minahkaypoh

It may be quiet around here for a bit as we're spending the next week or so with family. So if you're looking for Race to the Top news or a musical recommendation, you're on your own for a while. Hope you're enjoying some springtime weather, where ever you are! Photo: John Sheppard

Per this recent Education Optimists post about teacher firings in Central Falls, Rhode Island, word comes that a Georgia high school is also firing its entire staff. A failing Savannah high school is firing its entire staff in an effort to avoid further sanctions from the state and to make the school eligible for up to $6 million in federal money, officials said Thursday. The 200 employees at Beach High School — including the principal — will work there through the end of the year but will not be rehired for that school, said Karla Redditte, spokeswoman for the Savannah-Chatham County school district.

I am deeply troubled to read columns like this ( "Improve education, fire bad teachers" ) -- both the title and the content -- from a reputable source like the Center for American Progress (CAP). Much as the likes of FOX News are in desperate need of balance and breadth of perspective, so is this column. Where is the discussion about the need to support teachers to become more effective through improved preparation, stronger induction and mentoring, and job-embedded professional development? What about more than a throwaway line about the role of teacher evaluation systems to provide constructive feedback to help teachers identify strengths and weaknesses and help them become more effective? I don't mean to pick on CAP too harshly, for some of its prior reports (such as this one ) approached the teacher effectiveness issue more comprehensively and accurately. But if all we do is focus on firing teachers, without addressing other elements of teacher quality policy, we'...

It's hard to believe that the Wall Street Journal fancies itself a national newspaper while publishing this largely baseless, political clap-trap on its editorial page: But national standards are no substitute for school choice and accountability, which are proving to be the most effective drivers of academic improvement. First of all, to frame education reform as pitting national standards against choice/accountability is ridiculous on its face. It is a false choice. Plus, the Obama Administration's reform blueprint is so much more broad than that. About the only thing that the WSJ editorial gets right is in saying that national standards "won't magically boost learning" by themselves. Secondly, the WSJ appears to be falling into the "silver bullet" mentality all too prevalent among simplistic education reformers. "Just run schools like a business!" Or, "[INSERT pet approach] is the answer." Yes, we've been down that road b...

As a child growing up inside the Washington Beltway, I learned early never to have much faith in politicians. Every few years new folks came to the city, promising "change" and leaving without having done much at all. The candidates and officials I did like never got the attention and promotions they deserved. And worst of all, those who claimed to be on my side were everlasting disappointments (read: Bill Clinton). Somehow that cynical base inside me melted a little with the election of Barack Obama, and became a tiny puddle when he announced the American Graduation Initiative . Finally, a president who "got" it! As educators we were all working to prepare children for a full life, and that had to include a real shot at higher education. That meant finally giving sufficient resources to the colleges where the majority of those looking longingly at the American Dream were going to end up: community colleges. My heart went pitter-patter when I heard Obama call c...

Ah, the joys of being a state employee -- our salary info is readily available to the public! Despite the UW System 's efforts to keep that information quiet (salaries are very low, making it easy for other universities to lure us away), the Wisconsin State Journal put it online to ensure transparency. Here are some interesting tidbits: 9 of the 10 best-paid employees in the UW System are men 5 of the top 12 best-paid employees in the UW System are in athletic departments. Director Barry Alvarez earns $500,000 a year-- $85,000 more than Kevin Reilly (System president) and $63,000 more than Biddy Martin (UW-Madison chancellor). An assistant football coach earns five times more than yours truly. The deans of Madison's law and business schools outearn the deans of letters & science and education by approximately 25%. The chair of economics at UW-Madison earns nearly 2.5 times what the chair of economics at UW-Milwaukee earns. I'm sure you can find more-- have at it!

It's all about the bankers-- again. As I've said in this blog numerous times, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act is poised to dispense critical aid to low-income college students and the colleges they attend-- if the lending industry doesn't kill it first. The savings that would result from a move to direct lending are substantial. Money would go directly to the neediest college students and to community colleges, a sector that is swamped and struggling in this recession. This investment in human capital is in so many ways a no-brainer-- it'll generate a large return, benefit folks in nearly every community in the country, and support the American dream. Of course, the bankers will have none of it. In the current system they draw profits on the backs of students, lending them money and selling those loans to the government. They are so eager to hold onto those profits that they argue that the status quo is actually good for students. Disgusting, but not...

