June 2010

LAUSD Supt. Cortines backs community plan to improve troubled Fremont School

• 06-25-2010
• 

By Olu Alemoru/Los Angeles WAVE

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ramon Cortines this week threw his support behind community-backed reforms to enhance a plan to restructure South Los Angeles’ chronically underperforming Fremont High School. Cortines addressed a packed room of Fremont students and parents Monday at the headquarters of the Community Coalition, where they, along with community activists, presented him with a reform program aimed at closing the achievement gap, improving test scores and cutting the area’s high dropout rates. The meeting was called in the wake of Cortines’ December announcement that called for radical changes to improve the school’s academic performance.  (more...)

Teachers in LA and SF will see more cutbacks and pink slips in 2010-2011

• 06-25-2010
• 

Blog by Corey A. Johnson/California Watch

Amid protest signs and tearful pleas, school boards in San Francisco and Los Angeles approved budgets this week that will result in more furlough days and pink slips. With operating costs going up, $1,171 less funding per student than in 2008 and an overall shortfall of $113 million, San Francisco Unified's board approved a budget that will reduce summer school, art programs and employees, while forcing all district administrators to take five unpaid days off during the 2010-11 school year, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (more...)

Report: Small high schools boost graduation rates

• 06-25-2010
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Blog by Barbara Martinez/Wall Street Journal

Soon after taking over the country’s largest school system, Chancellor Joel Klein began to shutter large, failing high schools and replaced them with smaller schools. A new report released Wednesday shows how that effort has increased graduation rates for the mostly poor, minority students attending the new schools.  The 160-page report by MDRC, a nonprofit research firm, found that by the end of their first year in high school 58.5% of the students attending the new, smaller schools were on track to graduate in four years, as measured by credit accumulation and passed courses. That compared to 48.5% of students in larger high schools.“ (more...)

New strategy announced to improve city schools

• 06-25-2010
• 

By Sharon Otterman/New York Times

The Education Department on Thursday detailed a new model for turning around some of New York City’s lowest-performing schools, saying that the schools would serve as the first testing ground for new teacher evaluation laws passed by the Legislature in May. The model, known as transformation, will be put in place beginning in September in 11 of the 34 city schools that the state has identified as “persistently lowest achieving,” a designation covering the lowest-achieving 5 percent of schools in the state. (more...)

‘Worst’ schools have 1 week to seek $416 million

• 06-25-2010
• 

Blog by John Fensterwald/Educated Guess

California finally heard this week  that it will indeed receive $416 million in federal money over three years to help turn around 188 schools identified as the state’s lowest performing. But districts won’t learn until late next month how much they’ll be entitled to, leaving virtually no time to prepare teachers and parents for the massive changes the schools will be forced to undergo this fall. . This sit-tight-and-rush approach to school reform may discourage some districts from seeking the money. They now have one week, until July 2 at 4 p.m., to file  their School Improvement Grant applications with the state. (more...)

Next round of school cuts expected to rival this one

• 06-25-2010
• 

Blog by Emily Alpert/Voice of San Diego

San Diego Unified has almost wrapped up its budget for the next school year. Now it is beginning to peek at the cuts in store for the year after. How bad is it? Interim finance chief Phil Stover summed it up best: "It is better only in the sense that it's not as bad as this year." The school district is estimating that it will have to cut $127 million from its 2011/2012 budget after slashing nearly $135 million from its budget for next school year. It doesn't help that federal stimulus money that helped San Diego Unified pay for teachers is due to run out next summer. (more...)

Public schools: A return to ‘haves’ v. ‘have nots’?

• 06-28-2010
• 

By Dennis Wyatt/Manteca Bulletin

California’s public education could be moving toward another crisis that could ultimately undermine local control. The stage is being set, ironically, by school districts where voters have passed parcel taxes so far in order to counter state funding cutbacks. Sixteen of the 20 districts that had parcel tax elections so far this year managed to reach the two-thirds approval threshold. John Rogers the head of the UCLA Institute for Democracy was quoted by the Associated Press as noting the votes are simply widening the disparity between districts adding, “Across the state, the pain is felt everywhere, but because of the unequal distribution of wealth some areas are able to respond.” (more...)

