountability for both students and their parents, site-based management. "...

Charters have such freedom. But their claims to operate with less state funds than most public schools are spurious.

For one, charters usually receive substantial outside support. Even more significant, since salaries account for more than 90 percent of most schools' budgets, charters typically employ younger, far-less expensive faculty, and turn them over after only four years, thus keeping expenses artificially low.

In other words, charters attract our best new teachers but quickly burn them out.

This is reform?

True reform would address the real and enduring problems plaguing public education, such as the fact that the teaching profession generally attracts our least qualified college graduates; that the worst of them too often staff inner-city schools; that schools stand more segregated by race and class than ever; that they follow the same factory model as a century ago.

Many (certainly not all) charters — such as Summit Preparatory High School, which I featured in my last column — offer at least a few of our inner-city children a way out of an obviously broken and shamelessly unjust system of public schools...


Click here to read the rest of the article.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Why Michelle Rhee Has to Play Tough

By Richard Whitmire
Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The forces lined up against D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee -- angry teachers, grumpy D.C. Council members, the nation's top teachers' union leader quarterbacking the opposition -- are essentially asking one question: Why can't you behave more like that nice Arne Duncan?

Indeed, with his aw-shucks humility and his anecdotes about playing b-ball with the president, Duncan has undeniable charm. That charm was honed in Chicago, where he never played in-your-face politics and never publicly suggested there was widespread incompetence among the teaching force, qualities that contributed to President Obama's tapping him to be U.S. secretary of education.

By contrast, Rhee appeared on the cover of Time wielding a broom to symbolically sweep incompetence out of her public schools. Yikes.

But there's a reason Rhee plays hardball: She has no choice...


Click here to read the rest of the article.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

New York Mayor Wants More Charter Schools

More charter schools may be coming to the city under a plan proposed Wednesday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Speaking at a 10th anniversary celebration of charter schools at the Sisulu-Walker Charter school in Harlem, the mayor said if reelected, he would fight to abolish the cap put on charter schools by Albany.

Bloomberg's plan would double the amount of charter schools in the city to 200. He is proposing that by 2013, almost 10 percent, or 100,000 public school seats will be charter.

"Charter schools like Sisulu have succeeded because they empower teachers and principals to set high expectations," said Bloomberg. "They encourage innovation in the classroom. They create competition among schools for students. But most importantly, they give parents more options in deciding what's best for their children."

In addition, he pledged to raise $100 million in private funds for charter school facilities...


Click here to read the rest of the article.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Will Longer Schoold Days Work?

By Jason Campbell

President Obama thinks that keeping kids in their seats might just be the education reform this country needs.

But at least one Manteca teacher isn’t quite sure that his kids could stand to stay in their seats any longer than they already do.

With that the Commander-in-Chief believes that students today spend too little time in the classroom. Coming this week, those involved in education at the local level who have had to deal with the crippling economic blow that is still digging into coffers, aren’t quite sure that the concept of longer school days and shorter vacations – while maybe a good theoretical idea – is currently feasible.

“We need to prepare our students to be able to compete in a global economy, and that’s just the reality of education in America today,” said Manteca Educators Association President Ken Johnson. “I think that the idea sounds good theoretically, but practically something like that is going to take some serious money and that’s something we just don’t have right now.”

“On the surface it sounds like a good idea, but in reality I’m not so sure that it could immediately work. It might be good rhetoric...

Click here to read the rest of the story...

Newt and Al Making the Rounds

PHILADELPHIA — The Rev. Al Sharpton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich don't agree on much, but a meeting with a group of inner-city charter school students on Tuesday left them with the same impression: There is hope for improving the U.S. education system.

"We may disagree about other issues, but this is a place where we have a common" goal, Gingrich said outside Mastery Charter School in West Philadelphia. "I take education very, very seriously."

Sharpton, a liberal Democratic, and Gingrich, a conservative Republican, joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan on the first stop of a "listening and learning" tour to find out what school strategies are working and why.

At Mastery, the trio met with about a dozen 11th graders who attended the school four years earlier when it was under district management. At that time, students said, kids ran wild, expectations were low and teachers didn't care about the students — or even about teaching.

"It was horrible," 17-year-old Donnell Clark said.

But since 2006, the school has been run by Mastery Charter Schools, a nonprofit that now has four campuses in Philadelphia serving 2,100 students. The Shoemaker campus visited Tuesday has outperformed some of its more affluent suburban counterparts on state standardized tests.

Clark and others told the education advocates that new teachers and staff made the difference by raising the academic bar, accepting no excuses and simply caring about their students.

"Teachers actually invest their time," Clark said.

Public education in Philadelphia is a mixture of district-run schools, schools operated by private management companies and charter schools, which are public but operate independently from the district.

It is a high-poverty system where only about half the students can read and write at grade level...

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

One Person's Opinion: Charter Schools Are not the Answer

By Noel Anderson

"We need more charter schools as a choice for parents". "Charter schools foster innovation!" All we hear is that charter schools are the answer to failing public education. If you recall, charter schools are publicly funded schools that operate outside the governance and policies of a local district in a state.

This charter school hype was literally translated into policy in New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, fewer than 20 of approximately 120 schools in center New Orleans remained usable. Since the hurricane destroyed the state and local tax base, the result was a state takeover of public schools, with more than half of them reopening as charter schools. According to an Urban Institute, New Orleans has become the largest charter school experiment in the country.

But do charter schools live up to the hype? The truth is they don't. Charter schools are given a window of three to five years to produce results or shut down. Yet the results of studies done by the Economic Policy Institute illustrate there is no real distinguishable academic effect on children in charter schools versus ones in traditional public schools.

There are other myths around charters that need dispelling. One myth is that charters foster innovation for public schools. Although there are many charter schools that do innovative things with curricula and have creative names (some are simply strange), they do not help reshape traditional public schools.

In fact, charter schools tend to be in competition with traditional public schools for students rather than becoming conduits for changing the public education system. Ostensibly, public schools should not be competing for students like businesses would compete for customers. Public schools are not businesses, but a fundamental right provided for all....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Group Asks Parents to Step Up

By Kim Genardo

The group “Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina" kicked off a three city tour on the grounds of the State Capitol Monday afternoon.


Group President Darrell Allison said parents will choose the best option for their children and more options will equal student success.


The group is supporting House Bill 856 to modify the cap on charter schools.

A charter school is a publically funded school that parents must find and apply to get in usually through a lottery.


There is no tuition because local, state and federal dollars follow the child to that school.

Charter schools must meet state education guidelines and testing, but often times the schools are themed and have more flexibility with programs.


Representative Marvin Lucas, (D) Cumberland County, who co-sponsored the House bill to expand charter schools, addressed a crowd of 70 parents, students and education advocates.

“We raise the cap by six, but at same time look at existing charter schools, said Lucas. “We place an emphasis on the expansion for those local education associations that don’t have any charter schools,” added Lucas....


