It's one month away from back to school - What are you and your school doing to get ready for back to school?

In what way is your school district working to improve itself in the coming school year, OR, is it as good as it's going to get.

As a parent - What are you planning on doing to stay involved in your child school?

It's been a while since we've chatted! Care to chat about education?

Tim

An article by Jonathan Alter...

It's almost 2008 - Is America ready for a debate on education?

Educating Democrats
January 17, 2007; Page A18

House Democrats have scheduled a vote for today on a proposal that would reduce the interest rate on student loans. The ostensible goal is to make college more affordable, but such a move could well wind up having the opposite effect.

Democrats campaigned last fall on a pledge to lower the interest rate on subsidized student loans to 3.4% from the current 6.8%. "We will broaden college opportunity," says Nancy Pelosi, the new House Speaker, "and we will begin by cutting interest rates for student loans in half." It makes for a good sound bite, but on closer inspection the connection between lower interest rates and "college opportunity" is far from clear.

The interest rate doesn't affect whether a student can pay his or her tuition bill, which means that no one unable to afford college today will suddenly be able to do so because of a reduction in the rate. Rather, lowering the rate will simply boost the federal subsidy for loan repayments after graduation. That's because the financial institutions that handle these loans are guaranteed a rate of return, regardless of the interest rate. Halving the rate that lenders can charge borrowers means larger government (read: taxpayer) subsidies for the banks.

In other words, the Democratic loan proposal isn't really about making college more affordable for low-income families. It's about expanding federal subsidies for college grads, including millions of middle-class men and women who will go on to do very well in life and hardly need such a government handout.

"The average college graduate leaves school with a debt of $17,500, which after consolidation and tax breaks comes to about $102 a month," says Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foundation. "If a college degree adds about a million dollars to your lifetime income, 102 bucks a month is manageable." Democrats know that subsidizing college graduates doesn't sound all that great as a political theme, so instead they pretend that cutting student-loan interest rates will somehow make higher education more "accessible."

The Democrat proposal also has the potential to exacerbate perverse incentives already associated with the government student loan programs. Since 1992, tuition at public and private colleges has risen 86% and 52%, respectively. The only other segment of the economy where costs have outpaced inflation by similar leaps and bounds is health care. And it's no coincidence that third parties foot the bill for big chunks of both higher ed and health care spending; this has predictably increased demand relative to supply and resulted in prices rising faster than they would otherwise.

Like any business, colleges will charge as much as their customers are willing to pay. And you can be sure that, as quickly as student aid increases, colleges will raise tuition to capture the additional funds. In the absence of all this subsidization, colleges would have to be more cautious about raising tuition because their customers would be affected more directly. So the biggest winners from this latest subsidy will be the relatively well off professors and administrators who run higher education.

Rather than scaling back these interest rate subsidies, Democrats want to make them more generous. This can only have the effect of further distorting the true cost of a college education by pushing more and more of that cost on to taxpayers. Ultimately, increasing the government's role is a recipe for making college less affordable.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

School board has new president, trustees

By Star staff
December 14, 2006

Two new members joined the Simi Valley school board as the board selected new leaders.

Simi Valley Unified School District board member Janice DiFatta, who served as board president two years ago, once again picked up the president's position for a one-year term Tuesday night. Board member Rob Collins accepted the clerk position, the first time that Collins, who has served for two years, was named to a board leadership position.

The president acts as the head representative for the school board and helps organize the meeting agendas with the district superintendent.

New trustees Jeanne Davis and Eric Lundstrom also took the oath of office to begin four-year terms. They replace outgoing board members Carla Kurachi and Greg Stratton. Neither ran for re-election.

Davis and Lundstrom thanked the public for electing them in the 10-candidate race last month.

"I'd like to thank the voters for having the confidence to vote me into this position," Davis said.

From Blogger in Residence Scott Blough...

In 2005, The United Nations Children’s Fund released a report looking at child poverty rates in the industrialized nations of the world. While Denmark and Finland had rates under 2-3%, rounding out the bottom were the United States and Mexico with child poverty rates of 20% or more.

There is no doubt poverty has a major effect on educational opportunities and scholastic achievement of students throughout the US, but recently the Escondido Union School District was awarded a prestigious Golden Bell award for an innovative program to help students with homeless parents.

The article says, “The program's goal is to provide homeless children with equal access to school and necessary services to ensure that they have the same opportunities to succeed in school as other children.”

While many of us will just dismiss reality through mere liberal or conservative ideological prisms, is it an admirable position to haggle over such labels while people are suffering?

What is and what isn’t being done on child poverty in your school and community?

I welcome your thoughts

Scott Blough
Blogger In Residence

"Think Strategically?" "What does it cost to educate a child?" "Higher teacher pay?"

From the Ventura County Star...

