minahkaypoh

Seeing as I am not paid to blog as part of my daily job, it's basically impossible for me to be even close to first out of the box on the issues of the day. Add to that being a parent of two small children (my most important job – right up there with being a husband) and that only adds to my sometimes frustration of not being able to weigh in on some of these issues quickly. That said, here is my attempt to distill some key points and share my opinions -- add value, if you will -- to the debate that is raging as a result of the Los Angeles Times 's decision to publish the value-added scores of individual teachers in the L.A. Unified School District . First of all, let me address the issue at hand. I believe that the LA Times 's decision to publish the value-added scores was irresponsible. Given what we know about the unreliability and variability in such scores and the likelihood that consumers of said scores will use them at face value without fully understanding al...

In cycling races such as the Tour de France, riders tragically have lost their lives particularly in mountainous stages in the Alps or Pyrenees. Fortunately, no one was killed in the making of Race to the Top applications. But one state school chief, New Jersey's Brett Schundler, has lost his job as a result of it. Read the Newark Star-Ledger 's story for more: Gov. Chris Christie fired state education commissioner Bret Schundler this morning after Schundler refused to resign in the wake of the controversy over the state's loss of up to $400 million in federal school funding. The state lost a competitive grant contest for education funding by 3 points. While the state lost points across a number of areas for substantive issues, a blunder on one 5-point question has caused an uproar in Trenton. The state lost 4.8 points by seemingly misreading the question, which asked for information from 2008 and 2009 budgets. The state provided information from 2011.

It's been a busy one. Here's a (small, incomplete) peek inside the life of a tenure-track mama prof. (1) Traveled on work trips to Seattle, San Diego, Boulder, Laguna Beach, Washington DC (twice), and Chicago -- and most of that was just in the month of June. (2) Spent two weeks at Northwestern University, 10+ hours per day, learning the technical in's and out's of cluster randomized trials at a veritable "geek camp." Had a blast. Imported generous family members to babysit during the day and parented my 7-month-old daughter every evening, awaking 3-5 times every night to nurse. (3) Wrote and submitted three paper proposals to the American Educational Research Association. (4) Completed final edits on two articles forthcoming this fall. (5) Watched as my 3-year-old son wore a suit and went down the aisle as ring-bearer in his nanny's wedding. Cried my eyes out. (6) Wrote a proposal for nearly $700,000 in foundation support. Decision still pending (it'...

In an effort to spice up this blog a bit, we'll tap into the Optimists' foodie inclinations by periodically featuring some choice restaurants and food-related businesses. For our inaugural offering, here are some places we've enjoyed in recent travels: August First Bakery & Cafe - one word: bacon scones! - Burlington, Vermont Clancey's Meats & Fish - an amazing butcher shop & more - Minneapolis, Minnesota Donrockwell.com - THE dining guide to the Nation's Capital - Washington, DC Pizzeria Orso - fine Neapolitan pizza and not-to-miss antipasti - Arlington, Virginia Quarterdeck Restaurant - hammer away at stellar Maryland crabs - Arlington, Virginia Sanford - impeccable food & service; one of the nation's best - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

UPDATED 11:28 a.m. CDT The complete list of 10 winning applicants: District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Maryland Massachusetts New York North Carolina Ohio Rhode Island Here is the official U.S. Department of Education press release and the list of Phase Two scores : Phase Two Winners: 1. MA - 471.0 2. NY - 464.8 3. HI - 462.4 4. FL - 452.4 5. RI - 451.2 6. DC - 450.0 7. MD - 450.0 8. GA - 446.4 9. NC - 441.6 10. OH - 440.8 ------------ Finalists: 11. NJ - 437.8 12. AZ - 435.4 13. LA - 434.0 14. SC - 431.0 15. IL - 426.6 16. CA - 423.6 17. CO - 420.2 18. PA - 417.6 19. KY - 412.4 This was an especially competitive round. And, as you can see above, there was NOT a natural cut-off point in the scores between successful applicants and unsuccessful ones. That's got to make the loss sting all the more for states such as New Jersey, Arizona, Louisiana and South Carolina especially. Just three points separate a funded state (Ohio) and a non-funded state (New Jersey)! I am most su...

Dorie Turner of the Associated Press is reporting via Twitter that New York is one of the winners of Race to the Top, Phase Two. If that is the case -- and heavily favored Florida also is shown the money -- then we are likely looking at fewer than 10 winners today. That is, unless states are funded at less than the maximums that they requested. Under such a "spreading the wealth" scenario, then there could be more winners. I'm not going to make predictions -- I think the cut off is likely to be determined by a few points here and there. But I still like the chances of Florida, Illinois, Rhode Island, and South Carolina best.