Click here to read the rest of the article.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Schools' job starts with what's best for the kids

By B.J. Van Gundy

The charter school movement in the United States started more than 10 years ago but continues to be misunderstood by the general public and even by those that find themselves leading the decision-making processes surrounding them.

The Gwinnett County School Board and administration is no exception, and the misguided approach and posture taken toward Ivy Prep Academy exemplifies their lack of understanding as well as their maligned intentions.

I don't claim to be a neutral party to this discussion. However, my bias, I believe, is well-guided by the question I ask myself concerning all education issues, for my children and others: What is best for the children involved?

There is no other intention that education systems and their administrators should have other than what is best for the children that are put in their care for education and growth on a daily basis.

To be clear, the posture described in the newspaper accounts of the Gwinnett system's lawsuit doesn't appear to me to meet this requirement.

The school board needs to get with the 21st century and understand that charter schools aren't here to compete with, denigrate or hurt the public school system, but are an important piece of the overall education equation. They assure that parents are given the absolute best opportunities to have their children educated in a school that excels rather than just merely exists nearby.

Simply telling parents that their school choices are already made for them based upon local geographical proximity to their house is something that traps parents into sending their kids, in too many cases, to schools that are not ideal or in their children's best interests.

I'm proud of the administrators, teachers and students at Ivy Prep. I have personally spent several hours at the school observing the operations and curriculum - something that I'll bet the five members of the Gwinnett County school board and superintendent couldn't say collectively.

The statement by the superintendent that the money going to Ivy Prep "is the equivalent of the salaries of 20 to 25 teachers" shows that the school board hasn't really thought this through. The fact is the money IS paying for 20 to 25 teachers - those teachers, and the money, just aren't under their control...

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Parents protest outside Harlem Success Academy 2

BY Rachel Monahan AND Meredith Kolodner
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Understanding President Obama's Speech: A Parent's Guide

CER Press Release
Washington, DC
September 7,2009

Parents should talk to their kids about issues surrounding the President's speech to the nation's school children Tuesday, such the as role of the federal government in education, the state of our nation's education crisis, and how they can elect officials who will make critical changes, according to Making Sense of President Obama's School Speech: 10 Things Parents Should Share with their Kids, released today by the Center for Education Reform.

"Parents are not only the first line of defense when it comes to their family's education, they should be the first line of offense as well," says Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform. "Parents can be assertive and effective change agents in improving schools and using this occasion to help their young understand how to right education's wrongs is a big first step to reforming our schools."

The Center for Education Reform has for 16 years helped parents become better advocates for their children, and given policymakers the tools they need to succeed. Thus CER brings its broad and unique expertise to the controversial discussions surrounding the president's speech by offering parents a variety of topics to cover to help educate their children about why President Obama is speaking to them, what his role is, and what other issues this nation faces in bringing excellence to all schools.

"Above all parents should remind their children something that schools often neglect - that they live in the land of opportunity, the best nation on earth, and that along with making sure they receive a great education, they must always seek to learn from history and to advance the principles upon which this country was founded," added Allen.


To download a copy of CER's Making Sense of President Obama's School Speech: 10 Things Parents Should Share with their Kids and to find more valuable resources for parents, click here.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Obama School Address with Lesson Plans

President Obama announced yesterday that at 12:00 p.m. ET. On September 8, 2009 he would address school students across the nation. Since that announcement, controversy has ensued as many parents and school officials wonder if the President is pushing education or politics. The lesson plans found on the Department of Education’s website have also drawn their fair share of controversy.

President Obama has stated that the purpose of the school address is to encourage children to stay in school. President Obama has previously discussed the importance of parents and child care givers in the responsibility of ensuring children set educational goals and are empowered to achieve them. In Tuesday’s school address, he aims at telling children the importance that they play in their own education. Most importantly, setting their own goals and striving to be all that they can be.


Controversy ensued after suggested lesson plan materials, materials on the Department of Education website that would be used to help reinforce the speech, were written as if students would well receive encouragement from President Obama. What became offensive to many was a portion of a lesson plan that read as follows, “Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Friday, August 28, 2009

The Big Bad Charter School!

Neighborhood Fights to Keep Charter School Out

A building that housed an award-winning neighborhood school in Chicago is now home to a charter school. That’s thanks to a Board of Education vote Wednesday night. School officials say the deal is for one year only. But the way it came together is stoking neighborhood mistrust of the district.

De La Cruz Academy was a middle school in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood--and a good one, judging by an academic achievement award in February from the State of Illinois.

But Chicago Public Schools pointed to declining enrollment and closed De La Cruz in June. The district insists the plan was to demolish the building and sell the land.

But the closing created an opportunity.

RANGEL: Octavio Paz, our flagship school, finds itself without a home, just a few weeks before school opening.

Juan Rangel is chief executive officer of UNO, short for the United Neighborhood Organization. UNO works closely with Mayor Richard Daley and runs charter schools on seven campuses in the city.

A $98 million state grant this year will help the group build more but, Rangel says, not fast enough for Octavio Paz. UNO has been housing part of that school in an old Catholic facility near Pilsen.

RANGEL: The building around us has been collapsing. Masonry has been falling on the sidewalks. A canopy had to be erected around the church. It’s a situation that actually has been about a year and a half in the making.

Chicago Public Schools says Rangel didn’t approach the district for help until late July. This month, the district called UNO’s plight an emergency and announced it wouldn’t tear down De La Cruz after all. The new plan? House Octavio Paz in the building for one year, virtually rent-free.

And that’s angering supporters of Pilsen’s neighborhood schools. They point to an UNO charter school that arrived in Pilsen a few years ago. They say it siphons off students and resources and worry a second UNO school will do the same...

Click here to read the rest of the article.


Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Be wary of charter schools?

Here is an opposing view on charter schools...what do you think?

New Orleans has many, and they are shifting problems elsewhere.

By Larry Carter

We understand that charter schools are part of the educational landscape in New Orleans. The United Teachers of New Orleans supports charter schools that are accountable to the public, ensure educational equity, are open to all students and give their employees a real voice in decisions.

Unfortunately, some charter advocates have used the concept to advance privatization or weaken the benefits and professional rights of teachers. Talks with faculty and staff at local charters give us a solid understanding of the issues and needs these schools face.

Among the most serious:

Charter schools receive public education monies and should be accountable to the public. Yet one charter school management firm — paid $773,000 to operate the school for a year — was ordered to pay a $350,000 arbitration judgment to the school's governing board because the firm failed to follow state standards.

Charter schools don't provide the same insurance and retirement benefits to educators as traditional public schools. That can create a reliance on teachers who rotate in and out of charters, often for two-year stints, denying students the benefit of experienced, seasoned professionals. For traditional schools, that means skyrocketing insurance costs as the pool of employees shrinks....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Are YOU giving back?

Volunteers are often fresh and excited in the dawn of a new academic calendar. The premise of the year to come and goals set by the administration can bring school spirit to lots of folks.