Falling enrollment, rising state revenues to bring $6 billion school bonus

By Lynda Gledhill, San Francisco Chronicle
November 28, 2006

SACRAMENTO — California schools are in line for a $6 billion windfall over the next five years, and interest groups are already lining up to get their share, promoting ideas like improving high schools, paying teachers more and helping urban districts with severely declining enrollment.

The money is anticipated because K-12 enrollment is expected to drop while the state's general fund revenues continue to increase. Several factors are contributing to the declining enrollment: children of baby boomers are exiting the 5-to-17 age group, fewer people are moving into the state, and there has been a decline recently in the state's birthrate.

School funding has been a thorny issue in recent years. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger borrowed school funds to help bridge the state's budget gap in 2004 and was condemned by school groups the next year when he reneged on his promise to pay it back.

The strength of the education lobby, coupled with voter rejection last year of a Schwarzenegger plan to tinker with the constitutional education funding formula, leaves little doubt that schools will be able to keep the expected windfall. Schwarzenegger himself said last month that he has no desire to change funding formulas for education.

The state's nonpartisan legislative analyst recommended that lawmakers begin to consider how to use the money strategically to improve the state's schools.

To do that, lawmakers would have to wrestle with school groups, the governor and their own members, who often have their own ideas about what to do with school money.

"The emphasis on reform and change should be significant," said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "We don't want to use all this money to maintain the status quo. But it is hard because everyone has a vested interest."

This year, 44 percent of the general fund, or $41 billion, is being spent to educate the state's nearly 6 million students. The share of general fund money dedicated to schools declines as enrollment drops but cannot go below 40 percent under Proposition 98, the voter-approved school-funding scheme.

With enrollment expected to drop by 80,000 students by 2010-11, California schools are positioned to get an extra $6 billion over the next five fiscal years when revenue from local property tax collections is figured in.

Perata and others are eagerly awaiting the results of an independent study on the adequacy of the state's school system, which is expected to be released in March. The $2.6 million study by four philanthropic foundations was commissioned by Perata; Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles; Schwarzenegger; and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.

The idea is to assess — without regard to how schools are currently funded — how much it costs to educate a child in California so that he or she can pass achievement tests and be a productive worker.

"The idea of the adequacy study is to try to put science behind the rhetoric about what it really costs to educate a child in California," Perata said. "Now, these are not tablets coming off the mountain, but an independent source to measure decisions by."

Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association, said she hopes that the study will provide a common thread that everyone can agree on.

"This is an opportunity to talk about what we need to do and answer the question of what does it really cost to educate a child in California?" she said. "From there, we can look at equitable funding."

Kerr said she believes that more money needs to be spent on education to properly teach every child, and she noted that teachers are the biggest part of the classroom experience. Teacher pay and professional development are issues the union frequently pushes.

Alan Bersin, who is leaving as Schwarzenegger's education secretary in a few weeks, said the state needs to continue its emphasis on school reform tied to achievement tests. He said elementary education has been improved through spending on better instructional materials, teacher training and the professional development of principals.

The California School Boards Association wants, among other things, to see some of the money go toward helping districts that have seen a sharp decline in students. Urban school systems such as the San Francisco Unified School District are experiencing steady enrollment drops. Rick Pratt, assistant executive director of the organization, said school districts get less money as their student population decreases, but that costs do not go down as quickly.

For example, he said, a school could lose five students but still need to have the classroom, pay the teacher and pay for the utilities.

Pratt said his organization would like to see a formula by which school districts lose money over several years. Currently, schools have a one-year grace period before their funding goes down.

A tale of two boards - From the Acorn...

Accusations fly at departing members' final meeting
By Avi Rutschman avi@theacorn.com

The Simi Valley School Board passed formal resolutions on Tuesday recognizing the services of Carla Kurachi and Greg Stratton, but much more than thank yous were shared among the trustees.

While board members Debbie Sandland, Janet DiFatta and Rob Collins extended compliments to the two departing members, Stratton and Kurachi used the occasion to both praise and rebuke the board.

"I'm going to tell you about the good, the bad and the ugly," said Stratton, a former Simi Valley mayor.

According to Stratton, the best aspect of the district is the dedicated staff that strives on a daily basis to bring quality education to Simi's youth.

"It's not surprising that we get the best because of the high pay we offer, the low crime in Simi and the great parents that are involved in their kids' learning," Stratton said.

But both the district's efforts and its staff are often hampered by a rigid and bureaucratic culture that dominates the world of public education, Stratton said.

"I've worked at all levels of government and I can't hold a match to what I've seen in the schools," Stratton said. "There is no desire for change, the process of teaching hasn't changed since I was in grade school, and the productivity of the district has not improved."

According to Stratton, this inability to adapt to new problems will lead to disaster for the American education system. American students are quickly being outpaced by foreign learners, and few realize the drastic consequences this can have, he said.

"Not everyone recognizes the importance of education, but the problem with this is that we no longer have blue collar jobs available for these people," Stratton said.

