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January 31 | Foundation for Excellence in Education

Digital Learning Day

Wednesday, February 1, 2012, will be the first ever National Digital Learning Day. On this day, teachers, students, parents and supporters will be participating in a nationwide campaign to celebrate effective teachers, policies and practices that empower each and every student to receive a customized education. Through digital learning every student has access to an education path, pace, place that best fits their learning style.

The video below details how the power of digital learning has transformed the lives of students. Please join in celebrating Digital Learning Day. Feel free to share this video to spread the message of Digital Learning, "It's time to take action to ensure every student experiences personalized learning with great teaching."

How to grade a teacher

United Teachers Los Angeles and the school district should get behind a teacher-led evaluation system.

By James Encinas, Kyle Hunsberger and Michael Stryer

We're teachers who believe that teacher evaluation, including the use of reliable test data, can be good for students and for teachers. Yes, yes, we know we're not supposed to exist. But we do, and there are a lot more of us.

In February the membership of United Teachers Los Angeles will vote on a teacher-led initiative urging union leaders to negotiate a new teacher evaluation system for L.A. Unified. The vote will allow teachers' voices to be heard above the din of warring political figures.

Although LAUSD and UTLA reached a contract agreement in December that embraced important school reforms, they haven't yet addressed teacher evaluation. Good teaching is enormously complex, and no evaluation system will capture it perfectly. But a substantive teacher-led evaluation system will be far better for students and teachers than what we have now, a system in which virtually all teachers receive merely "satisfactory" ratings from administrators.

A 40-Year Shame

A lawsuit against Los Angeles Unified School District could shake up how California evaluates teachers.

By Larry Sand

For nearly 40 years, the Los Angeles Unified School District has broken the law--and nobody seemed to notice. Now a group of parents and students are taking the district to court. On November 1, a half-dozen anonymous families working with EdVoice, a reform advocacy group in Sacramento, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the LAUSD, district superintendent John Deasy, and United Teachers Los Angeles.

L.A. teachers union drops legal challenge to evaluation system

By Howard Blume

The union for Los Angeles teachers has suspended its legal challenge to a pilot evaluation program that includes using standardized test scores as part of a teacher's performance review. The union also reserved the right to reactivate the case should talks with the district sour.

A joint statement released by L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy and United Teachers Los Angeles President Warren Fletcher said the two sides agree that current teacher evaluation procedures need improvement.

LAUSD reform from the inside out

LAUSD needs its teachers' and principals' innovations. Unions, are you listening?

By Tamar Galatzan

Our school system is fracturing. While the Los Angeles Unified School District and its bargaining partners, the unions, endlessly debate how best to fix the system, parents and students are walking away from LAUSD.

I know because I'm not only a member of the school board, I'm the mother of two elementary school students in the district.

Traditional, district-run schools are seen as bureaucratic, handcuffed by red tape, and a growing number of parents are choosing charter schools instead. There are now nearly 200 charter and affiliated-charter schools in Los Angeles serving nearly 100,000 students. These are public schools run by private organizations, with more autonomy than traditional schools. The assumption is that, except for the hard-to-get-into magnets or the highest-performing neighborhood schools, the best way to get a good education in L.A. is to head for classrooms dedicated to reform. Not surprisingly, a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll showed 52% of respondents had a favorable opinion of charters, while only 24% considered traditional schools effective.

Teacher ratings and the public's right to know

The Los Angeles Unified School District is going against public opinion by siding with the teachers union against full transparency on value-added teacher ratings.

By Jim Newton

There's a shocking disconnect at work these days in the relationship between the public and government workers: The public is demanding greater accountability, and public employees -- social workers, police, teachers, even state legislators -- are finding ways to avoid it.

Legislators contend that they should be allowed to conduct budget deliberations in private. Police unions are fighting forcefully to protect the names of officers involved in shootings or other uses of force. Social workers are fighting to keep dependency court hearings private. And the Los Angeles Unified School District, in the sway of its unions, has said it won't release the so-called value-added evaluations of teachers it has prepared as part of an attempt to analyze which teachers are most effective...

...It's hard to imagine a measure of more compelling interest to parents than scores that might predict the ability of teachers to help students grow academically, but the district has refused to turn over the names of teachers connected with the scores. Such disclosure, it argues, could be "embarrassing and painful." As district lawyers argued in a truly breathtaking letter explaining their refusal to disclose this information, "Imagine how the teacher would feel coming to school knowing that not only do their peers know how LAUSD rates their performance as a teacher, but their students and parents also are aware of their ratings."

Understanding the 'why'behind teacher evaluations is critical to their success

By Judy Burton

A poll released last week by USC and the LA Times tells us that the public approves of measuring teacher effectiveness through a combination of indicators including the academic growth of their students. The U.S. Department of Education has made measuring and improving teaching effectiveness a fundamental component of its reform efforts and requires it for many of its grant recipients. In California, Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes has introduced AB 5, legislation requiring school districts to use multiple measures to determine teaching effectiveness, and a group of education reform advocates is suing LAUSD to require the district to develop meaningful evaluations of teacher effectiveness.

The College-Ready Promise (TCRP), a coalition of four of California's highest performing charter schools (Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, Aspire Public Schools, Green Dot Public Schools, and Partnership to Uplift Communities), has spent 18 months designing California's largest teacher development system that incorporates multiple measures of effectiveness, including student growth data. This year, our 85 schools, with more than 1,600 teachers and 35,000 students, are implementing many of the system's components.

A sad commentary on legislators, litigation and our schools

By Antonio Villaraigosa

Each year, California's School Boards Association gives out an award to the California state legislator who has been most supportive of education.

This year's winner?

Nobody.

That's right. The association could not find one single California legislator in 2011 who was outstanding in his or her support of education.

In fact, while other legislatures across the country debated and even passed meaningful new laws to improve student learning in our schools, Sacramento took a pass.

California parents can't rely on legislators to enact meaningful education reform. School districts and parents are stymied by contract negotiations.

So California parents are turning to their only other avenue -- litigation.

Californians support making teachers' reviews public

A majority of California voters want teacher evaluations made public and want student test scores factored into the reviews, the USC Dornsife/L.A. Times poll finds.

By Howard Blume

California voters want teachers' performance evaluations made public, a new poll has found. And most also want student test scores factored into an instructor's review.

Of those surveyed, 58% said the quality of public schools would be improved if the public had access to teachers' reviews; 23% said it would not help or could make things worse.

"They want to see the evaluations," said Linda DiVall, the chief executive of American Viewpoint, a Republican firm that co-directed the bipartisan poll for the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles Times. "Just like with corporate America, there is the same desire here for transparency and accountability."

Voters think teachers unions are too powerful, new poll finds

By Howard Blume

About half of California voters believe that teachers unions are too powerful, a new poll has found.

The bipartisan survey, conducted by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles Times, also found that the views of voters aligned fairly closely with teachers unions on key issues, such as funding for schools. But that didn't prevent many from having reservations about the role of unions in education and politics.

Overall, 52% of voters agreed with the statement that teachers unions are too powerful; 36% disagreed. And more voters took the position that teacher unions "are resistant to reforms that would improve schools."

Teachers and test scores

A lawsuit spotlights the need for unions to work with school districts on effective evaluations.

Smaller schools? More charters? Those are yesterday's headlines in the world of school reform. The hot-button topic now is the inclusion of student test scores in teacher evaluations. Yet as school administrators and the teachers union battle it out in current contract negotiations in Los Angeles, who would have guessed that state law addressed this issue long ago?

A lawsuit filed by a group of parents, aided by the reform group EdVoice, claims that the Los Angeles Unified School District must include standardized test scores or some other measure of student progress to comply with the 40-year-old Stull Act. Though filed only against the district, the suit has statewide implications.

The Stull Act mainly concerned itself with the appeals process for teachers who had been fired. But it included some common-sense language about teacher evaluations, instructing school districts to make student progress one of many factors in teachers' performance reviews. In 1999, specifics were added to the law, requiring teacher evaluations to measure that progress in part through state-approved assessments.

The law's wording is reasonable and clear. Yet school districts have ignored even its oldest and most basic provisions. Even teachers unions complain that their performance reviews have been a joke for years, with almost every review granting the highest rating and few teachers receiving valuable suggestions for improvement.

Outing Lemon Teachers at LAUSD

33,000 teachers, now always stamped "satisfactory," might finally get graded

By Hillel Aron

Teachers call it "getting stulled." Newbie teachers in Los Angeles classrooms are evaluated once annually for the first two years. Then, with that minimal experience under their belts, they're almost all granted automatic lifelong tenure. After that, evaluations of thousands of these still-green Los Angeles Unified School District teachers become less frequent.

The teacher evaluation is no big deal, a four-page form with categories such as "Uses the results of multiple assessments to guide instruction" and "Regularly arrives on time, starts class on schedule."

Each item offers three check-box choices to indicate the teacher's ability: "Meets," "Needs Improvement" or "No."

No check box exists in the vast LAUSD for "Exceeds."

These teacher ratings, which parents and the public are not allowed to see, are called Stull Evaluations, hence, getting stulled. The ratings are widely seen as a rubber stamp, with 95 percent of the district's 33,000 teachers rated satisfactory. With all that apparently solid teaching going on, only 56 percent of students graduate from high school.

A Steppingstone to Better Teacher Evaluation

By Terry Grier

There are some questions every school leader should be able to answer: Are my teachers helping their students learn? Who are the outstanding teachers I need to fight hard to keep? Which teachers aren't meeting my expectations? How can I help my good teachers become great?

As the superintendent of one of the nation's largest school districts, I believe helping our campus leaders answer these questions is the most important part of my job. After all, decades of research show that nothing we can do to accelerate student learning matters more than ensuring a great teacher leads every classroom.

Unfortunately, the teacher-evaluation systems that should help principals answer such questions are often useless. Most evaluation systems rate nearly all teachers "satisfactory," based on infrequent and cursory classroom observations, and they rarely consider how much students are actually learning.

Rep. Miller chastises California

All excuses, no action on NCLB waiver

By John Fensterwald

Eleven states made the submission deadline Monday for seeking a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law. That gave U.S. Rep. George Miller of California, the ranking Democrat on the House committee rewriting the law, a chance to take a swat at his home state for ignoring the opportunity.