Savvy group coordinators are well aware of this little fact, and ask families to commit to helping during the magical time called back-to-school, even if the project doesn’t take place until February.

This is a bonus both for the volunteers and the organizers as a little bit of planning goes a long way. Volunteers appreciate knowing in advance when and where they are needed, and the group coordinators find it easier to send out confirmation communication throughout the year instead of constantly scouting additional hands for each project.

If you are new to charter schools, you will quickly find that there is an immense sense of community in the volunteer projects. Since public charter schools receive on average 28% less revenue than non-charter public schools, it is through volunteerism and fund raising that many of your school’s services and necessities have been made possible. Your personal contribution of time and skills is gratefully accepted as it will quickly translate into benefits for your child and a few hundred of his or her best classmate friends.

Requiring family participation in school activities is not unusual in a charter school. At the top of the list of reasons for this is the unwavering philosophy that your child will do better in school if you take an active role in his or her education. This is true all the way through your child's education and not only in the early years...

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

New Episode of Skooled: Speechless!

Parents Demand School Vouchers

By Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 20, 2009

Classes in D.C. public schools start Monday, and 216 students are hoping they won't have to go back. About 70 parents, children and activists joined Thursday in front of the U.S. Department of Education to encourage Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to award vouchers to help the students pay for private school.

The students, who were offered vouchers worth up to $7,500 toward tuition from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program this spring before Duncan rescinded them in the face of the program's uncertain future, were left to find placements in public and charter schools. Some families have complained that by the time the vouchers were rolled back, there were few spots available at competitive public schools.

"We're hoping that Secretary Duncan is going to look out the window so he can see how strongly the parents support it," said Virginia Walden Ford, executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice, one of the groups that organized the protest. "They just put families into a bad situation."

The protest drew parents and students already in the voucher program, but seemingly few, if any, of the 216 whose immediate future is at stake. Children held signs saying "Save the 216," chanted slogans of support and praised the program...

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Friday, July 17, 2009

More Shocking U.S. Statistics

Adolescent Literacy Reform in America has been undergoing great change with local, state, and national support, especially since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) produced widely publicized reports of low reading achievement among students in U.S. schools. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) recognizes this issue and explains that part of this problem is due to the idea that, “traditionally, educators have focused on the development of literacy in the early grades, assuming that older students did not need special instruction.” However, this assumption is incorrect because “it has become clear that many middle and high school students are increasingly under-literate, lacking the complex literacy skills they will need to be successful in an information-driven economy,”

n 2006, NCTE reported that “only 13% of American adults [were] capable of performing complex literacy tasks,” “literacy scores of high school graduates [had] dropped between 1992 and 2003,” “8.7 million secondary school students – that’s one in four – [were] unable to read and comprehend the material in their textbooks,” and that the “2005 ACT College Readiness Benchmark for Reading found that only about half of the students tested were ready for college-level reading, and the 2005 scores were the lowest in a decade,” (4). These are shocking statistics, and NCTE predicts that low literacy rates in the U.S. predict employment woes for U.S. graduates due to the fact that modern employers are looking for a “highly literate pool of job applicants” and may turn to sources outside the U.S. if American graduates do not meet their qualifications....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

ACORN Joins in the Protest Against Charter Schools

Harlem lawmakers push for neighborhood-focused charter cap
by Elizabeth Green

The next front for the Harlem school wars could be Albany.

City Council member Inez Dickens yesterday proposed changing the state law to cap the number of charter schools that a single operator can open in a given school district.

She was speaking at a protest against the Success charter school network’s expansion into a traditional Harlem public school, P.S. 123.

Dickens said she had the support of state Sen. Bill Perkins, and Keith Wright, an Assemblyman representing Harlem, said he would introduce legislation to make that change on his side of the legislature.

A neighborhood- and operator-specific cap would add to what exists now, a cap on the number of charter schools across New York state at 200. There are 1,500 public schools in the city.

Such a cap would also squarely challenge the strategy the Success Charter Network has pursued of opening a large number of charter schools in a designated area; Eva Moskowitz, the network’s CEO, has said her goal is to open 40 Harlem charter schools in the next 10 years. A paper published last year by Democrats for Education Reform explains the strategy, which combines political and educational efforts with a goal of building public support for charter schools.

Charter schools now make up about 25% of public schools in Harlem, and that’s not counting schools opening in the fall. Debate about them reignited most recently after Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News reported that Moskowitz’s network had surprised P.S. 123 officials by moving into additional classrooms without warning. Moskowitz said in a statement that the Department of Education had turned over the rooms to her on July 1, but the DOE says she had not been given the go-ahead to actually move into them.

Joining the lawmakers at their protest yesterday were organizers from the group ACORN, which is an ally of the city teachers union and one of the community groups to which the union provides financial support....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Fight Club! With Dr. Ben Chavis

Here is the first episode of Skooled by Dr. Ben, called "Fight Club"

We're Falling Behind the Rest of the World

Q & A with Sen. Michael Bennet
Linda Kulman - Politics Daily

Before Michael Bennet joined the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in January -- named by the Colorado governor to replace Ken Salazar, who became Secretary of the Interior -- he was Denver's public schools superintendent. He was also an outsider to education when he took that job in 2005, but quickly became known for his efforts to shake up Denver's worst-performing schools, expanding early childhood education and basing teacher pay on their accomplishments in the classroom, location, and special talents.
Although Bennet, 44, is not on the Senate education committee, he is known as one of Washington's leading voices on education reform. He and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have "had a lot of conversations over the months," he says, adding, "there are people on the Hill (with) committee responsibility who, like most of us, are very frustrated with the slow pace of change and the outcomes that we're seeing with our kids. To the extent that I can give them the perspective of somebody who's been on the receiving end of policies from Washington, I hope that will be useful." In an interview in his office, Bennet repeatedly drew several graphs to illustrate his points. The transcript that follows has been edited for clarity.

Q: Since 1983, when "A Nation at Risk" kicked off the reform movement in public education, there doesn't seem to have been substantial change. Why not?
A: There's a big difference between now and then in that we have a number of examples of schools that have been successful in the delivery of education, particularly to poor kids. What we haven't seen is anything approaching the kind of success that we would want at scale. So when you look at the achievement gap numbers, when you look at high-school graduation rates, all of that has basically stagnated in the United States. There are other countries that have made a substantial amount of progress in their outcomes since that report was released, so though we've stayed essentially the same, we're falling behind the rest of the world.

Q: You've said one of your gripes about the U.S. education system is that the incentives don't match the objectives. What do you mean?
A: We have not updated our theory of human capital, which is a fancy word for saying how do we attract and retain people to public education, since the labor market was one where women had two professional choices: being a nurse or being a teacher. We say to people, "We'd like you to come be a teacher, we imagine that you're going to teach "Julius Caesar" every year for the next 30 years, we're going to pay you a really terrible wage compared to what you could make doing almost anything else. ... The way most school districts and states pay teachers in this country (is) if you leave any time in the first 20 years, you leave with what you've contributed to your retirement system ... but if you stay for 30 years, you (get) a pension that's worth three times what your Social Security is worth.
No matter what else you want to do, you have to stay, (because) you've worked all these years just to get to that place. When you think that between 70 to 80 percent of what we spend on K-12 in this country is spent on compensation and this is the way that we spend it, you need to ask yourself, "Are we providing a set of incentives that actually makes sense?"