11 Texas school districts take support for minimum grades to court today

• 06-28-2010
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By Katherine Leal Unmuth/Education Week (subscription required)

School districts are taking the Texas education commissioner to court today to argue that they have the right to boost failing report card grades to at least a 50. Many Texas districts have had policies for years that establish minimum grades of 50, 60 or even 70 for assignments and report cards. So if a student failed and earned a zero, his or her grade was automatically brought up to the minimum score. Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, sponsored legislation passed last year intended to put a stop to the practice. It barred districts from setting minimum grade requirements for classroom assignments. (more...)

FUSD mandate ups summer school attendance

• 06-28-2010
• 

By Tracy Correa/The Fresno Bee

Summer school numbers are up dramatically in Fresno Unified, which now requires students earning D's and F's to attend. It's part of a new emphasis to keep struggling students -- from elementary through high school -- on track for graduation and meet the district's goal of proficiency, which means earning C's or better. Some students are taking summer classes to get a leg up on their studies for the coming school year.  But most who are enrolled are required to be in school this summer, officials said. (more...)

Wake up and pass the DREAM immigration reform act

• 06-28-2010
• 

Editorial/Los Angeles Times

May, the deadline by which advocates had hoped comprehensive immigration reform legislation would be introduced in Congress, has come and gone. It is time to accept that no matter how badly the nation needs this reform, Washington does not have the political will to act on such a divisive issue. So it is time to change tactics. Leaders of the immigration reform movement, who so far have insisted on pushing for an omnibus package of bills, should heed the young people in their ranks calling for a stand-alone effort to pass the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors legislation, or the DREAM Act. (more...)

School districts cut summertime free lunch programs

• 06-28-2010
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By Diana Lambert/Sacramento Bee

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? There is. But it's becoming more of a rarity.  School districts throughout the region have closed summer schools and the free lunch programs that accompanied them.  "Last year was the first year we saw school districts closing or shutting down summer school programs," said Phyllis Bramson-Paul, director of nutrition services at the California Department of Education. "It happened late enough in the year that there wasn't time for community agencies to fill the gap. We served 10 percent fewer meals than the year before." (more...)

High school graduation rate puts California to shame

• 06-28-2010
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Column by By Dan Walters/Sacramento Bee

Let's assume, at least for the purposes of this screed, that the primary purpose of a public education system is to produce a maximum number of high school graduates prepared to either pursue higher education of some kind or enter the work force.  By that standard, California is failing miserably, as Education Week magazine's new nationwide survey of high school graduation rates confirms.  In 1996-97, Education Week calculated, 67.4 percent of California's high school students were graduating. That was 1.7 percentage points above the national average, with 19 other states having lower rates. (more...)

Students face closure of alternative schools because of L.A. County budget cuts

• 06-28-2010
• 

By Carla Rivera/Los Angeles Times

Nearly 700 students enrolled in specialized programs will be uprooted Wednesday if Los Angeles County education officials proceed with plans to close nearly two dozen alternative schools because of budget cuts.  Students, teachers and some county leaders are mounting a last-ditch effort to keep the schools open, at least temporarily. "I don't think I have a place to go, to tell you the truth," said Gabriel during a break between classes at Downey Community Day School, one of those slated to close. Like many of the students, Gabriel had been in trouble, running with a gang and ditching classes at his regular school. (more...)

Taking no prisoners in San Diego schools

• 06-28-2010
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Interview by Emily Alpert/Voice of San Diego

Education historian Diane Ravitch was once a fan of testing and accountability as the way to fix schools. She worked under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She backed No Child Left Behind. But she's had a change of mind. In her newest book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, she has come to criticize the school reform ideas she once championed.  Ravitch zooms in on San Diego Unified and the school reform battles under former Superintendent Alan Bersin as one example of the kind of change she believes has not worked -- and will not work -- in schools. (more...)

CA cities vote to pay more taxes to help schools

• 06-28-2010
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By Terence Chea/San Francisco Chronicle

To help protect their schools from California's unrelenting budget crisis, some communities are voting to pay more property taxes to preserve teacher jobs, smaller class sizes and electives such as art and music. So far this year, more than 20 districts have held elections for school parcel taxes, which are levied on individual parcels of property, and at least 16 have approved them. More districts are trying to place such measures on the ballot later this year. But the tax measures, which require a two-thirds majority to pass, are mostly winning approval in smaller, wealthier districts, according to education experts, raising worries about growing inequality between schools in rich and poor communities.  (more...)