"These 11 states are ready to start transforming their schools," he said in a statement. "Unfortunately, California is not among these trailblazing states, which is incredibly disappointing to me and to the millions of school children in my state.

L.A. Teachers Seek to Put Evaluations to a Referendum

By Stephen Sawchuk

A collection of Los Angeles teachers plans to force a vote among the district's teaching corps that, if passed, would require their union to advocate for "teacher-led" changes to the teacher-evaluation system--and for a moratorium on layoffs while it's implemented.

The teachers, part of a coalition called "Teachers for a New Unionism," are making use of a provision in United Teachers Los Angeles' constitution that allows for a bargaining-unit-wide referendum if 500 signatures are gathered. Today, they'll be turning over some 630 signatures to UTLA President Warren Fletcher.

Once the signatures are certified by the union, a process they estimate could take a week or more, the question would be put to the full membership. If it passes, the resolutions would override existing UTLA policies on these issues.

"What we are attempting to do is fully democratize our own union from within," James Encinas, a teacher at Westminster Elementary School who'll be delivering the signatures, said in a release. "We are tired of watching our leaders fail to truly listen and lead on reform issues."

Shaking up the status quo in L.A. schools

A disparate alliance called Don't Hold Us Back is calling on L.A. Unified and the teachers union to lay down their weapons in contract negotiations and hammer out some big-ticket reforms.

By Steve Lopez

Six million, give or take. That's how many children are in public school in California.

Arguably, we won't have a strong economic recovery if they don't get a good education.

But boy, do the grown-ups love to muck things up for the kids.

Politics, ego, endless skirmishes between school districts and teacher unions -- it all gets in the way of the kids' best interests...

...But in Los Angeles, the status quo is under attack.

Parents and education advocates are suing L.A. Unified in an effort to enforce an overlooked state law that requires teacher and principal evaluations to be linked to student achievement...

New life for old law on evaluations

L.A. Unified suit says problem is will to enforce it

By John Fensterwald

The Stull Act, the 40-year-old teacher evaluation law that school reformers had dismissed as useless, may have a second wind.

In a suit with statewide implications, parents backed by an advocacy group are suing Los Angeles Unified and its teachers union, claiming that state law requires that statewide standardized tests must be used in the evaluation of teachers. That law is the Stull Act.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court by a half-dozen unnamed parents backed by Sacramento-based EdVoice, seeks an order requiring the district to immediately start using measures of student performance in evaluating teachers and administrators. "Forty years of deliberate and calculated non-compliance with such a key State requirement is enough," it says.

Suit filed to make L.A. teacher evaluations include student data

By Howard Blume

Advocates went forward Tuesday with a lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Unified School District has failed to comply with state laws requiring that teachers and principals should be evaluated, in part, on student academic progress.

The suit, filed by the Barnes & Thornburg law firm in conjunction with the Sacramento-based advocacy group EdVoice, asserts that L.A. Unified must comply immediately with the Stull Act, which established guidelines for assessing teachers and principals after its passage in 1971.

"The district has never obeyed the Stull Act's mandate," the suit states, while blaming both the school system and unions representing teachers and administrators. (In the litigation, both types of employees are referred to as "certificated" because they hold teaching credentials). "In collusion with the district's governing boards and superintendents," the suit alleges, "these associations have made it impossible for the district to lawfully evaluate certificated personnel and identify and require specific corrective action to retrain, transfer, suspend, or dismiss unsatisfactory certificated personnel based, in part, on evidence which demonstrates whether or not students are learning."

LAUSD faces suit linking teacher ratings to student performance

The suit would demand that LAUSD comply with a 1971 California law requiring that student performance be part of the evaluations of teachers and principals.

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times

A group of parents and education advocates is preparing to sue the Los Angeles school district, demanding that it follow an arcane 40-year-old law that requires all California school systems to link teacher and principal evaluations to student performance.

The law, known as the Stull Act, was passed in 1971 with bipartisan support although neither school district officials nor teachers unions ever pushed to enforce all of its provisions, with their potential for conflict.

Now, with L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy locked in a stalemate with the teachers union over performance reviews, a prominent group of advocates believes it can force the issue with a lawsuit, which is expected to be filed Tuesday.

California bucks U.S. trend on teacher evaluations

A report released by the National Council on Teacher Quality finds most states have made significant changes in recent years. Many now consider student achievement when determining instructors' tenure or dismissal.

By Howard Blume,

About two-thirds of states have made significant changes in teacher evaluations in the last two years, with many for the first time taking into account student achievement in such high-stakes decisions as granting tenure protections and dismissing instructors for poor performance.

California is a notable exception...

Lack of contract reform could cripple educational advances

By Edward Avila

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the cornerstone of our community. It is critical that the district's more than 671,000 students succeed academically so that their families do better, the economy thrives, and Los Angeles continues to be a model of innovation.

The LAUSD and United Teachers Los Angeles have failed to come to an agreement over a renewed teacher contract. We must all demand that both parties put politics aside and complete negotiations on a new contract in the next 30 days.

Failure to do so will impede the progress that has been made over the last few years as a result of reform efforts such as Public School Choice, the Teacher Effectiveness Taskforce, implementation of Pilot Schools, innovative partnerships with external partners, and others.

Research overwhelmingly tells us that effective teaching is the single most important in-school factor in raising student achievement, and it is at the heart and soul of school improvement efforts. Unfortunately, the current contract between LAUSD and UTLA is an obstacle to effective teaching. It has an incredibly flimsy teacher evaluation and compensation system, is unresponsive to the continuous demands for teacher accountability and offers little freedoms to teachers to support their students and help them thrive.

Los Angeles Charities and Minority Groups Tell United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD: 'Don't Hold Us Back'

By Hillel Arono

Today, full page ads appear in the L.A. Times, Daily News and La Opinion taken out by Don't Hold Us Back -- respected organizations calling out United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD for letting kids fail. The new supergroup includes The United Way, The Urban League, Community Coalition, Alliance for a Better Community, Families in Schools, Asian Pacific American Legal Center and Communities for Teaching Excellence.

L.A. Unified principals to see teachers' effectiveness ratings

The previously confidential ratings estimate teachers' effectiveness in raising students' standardized test scores. The district is in negotiations to use the ratings as part of a new teacher evaluation system.

By Jason Song

For the first time, Los Angeles school principals will see previously confidential ratings that estimate teachers' effectiveness in raising students' standardized test scores.

Los Angeles Unified officials began issuing the ratings privately to about 12,000 math and English teachers last year and plan to issue new ones this month to about 14,000 instructors, including some who teach science and history.

The scores are based on an analysis the district calls Academic Growth over Time. Taking an approach similar to that used in value-added ratings in other school systems across the country, the district analyzes teachers based on their students' progress on standardized tests from year to year. Each student's performance is compared with his or her own performances in past years, which largely controls for outside influences often blamed for academic failure: poverty, prior learning and other factors.

Jerry Brown calls California's school testing program a "good system"

By David Siders

BEVERLY HILLS - Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday that the school testing program he proposed overhauling in last year's gubernatorial campaign is a "good system" he will keep intact.

Brown's remarks came after a rift between the governor and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg over education policy opened Saturday, when Brown vetoed legislation by the Sacramento Democrat that would have changed how the state measures school performance...

...Speaking to reporters at the Milken Institute's State of the State Conference at the Beverly Hilton on Thursday, Brown said when asked about his previous comments that the system needs "some improvements," but he defended it overall.

"I think the API (Academic Performance Index) is a good system," he said. "That's why I vetoed Steinberg's bill, because it would have marginalized the API."

Turning teaching upside-down

Sal Khan's tutorials can empower students

By John Fensterwald

Witty, brilliant, self-effacing, a seeming agnostic in the education wars over school choice and performance pay, Salman Khan is an unlikely revolutionary. But Khan, the former hedge-fund manager turned online tutor, first for his East Coast nieces and nephews and now for the world, is flipping education upside-down. Many teachers and their unions have been too slow to recognize that.

Khan's 2,800 YouTube tutorials on everything from elementary addition to algebra to calculus and physics, are enabling millions of students to excel on their own time, at their own pace, moving ahead only when, by completing 10 problems in a row, they have mastered one discrete lesson at a time.

With backing from the Gates Foundation and Silicon Valley benefactors like John and Ann Doerr, his nonprofit Khan Academy has taken the next step. Teachers anywhere can freely use the software he has created in their classrooms and monitor every student's progress in real time: which video she last watched, how much time she spent, which problem she was stuck on.

By using technology to guide students through drills and step-by-step basics - with badges and points to make it fun enough for students to stay plugged in - teachers are liberated to do small group tutorials, help students where they're stuck, teach concepts, and do project-based learning.

LAUSD agrees to revise how English learners,
blacks are taught

Officials say the accord, which settles a federal civil rights probe, could be a national model. The district is not accused of intentional bias, and deciding how to make changes will be done locally.

By Howard Blume

The Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed to sweeping revisions in the way it teaches students learning English, as well as black youngsters, settling a federal civil rights investigation that examined whether the district was denying the students a quality education.

The settlement closes what was the Obama administration's first civil rights investigation launched by the Department of Education, and officials said Tuesday that it would serve as a model for other school districts around the country.

"What happens in L.A. really does set trends for across the nation. More and more school districts are dealing with this challenge," said Russlynn Ali, the assistant secretary of education for civil rights.

No changes to Open Enrollment

Brown vetoes AB 47 for excluding schools

By John Fensterwald

For all its quirks and anomalies, the two-year-old Open Enrollment Act, which gives parents in low-performing schools the chance to transfer their children to a better school in another district, will remain unchanged. Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill on Saturday that would have let a number of schools off the hook.

In his veto message for AB 47, Brown said that the changes would have cut the eligible schools from 1,000 to 150, which would "go too far and would undermine the intent of the original law."

LAUSD pact with administrators union will factor in new teacher evaluations

By Connie Llanos

Los Angeles Unified administrators have tentatively agreed to a new three-year contract that includes a trial run of a controversial system to evaluate teachers based on their students' test scores.

Associated Administrators had earlier taken legal action to oppose the district's plan for a pilot evaluation system, but now has agreed to test the proposal for one year without consequences to those being evaluated.