A lot of us in education policy get lost within our own locus of control. In my case , it's all about teachers. After all, teacher quality is the strongest school-based indicator impacting student outcomes. Sounds good, right? Yes, and no. While it is inevitable that one focuses on what one can control professionally, it is important to have a sense of the bigger picture. That goes for us in education. After all, research has shown that the influence of schools on student outcomes pale in comparison to family and social factors outside of schools' direct control -- especially, but not only, in the early years of childhood. So while it is critical that we concentrate education policy efforts around attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers, we also must attend to a variety of factors outside of schools that impact students' ability to learn and succeed. This report ( Promoting A Comprehensive Approach to Educational Opportunity ) from Cross & Joftus, fund...

As a follow up to my post last September ( "Teacher Residency Requirements" ), there appears to be legislative movement in both Illinois and Wisconsin to eliminate such requirements in Chicago and Milwaukee, respectively. Both cities require teachers to be residents in order to be employed in the public schools. From District 299: The Chicago Schools Blog (Alexander Russo), 3/8/2010: It's an age-old question for Chicago, which is one of few big cities to require teachers to live inside the city limits. Teachers complain about it. Once in a while they get caught living outside the city and have to move or leave their jobs. The recession in making jobs scarcer and the city more expensive. And now State Sen. Steans has introduced language [Residency Bill SB 3522 (Amendment 1)] that, with the support of the CTU, would remove that requirement. From Wisconsin State Journal editorial , 3/10/2010: Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature and the state's big teachers ...

Today the U.S. Department of Education announced [video] that 16 states have been selected as semifinalists in Phase One of the Race to the Top (RttT) competition. Forty-one states (including DC) applied in Phase One. States selected as semifinalists are: COLORADO DELAWARE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FLORIDA GEORGIA ILLINOIS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MASSACHUSETTS NEW YORK NORTH CAROLINA OHIO PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND SOUTH CAROLINA TENNESSEE These states will be invited to bring a team to Washington, D.C. this month for formal presentations before RttT reviewers. From those presentations, Phase One finalists will be selected. Non-selected states as well as those that did not apply during Phase One will be eligible to apply for funding in Phase Two, applications due on June 1, 2010. I am somewhat surprised by the inclusion of New York , Pennsylvania and South Carolina , but that surprise is tempered significantly by the fact that 16 states(!) were selected as semifinalists. If there's any sta...

The Central Falls (Rhode Island) Teachers' Union, an AFT affiliate, has approached district superintendent Frances Gallo and signaled a willingness to compromise over several reform issues that last month led Gallo and the school board to recommend the firing of the entire staff at Central Falls High School. It appears that this story is still being written. Sometimes dramatic steps are what is needed to achieve compromise. For more, check out today's Washington Post ... "I am pleased to reassure the union their place in the planning process," Central Falls Superintendent Frances Gallo said in a statement. She said she welcomes union input in developing "a dynamic plan to dramatically improve student achievement" at Central Falls High School. Gallo's statement followed an overture Tuesday from the Central Falls Teachers' Union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. The instructors have offered support for a longer school day, as well...

After a lengthy "sabbatical" focusing on the birth of our daughter, I am back at the turntable, offering up a Musical Elective Of The Month. I was reminded of not offering up a recent musical suggestion this past Friday evening, when Sara and I went to see Justin Townes Earle -- the subject of the last Musical Elective back in November -- at the High Noon Saloon in Madison. The Musical Elective Of The Month is Kim Taylor . Kim, a Cincinnati-based singer/songwriter, jumped out at me through Pandora Radio because of her song, "My Dress Is Hung." From her music I hear country, jazz and soul influences and she has been described by critics as offering "emotional songwriting" and "smoky vocals." She has independently released two full-length albums (including 2006's I Feel Like A Fading Light ) and two EPs. Her new EP, Little Miracle (December 2009), is a digital-only release for now, and is available on her web site [below]. WXPN 's David D...