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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 1-9-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2



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From the State of Politics blog:In an exclusive Capital Tonight interview, NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi revealed he will soon ask his Board of Directors to bring an apparently unprecedented vote of no confidence on state Education Commissioner John King in response to what the union feels is a failure to respond to the growing concerns over the Common Core curriculum. “The frustration level is ov


Musical Media for Education (MME): The Learning Groove
Public schools in the US are changing rapidly. The new Common Core curriculum has increased standardized testing, scripted teaching and screen/computer based instruction. As educators are pressed to implement Common Core teaching methods, multisensory and experiential project oriented work are being displaced.  MME provides innovative music based resources which engage the interests and natural cu



Number of substandard Texas schools surges
The number of campuses on the annual list of the worst public schools in Texas surged this year as a new school rating system kicked in, pushing hundreds of schools below minimum achievement levels. The Texas Education Agency reported … [visit site to read more]



Students outraged by sudden closure of vocational school
Dozens of students gathered outside a South Los Angeles trade school Thursday, angry that the college where they had been taking classes -- and had paid thousands of dollars to attend -- had shut without notice.



Governor Brown’s budget pumps billions more into school funding
After years of “drought” Governor Jerry Brown wants to make it rain on the state’s public schools. Brown’s budget proposal unveiled today for the 2014-15 fiscal year dedicates an extra $10 billion to K-12 schools, plus an additional $6 billion to wipe out the debt to schools accumulated over several years of recession cuts. It’s the the second year in a row education spending has gone up. For LAUS

Oregon schools short on teachers for science, Spanish, math, special ed and ESL, feds say
Teacher shortages are certified by the U.S. Department of Education for purposes of federal financial aid deferrals or forgiveness

Corruption as Government: Public schools. High stakes testing. Jobs. Pensions. Bridges.
“There is a trick among the dishonest to offer sacrifices that are not needed, or not possible, to avoid making those that are required.” - Ivan Goncharove, novelist and Official Government Censor in Czarist Russia during in the 1870s That is as true today in America as it was during the period of decaying and corrupt Czarist Russia prior its dissolution and fall. What is impacted today by the bip


Fairfax schools chief calls for $96 million in budget cuts; proposal increases class sizes
Fairfax County’s class sizes could balloon, teachers could face layoffs and parents might have to pay new testing fees next year under a budget Schools Superintendent Karen Garza unveiled Thursday. The proposal includes $96 million in cuts that would eliminate about 730 staff positions from Virginia’s largest school system. Read full article >>    


For a school that helped start New York’s charter movement, a moment of truth
As the Beginning with Children Charter School board meeting entered its third hour, the remaining parents in the middle school auditorium in Williamsburg were fidgeting in their seats. Recently told the school would be closing at the end of the year, parents had come looking for clarity, but gotten little of it. Ellen Eagen, a Syracuse-based lawyer who specializes in education law, then walked to


Almost one-fifth of Forest Grove adults don't have a high school diploma, according to survey data
In Cornelius, about 32 percent of adults don't have a high school education, according to the 2010 American Community Survey.
Popular Beaverton teacher faces dismissal while students protest
Teacher Bert Stafford said the district is not following its own practice, which would allow him to take enough unpaid leave to meet licensure requirements, essentially holding his job for him until he's able to finish the required coursework
Portland Public Schools teachers: How are you feeling about negotiations? (survey)
We're interested in talking to Portland Public Schools teachers about how they are feeling about negotiations.

Governor Brown's $10 billion increase gets mostly applause
File: School desks. ; Credit: Photo by Jonathan/Night Owl City via Flickr Creative Commons Governor Jerry Brown's budget proposal Thursday to increase education funding next fiscal year by $9.7 billion made a lot of fans - but didn't please everyone. Public schools would get $61.6 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year under the governor’s plan. The Legislature would have to approve the plan. Los Ang
LA Unified Inspector General probing free iPads given to staff
; Credit: Cindy Schwartz/Flickr The Los Angeles Unified School District's Office of the Inspector General is looking into staff members acceptance of free iPads at a pitch by curriculum developer Pearson about a year before at least one of those employees approved a $30 million contract with Apple and Pearson, according to district officials.  "While we don't believe there is technically any
A federal jury Thursday acquitted former charter school operator Dorothy June Brown on six fraud counts, but said they were deadlocked on 54 others. Prosecutors vowed a retrial, and a juror interviewed said the vote was 9-3 in favor of conviction on charges that Brown had defrauded four charter schools that she founded of more than $6.7 million. The jury had deliberated for seven days after hearin


Question of the Week: Would you hire a high school dropout?
Last week’s blog post about the societal costs of high school dropouts drew a strong response from readers. According to a 2011 study from Columbia University, the average dropout imposes a lifetime cost of about $235,680 in welfare payments, food stamp, criminal justice and med

The Gates Foundation, for the first time in many years, is making a major move in California by funding substantial professional development efforts in two school districts and suggesting that they’ll making similar grants in the coming months. According to the post in Ed Source by John Fensterwald, Gates is giving several million to the Fresno and Long Beach districts to develop this professiona


Nite Cap 1-9-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
James Baldwin said it best: "For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAPSeattle Education Meetup on Student Privacy and House Bill 2133 | Seattle EducationSeattle Education Meetup on Student Privacy and House Bill 2133 | Seattle Education: Seattle Education Meetup on Student Privacy and House Bill 2133Our first Meetu