Union officials said the probationary period will allow them to study the new system as it is tested with a small percentage of principals and teachers. LAUSD officials will have to negotiate with the administrators again before implementing it districtwide as planned for next school year.

Obama Administration Sets Rules for NCLB Waivers

By Alyson Klein

The Obama administration on Thursday afternoon said it will waive the cornerstone requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, including the 2014 deadline that all students be proficient in math and language arts, and will give states the freedom to set their own student-achievement goals, and design their own interventions for failing schools.

In exchange for this flexibility, the administration will require states to adopt college- and career-ready standards, focus on 15 percent of their most-troubled schools, and create guidelines for teacher evaluations based in part on student performance.

SAT scores for class of 2011 decline in every aspect

By Carla Rivera

The high school graduating class of 2011 lost ground on every measure of the SAT exam, with reading scores nationally the lowest on record, prompting concern about whether students are being adequately prepared for college, officials said Wednesday...

...Average SAT scores for California's high school seniors also dipped slightly compared with last year, with test takers averaging 1,513 points. Students in the state scored an average of 499 in critical reading, 515 in mathematics and 499 in writing. The score for critical reading was down two points and for math and writing were each down one point from 2010....

Los Angeles teachers test a pilot evaluation program

Los Angeles Unified teachers are participating in an evaluation project that gives more feedback on their methods.

By Jason Song, Los Angeles Times

This is what one of Los Angeles Unified's most ambitious reform efforts looks like: about 30 people gathered in a Gardena school auditorium, watching a video of a teacher trying to get her young students to understand a John Updike poem.

The viewers furiously type their observations into laptop computers and discuss their impressions of the lesson the next day. They ask open-ended questions -- "What are some possible explanations for the lack of understanding of the vocabulary?" -- all aimed at helping the teacher improve.

These training sessions are the school district's first concrete steps toward replacing its age-old teacher evaluation system, which is widely regarded as a failure. The new version is based on more detailed observations, student and parent feedback, and students' standardized test scores.

Calif. Forgoes Data Grant, Jeopardizes Other Stimulus Funds

By Michele McNeil

When California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed spending $2.1 million in federal funds to help build a longitudinal data system for teacher information, he might have done more than just jeopardize that particular grant.

Indeed, the state has to return the entire $6 million State Longitudinal Data Systems grant. But it may have bigger problems.

When California took nearly $6 billion in State Fiscal Stabilization Fund dollars (remember that money, from the 2009 economic-stimulus package?) it agreed, as did all states, to do certain things. One of those was to have a data system that allowed individual teacher information to be linked to individual students. That, and the 11 other components of a good data system spelled out in the America COMPETES Act, are supposed to be in place in each state by Sept. 30 of this year.

By giving up federal funding to implement this data system, California seems to be willfully flouting the rules governing the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

Hurdles for No Child Left Behind waiver

Duncan proposes way around gridlock in Congress

By John Fensterwald

With congressional Democrats and Republicans looking like they're headed for more gridlock, this time on education, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan confirmed Monday that the Obama administration would permit states to seek waivers from the tightening screws of the No Child Left Behind law.

California could certainly benefit from waivers and would prefer its own accountability system as an alternative to the feds'. But it also could have a hard time persuading the feds to grant it a waiver.

The details of the waiver requirements won't be published until next month; Paul Hefner, spokesman for Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, said the state would wait to see them before deciding whether to apply for a wavier.

Obama Gives Go-Ahead for NCLB Waivers to States

By Michele McNeil

With efforts to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Act languishing in Congress, President Barack Obama has directed the U.S. Department of Education to grant waivers to states that agree to adopt a prescribed set of education reforms.

Just what those reforms will be--and what freedoms states will gain in return--remain unclear. Those details will be made public in September, Obama administration officials said in a call to reporters.

"We want to deliver a very important message: Relief is on the way," said Melody Barnes, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. "Low expectations, uneven standards and shifting goals ... those days are numbered."

California's 2nd-grade tests provide vital information; don't end them

By James Lanich

California legislators may be making a fateful decision that will have a dire effect on our state's schoolchildren.

California has among the finest academic standards of any state. For the past 11 years, these standards have become useful tools as students from second grade through high school have taken the California Standards Test (CST) each spring to assess whether or not they have mastered these standards. The tests have begun to revolutionize California's schools, and parents and teachers now have a valid, reliable assessment of each child that is consistent across the state and over time.

But parents, educators, and the public may now have to wait to get those results until it may be too late. This is because the Legislature has been adamant about dismantling the essential first year of these tests...

Take action to protect this valuable early assessment!

California teacher layoff law stirs confusion, criticism

The state measure bars layoffs for a year, but districts are uncertain whether it will require them to rehire teachers or restore programs cut earlier this year.

By Teresa Watanabe

School district officials across the state are wrestling with the fallout over a controversial new law that bars teacher layoffs for a year even amid deep financial uncertainty.

The law, passed at the last minute with no public debate as part of the budget package in late June, requires districts to maintain this year's level of teachers and programs in the upcoming 2011-12 school year. This means that even if funding drops, school boards and superintendents will be prevented from making mid-year cuts to campus programs.

The law also restricts fiscal oversight of district budgets by county offices of education, which have had that authority for two decades.

Legislature has made school funding even more irrational

By Dan Walters

The introductory sections of Assembly Bill 18 lay out, at great length, the complexity of California's education finance system -- if anything so convoluted, opaque and irrational can be called a "system."

"The current system is not logical, with district revenues that are largely a historical artifact of spending in the 1970s combined with a confusing, bureaucratic, report-driven and burdensome system of categorical programs," the legislation declares.

Stealth attack on California's schools

AB 114 was passed to appease the California Teachers Assn., to the detriment of school districts, which are already in serious financial straits.

Ham-fisted yet pandering, and fiscally irresponsible too, AB 114 perpetrates an abuse of state power that could wreak budgetary havoc in local school districts. But in that case, why hasn't the news been filled with details of this bad-government bill as it wended its way through the Legislature? Because it was hurriedly and secretively passed, quite literally in the dark of night, with no committee hearings and almost no public notice, and then quickly signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

AB 114 was passed to appease the California Teachers Assn., which sought to stanch the flood of teacher layoffs. That's certainly understandable. Just about everybody would like to avoid the reductions in force that have harmed dedicated educators and their students.

But schools cannot operate on air and hope, which is what AB 114 requires. School districts no longer are allowed to prepare their own budget forecasts or even their own budgets; instead, the law requires them to assume that they will get as much money from the state this year as they did in the last, even though the projections on which the state budget is based are unrealistically rosy. School budgets will probably have to be slashed midyear, and school boards and superintendents will have to deal with it then, on the fly.

Teachers from low-performing schools face stigma on job search

L.A. Unified staffers say they're often judged by their old school's failings.

By Howard Blume

In a bizarre game of musical chairs, nearly 1,000 Los Angeles teachers -- who are guaranteed jobs somewhere in the school system -- have been hunting for a school that wants them. And hundreds of them have to counter a stigma that they are undesirable castoffs, because they previously worked at low-performing schools that are being restructured.

These teachers are from eight schools that are undergoing shakeups intended to bring in new talent, shed previous instructors and administrators and fundamentally change the academic culture. It's a theory of reform embraced by the Obama administration, though such efforts have a mixed record nationwide.

Gov. Jerry Brown signs 'honest but painful' budget

The $129-billion package slashes funds for state commissions and higher education while relying on a $4-billion windfall in revenue.

By Shane Goldmacher

Reporting from Sacramento -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed California's second on-time, balanced budget in a decade -- one that will sharply curb the services the state offers and that relies on a windfall of revenue.

Unlike his predecessor, Brown used his line-item veto power relatively sparingly, dashing $270 million in spending, mostly from railway projects. He also reduced money for state commissions on higher education and women, eliminated funding for a data system to track teacher performance and further trimmed court spending...

...The governor also axed $2.1 million in federal money for a data system known as CalTIDES, intended to track teacher performance. He maintained funding for a student database, known as CalPADS. In May, he had proposed suspending money for both.

"It's unfortunate that it sounds like we're one step forward, one step back," said Bill Lucia, president of the education advocacy group EdVoice. The organization pushes for the use of more data to make education policy.

Brown signs trailer bill over objections

Says AB 114 shouldn't stop districts to act responsibly

By John Fensterwald

Gov. Jerry Brown last night signed an education trailer bill that critics say will limit school districts' ability to accomplish what Brown said they should do: "take all reasonable steps to balance their budgets and maintain a positive cash flow."

Brown signed AB 114, a 100-page trailer bill, despite a call by the California School Boards Association Thursday to repeal two sections of the bill that "intrude on the ability of school boards to manage their own resources." Both would limit the ability of school boards to act now to ward off the possibility of midyear budget cuts that the Legislature acknowledged would be necessary if revenues are more than $2 billion short. One provision will prevent districts from using July and August to make additional layoffs; the other requires districts to maintain programs and staffing levels "commensurate with" last year's levels.

Brown vetoes teacher database

He allows CALPADS but not CALTIDES

By John Fensterwald

In a compromise with the Legislature, Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed money for one of two education databases he wanted to eliminate.

Cutting about $2.5 million in federal funds for CALTIDES, a statewide data system that would have compiled information on teacher training, placement, and effectiveness, was among $24 million in cuts that the governor made while signing the state budget on Thursday. Vetoing the money for CALTIDES, the California Longitudinal Teacher Integrated Data Education System, avoids "the development of a costly technology program that is not critical," Brown wrote in his veto message.

At the same time, he didn't cut the $3 million for CALPADS, the statewide student database that he had dropped from his May budget revision and that the Legislature had then restored.

Lawmakers suspend fiscal oversight

Provisions in trailer bill appall school officials

By John Fensterwald

Superintendents, business officers, and budget consultants are expressing bewilderment over demands and restrictions in the education trailer bill - AB 114 - that they say could throw already financially stressed school districts into serious financial jeopardy. School Services of California, which advises many districts on financial issues, has called on Gov. Jerry Brown to veto one particularly worrisome section of the bill that suspends fiscal oversight by county offices of education for the coming year. In adopting the provision, the Legislature "has eclipsed all of its previous low standards for ethics and integrity," the company wrote on its website.