Q: You've obviously thought about how to keep good teachers.
A: Forty to 50 percent of teachers leave the profession in the first five years. And year after year after year we face chronic shortages in high-needs areas like math, science, special ed, English-language acquisition. High-poverty schools in urban and rural areas are constantly begging to try and find teachers and principals. There's not a harder job in the world than being a teacher, and there's not a more important job. And there's nothing you can do that's more compelling if you're in a school where the leadership is excellent, where the adults in the building have a commitment to the work and to making each other better at what they do, and where kids are being supported well. My view is, the reason why quality of scale has eluded us is that we have all of these obstacles in the way of people being able to unleash their creative potential. ... We've been so prescriptive at every level ... from the federal government to the state government to the school district level ... about what we should and shouldn't do that we've basically disempowered people closest to our kids.

Q: Accountability is such a buzzword in education these days. What's your view?
A: In general the Democratic Party in Washington since "A Nation at Risk" came out has been about spending more money for education, but the money that's been spent has not yielded the results we all would like. The leadership on the other side ... said, "Well, if we're going to spend this money, we need to hold people accountable for that expenditure." It shouldn't be surprising to anybody that in its first iteration the accountability system we came up with was an incredibly crude one.
If you're saying to people, "We're going to be a lot less prescriptive about everything and we're going to be much more focused on the what the outcomes are," but you don't have a system that measures outcomes in an intelligent way, it's going to be hard to convince people that they want to sign up for that. So what I have in mind is this: Our accountability system, which is based on tests and standards in 50 different states, asks essentially the wrong question, which is: How did this year's fourth-graders do compared to last year's fourth-graders? It's not even the same kids. We should be measuring how did this year's sixth-graders do compared to how they did as fifth-graders and as fourth-graders. (In Colorado), we'll take a child and find all the kids ... that have a statistically similar test history, and that forms a basis for us to say, "With this similar history, what we see is, this child has actually outperformed this huge number of people here." We can start to get a much deeper and richer picture of right direction/wrong direction. On a district or school level, you can start to look into this data and say, "What's different here?"
My hope is that with better accountability we'll say, "Here are the outcomes we'd like to see, we're going to equip you with tools to be able to get to those outcomes, but decisions over use of time, use of (money), human resources – those are decisions that should be made closer to kids rather than farther away." You ought to have the autonomy in the school as a unit to work collectively toward these objectives, and if you don't succeed, then we should intervene and say, "What do you need that you don't have? Is there a problem with the leadership in the building? Are there other issues that are idiosyncratic that need to be addressed?" It's very rarely a one-size-fits-all answer. The system we have right now is sort of the reverse of what I just described. If you read Education Week, you'll see the debate that says, "You'll have autonomy but first it has to be earned."

Q: Arne Duncan is offering states financial incentives to develop common standards. Are they a good idea?
A: The administration is committed to the idea of working with states to create a more useful set of standards to measure progress. If I were able to wave a magic wand, what I would say (is), "Look, one of the problems is that we have is too many standards at every grade level and we're testing too many things. We're exhausting our teachers; we're exhausting our kids." For accountability purposes, I think what we need is to reduce the standards at every grade level substantially. We should benchmark those standards against international norms so we can stop kidding ourselves about whether we're actually being rigorous or not. And then we should design assessments that align with those standards.

Click here to read the rest of the interview.

Monday, July 6, 2009

AZ Budget delay could hurt charter schools

Michelle Reese - Tribune

Arizona's 475 charter schools - like their district cousins - have eyes on the state Capitol and what may happen to education funding in Arizona.

Unlike their district counterparts though, the charter schools don't have access to lines of credit through the state to get them through the next few weeks.

"The schools are scared. They're panicked," said Stephanie Grisham, director of communications for the Arizona Charter Schools Association. "The districts operate in a different year. This is current year. It's a really big deal."

Charter schools got their last payment from the state on June 15, but it's unclear if they'll get a July 15 payment. That's because Gov. Jan Brewer put a line-item veto on the education budget passed by lawmakers last week. Without a 2009-2010 fiscal year education budget in place, no more money can go out to schools.

District schools received a $600 million payment last week that was due to them from the 2008-2009 fiscal year after the state rolled that money over to help with cash flow. District schools are also owed a payment - about $330 million - on July 15 that may be delayed without a budget.

Unlike school districts, charter schools receive funding based on current-year enrollment figures. If charter schools lose kids to district, private or even other charter schools, they lose dollars in the current school year. District schools may lose enrollment, but it won't have a big impact on the budget until the following year, allowing school leaders to plan.

With the state grappling with a more than $3.3 billion budget shortfall, all public schools - district and charter - face budget cuts.

The proposal passed by the Legislature cut $1.5 million in funding to Arizona's 475 charter schools. But Brewer's veto put any planning back at the ground level.

"Now we don't know where we are," Grisham said.

Charter schools serve about 100,000 of the 1 million children in public schools in Arizona...

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Arne Duncan and Merit Pay

By NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON

Education Secretary Arne Duncan borrowed the Obama campaign theme Thursday in a tough-love speech to the nation’s largest teachers union, telling educators that they must be willing to change their ways, specifically around the issue of merit pay.

“It’s not enough to focus only on issues like job security, tenure, compensation and evaluation. You must become full partners and leaders in education reform. You and I must be willing to change,” Duncan said at the annual meeting of the National Education Association in San Diego. “I ask you to join President Obama and me in a new commitment to results that recognizes and rewards success in the classroom and is rooted in our common obligation to children.”

Duncan, former head of Chicago schools, said that the administration is working with Congress to ask for more money to develop teacher compensation

programs tied to test scores, teacher evaluations, and extra work. The administration has allotted $100 billion in stimulus funds to prevent teacher layoffs and support education reform initiatives, such as innovative teaching, charter schools, and merit pay programs.

Unions have been vocal opponents of linking teacher pay to test scores, saying that the work of a teacher can’t be reduced to tests, which can sometimes be biased.

Duncan acknowledged this position, yet said that student performance must be a part of the equation when measuring teacher effectiveness.

“I understand that tests are far from perfect....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Check out the trailer for another Flunked project coming soon!

Minnesota schools fall behind in math and reading

July 1, 2009 - 5:49 AM

The results of this year's statewide tests are in: Minnesota students performed slightly better on math and reading tests, but the gains won't be enough to prevent more schools from being added to the list of those falling behind under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments results were released today by the state Department of Education.

It is likely that for the first time, when the list is released in August, more than half the state's schools will be defined as not making adequate progress because their performance increases can't keep pace with rising targets.