Smart report on teacher evaluations

• 06-28-2010
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Blog by John Fensterwald/Educated Guess

An insightful report by an independent group of experienced teachers can provide needed middle ground on the polarized issue of how to evaluate — and ultimately pay — teachers. “A Quality Teacher in Every Classroom: Creating a Teacher Evaluation System That Works in California” indicts the current system of drive-by teacher evaluations that are often perfunctory and usually unhelpful. It lays out a more intensive alternative that would take into account the full range of teachers’ practice and performance while setting clear goals for improvement. The timing is right for Accomplished California Teachers (ACT), an organization affiliated with the Stanford-based National Board Resource Center, to jump into the fray. (more...)

LAUSD chief: Major cuts coming in next few years

• 06-28-2010
• 

By Patt Morrison & Brittany Knotts/KPCC

Like the entire state of California, LAUSD has faced a major budget crisis for years. Cortines spoke to Patt Morrison today about juggling so many responsibilities at once and even hinted at his own retirement in the near future. Right now, Cortines says, the district’s goal is to save jobs. “We're doing everything possible to save jobs, not just cut. UTLA alone gave $150 million to buy back jobs,” said Cortines, who was himself on a furlough day during the interview. “All but two of the bargaining units now have joined in.” (more...)

Saving our schools: Superman or real solutions?

• 06-29-2010
• 

By Randi Weingarten/Huffington Post

Randi Weingarten is President of the American Federation of Teachers

Is America ready to settle for a great education--for the few? That's the question at the heart of Blaise Nutter's paean to the forthcoming documentary from director Davis Guggenheim, "Waiting for Superman." Nutter's review, like the movie, is selective and incomplete, which is not surprising. A cottage industry has sprung up around pundits who have little substantive knowledge about public education, but opine away nonetheless. For instance, Nutter never challenges one of the major shortcomings of the film: that Guggenheim chose to include footage of a bad teacher in a Milwaukee classroom and the rubber room in New York, but opted not to include footage of successful public schools where uncounted and unheralded teachers are doing extraordinary things every day to teach our children. This lack of balance may suit Guggenheim's narrow and selective narrative, but it does not tell the full and textured story of what actually is going on in American schools. (more...)

Could $416 million push schools to reform?

• 06-29-2010
• 

By Corey G. Johnson/California Watch

After months of budget cuts, layoffs and an embarrassing poor showing in the Obama administration's reform contest, California finally got a nearly $416 million break. Last week, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced California was awarded $415,844,376 from the U.S. Department of Education to help fund education reform. The money, which comes through the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, is set aside for 188 schools that were designated by the state as "persistently low-achieving." (more...)

2 new studies on charter schools

• 06-29-2010
• 

Blog by Valerie Strauss/Washington Post

Here are the highlights of two separate studies on charter schools that were released today: * Public charter schools generally receive less funding than traditional public schools, according to a new report released today, but most or all of these funding differences can be connected to the additional obligations that the traditional schools have. * Charter middle schools that hold lotteries are neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving student achievement in reading and math. However, these averages mask wide variation across individual charter schools in their impacts. (more...)

Study finds no clear edge for charter schools

• 06-29-2010
• 

By Lesli A. Maxwell/Education Week (subscription required)

Students who won lotteries to attend charter middle schools performed, on average, no better in mathematics and reading than their peers who lost out in the random admissions process and enrolled in nearby regular public schools, according to a national study released today. The federally commissioned study, involving 2,330 students who applied to 36 charter middle schools in 15 states, represents the first large-scale randomized trial of the effectiveness of charter schools across several states and rural, suburban, and urban locales. The charter schools in the sample conducted random lotteries for admissions, so that only chance determined who attended. (more...)

State declines leadership role in designing new standardized tests

• 06-29-2010
• 

Blog by John Fensterwald/Educated Guess

California will be a passenger, not a driver, among states moving forward with the next generation of standardized tests that will likely replace California Standards Tests and other states’ exams. Without public discussion or explanation, state officials have chosen one of two consortia that are in the running for a piece of the $320 million that the Obama administration has set aside to design new tests. It will probably split the money between the two. California joined 25 other states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers or  PARCC as a participating, not a governing state. (more...)