Report says L.A. principals should have more authority in hiring teachers

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa strongly backs suggestions in the report, whose research was paid for largely with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

By Howard Blume

School principals should be able to hire any teacher of their choosing, and displaced tenured teachers who aren't rehired elsewhere within the system should be permanently dismissed, according to a controversial new report on the Los Angeles Unified School District. The report will be presented Tuesday to the Board of Education.

The research, paid for largely by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, offers a roadmap for improving the quality of teaching in the nation's second-largest school system, with recommendations strongly backed by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Schools: No longer separate, still not equal

By Gloria Romero

Fifty-seven years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that a separate education was not an equal education. It demanded that, with all deliberate speed, states across the nation remedy this intolerable injustice. This ruling was the culmination of a long and arduous struggle in the courts and in communities across America. And while it was an incredible milestone in our country's history, the years to come would prove that the justices were unable to wipe away years of inequality and disadvantage with the stroke of a pen. Indeed, nearly six decades after Brown, America still struggles to ensure not only a high-quality education to every child, but an equal one.

The promise of speed has been impaled on the politics of paralysis. The needs of children have taken a back seat on the bus to the special interests of adults that have continued to drive the education bureaucracy. That children in America continue to have unequal access to excellent education is made apparent by the statistics that show that minority children continue to languish behind their peers in statewide and national academic proficiency tests. The achievement gap between African-American and Latino students and their peers should shock the conscience of a country existing on the premise that every child born in America has an equal opportunity to succeed.

New Race to Top: $500M for Early Ed., $200M for Round 2 Runners-Up

By Michele McNeil

Education Secretary Arne Duncan will divvy up the $700 million in additional Race to the Top money Congress gave him this year between a new contest focused on early education and the nine runners-up that lost in last year's high-profile state competition, the Education Department announced today.

The nine states that will compete again--using their old Race to the Top proposals in some fashion, which the U.S. Department of Education hasn't specified yet--are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and South Carolina.

Although details are still emerging, it seems these states will compete for a share of $200 million to implement a small piece of their old, second-round Race to the Top proposals...

Big (invisible) K-12 spending boost

Should schools assume taxes will pass?

By John Fensterwald

Gov. Jerry Brown gave K-12 school districts significantly more money, tempered by conflicting messages and sober warnings in the revised budget he presented on Monday. Reflecting higher state revenues and an acknowledgment that schools and community colleges have been socked disproportionately in recent years, the extra dollars for 2011-12 would raise base level funding under Proposition 98 $3 billion above the $49.4 billion that Brown proposed five months ago. That's about half of the $6.6 billion in new money that the state now expects (see budget summary for education).

For most parents and teachers, the extra dollars will be all but invisible. Most districts won't be rehiring staff or restoring programs from a few years ago; additional per-student aid will rise but a blip. Brown is proposing that nearly all of the money be used to eliminate $2 billion in late payments, known as deferrals, that he had proposed in January, and to pay down $400 million in previous K-12 deferrals, along with $350 million in community college deferrals. That will help districts' balance sheets, but not the classroom, at least not directly. Funding overall would remain flat...

...Rick Pratt, vice president of CSBA, and Bill Lucia, president and CEO of EdVoice, agreed that erasing some of the deferrals was appropriate. Lucia said that deferring money owed to school districts, forcing them to borrow money, was using education to subsidize other parts of the state budget.

"The governor has now made education a priority, and paying down deferrals is wise for education and wise budgeting," Lucia said.

Progress in unexpected places

Unified districts graded on success of minorities

By John Fensterwald

In unheralded corners of California, Latino and African-American students are busting the averages, producing higher scores and larger numbers of college-ready graduates. This is happening in places like Val Verde Unified and Desert Sands Unified in Riverside County and Sanger Unified in Fresno County.

They were among districts with outstanding grades in "A Report Card on District Achievement: How Low-income, African-American, and Latino Students Fare in California School Districts," a comprehensive report by Education Trust-West, ranking 146 unified districts - those with at least 5,000 students tested - based on four academic performance measures.

Study: Third Grade Reading Predicts Later High School Graduation

By Sarah D. Sparks

The disquieting side effect of our increasingly detailed longitudinal studies of students is we keep finding warning signs of a future graduation derailment earlier and earlier in a child's school years.

Robert Balfanz of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found those warning signs as early as 6th grade-- chronic absences, poor behavior, failing math or language arts, which when put together lead to a 90 percent risk that a student won't graduate on time.

A study to be released this morning at the American Educational Research Association convention here in New Orleans presents an even earlier warning sign: A student who can't read on grade level by 3rd grade is four times less likely to graduate by age 19 than a child who does read proficiently by that time. Add poverty to the mix, and a student is 13 times less likely to graduate on time than his or her proficient, wealthier peer.

Click here to read the study.

Broad Prize for Urban Education Finalists Announced

By JASON KOEBLER

Four school districts, including two in Florida, will vie for $1 million in college scholarships from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

The annual Broad Prize for Urban Education honors a school district that demonstrates the "best overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students." One district will win $550,000 in scholarships for seniors who will graduate in 2012; the other three finalists will win $150,000 each.

Singled-out L.A. Unified teacher shares skills with colleagues

Miguel Aguilar was cited as among L.A. Unified's most effective in an L.A. Times article on the 'value-added' evaluation method. Since then, many at his Pacoima school have adopted his methods. But budget cuts threaten his job.

By Jason Felch

In February, fifth-grade teacher Miguel Aguilar stood in the front of a class, nervous and sweating.

The subject -- reading and comprehension --was nothing new. But on this day, his students weren't 11-year-olds in sneakers and sweatshirts: They were 30 of his fellow teachers.

It was the first time anyone at Broadous Elementary School in Pacoima could remember a teacher there being singled out for his skill and called upon to share his secrets school-wide.

"A teacher coming forward ... that hadn't happened before," said Janelle Sawelenko, another fifth-grade teacher.

How Do You Say 'Here' in a Virtual Classroom?

By Emily Alpert

...In California, schools usually get funded by keeping track of who shows up to school, something one official dubbed "butts in seats." If kids are in classrooms, schools get the money.

But if kids are learning online, it gets more complex. Schools must either slog through extensive paperwork to prove kids are putting in enough time -- through an independent study system designed long before online learning -- or keep kids in regular classes for most of the day before cutting them loose to go online.

Educators argue the old accounting system wasn't built for the digital classroom. More than 800 San Diego Unified students took online classes with iHigh last year, some full time, some just part time. Superintendents argue online learning could spark interest from students who dislike the confines of a conventional school. They complain that the existing system inhibits schools from letting kids learn online.

"It's ludicrous. The state of California pays for students to sit in a seat," said Randy Ward, San Diego County's superintendent of schools. "It has nothing to do with whether they're learning anything."

"Schools in High Gear: Reforms That Work When They Work Together"

By Ulrich Boser, Cynthia G. Brown, Chester E. Finn, Jr., Paul Hill, Robin Lake, Michael J. Petrilli, Bill Tucker, Kate Walsh
Introduction by Suzanne Tacheny Kubach

As the urgency for improving America's schools increases, the core ideas guiding education reform remain remarkably stable, defying the ideological or partisan claims that can often stifle political change. "Schools in High Gear, Reforms That Work When They Work Together" is a collection of essays from some of the leading minds in education, explaining why a silver bullet won't fix America's schools-comprehensive policy solutions are needed.

Not Exactly a Cut But Delayed School Payments Have a Cost

By Greg Lucas

Among the budget-related bills approved by the Legislature March 16 was one that postpones $5.2 billion in state payments to public schools.

Since the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, the state has shorted public schools $18.6 billion that schools are owed under the formulas dictating annual state support. More than $6 billion of the $18.6 billion was offset by one-time federal economic recovery aid.

During the same period, the state also postponed $6.3 billion in payments to schools, causing numerous school districts to cut staff or borrow at their own expense - with interest - to cover their costs while waiting for the state to send its checks.

Top honor for Sanger superintendent

Marc Johnson built trust among teachers

By John Fensterwald

The American Association of School Administrators has named the superintendent of a small, poor rural district near Fresno as its national superintendent of the year.

Three years after becoming superintendent in 2003, Marc Johnson led Sanger Unified out from under federal sanctions under No Child Left Behind through a commitment to teacher collaboration, a persistent use of data, and a system of identifying and responding to individual student academic weaknesses, known as response to intervention. The progress has continued to the point that 11 of the district's 13 elementary schools are above the state's goal of 800 API on standardized tests, and a dozen schools have been named Title I Academic Achieving Schools.

An Education on the Education Budget

By John Myers

For all of the state tax dollars being spent on California's public schools, here's a statistic that seems to show the impact of several years of budget woes: 17% of the state's K-12 funding is now money being 'borrowed' from what the state is supposed to spend on schools next year.

And the kicker: Governor Jerry Brown's budget raises that 'borrowed from the future' level to 21% of state school funding.

That's just one of several sobering statistics provided today by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, in its report on the finances of school districts across the state.

The LAO report focuses on a recent survey sent to the approximately 1000 school districts across California to see how all of the budget cuts are impacting their operations. Although only about one-third of districts returned the LAO survey, those that did represent 58% of the state's total K-12 student population and may thus provide a reasonable glimpse into what's going on.

RESPONSE TO IMPRISONMENT OF OHIO MOTHER FOR SENDING CHILDREN TO SUBURBAN SCHOOL

The following statement was written Kevin P. Chavous and Kenneth Campbell of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) in response to the Ohio mom who was put in jail for sending her kids to a suburban school:

We are writing to express outrage at the circumstances that led to the prosecution and conviction of Kelley Williams-Bolar. As reported in the Akron Beacon Journal, Williams-Bolar was found guilty and sentenced severely for an act that defied the strict letter of the law but does not defy reason. She sent her daughters to schools outside her district of residence.

Ohio law says that if you live in Akron, you must send your children to your neighborhood school, even if it is a failing school and regardless of whether you feel your child would get a better education and stand a better chance of success elsewhere. The law says you're stuck-unless you're wealthy enough to opt out or fortunate enough to get into a high-performing charter school or to get selected for one of only 14,000 EdChoice scholarships available state-wide.

Ohio Mom Jailed for Sending Her Kids to a Better School

By: MADISON GRAY

Much of the poltical rhetoric on education reform has centered on the ability of parents to send their children to better schools, particularly in situations where they were forced to send them to schools that were failing. But in the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar, her desire to get her children better educational placement landed her in jail, and may well derail her aspirations of becoming a teacher herself.