"We're pleased that the scores are going up, but we just don't feel like we made enough growth," said David Heistad, director of research, evaluation and assessment for the Minneapolis schools.

Statewide, 64 percent of students were proficient on math tests, compared to 62 percent last year, and 72 percent were proficient on reading tests, compared to 71 percent last year.

Results "should only be one of many that parents and the public look at in evaluating whether their individual school is performing well," said Chas Anderson, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education.

A 2014 deadline

According to the federal No Child Left Behind law, states must test how different student groups are faring. If one group -- such as poor students -- fails to meet state targets, the school is labeled as not making "adequate yearly progress..."

Click here to read the rest of the article.


30 Failing Schools in Massachusetts Face Takeover

By James Vaznis Globe Staff / July 2, 2009


The Patrick administration, in a sharp deviation from previous state policy, will seek legislative approval to take over about 30 of the state’s worst schools and dramatically weaken their teacher contracts, as part of the governor’s effort to overhaul public education.

The move took superintendents, school committees, and teachers by surprise because the state has long been hesitant to usurp local control, a tradition that dates back to Colonial times. State education leaders have preferred to work with local leaders and have allowed them to take the lead in developing and executing turnaround plans.

Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said the changes, which would require legislative approval, represent the “most extraordinary extension of power in state education history.’’

But Secretary of Education Paul Reville said the state needs to be more aggressive, as many of the state’s worst schools continue to flounder. He did not disclose which schools are being targeted, but said there are about 30, mostly in urban areas.

“We have not moved quickly enough to turn around underperforming schools,’’ Reville said. “For each year that goes by where students are not learning at the rate and pace they should be, that’s a tragic loss for students, parents, and the state.’’

The governor plans to file legislation this month to enact the changes, Reville said. Reville has been discussing the proposal with some legislators, professional groups, and other stakeholders in recent weeks.

The state has threatened schools with takeovers in the past, but has never followed through. Reville said Massachusetts law allows state officials to take over entire districts, a strategy used at least once, but is ambiguous about the takeover of individual schools. While the federal No Child Left Behind Act authorizes states to seize control of failing schools, it remains unclear whether that trumps state law.

Patrick’s legislation would change state law to allow the state commissioner to waive portions of union contracts at these schools, eliminating provisions that state officials say could block the school’s turnaround....

Click here to read the rest of the story.


One person's opinion on online charters

Letter: Legislature passed law against charter schools (July 1)

There is a stench wafting down from Salem that emanates from Senate Bill 767. This bill, introduced on behalf of the Oregon Education Association and other teacher unions, is the OEA’s first step in eliminating competition in education from online charter schools in Oregon.

The OEA’s legislative agenda for 2009, posted on their Web site, blatantly declares a recommendation “That the OEA shall develop legislation to repeal current charter school statutes.” The Oregon Legislature, by passing SB 767, has abdicated their own authority and allowed a group of unelected and unaccountable union lobbyists to re-write the law in order to destroy virtual schools in Oregon through which 4,000 children receive public education.

Sara Gelser, chairperson of the House Education Committee, championed this bill. Rep. Gelser helped ram through this egregious piece of legislation with little public debate, despite declaring on April 1 in the well of the House that her committee would welcome open and robust debate.

In fact, the House Education Committee never debated SB 767 at all. Ms. Gelser allowed her committee to shut down early in full knowledge that SB 767 was on its way from the Senate. So who does Ms. Gelser really represent?

And for that matter, when the OEA says it’s going to repeal Oregon law, and the Legislature rolls over and makes it happen, who are they really representing? Is it the people of Oregon or union lobbyists?

SB 767 is a disgrace. Here’s hoping Gov. Kulongoski has the good sense to veto it.

John D. Jones, Philomath

Click here for editor's note.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Neighborhood Schools to be Converted

Karen Bouffard / The Detroit News

Lansing --Poor-performing public schools could be converted to independent schools with teachers who get merit pay under a package of education reform bills slated to be introduced in the state Senate today.

Called the Neighborhood Public Schools package, the legislation would create schools that could be sponsored by a large city mayor, the state Board of Education, charter schools or other entities as long as they aren't religious.

New schools could be established by a majority vote of both parents and teachers, according to Senate education committee chair Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland. He said it's not an expansion of charters or a voucher program of any sort.

Groups wishing to establish schools would be subject to performance and accountability standards, Kuipers added.

"We want to make sure those who go for these schools are accountable," Kuipers said. "It doesn't do us any good to introduce new schools or charters if they're not going to perform any better."

The legislation would allow local governments, or even neighborhood public school corporations formed by one or more teachers, to establish schools, including early childhood learning centers, cyber schools, dropout recovery centers or career education high schools.

The package is meant to address the high school dropout problem in Michigan, and particularly in Detroit, which U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has characterized as a national disgrace.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Should lawmakers dictate school choice?

As political debates across our nation brew about permitting charter schools and which kid should be eligible, I would like to know—whose choice is school choice?
If you are confused about this question, let’s try this exercise:
Make a list of five parents you know.
Now imagine yourself dictating to these parents whether they should bottle feed or breast feed, use cloth versus disposable diapers, and which pediatrician gets their business.
If you can’t fathom telling parents what is best for their child in these areas of parenting, then dictating which school is the best fit for all kids is out of the question too.
What is school choice if we don’t have any options?

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Democrats Leading the Way to Education Reform?

Democrats for Education Reform Calls on the Party to Recognize that Charters Produce Results

June 8, 2009 --In response to Education Secretary Arne Duncan's announcement today that grants from the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" fund will be reliant on the effectiveness of state's public charter school policies, Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) championed the plan and the President's willingness to make good on the promises he made while campaigning. Central to DFER's mission is convincing Democrats that supporting public charter schools is good public policy.

"The word coming out of the Department of Education today is that the administration has the chops for being real change agents. Secretary Duncan is poised to withhold Race to the Top funds from states that don't have effective charter school laws. The irony is that so many of the state legislatures dragging their feet are controlled by Democrats. Its time for Democrats to wise up and realize that supporting public charter schools is the right thing to do."

"When Democrats, who have historically been proud supporters of public education, are the ones standing between the families we claim to represent and the public school options for which they clamor, we have to re-examine our priorities when it comes to schools." "There is no shortage of evidence, in places like California, New York, Boston, and elsewhere, public charter schools have shown they aren't killing public education. In fact, public charter schools are leading the charge to save public education and delivering results. Successful school models like KIPP, Achievement First, Green Dot, Aspire, and others provide proof points nationwide for what is possible in our schools. These public charter schools are offering parents the kinds of schools they want for their children and kids the education they deserve.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Check out Flunked on Dennis Miller Live June 8th @ 9:34 am!! (P.S.T.)

We are excited to let you know that Steven Maggi will be appearing on the Dennis Miller Radio Show, Monday, June 8th at 9:34 am to talk about Flunked! (P.S.T.) The Dennis Miller Radio Show is a nationally syndicated show, that airs across the entire country!