Teacher induction found to raise student scores

• 06-29-2010
• 

By Stephen Sawchuk/Education Week

Teachers who received two years of comprehensive induction services boosted student scores in reading and math more than teachers in a comparison group who didn’t receive the support, a study released today by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences finds. But the induction services didn’t make teachers more likely to stay in their schools, districts, or the profession—nor were they any more likely to report feeling prepared, it concludes. The findings represent the third and final year of results from a randomized experiment focusing on the impact of intensive mentoring programs. (more...)

New schools supe will work for less money

• 06-29-2010
• 

By Emily Alpert/Voice of San Diego

Newly tapped San Diego Unified Superintendent Bill Kowba is poised to work for less money on a shorter contract than his predecessor, Terry Grier. A draft contract that the school board is slated to sign off on Tuesday night would give Kowba a $250,000 salary, compared to the $269,000 given to Grier. It spans for three years, while Grier had a contract that covered four. Kowba’s contract has no performance bonuses, a unique part of Grier’s contract that was never actually carried out. Grier was supposed to get bonuses for meeting mutually agreed goals with the board. (more...)

Wisconsin state schools chief proposes revamp of funding system

• 06-29-2010
• 

By Erin Richards/Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

The state schools chief on Thursday launched a campaign to reform the way public education is paid for in Wisconsin, offering to guarantee a minimum level of state aid for every student, provide more money for poor districts and reallocate about $900 million worth of property tax credits to general school aid. The collection of proposals from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers will be included in his 2011-'13 state budget proposal to the governor in September. The framework announced Thursday earned praise from state groups representing teachers and school boards, as well as some legislators who thought Evers was moving the needle in the right direction by prompting the discussion. (more...)

New York public schools top nation in per-student spending

• 06-29-2010
• 

By Cara Matthews/USA Today

New York spent $17,173 per student for public education in 2007-08, more than any other state and 67% more than the U.S. average, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released Monday. The $10,259 national average — $6,914 less than New York — was a 6.1% increase over 2006-07, the Census Bureau said. New York's spending went up 7.4% over the two years. New York's per-student spending was highest in 2006-07 too at $15,981 per student, and the national average was $9,666. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia spent more than $10,259 and 32 spent less in the 2007-08 school year. (more...)

More California school districts edging closer to insolvency, state says

• 06-30-2010
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By Howard Blume/Los Angeles Times

An increasing number of California school districts are edging closer to financial insolvency, state officials reported Tuesday. One immediate effect has been teacher layoffs — probably in the thousands, although neither state officials nor the California Teachers Assn. have final numbers. Since the beginning of 2010, the number of school systems that may be "unable to meet future financial obligations" has increased by 38%, according to the state Department of Education. (more...)

Also: San Jose Mercury News * Sacramento Bee (Dan Walters) * KPCC * Educated Guess  * California Watch

Budget cuts likely to widen gap between rich, poor L.A. schools

• 06-30-2010
• 

By Christina Hoag/USA Today

When state budget cuts imperiled city schools, a group of parents fought back by enlisting Hollywood stars to spread a message targeting one of their own, Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar. The satirical video featuring actors Megan Fox and fiancee Brian Austin Green highlights how funding shortfalls have killed jobs for librarians, nurses, translators, janitors and teachers. While the video was filmed in the affluent hills above Hollywood where Green's son attends Wonderland Avenue Elementary School, the cuts are more deeply felt at an inner-city school like Markham Middle School. (more...)

House Dems trim Race to Top, TIF to make room for Edujobs

• 06-30-2010
• 

Blog by Alyson Klein/Education Week

The $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund might be about to get a little smaller. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, just introduced the latest version of the edujobs bill, which would appear to skim some $500 million from the administration's signature education reform initiative in hopes of coming up with $10 billion to help stave off layoffs. And that's not all. From my reading of the draft now up on the House Rules Committee website, it seems another $200 million would come out of the Teacher Incentive Fund, which helps districts create pay-for-performance programs. (more...)