Williams-Bolar, 40, and her two children live in housing projects in Akron, Ohio. For two years, she sent them to school in the Copley-Fairlawn district, where her father lived, because it was a safer environment -- the high crime rate in her area drove her decision. The suburban school district hired a private investigator to find their residential records and it turned out she listed the children as living in that district, although they actually stayed with her.

The rise of K-12 blended learning

By Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker
With contributions from Alex Hernandez, Charter School Growth Fund
Bryan Hassel, Public Impact
Joe Ableidinger, Public Impact

Online learning is sweeping across America. In the year 2000, roughly 45,000 K-12 students took an online course. In 2009, more than 3 million K-12 students did. What was originally a distance- learning phenomenon no longer is. Most of the growth is occurring in blended-learning environments, in which students learn online in an adult-supervised environment at least part of the time. As this happens, online learning has the potential to transform America's education system by serving as the backbone of a system that offers more personalized learning approaches for all students.

In Disrupting Class,* the authors project that by 2019, 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online. This pattern of growth is characteristic of a disruptive innovation--an innovation that transforms a sector characterized by products or services that are complicated, expensive, inaccessible, and centralized into one with products or services that are simple, affordable, accessible, convenient, and often customizable. Think personal computers, the iPod and mp3s, Southwest Airlines, and TurboTax. At the beginning of any disruptive innovation, the new technology takes root in areas of nonconsumption--where the alternative is nothing at all, so the simple, new innovation is infinitely better. More users adopt it as the disruptive innovation predictably improves.

The 2011-12 Budget: To Defer or Not Defer? An Analysis of the Effects of K-12 Payment Deferrals

In a recent report, the Legislative Analyst indicates deferrals in state aid to schools, "results in cuts the following year Unless funding increases sufficiently to cover programmatic costs. Though a deferral prevents programmatic cuts on a one-time basis, programmatic cuts are avoided the following year only if year-to-year growth in funding is sufficient to pay for the deferred payments as well as support all existing programmatic costs..." Further, the report explains the budget move "places increasingly heavy cash burden on school districts. By deferring payments, the state shifts the burden of fronting cash onto school districts, along with potential borrowing costs..."

U.S. News & World Report and National Council on Teacher Quality Launch Comprehensive Review of Nation's Teacher Preparation Programs

www.broadeducation.org

U.S. News & World Report and the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) announced last week the launch of a landmark survey. The survey will consist of more than 1,000 schools of education across the country. Unprecedented in its scope and comprehensiveness, the project will rate the quality of teacher preparation programs from which more than 200,000 new teachers graduate each year.

The new rating survey, to be published in the second half of 2012, will be useful for both consumers and policymakers. Teacher education is a critical national issue, and preliminary data indicates that there are wide variances in the quality of programs. Aspiring teachers will be able to identify which programs will best prepare them for the classroom, and school districts will know where they should target their recruitment efforts for new hires. Education leaders, including university presidents, state superintendents of education and state legislators, will be able to evaluate best-and worst - practices across all 50 states.

Brown's school budget spurs questions over deferred payments

By Kevin Yamamura

After Gov. Jerry Brown released his budget Monday, the big question among education officials was whether K-12 schools had been spared from cuts.

Brown said Monday that his budget protected K-12 schools and kept them at the same level of funding they received in the 2010-11 budget passed in October. But there were different interpretations of that claim due to ambiguity surrounding payment deferrals to schools.

Voters willing, K-12 to get its full due

Community colleges face cuts and higher fees

By John Fensterwald

Saying that K-12 education had borne the brunt of past years' cuts, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a state budget that spares schools from cuts in state aid next year. Community college students and especially families relying on state-funded child care would be hit hard, however, and K-12 schools could face huge cuts if voters fail to extend $8.8 billion in temporary taxes for five more years. The budget would also fall apart if the Legislature rejects Brown's plan to eliminate local Redevelopment Agencies -- a centerpiece of the plan to wipe out an 18-month, $25.4 billion deficit (the latest estimate, down $3 billion). Doing so would shift $1.7 billion in property taxes to schools and local governments that have been diverted to the agencies.

Governor Brown Announces Appointments

SACRAMENTO - Governor Jerry Brown today announced the following State Board of Education appointments:

Dr. Carl Anthony Cohn, Louis "Bill" Honig, Dr. Michael Kirst, Aida Molina, James Ramos, Patricia Ann Rucker and Trish Boyd Williams.

International test score data show U.S. firmly mid-pack

By Nick Anderson

After a decade of intensive efforts to improve its schools, the United States posted these results in a new global survey of 15-year-old student achievement: average in reading, average in science and slightly below average in math.

Those middling scores lagged significantly behind results from several countries in Europe and Asia in the report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to be made public Tuesday.

South Korea is an emerging academic powerhouse. Finland and Singapore continue to flex their muscles. And the Chinese city of Shanghai, participating for the first time in the Program for International Student Assessment, topped the 2009 rankings of dozens of countries and a handful of sub-national regions.

Michelle Rhee brings her fix-the-schools drive to Sacramento

By Laurel Rosenhall

...Rhee spoke in broad brush Tuesday about her ambitions for her new organization.

StudentsFirst will solicit donations from foundations, corporations and individuals, with a goal of raising $1 billion. Rhee said she envisions it as a politically influential organization -- akin to the Sierra Club or the National Rifle Association -- working in state legislatures and school districts across the country...

Click here to read more of the story in the Bee.
Click here to learn more about StudentsFirst and how you can get involved.

On Second Try, Baltimore Teachers Ratify Contract

By Stephen Sawchuk

Baltimore's teaching corps just ratified, by a 1,902-1,045 vote, a new contract that does away with many of the features of its traditional "step-and-lane" salary schedule in favor of one that puts a heavier emphasis on teacher performance.

It looks like second time's a charm in Baltimore: A nearly identical proposal was put to the teacher corps last month and was soundly rejected.

There are a lot of new details in this plan, but arguably its newsiest feature is that it restructures the base-pay system for teachers, which in nearly every district in the country is based on credentials and longevity.

There won't be any more automatic "step" increases each year in Baltimore; raises will be based on collecting achievement units from good evaluations and participation in professional development.

Lesson Plan From a Departing Schools Chief

By JOE NOCERA

"This isn't rocket science," Joel I. Klein was saying, too modestly.

It was Wednesday, the day after he announced he was resigning as chancellor of New York City's gargantuan, long-troubled school system. We were sitting in a conference room in the old Tweed Courthouse in Manhattan, the ornate city landmark that became the headquarters for the Department of Education in 2002, shortly after Michael Bloomberg was elected mayor and jolted the city by naming Mr. Klein, a lawyer with virtually no education experience, to the job.

In the intervening eight years, Mr. Klein transformed both himself and New York's $23 billion school system. He will leave his post with a reputation as the country's pre-eminent education reformer. He has welcomed the charter school movement with astonishing fervor -- some 30 percent of Harlem's schoolchildren now attend a charter school. He spent millions on technology so that the school system could distinguish between schools that were improving and those that weren't. He has closed down dozens of the worst schools, replacing them with smaller schools that have more intimate classroom settings. He empowered principals, making them, as he puts it, "the C.E.O.'s of their buildings."

Hearst Official to Replace Klein at Helm of N.Y. Schools

By ANDY NEWMAN

Joel I. Klein, the New York City schools chancellor, is resigning and leaving city government, and will be replaced by Cathleen P. Black, the chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced at City Hall Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Klein, in turn, will become an executive vice president of the News Corporation.

The mayor called Ms. Black "a superstar manager who has succeeded spectacularly in the private sector" and added, "There's no one who knows more about the skills our children will need to succeed in the 21st century economy." A former publisher of New York magazine, she went on to become publisher of USA Today, and now heads Hearst Magazines, which publishes Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping and other titles.

Charter Schools: The Good Ones Aren't Flukes

By ANDREW J. ROTHERHAM

...the best charter schools are not random at all; they significantly and consistently outperform the averages, and they have a lot in common with each other in their ethos and operations. In particular these schools -- which, in some states, have opened reverse achievement gaps with low-income minority students outpacing state averages -- have tight controls over who teaches in them, a relentless focus on results, and an intense use of data to inform decisions. There is also solid evidence that their successes can be reproduced and scaled up in networks such as KIPP (99 schools in 20 states), Uncommon Schools (24 schools in three states), Achievement First (17 schools in Connecticut and New York) and Aspire Public Schools (30 schools in California). Overall, the consistency of performance among the top tier of charter networks as well as many individual schools, including the Preuss School at the University of California San Diego and the MATCH Charter Public School in Boston, helps explain why the Obama Administration awarded $50 million in replication funding for high-quality charters last month.

'Waiting for' teachers' unions to change

Good teachers in a bad system can't afford to wait

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

There's a moment in Waiting for Superman when Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter cuts to the core. "It's very, very important to hold two contradictory ideas in your head at the same time," he tells the camera. "Teachers are great, a national treasure. Teachers' unions are, generally speaking, a menace and an impediment to reform."

An Offer They Wouldn't Refuse

How one district lured top principals to rescue its failing schools.

by Pat Wingert

A new principal with no experience seems an odd choice to turn around a long-failing school. But that's exactly whom most superintendents around the country end up hiring -- largely because no one else applies for what seems like a thankless job. It's no surprise that most don't succeed. The obvious solution, concluded Peter Gorman, the school superintendent in Charlotte, N.C., was to persuade skilled educators to take on these rescue missions. But how could he get the district's most effective principals, already ensconced in successful schools, to agree to transfers to the worst-performing ones? And what about the inevitable howl of protest from the communities they�d have to leave behind?

The answer is an ingenious school-turnaround strategy that is garnering praise from education-reform advocates like U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Aspen Institute. It's also giving the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district a serious shot at winning the coveted $2 million Broad Prize for Urban Education later this month.

How to fix our schools: A manifesto by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee and other education leaders

As educators, superintendents, chief executives and chancellors responsible for educating nearly 2 1/2 million students in America, we know that the task of reforming the country's public schools begins with us. It is our obligation to enhance the personal growth and academic achievement of our students, and we must be accountable for how our schools perform.