Check here for air times in your local area.

If you are not in an area where the show is broadcasting live, you can listen to the entire show for free, live on the internet by going to the web address of: http://www.dennismillerradio.com/site from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. Just click the “Listen Live Free” banner at the top of the page.


Thank you for your support, please try to join us Monday Morning at 9:34 am!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Illinois raises cap?

SPRINGFIELD —
State legislators approved an act that will boost the number of charter schools available for the state — it’s just awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s approval.

Senate Bill 612, the Charter School Reform Act of 2009, will allow 120 charter schools with limited geographic constraints.

The new bill eliminates boundaries — now there are two areas: Chicago and everywhere else. Under the current law Rockford is considered “downstate” Illinois.

That means 15 charter schools can be licensed outside Chicago, on top of the previous five licenses left for downstate Illinois. In Chicago, 40 new schools can be added, and five new schools in Chicago can be allocated for dropout recovery. Before this approved act, only five charter licenses were available for downstate.

The change in charter school law would make Illinois the first state to meet President Barack Obama’s call to raise caps on charter schools.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Monday, June 1, 2009

CA Charter school to focus on trades

Ventura Star
By Cheri Carlson

A long-discussed plan to open a charter school in Ventura County specializing in architecture, construction and engineering might soon become a reality.

A proposal for a public charter school called ACE High is expected to go to the Oxnard Union High School District board for approval next month.

Ventura County Office of Education and Oxnard Union officials have worked with industry leaders and educators throughout the county to draft plans for the school. If trustees authorize the charter, the school would open in fall 2010.

“ACE High has the opportunity to make an outstanding contribution to the students in this county,” Martha Mutz, Oxnard Union assistant superintendent, said at a recent board meeting.

“It’s proposed to fill a niche so students are well-prepared for industry jobs in architecture, construction and engineering,” she said. It also fits with the state’s focus on career technical education.

The curriculum would be focused on careers in the construction industry, said Peggy Velarde, county director of Regional Occupational Programs. Courses would emphasize hands-on projects and include college-preparatory curriculum, preparing students to head directly to college, a professional apprenticeship program or a job, Velarde said.

Students from throughout Ventura County could attend, and officials hope it would prevent some from dropping out before graduation.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

New Study Says Charter Schools Only Improve Education

By The Heartland Institute

A new study by the RAND Corporation found charter schools do not harm conventional public schools and charter students are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college than other public school children.

The study took a closer examination of the topic than any previously released, according to its authors. Researchers mapped the test scores and post-graduation achievement of millions of students at thousands of schools.

“Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition,” released in March, examines the charter school movement in Florida, Ohio, and Texas, plus individual districts in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and San Diego.

“We got together a group of researchers so we could put together data from all these different sites and examine them in a consistent and rigorous way,” said Brian Gill, study coauthor and a senior social scientist at Mathematica Policy Research, an education research group based in Princeton, New Jersey.

Not Skimming Best Students
Gill said the research led to four conclusions.

* Charter schools are not “skimming the cream” of students, as some critics have worried. Students’ academic achievement was comparable to that of students at traditional public schools. Furthermore, demographics and racial/ethnic compositions also were comparable between the charter schools and the public schools the students had left.

* Test scores did not significantly differ between charter and public middle schools and high schools. “One thing we learned, though, was that the jury is still out on charter elementary schools,” Gill said. The academic achievement for kindergartners, in particular, was difficult to determine because no data from the previous year is available, so researchers cannot compare the trajectory as they would for other grades, he explained.

* Traditional public schools are unharmed by charter growth. The research showed no effect, either positive or negative, on the academic achievement of nearby public school students’ performance as charter schools expanded into their districts.

* Greater percentages of charter school students graduate from high school and attend college than those in traditional public schools.....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Charter School lawsuit may set precedent

A lawsuit filed by the Hidden Springs Charter School against the state Department of Education was not affected when the Boise School District assumed responsibility for the school, said Joe Saucerman, chairman of the board for the school.

The outcome of the suit is pending, Saucerman said. The court's decision could impact charter school funding around the state.

The charter school filed suit in November, saying the Idaho law that allows public schools to use a previous year's attendance figures to offset declines in enrollment also applied to charter schools.

If student daily enrollment drops significantly from one year to the next, schools can collect, for one year, 99 percent of the money they received from the state the previous year.

Hidden Springs had a significant drop in enrollment but was only paid for the number of students who were enrolled that year.

"We were short last year $250,000," Saucerman said. "We need to get that money to get things squared away.".....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Money Saving Virtual Vision for Education

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — New research at the University of Florida predicts more public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade will take classes online, have longer school days and more of them in the next decade. Academic performance should improve and schools could save money.

While distance education over the Internet is already widespread at colleges and universities, UF educational technology researchers are offering some of the first hard evidence documenting the potential cost-savings of virtual schooling in K-12 schools.

“Policymakers and educators have proposed expanding learning time in elementary through high school grades as a way to improve students’ academic performance, but online coursework hasn’t been on their radar. This should change as we make school and school district leaders more aware of the potential cost savings that virtual schooling offers,” said Catherine Cavanaugh, associate professor at the University of Florida’s College of Education. “Over the next decade, we expect an explosion in the use of virtual schooling as a seamless synthesis between the traditional classroom and online learning.”

Based on a 2008 survey of 20 virtual schools in 14 states, UF researchers found that the average yearly cost of online learning per full-time pupil was about $4,300. This compared with a national average cost per pupil of more than $9,100 for a traditional public school in 2006 (the most recent year in which such data was available). Their cost estimates covered course development and teaching, and administrative and technical expenses.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Fighting for Students in St. Louis

St. Louis — One recent Saturday morning, the leader of a school not yet open began knocking on doors, searching for his future students.

Jeremy Esposito stopped everyone he saw there on Pennsylvania Avenue in south St. Louis — children playing with hoses, teens on bikes, a man with a flask.

Esposito, incoming principal of KIPP Inspire Academy, knows that dozens of schools in St. Louis are fighting for just such children. His meetings with families, then, often end with a hard sell, a contract and a request: Sign here.

St. Louis schools, both public and private, have long fought to capture city students. But never quite like this.


"There's more competition for city school kids, for all kids, than ever before," said Sue Brown, director of marketing and community relations for the Catholic Education Office at the St. Louis Archdiocese. "We're fighting for every one."

A rise in the number of charter schools, such as KIPP, has put new schools or their billboards in nearly every neighborhood and stolen thousands of students from the public district. And for that matter, even Catholic schools have had to compete to not lose students to charter schools...

Public schools fight back:

By the start of this school year, charters enrolled nearly 10,000 students, about one-third as many as are enrolled in St. Louis Public Schools.

The district, now with an appointed board and a new superintendent, is seeking to turn that tide. The first moves this year streamlined a scattered district budget, with leaders agreeing two months ago to close 14 of the district's 85 schools this summer, and, last week, budgeting to cut $53 million from the $342 million spent this year.