Why the state deserved to be sued on funding

• 06-30-2010
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Blog by John Fensterwald/Educated Guess

In a video interview, Santa Clara County Superintendent Chuck Weis lays out the rationale for Robles-Wong vs. California, the suit filed in May by the California School Boards Association, the Association of California School Administrators and the California PTA on behalf of California schoolchildren. Weis is the immediate past president of ACSA. The 10-minutes video offers a primer on the suit  and Weis’  hopes for the outcome. (more...)

Fixing school staffing

• 06-30-2010
• 

Editorial/Los Angeles Times

Even in good times, teachers with little experience have a hard job at low-achieving schools with disadvantaged students. They don't get paid much, and the students are more challenging to teach. And these aren't good times. Job insecurity is a serious problem. Teachers are laid off in order of seniority, so the newest teachers lose their jobs first. The situation is even harder on students. Because low-performing schools tend to be staffed by newer teachers, students don't get the benefit of experienced instructors — and then they lose more of their teachers during layoffs.  (more...)

LA braces for pink slips

• 06-30-2010
• 

By Rick Orlov and C.J. Lin/Los Angeles Daily News

Thousands of government workers throughout Los Angeles could begin losing their jobs this week with the start of the new fiscal year, even as officials make last-minute bids to save positions through further service cuts, tax hikes and union concessions. Up to 4,300 jobs could be cut next fiscal year from local government agencies, including the city, county and schools, if officials and unions fail to reach deals to slash spending. Los Angeles Unified School District alone could shed up to 2,500 jobs this year, although that number is expected to fluctuate through the fall as officials negotiate with unions and monitor the state revenue picture. (more...)

Plan could keep some L.A. County alternative school programs open

• 06-30-2010
• 

By Carla Rivera/Los Angeles Times

Several alternative education programs that were set to close and displace hundreds of students Wednesday may be able to reopen under a plan being considered by Los Angeles County education officials. The news came at a meeting Tuesday of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who were considering a proposal to keep the schools open for at least 30 days. That plan was delayed for two weeks to allow time for Los Angeles County Office of Education officials to work out arrangements with local school districts to share the costs of operating the programs. (more...)

Did Jerry Brown damage the Oakland school district?

• 06-30-2010
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By Austin Fast/California Watch

“Failure seems to follow Jerry everywhere he goes." Meg Whitman’s well-worn phrase is familiar to those following California's gubernatorial race. During her primary night victory speech, Whitman claimed that “Oakland schools deteriorated to the point that the state had to intervene” while Brown was mayor. Just last Thursday, Whitman’s campaign unrolled a website devoted to demonstrating Brown’s failures in jobs, spending, taxes and schools.  (more...)

School budget nearly fails on federal funds queasiness

• 06-30-2010
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Blog by Emily Alpert/Voice of San Diego

The San Diego Unified board nearly didn't pass its budget last night because three board members said they were uneasy with the choices they made -- including the choice to use federal funding for disadvantaged students to pay for counselors and graduation coaches at its poorer schools. Critics and a state official say the move appears to be illegal because schools are supposed to provide equal services to all schools with their basic funding. The special federal money is supposed to pay for the extra needs of poor children, not pay for things the district would foot the bill for anyway. (more...)

California ranks 23rd in per-pupil spending

• 06-30-2010
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By Scott Martindale/Orange County Register

California ranks 23rd among U.S. states in per-pupil spending on public education, below the national average of $10,259, according to newly released financial data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The average $9,863 that California spent per student is based on data from the 2007-08 school year – the latest year for which financial figures are available – and thus does not reflect the dramatic cuts in state spending over the past two years that have decimated local school districts' budgets. School financial reporting at the national level always runs about two years behind because of the time it takes to collect and analyze the information, said Stephen Wheeler, a survey statistician in the U.S. Census Bureau's governments division. (more...)

Also: USA Today * Modesto Bee

Math, reading gap among Native American students

• 06-30-2010
• 

By Christine Armario/San Francisco Chronicle

Native American students at schools overseen by the federal Bureau of Indian Education performed significantly worse on national standardized tests in reading and math compared with those in public schools. The division operates 59 schools and oversees another 124 that are run by tribes. A U.S. Department of Education report released Wednesday found that Native American students at these schools scored 20 points lower in fourth grade math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2009. A similar achievement gap was seen in reading. (more...)