All of us have taken steps to move our students forward, and the Obama administration's Race to the Top program has been the catalyst for more reforms than we have seen in decades. But those reforms are still outpaced and outsized by the crisis in public education.

New Baltimore Contract Shifts Toward Pay for Performance

By Erica L. Green and Liz Bowie, The Baltimore Sun , (MCT)

An innovative new contract would enable Baltimore teachers who are effective and ambitious to move quickly through the ranks and earn up to $100,000 a year, as well as give teachers more input on working conditions in their schools.

The new contract, being hailed as the most progressive in the nation, would in part link teachers' pay to their students' performance. The structure does away with the old model of "step" increases, or paying teachers based solely on their years of experience and the degrees they have obtained.

The agreement also dictates that by its third year, all schools will employ "school-based options" -- a plan under which 80 percent of teachers in a school could help set working conditions not outlined in the general contract, such as a longer work day...

Schools: The Disaster Movie

A debate has been raging over why our education system is failing. A new documentary by the director of An Inconvenient Truth throws fuel on the fire.

By John Heilemann

...Waiting for "Superman," is set to open in New York and Los Angeles on September 24, with a national release soon to follow. It arrives after a triumphal debut at Sundance and months of buzz-building screenings around the country, all designed to foster the impression that Guggenheim has uncorked a kind of sequel: the Inconvenient Truth of education, an eye-opening, debate-defining, socially catalytic cultural artifact...

...The excitement and agitation around "Superman" might seem hyperbolic, overblown. Yet both are symptomatic of a signal moment in the annals of American education, when a confluence of factors--a grassroots outcry for better schools, a cadre of determined reformers, a newly demanding and parlous global economy, and a president willing to challenge his party's hoariest shibboleths and most potent allies--has created what Duncan calls a "perfect storm." It's a moment when debates are raging over an array of combustible issues, from the expansion of charters and the role of standardized-test scores to the shuttering of failing schools and the firing of crappy teachers. It's a moment ripe with ferment and possibility, but also rife with conflict, in which the kind of change that fills many hearts with hope fills others with mortal dread--and which gives a movie like "Superman" a rare chance to move the needle...

Films highlight need for education reform

By John Stallcup

I attended the premiere of the education reform documentary "The Lottery" in Sacramento at the invitation of the NAACP and Edvoice. The event was hosted by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, soon-to-be-husband of Michelle Rhee of D.C. schools fame. Also attending were a number of California state legislators who work on education. The film, like education reform itself, could be described as "frustrating, exhilarating, heartbreaking and righteous."

"The Lottery" chronicles the efforts of four families to gain a kindergarten slot for their child at Harlem Success Academy through a lottery (5,000 applicants for 400 slots) in order to avoid the disastrous public schools they would otherwise be forced to attend. It is one of about a half-dozen very well-produced education documentaries that have been or are being released. These films, including "2 Million Minutes," "A Right Denied," and "Waiting for Superman," are well worth seeing. No matter what your political affiliation, point of view on education, or involvement in education reform, these films will have an impact on how you see education in America.

No gold stars for successful L.A. teachers

L.A. Unified has hundreds of excellent instructors. But no one asks them their secrets to success, and most of the time no one praises them. Often their principals don't even know who they are.

By Jason Felch

...The Los Angeles Unified School District has hundreds of Jaime Escalantes - teachers who preside over remarkable successes, year after year, often against incredible odds, according to a Times analysis. But nobody is making a film about them.

Most are like Zenaida Tan, working in obscurity. No one asks them their secrets. Most of the time, no one even says, "Good job."

Frequently, even their own colleagues and principals don't know who they are.

As part of an effort to shed light on the work of Los Angeles teachers, The Times on Sunday is releasing a database of roughly 6,000 third- through fifth-grade teachers, ranked by their effectiveness in raising students' scores on standardized tests of math and English over a seven-year period.

LAUSD, teachers negotiating use of test scores

By John Fensterwald

The Los Angeles Times' impending plan to publish the performance rankings of 6,000 elementary school teachers, based on student test scores, has become the catalyst for sudden negotiations between Los Angeles Unified and its teachers union over teacher evaluations. One likely reason: Incorporating test scores into teachers' personnel reviews could provide the legal basis in the future to deny releasing the scores, tied to individual teachers, to the public and to the Times.

Who's teaching L.A.'s kids?

A Times analysis, using data largely ignored by LAUSD, looks at which educators help students learn, and which hold them back.

By Jason Felch, Jason Song and Doug Smith

...Many are the sons and daughters of Latino immigrants who never finished high school, hard-working parents who keep a respectful distance and trust educators to do what's best.

The students study the same lessons. They are often on the same chapter of the same book.

Yet year after year, one fifth-grade class learns far more than the other down the hall. The difference has almost nothing to do with the size of the class, the students or their parents.

Final vote on common core is unanimous

By John Fensterwald

Voting 9-0, the State Board of Education approved the common core standards in English language arts and math Monday after major players in California education, including the California Teachers Association, the state PTA and the California Math Council, lined up to announce their full support. California became the 33rd state, plus the District of Columbia, to adopt common core. It did so an hour before the deadline for either passing them or losing points toward the state's Race to the Top application.

The standards broadly outline what skills and concepts students should master at every grade level. They were developed under the direction of the National Governors Association and the Council of State School Officers, at the encouragement of the Obama administration.

Obama's School Reforms Are a Priority

Congress shouldn't divert the funds the president needs to improve public education.

By JOEL I. KLEIN, MICHAEL LOMAX AND JANET MURGU�A

In the days following his inauguration, President Obama included a package of educational reforms in his stimulus bill that offered states financial incentives to make dramatic improvements in their education systems. About 10% of the $100 billion allocated for education was used to create competitive grants. States could only win them by drafting comprehensive and aggressive plans to, for example, adopt higher academic standards, turn around chronically low-performing schools, and redesign teacher evaluation and compensation systems.

Although it has received much less attention than health care and financial regulatory reform, this measure may ultimately be one of Mr. Obama's most profound and lasting achievements. In just one year, we've already seen more reforms proposed and enacted around the country than in the preceding decade.

Bill to save teachers' jobs would slash reform programs

ONLY A SMALL portion of the $100 billion the federal government directed to states in school stimulus spending funds last year was directly tied to reform. But even those relatively small amounts have had a sizable impact as states rushed to make needed changes to compete for Race to the Top dollars. Yet Congress is considering taking precious dollars from this and other reform programs of the Obama administration to fund a suspect effort to preserve education jobs...

Sentinel recommends Romero for school

...Romero stands out because unlike Aceves and Torlakson, she has positioned herself as a reformer. Considering the struggles, both budgetary and in achievement results, faced by California schools, Romero's calls for change seem guaranteed to overturn the status quo.

She supported the necessary changes in how schools are governed that would have qualified California for President Obama's Race for the Top funds, money that was lost because unions and established interests opposed the changes. She supports accountability measures that include giving parents more choice and including student achievement as part of teacher evaluations. She also favors allowing parents to transfer their children from low-performing schools.

Romero also has shown a willingness to push against the grain as a legislator. Add to that her fervor for ensuring that marginalized students aren't left behind and Californians would be well-served if she becomes the next state superintendent.

Romero the best choice for superintendent of public instruction

The primary election for California's superintendent of public instruction is a microcosm of the national battle over education reform. On one side are teachers' unions and administrators - generally speaking, defenders of the status quo. On the other are reform advocates, President Barack Obama chief among them, who believe new strategies are needed to fix failing schools.

Of the 12 candidates for this job, only three - Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, state Sen. Gloria Romero and retired Superintendent Larry Aceves, all Democrats - are real contenders. Torlakson and Aceves are both qualified, but they are firmly in the "status quo" camp. Romero is a voice for reform. We recommend her in the June 8 primary.

Vote for Romero for State Supt. of Public Instruction

VOTERS can be forgiven for not remembering who they voted for state superintendent of public instruction last election. This down-ticket race typically garners the same amount of excitement as a documentary on the ancient history of smelting tools.

...The third candidate, Sen. Gloria Romero - and the only one of the three from Southern California - is supported by a collection of teachers, students, administrators, parents and everyone else who supports serious reform of education in California. And she's the candidate the Daily News urges readers to vote for on June 8.

Vote for Gloria Romero

Education is at a critical moment in California: The current system is letting both students and parents down. A strong voice is needed at the state level to defend their interests. For this reason, Gloria Romero should be elected as state Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The state senator is one of the strongest advocates in Sacramento for education reform that gives parents more control over their children's learning. She is a proponent of the charter school movement, of flexibility for school districts, and of the changes proposed by the White House with the Race to the Top grants promoting school innovation.

Well, Mr. President? Obama education reform ally Romero could use an assist

Last spring, the U.S. education reform movement got a giant joyous jolt. A series of policy decisions by President Barack Obama and Arne Duncan, the fellow Chicagoan whom Obama tapped to be education secretary, confirmed that the reform movement had realized its dream: the firm support of a Democratic administration. It turned out Obama actually meant what he said in his 2008 campaign rhetoric on the need for new thinking about how to fix schools. It wasn't just a ploy to win over voters worried about public education.

Romero's reform record makes her best pick for superintendent

...Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, calls education "the civil rights issue of our time." In her quest to reward classroom innovation and hold educators accountable, she overcame vigorous opposition to pass legislation this year affirming that student achievement data can be used in teacher evaluations. The same bill expands open-enrollment opportunities and allows parents to force their local school boards to revamp some of the state's poorest-performing schools.

Gloria Romero for Superintendent of Public Instruction

...Senator Romero came from a family similar to many Black families, where her mother had only a 6th grade education yet, Gloria earned her PhD. and knows what a good education can do in transforming your life. She has said with emphasis that "California cannot fully compete in the 21st century economy unless we close the achievement gap for all students", not some but all students.

To demonstrate her commitment to that, back in March she signed a letter with some of Los Angeles leading Black educators and civil rights organization's addressed to the office of civil rights identifying its failure to focus on LAUSD'S low achieving Black students.

Romero offers opportunity to reform public education

The hotly contested election for California's non-partisan superintendent of public instruction is shaping up as a battle between status quo and change.

On one side is the traditional educational establishment of teachers unions and organizations representing administrators and school boards. They have focused primarily on funding issues to maintain the status quo.