At the same time, and with much less public debate, leaders have begun to focus on improving schools and singing their praises.

In February, Superintendent Kelvin Adams asked the board to approve $1 million for marketing.

The first $100,000 would probably go to area firm TOKY Branding + Design — now in negotiations with the district — to recreate the St. Louis Public Schools' image.

It would be an expensive, high-class project for a public district — TOKY designed a recruiting book for the $21,000-a-year Whitfield School in Creve Coeur, for instance, that won a national award.

The contract would include reworking logos, developing scientific surveys, building advertising strategies and redesigning letterhead, posters, newsletters and recruiting brochures.

District communications director Patrick Wallace said TOKY would find out why families did not enroll in district schools and what it would take to get them to. Then the firm would recommend how to get the message out...

Read the rest of the article here.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Obama to fix failing schools?

President Obama is planning to use a special $5 billion federal school turnaround program to prod local officials to reshape—and in some cases close and reopen—failing schools. The changes could consist of replacing teachers and principals or turning schools into charter school programs.

The goal is to take the nation's 5,000 lowest-performing schools—the bottom 5 percent—and transform 1,000 of them per year, over the next five years, into robust institutions of learning, Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently said. He was speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, a leading education think tank. Department of Education officials say that closing and reopening schools is not the purpose of the intervention, but it may be deemed necessary for some schools, especially "dropout factories" where 2 in 5 kids don't make it to graduation.

Obama's focus on failing schools comes on the heels of a historic injection of federal education funding courtesy of his economic stimulus package, which doubles what the education budget had been under President Bush.

The 5,000 schools that will be targeted for the makeover will be determined by the states and local districts based on criteria they set themselves under the guidance of the federal Education Department. The criteria might include dropout rates, test scores, and the number of graduates going on to attend college. In determining which schools are "the most in need of help," the Department of Education says that local and state officials should take student achievement growth into account and should consider intervention for only the lowest-performing schools that are not making progress....

click here to read the rest of the article.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Jimi Hendrix, the face of an education role model?

Oh San Francisco, you never fail to amaze us!

The San Francisco school district has chosen a highly unusual role model to grace the cover of its new education guide, and some residents are questioning whether the choice sends a good message to the city's youth.

On the cover of the new district guidebook – aimed at changing the educational “experiences for every child in each of our schools” – is a portrait of 1960s rock legend Jimi Hendrix, known as much for his fatal drug habit as his revolutionary take on rock music

The image of Hendrix -- who didn't make it through high school -- is not limited to the cover. Indeed, Hendrix's face appears on nearly every page of the manual, which also comes with a Hendrix poster and canvas tote, all distributed to hundreds of administrators in Superintendent Carlos Garcia’s district.


When in Rome?

Garcia told the Chronicle that he was simply trying to “revolutionize” the district and felt comfortable with Hendrix’s controversial image because, “Hey, we’re in San Francisco.”


What's next, Amy Winehouse for Secretary of Education?

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Secretary Duncan doesn't think vouchers are the answer

They will continue the vouchers....only for the kids currently enrolled...

President Obama will ask Congress to temporarily extend the school voucher program in the District of Columbia until students now attending private high schools with taxpayer dollars graduate...


If it's working, why keep it?


"It's the President and Arne's belief that we should fund them all the way through their high school education," says Education Department spokesman Peter Cunningham. But he adds that neither Duncan nor Obama is seeking to continue the program further. Democrats have pushed to end it, saying vouchers take needed funds from public schools.



And Duncan continues:


"At the end of the day, I don't think vouchers are the answer." He added, "We have to be much more ambitious for ourselves and have higher expectations. We have to help every child in D.C. … The answer is not vouchers for few. It's massive change, massive reform for all, absolutely as quickly as possible."




I just have one question...where would Secretary Duncan send his kids? We already know where the president does...


Click here to see entire article.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Can Both Sides Work Together on Education Reform?

An Unlikely Duo Pushes for Entrepreneurship in Schools
by Seyward Darby

An "odd couple" of think tanks have combined forces on education reform. This morning, the Center for American Progress (CAP), the organization that spawned numerous Obama administration officials and policy ideas, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), considered a leading architect of Bush administration policy, unveiled a joint report on innovation and entrepreneurship in education. Seated on a panel at the swanky Hotel Monaco on F Street, representatives of the two groups shared friendly jabs--literally, they were nudging each other behind the microphones--about how unlikely it had seemed that the two groups would ever find common ground. But they found it, and the fruits of their labors are detailed in the report "Stimulating Excellence: Unleashing the Power of Innovation in Education."

In sum, the report calls for education systems at all levels--national, state, and local--to welcome private, inventive partners as they seek to improve in areas ranging from student achievement to teacher quality, technology procurement to after-school activities. "The minute we stop thinking like entrepreneurs," said D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, who kicked off the event, "we should call it a day."

The panel was heavy on business-speak--"customers," "providers," "capital," "catalyze"-- that's sure to disgruntle traditional Democratic supporters of education, who tend to be wary of what I once heard a teacher describe angrily as a "corporate privatization agenda." But the report presented today is dead-on. It supports, among other things, using better data systems "to create a performance culture" (which I discussed in another blog post this morning); opening public education "to a diverse set of providers" (Teach for America and other alternative teacher certification programs, for instance); loosening procurement restrictions so that schools can spend more flexibly on services provided by private enterprises; and, via new government policy, directing more public funds toward innovative programs.

Admittedly, CAP and AEI don't see eye to eye on everything in education...

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Education debate in black and white

Do African American teachers, teach African American kids better than white teachers?

You decide.....

Somebody named Terry Saskin had taken issue with a Philadelphia Daily News article that detailed the shortage of black teachers in city public schools and lauded Cheyney University's Call Me MISTER program, which trains African American teachers for elementary school classrooms.

Saskin's letter to the editor a few weeks ago brimmed with defiance. Under the headline "As a white teacher, I'm not good enough?" it read:

"I'm white and have been teaching in the district for 12 years. Most of my students are minorities. . . . They have achieved academic excellence. If my ethnicity were different, not a thing would change."

It went on: "The Call Me MISTER program seems solid, but playing the race card is just another example of how weak-minded some people are."

Uh-oh. There's the dreaded accusation of the race card again. Now my back was up.

But Saskin's letter did get me thinking about whether a teacher's race had any correlation to the success of an African American student. Especially as we see so few black teachers.

My own experience says yes. Sure, I had a string of white teachers I absolutely adored. But in sixth grade, Mrs. Corley, my first African American teacher, had the most profound impact.

She was the first black person I had seen who was a professional and looked like me - tall and brown-skinned. And she talked to me like my mother, affectionately and sometimes with no compromise. Plus, she was a great teacher.

Still, I couldn't dismiss this letter. The first of my many questions: Just who is this Saskin character, who previously had taken on everybody from the Ku Klux Klan to indifferent parents in his letter-writing campaigns, who, in all of his letters, mentioned the well-being of children?