On another side is a new coalition of parents, civil rights groups and philanthropists. Their view is that children get only one shot at an education and that too many schools have stagnated for too long. They feel a sense of urgency about reform. This coalition has been given a big boost by the election of President Barack Obama, who has taken on the establishment.

Gloria Romero: A strong voice for reform

...Romero stands out in this field for her determination to push the education establishment outside of its comfort zone. She has been the most forceful advocate for lifting seniority as the sole factor in teacher layoffs, expanding charter schools, including student achievement in teacher evaluations and allowing parents to transfer their students from low-performing schools. Romero has described the enduring educational disparities in this state as "the civil rights issue of our time."

Romero would bring a refreshing sense of urgency and independent thinking to the office. She is our choice in the June 8 primary.

Romero for schools chief

The hotly contested primary for the superintendent of public instruction is shaping up as a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party on public education.

On one side is the traditional educational establishment of teachers' unions and organizations representing administrators and school boards. They have focused primarily on funding issues to maintain the status quo.

On the other side is a new coalition of parents, civil rights groups and philanthropists. It has been given a big boost by the election of President Barack Obama, who has taken on the establishment. Their view is that children get only one shot at an education and that too many schools have stagnated for too long...

...If you want a reform-minded superintendent of public instruction, vote for Romero. If you want the status quo, vote for one of the others.

In the last year, Romero has done heavy lifting to pass laws that identify the lowest- performing schools, provide for major turnarounds and give parents the power to petition and require that their school boards revamp schools. She worked with the governor to get Race to the Top legislation passed, across party lines.

Letter From A Laid Off Teacher

By Julia James and Tyler Hester

Let's start with a basic truth. Last month, President Obama noted, "The single most important factor in determining [student] achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from. It's not who their parents are or how much money they have -- it's who their teacher is."

Next, let's consider a harsh reality. On Mar. 15, the Pasadena Unified School District made the decision to cut 165 full-time employees. Seventy-six of these employees are classroom teachers between kindergarten and sixth grade. At the secondary level, music, physical education, math and English teachers, as well as myriad others, will also be let go due to the dire budget situation in the district. At Blair International Baccalaureate Magnet School, where I teach, 20 of about 50 full-time employees were given reduction in force notices. (Full disclosure: I am one of those teachers.)

No one denies that the cuts will hurt those people for which this school system has been constructed: the district's approximately 20,000 students. The central question that we ought to be asking ourselves at this moment is the following: How can we minimize the harm that these cuts have on our students?

Why great teachers matter to low-income students

By Joel I. Klein, Michael Lomax and Janet Murguia

In the debate over how to fix American public education, many believe that schools alone cannot overcome the impact that economic disadvantage has on a child, that life outcomes are fixed by poverty and family circumstances, and that education doesn't work until other problems are solved.

This theory is, in some ways, comforting for educators. After all, if schools make only a marginal difference, we can stop faulting ourselves for failing to make them work well for millions of children. It follows that we can stop working to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (currently known as No Child Left Behind) and stop competing in the Obama administration's Race to the Top initiative, which promises controversial changes.

Problem is, the theory is wrong. It's hard to know how wrong -- because we haven't yet tried to make the changes that would tell us -- but plenty of evidence demonstrates that schools can make an enormous difference despite the challenges presented by poverty and family background.

Race to the Top judges cite California's lack of union support, weak data system

By Laurel Rosenhall

California stands to lose out on up to $700 million in federal education money because of two entrenched problems in the state's public schools: a contentious relationship with the teachers union and a weak data system for tracking student performance.

Reviewers cited those as significant factors in explaining why California didn't make the cut in the first round of the nationwide competition known as Race to the Top. States are being offered a second chance to compete for a share of nearly $4 billion in education grants from the Obama administration -- but California's odds of winning anytime soon appear low...

...Regardless of whether California applies for the second round of funding, legislation approved this year in preparation for the state's first application remains in effect.

The new laws give parents and school administrators more clout to make changes in the lowest-performing schools, including converting them to charters and firing teachers. They also allow the parents of children in the 1,000 lowest-performing schools to send their children to better schools in other districts.

"Those are laws going forward, regardless of whether we get a penny of money," said Bill Lucia, CEO of EdVoice, an advocacy group that favored the bills. "From a parent's perspective, it was absolutely worth it."

What works in middle schools

By John Fensterwald

Districts aiming to raise scores of middle school students shouldn't count on hiring a messianic principal or jiggling the grade configuration of a school or making vague commitments to excellence - or any single tie-it-in-a-bow policy.

The hard work - and success - come from aligning instruction in every grade to state standards, setting measurable goals, committing to see that all students are prepared for the rigors of high school and staying true to the practices that bring results. Lower-income schools that follow these strategies can overcome the drag of demographics and achieve the success of middle schools in middle-income neighborhoods.

That's among the key findings of an extensive study of 303 California middle schools covering 204,000 students - the most comprehensive survey of those grades - by the non-profit EdSource and Stanford University Professor Michael Kirst, the lead researcher. With an unusually high 88 percent response rate, 3,572 English language arts and math teachers, including teachers at 27 charter schools, 303 principals and 157 superintendents filled out a survey with 900 specific items on school strategies.

Time for parents to have power in the classroom

By Gloria Romero

California leads the nation in public school dropouts, and everyone pays for the persistent failure of the lowest-performing schools. And it's not just the billions of dollars spent in failed restructuring efforts; it's the cost in welfare payments, jail cells, prison beds and our state's and nation's competitiveness in a global economy.

Finger-pointing abounds, but today's third-graders will be tomorrow's dropouts by the time we ever agree.

Yet there have been signs of recent progress. California's Race to the Top reforms, approved this month and submitted to the Obama administration in time for Tuesday's deadline, make adults accountable, make moms and dads responsible, and offer hope for real change at our public schools by empowering parents.

State tries to attract math and science teachers

By JIM MILLER

SACRAMENTO - Some would-be teachers will have a new and potentially faster way to receive credentials under this month's state legislation meant to improve California's chances of getting federal school-improvement money.

Inland Assemblyman Brian Nestande said the change should help ease the state's shortage of math, science and vocational instructors by attracting mid-career people who want to teach but are unwilling to spend months in a traditional credentialing program.

It's for someone who says, "I don't need to spend a year of my life getting a credential when I probably know the issue better than anyone in the room teaching me," said Nestande, R-Palm Desert, who is vice chairman of the Assembly Education Committee. "Let's try something different and try to get those people into the classroom."

School reformers celebrate a victory

Californians who care about public schools have something to cheer about. Pushed by President Obama's Race to the Top competition and by grass-roots parent efforts, lawmakers finally passed bills that position California to make big changes long resisted by entrenched educational interests.

Assembly should pass bill to name, repair 10 worst California schools

Of the many education reforms proposed recently in the Legislature, Senate Bill 742 is not the most sweeping. But it's one of the smartest.

The bill, which would require the state to identify and fix the 10 worst public schools, sailed through the Senate in June but is stuck in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It should be passed.

It may seem surprising that this law would be necessary. Why doesn't the state already have to name and repair all its badly performing schools? In the face of opposition to broader reform from teachers unions and administrators, the bill's authors say, they had to start somewhere.

The beauty of this approach is that while it seems like a small step, it's likely to have a tremendous impact beyond just these 10 schools...

...The bill is being carried by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, the most prominent advocate of education reform in the Legislature.

Failing California public schools: It's time to name names

By Gloria Romero

I grew up the hard way. I learned what powerlessness did to people.

My father taught me that "knowledge is power." From that lesson, I decided I would become an educator.

In college, I supported the United Farm Workers of America and, following graduation, I met Cesar Chavez. He talked about how wrong it was for people to rely on the government. His lifelong belief in self-reliance and empowerment is embodied in his famous slogan: "Si, se puede." Yes, we can.

I am authoring Senate Bill 742, simple education reform legislation based on the principles of "Knowledge is power" and "Si, se puede."

SB 742 would require the state superintendent of public instruction and the Board of Education to identify just 10 of the almost 1,000 historically lowest-performing public schools in California, including at least three comprehensive high schools with high dropout rates. It would also require the local school district and the community to develop a major restructuring plan to turn around the school.

Put power over California's schools in hands of parents

They should be able to trigger actual reforms at failing schools, a concept that would help the state compete for federal 'Race to the Top' dollars.

By Ben Austin

Let me tell you about my recent trip to Sacramento. It is a story about why we need a revolution.

Earlier this month, Senate leaders introduced a "parent trigger" into California's "Race to the Top" education reform legislation.

Under the policy, parents at a systemically failing school could circulate a petition calling for change. If 51% of the parents signed it, the school would be converted to a charter school or reconstituted by the school district, with a new staff and new ways of operating. The concept recognized a truth that school officials often discount: Parents are in the best position to make decisions about what's right for their kids.

Bass sells out school kids in favor of teacher unions

By Margaret Fortune

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass' feet are so firmly planted on the wrong side of school reform that it makes me wonder what on earth could make the first black woman leader of the California Assembly turn a blind eye to the plight of minority children in public schools. The sad answer: Her Democratic caucus' loyalty to unions.

The state of public education could not be any more desperate for black children. I, too, am a black woman, and I sit on the California State University board of trustees with Karen Bass. We know that 81 percent of California's black seniors graduate high school ineligible to apply to a state college, and yet Karen Bass finds herself stuck leading a chorus of cynics deriding President Barack Obama's $4.3 billion Race to the Top education reform challenge.

Last week, the Assembly rejected a proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Sen. Gloria Romero, a Democrat from East Los Angeles, that would have enacted the real reform needed to apply for the federal funds. It would have allowed students in the lowest-performing schools to transfer to any school in the state or let their parents force school boards to fix broken schools.

Legislature must adopt more aggressive approach to reform

The state Assembly failed California's schoolchildren Wednesday.

The 17-member Assembly education committee reviewed two bills intended to qualify the state for the Obama administration's $4.35 billion Race to the Top program � the largest pool of money ever created for education reform. The first bill, an inferior version by the committee's chairwoman, Julia Brownley, sailed through.

But when it was time to vote on the second, by Democratic Sen. Gloria Romero, six committee members either abstained or couldn't be bothered to show up to vote. Romero's bill, which would have made major changes to the state's education system, failed.

Assembly must get moving on 'Race to the Top'

President Barack Obama said in a speech three weeks ago that the status quo in American schools "has held back our children, it has held back our economy, and it has held back our country long enough." It is time, he said "to stop just talking about education reform and start actually doing it."

The states are the great laboratories of experimentation, but the federal government can help. Obama announced in July that states could compete for $4 billion in new "Race to the Top" funds to get things moving. The first round of applications is due Jan. 19. California could gain up to $500 million, a potential big boost given the bleak budget situation.

State rates teacher prep programs

By Ron Matus
...For the first time, the [Florida] Department of Education has examined the effectiveness of rookie teachers from a wide variety of teacher preparation programs, using their students' scores on the math and reading portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in 2008. It determined what percentage of graduates from each program had 50 percent or more of their students make a year's worth of progress.

Are Teacher Colleges Turning out Mediocrity?

There has been a mantra of sorts going around education circles over the past few years: "Nothing matters more to a child's education than good teachers." Anyone who's ever had a Ms. Green or a Mr. Miller whom they remember fondly instinctively knows this to be true. And while "Who's teaching my kid?" is an important question for parents to ask, there may be an equally essential (and rarely remarked upon) question - "Who's teaching my kid's teachers?"

On Thursday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan went to Columbia University's Teachers College, the oldest teacher-training school in the nation, and delivered a speech blasting the education schools that have trained the majority of the 3.2 million teachers working in U.S. public schools today. "By almost any standard, many if not most of the nation's 1,450 schools, colleges and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom," he said to an audience of teaching students who listened with more curiosity than ire - this was Columbia University after all, and they knew Duncan wasn't talking to them. It was a damning, but not unprecedented, assessment of teacher colleges, which have long been the stepchildren of the American university system and a frequent target of education reformers' scorn over the past quarter-century.

September 28 | Visionary Education Philanthropist Dies At Age 81

Don Fisher, who co-founded Gap, Inc. with his wife Doris in 1969, died Sunday of cancer in his San Francisco home at the age of 81.

Along with founding the Gap, Don Fisher was one of the country's most visionary education philanthropists. As a product of California's public schools, Don believed deeply that all students were entitled to the same high quality public education that he was fortunate to receive.

"Don viewed the improvement of public education as a moral imperative," explained Christopher Nelson, Managing Director of the Doris & Donald Fisher Fund. "It was his hope that he could contribute in some way to helping our public education system realize its potential to be the 'great equalizer' so that all children, regardless of their background, could attain a high quality education to prepare them for success in college, work and life."

Don was the driving force behind two of the most important and successful education reform organizations in the country - KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) and Teach For America. Since 2000, Don and his wife, Doris, donated more than $100 million to KIPP and Teach For America.

In 2000, Doris and Don gave $15 million to create the KIPP Foundation, an organization designed to recruit, train, and support aspiring KIPP school leaders as they opened new schools across the United States. KIPP grew from 2 schools in 1999 to a network of 82 free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools serving 20,000 students in underserved communities. Don served as the chairman of the KIPP board of directors from 2003 until his death. Doris and their son, John, are also board members.

"Don knew that demography does not have to be destiny when it comes to a child's education, and he used his incredible mind, heart and generosity to show that powerful lesson to the country," said KIPP Foundation CEO Richard Barth. "Don helped prove what is possible in public education. Because of his efforts, hundreds of thousands of children have had doors of opportunity opened and their future will be his great legacy."

The Education Trust-West on Release of Accountability Progress Report

(Oakland, CA) - Today, the California Department of Education released the results of the 2008-09 Accountability Progress Report. The data tell two stories: One gives us hope and the other reminds us how far we have left to go. The state accountability system, the Academic Performance Index (API), shows schools at every level getting closer to California's self imposed goal of 800 and a slight narrowing of the achievement gap. Meanwhile, the federal accountability system, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), indicates that more and more of the state's schools are not meeting their annual benchmarks for percent proficient in English and math than ever before.

"All progress is good progress, but today's data reveal that we are not progressing nearly far or fast enough - particularly for our low-income students and students of color," stated Linda Murray, acting Executive Director of The Education Trust-West. "Schools must not be deemed as making sufficient progress by the state unless they are meeting both their annual growth targets and ambitious benchmarks of student proficiency. Indeed, by setting the bar low for state accountability purposes, California is sending mixed signals to educators, to policymakers and to the public about whether our schools are really serving all students well."

Your right to choose your child's school

Parents know what's best for their families. They choose where to shop, which place of worship to attend, what their children eat and the books they read, but when it comes to the public schools, parents don't have a choice.

Parents across California are demanding school reform that recognizes every student's right to a quality education at the school that best meets their needs. A critical step toward reimagining public education in California is giving parents real power -- the power of choice.

Students shouldn't be trapped in failing schools by virtue of their ZIP codes. Wealthier parents have a choice. Shouldn't every parent?

Students in limbo after law unrenewed

SACRAMENTO - State lawmakers have failed to renew a law that allows students to easily change schools, possibly putting more than 370 Valley students in limbo just as classes start.

The program in question allows students to cross boundaries to attend a "school district of choice" without getting permission from the student's home district. Other programs that allow students to transfer with the agreement of both districts continue as normal.

The "districts of choice" law expired on July 1 and lawmakers did not pass an extension before they left for summer break in late July. As a result, home districts could now potentially call their students back. About 5,000 students statewide could be affected. Click here to read more...

A chance to learn

For the past 16 years, California's "district of choice" program has allowed school districts with the space and desire to accept students from outside their geographic boundaries. The program engendered neither scandal nor serious controversy. It currently allows 5,000 students to enroll in schools their families believe are best for them.

The authorization of that program expired on July 1. Its renewal should be a slam dunk. It was in the state Senate, where the vote was 37-0 in favor of legislation by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, to extend the choice program for seven years.

Once the bill moved to the Assembly, however, the forces that favor the wisdom of the education establishment over the judgment of parents went to work. On June 30, Romero's SB680 stalled in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on a party-line vote, with five Republicans voting for it and all 11 Democrats voting against it. The no votes included Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, Tom Torlakson of Antioch and Joe Coto of San Jose.

Shame on them.

"As a Democrat, I ask: Why do we give the issue of choice and parental rights to the Republicans?" Romero said. Click here to read more...

Senior Surpasses Hard Times, Helps Others

Rosemary Astorga came to Oak View High School in the 11th grade, behind in class credits and fresh out of a drug rehabilitation program. The daughter of divorced parents who used to live with her dad in Los Angeles, Rosemary had moved in with her mom, who was seeking to get her daughter settled in a new school. Oak View, the alternative high school in Oak Park, provided just the right change for Rosemary, now 18. She's stayed drug-free and is graduating from high school this summer, on schedule.

Rosemary was able to enroll in a high school that met her needs thanks to the state District of Choice Program. But the District of Choice program will disappear this year if it's not renewed by the California Legislature. Click here to send a letter to key lawmakers and ask them to support SB 680 to renew the program so more students can benefit.

January 31 | Foundation for Excellence in Education

Digital Learning Day

January 29 | Los Angeles Times

How to grade a teacher

January 19 | City Journal

A 40-Year Shame

December 2 | The Los Angeles Times

L.A. teachers union drops legal challenge to evaluation system

November 29 | The Los Angeles Times

LAUSD reform from the inside out

November 28 | The Los Angeles Times

Teacher ratings and the public's right to know

November 27 | Top-Ed

Understanding the 'why'behind teacher evaluations is critical to their success

November 27 | LA Daily News

A sad commentary on legislators, litigation and our schools

November 21 | The Los Angeles Times

Californians support making teachers' reviews public

November 21 | The Los Angeles Times

Voters think teachers unions are too powerful, new poll finds

November 17 | The Los Angeles Times

Teachers and test scores

November 17 | LAWeekly

Outing Lemon Teachers at LAUSD

November 16 | EdWeek

A Steppingstone to Better Teacher Evaluation

November 16 | Educated Guess

Rep. Miller chastises California

November 15 | EdWeek

L.A. Teachers Seek to Put Evaluations to a Referendum

November 6 | Los Angeles Times

Shaking up the status quo in L.A. schools

November 2 | The Educated Guess

New life for old law on evaluations

November 2 | Los Angeles Times

Suit filed to make L.A. teacher evaluations include student data

November 1 | Los Angeles Times

LAUSD faces suit linking teacher ratings to student performance

The suit would demand that LAUSD comply with a 1971 California law requiring that student performance be part of the evaluations of teachers and principals.

October 26 | Los Angeles Times

California bucks U.S. trend on teacher evaluations

October 25 | LA Daily News

Lack of contract reform could cripple educational advances

October 17 | LA Weekly

Los Angeles Charities and Minority Groups Tell United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD: 'Don't Hold Us Back'

October 16 | Los Angeles Times

L.A. Unified principals to see teachers' effectiveness ratings

October 14 | The Sacramento Bee

Jerry Brown calls California's school testing program a "good system"

October 14 | The Educated Guess

Turning teaching upside-down

October 11 | The Los Angeles Times

LAUSD agrees to revise how English learners, blacks are taught

October 9 | The Educated Guess

No changes to Open Enrollment

September 23 | Los Angeles Daily News

LAUSD pact with administrators union will factor in new teacher evaluations

September 22 | EdWeek Blog

Obama Administration Sets Rules for NCLB Waivers

September 15 | Los Angeles Times

SAT scores for class of 2011 decline in every aspect

August 15 | Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles teachers test a pilot evaluation program

August 9 | EdWeek Blog

Calif. Forgoes Data Grant, Jeopardizes Other Stimulus Funds

August 9 | The Educated Guess

Hurdles for No Child Left Behind waiver

August 8| EdWeek Blog

Obama Gives Go-Ahead for NCLB Waivers to States

July 13 | TopEd

California's 2nd-grade tests provide vital information; don't end them

July 10 | The Los Angeles Times

California teacher layoff law stirs confusion, criticism

July 10 | The Sacramento Bee

Legislature has made school funding even more irrational

July 8 | The Los Angeles Times Editorial

Stealth attack on California's schools

July 8 | The Los Angeles Times

Teachers from low-performing schools face stigma on job search

July 1 | The Los Angeles Times

LAUSD agrees to revise how English learners,
blacks are taught