Who also once challenged his students to write letters chronicling life in the inner city, and who gave $25 out of his own pocket to the 10 whose letters were published in the newspaper.

For somebody who seemed so in tune, could he really not understand the need for more black teachers in a district that's 62 percent African American?

Turns out, the 39-year-old Saskin is one of those rare teachers you don't see every day, whose passion goes way beyond the classroom.

Jewish by birth only, he says - "I married a shiksa and have tattoos all over my shoulders" - the Bensalem native has spent his entire career in public elementary education.

He taught for 10 years at Muñoz Marin School in Kensington, where the majority of his students were Latino. Spent two years at Frederick Douglass School in North Philly, where the student population was overwhelmingly African American.


Click here to read the rest of the article by Annette John-Hall

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Charter vs. Public Schools

Charter vs. Public Schools: It's a tough choice for parents

by Casey Ferrand

Parents in two Caddo Parish school districts will have a tough choice to make next school year. They must decide to send their children to a charter school, operated by the state, or to a new middle school established by the Caddo School Board.

Bill Minix is a board member with the MLK Neighborhood Association, says the school board's decision to open to new middle schools to compete for students in the Linear and Linwood districts may be the competition the students need.

"I think choice breeds competition and in the end all of the schools will get better if people are competing to do the right thing and that's to provide high quality of education," Minix said.

Minix questions if parents should continue to send their children to Caddo schools. "These schools have been failing for more than a decade and I don't see where any parent would make the decision to send their child to a failing school,' Minix said.

Minix says it's best for parents to become educated on both charter school and the plan Caddo Parish is offering. Then, weigh the options before deciding what is best for your student.

Click here to see the article and video.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Can Merit Pay for Teachers Work?

It seems to be here:

Students at Heritage Peak Charter School in North Highlands go to class when they want, leave when they want and chew gum if they want.

There is no dress code, no designated lunch period and no physical education class on campus.

Yet student test scores and graduation rates have continued to improve at the 4-year-old school, even more so since merit pay for teachers was instituted during the past school year.


Since then there has been a 50-point increase in the school's overall API scores, said Executive Director Paul Keefer. He said 78 percent of 10th-graders passed both the English-language arts and mathematics sections of the California High School Exit Exam on the first try, up from average scores in the 60th percentile in the 2006-07 school year. Thirteen of the school's 80 graduating seniors have been accepted to a four-year college this year, compared with one last year.


It's really true, that one size does not fit all:

Heritage Peak, a public charter school, teaches kindergarten through 12th-graders from throughout the region, using a hybrid model of independent study, home schooling and classroom instruction. The school also has satellite offices in Vacaville and Lodi.

"Our goal is to keep them, get them interested in learning and get them into a four-year university," Keefer said.

Many students come to Heritage Peak because they have failed in a traditional school and need to make up credits, said school board President Sonja Cameron. Most of Heritage Peak's 682 students didn't fit in at other schools, she said. Some were bullied or had behavior problems; others had always been home-schooled.

"We started the school with the idea that one shoe doesn't fit all," Cameron said.



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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Is Obama an Education Hero?

Not according to Juan Williams, National Public Radio Sr. Correspondent/Fox News Political Contributor. He has titled his piece: Obama's Outrageous Sin Against Our Kids


As I watch Washington politics I am not easily given to rage.

Washington politics is a game and selfishness, out-sized egos and corruption are predictable.

But over the last week I find myself in a fury.

The cause of my upset is watching the key civil rights issue of this generation — improving big city public school education — get tossed overboard by political gamesmanship. If there is one goal that deserves to be held above day-to-day partisanship and pettiness of ordinary politics it is the effort to end the scandalous poor level of academic achievement and abysmally high drop-out rates for America’s black and Hispanic students.


Juan goes on...


It is really upsetting to see that the Heritage Foundation has discoverd that 38 percent of the members of Congress made the choice to put their children in private schools. Of course, Secretary Duncan has said he decided not to live in Washington, D.C. because he did not want his children to go to public schools there. And President Obama, who has no choice but to live in the White House, does not send his two daughters to D.C. public schools, either. They attend a private school, Sidwell Friends, along with two students who got there because of the voucher program.

This reckless dismantling of the D.C. voucher program does not bode well for arguments to come about standards in the effort to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. It does not speak well of the promise of President Obama to be the “Education President,’ who once seemed primed to stand up for all children who want to learn and especially minority children.

And its time for all of us to get outraged about this sin against our children.


What do you think?

Click here to read the entire article.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Ben Chavis & Teacher's Unions

Here is a clip from the extra features on the Flunked DVD, featuring Ben Chavis.


Monday, April 13, 2009

Do We Need Education Consultants?

Advocates Question Spending On Education Consultants

By Gina Smith - The (Columbia State)

With nearly 3,000 teachers' jobs on the line, school-choice advocates are questioning why the State Department of Education is spending millions on consultants, some of whom are politically connected.

That includes more than $58,000 paid so far this fiscal year to Democratic consultant Zeke Stokes, who ran State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex's successful 2006 campaign, catapulting the only Democrat into statewide office.

Because of state budget cuts and the uncertainty of whether federal stimulus money will be used to back fill school districts' budgets next year, as many as 5,200 school positions — including 2,700 teaching positions — might be eliminated, according to a State Department of Education survey.

“The last thing we want to see is the front line of education — teachers — being cut,” said Randy Page, president of South Carolinians for Responsible Government, an organization critical of Rex that advocates tax credits for parents who home-school or send their children to private schools.

“In this economy, should contractors and consultants be that big of a part of the mix? Tough questions need to be asked on whether some of these contracts are something we really need,” Page said.

The State Department of Education said consultants save taxpayers' money. To date for this fiscal year, the department has spent $3.57 million on professional work contracted out.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

No Teacher of the Year for You... If You Work for a Charter School

Charter schools excluded from Teacher of the Year
By Ron Barnett

Ed Kaczmarczyk is the Teacher of the Year for Greenville County Technical Charter High, but he will have no chance at competing for that honor at the district and state level.

That's because Greenville County School District officials interpret the state's charter school law to mean that charter school teachers are not eligible because charter schools are autonomous from the school district.

A Greenville County lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require the district to let Teachers of the Year at charter schools that are authorized by the district to participate in the competition, just as they do on other counties.

"The Greenville County School District may not deny a charter school, charter school teacher, or charter school student anything that is otherwise available to a public school, public school teacher, or public school student," the bill introduced by state Rep. Garry Smith, R-Simpsonville, states.

It mentions the Teacher of the Year competition as one of the specific areas in which charter school teachers should be treated the same as other teachers in the district.

"I know that this may seem to be insignificant to some," Greenville Tech Charter High Principal Fred Crawford said. "However, I believe when a school district decides to participate, it should not be allowed to exclude some public school teachers."

"It's unfortunate this (bill) may be the only path available for Greenville County School District charters."

Click here to read the rest of the story.