Stratton also feels it's vital for the district to learn to become more efficient and better able to manage its funds.

"We must improve our efficiency to find more money because we won't always be able to depend on Sacramento to send more."

Stratton also called for the district to develop a plan that outlined goals and expected yearly progress, similar to the 2020 plan he created for the city of Simi Valley when he served as mayor.

For Kurachi, who's served on the board for 16 years, the problems with the district didn't lie in the board's inefficiencies, but rather with its collective personality.

"The last two years have been horrible, and I've never been on a board that is so mean-spirited," Kurachi said. "I can relate to the kid who doesn't want to go to school because of bullies. Here we are as adults and its back to the ninth grade."

According to Kurachi, she and Stratton were scorned by the other three board members because they endorsed candidates running against them in the 2004 school board election.

Kurachi also asserted that she was criticized by Sandland, the board's president, when she decided to openly embrace her religion after the passing of her husband.

"You (Sandland) speak of tolerance, but when I embraced my religion on a personal level, you said I was too religious to serve on the board," Kurachi said.

According to Kurachi, for the board to successfully operate in the future it will need to bury its egotism and vindictiveness and focus on creating a quality educational experience.

"You can't have the best interest of the kids at heart when you are too concerned with your own ego," Kurachi said.

While Collins commented that he had witnessed no divisions on the board, Kurachi was quick to point out that it was because of the quiet suffering of Stratton and herself.

"For two years, Greg and I have sucked it up. That's why you don't speak of any divisions," Kurachi said.

According to Kurachi, she is hoping that her critique of the board's operations will prompt them to start properly doing their job. In spite of the comments from

the two exiting members, Sandland said she felt there was little wrong with board.

"I hold my head high, and I'm proud of the accomplishments of this five-member board," Sandland said.

Ten years ago voters in California approved proposition 209, which prohibited discrimination or preferential treatment by state or public entities. Specifically, the act, “Prohibits the state, local governments, districts, public universities, colleges, and schools, and other government instrumentalities from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment to any individual or group in public employment, public education, or public contracting on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.”

Here’s a link to the arguments for and against back in 1996.

This week, behind closed doors, the San Francisco School Board will attempt to narrowly tailor factors of race into their enrollment policy to determine where students will attend within the San Francisco public school system. Proponents argue that San Francisco schools have become too segregated while opponents are arguing that it’s a direct violation of proposition 209 and because it was held behind closed doors, it may violate the Brown Act.

Link to story

In South LA, the UCLA Chancellor is holding town hall meetings discussing recent changes to UCLA’s admissions process saying they will take a new holistic viewpoint in which a student’s academic record will be viewed in light of personal experiences and challenges. Story here...

The California Teachers Association opposed proposition 209 in 1996 and is generally pro-affirmative action. With recent gains in Congress and a continued majority within the state of California of pro-teacher union interests at the state level, will we see a rewrite of prop 209 soon?

If prop 209 clearly outlines the law, how are these programs getting around the will of the voters?

Are we more segregated now, then we were ten years ago?

Does race still matter in admissions?

Austin school district announces $15.6 million grant
Money will go toward implementation of a district-wide high school redesign program

By Laura Heinauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Making an announcement he called one of the most important in Austin school district history, Superintendent Pat Forgione said Tuesday that the district has received a $15.6 million grant to implement an ambitious systemwide high school redesign program. He said he hopes the program will become a model other districts across Texas and the United States can emulate.

The grant money, which comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates and Michael and Susan Dell foundations, will be used over the next four years for changes that are being crafted by each of the 11 traditional high schools and for a system to track each school's results.

The Gates Foundation has invested about $1 billion in education initiatives and led a nationwide trend toward creating smaller, more intimate high schools.

This is its first major grant for a Texas school system to make districtwide changes.

"This is a historic day," Forgione told a crowd gathered in front of Austin High School that included board members, principals, elected officials and representatives from community groups. "We are in the process of rethinking, reforming and renewing high school education in our district. . . . This is not for one class; this is for a generation making a difference."

Whether pouring money into schools or adopting the small-schools approach — or redesign, as it's called in Austin — will work is up for debate. Austin officials hope they can avoid problems faced by other districts by letting each school design its own plan.

Reagan and LBJ high schools, both of which failed to meet federal accountability targets this year, will use the money to create "small learning communities" and a mentoring-based program called First Things First. Travis and Crockett will use portions of that program and add components. Other schools, like Akins, with its career-themed academies, are designing their own models for reform.

Over the next four years, experts in high school redesign will be brought to Austin to help create customized models for each school. The experts will also help develop teaching strategies and curriculum changes. Specific areas already in need of improvement, including specialized math programs and literacy programs for English-language learners, will also receive money from the grant.

In addition, there are plans to make improvements in district administrationand provide more professional development opportunities for teachers.

"We came to Austin because of the vision your superintendent, your school board and your community has for its children," said Steve Seleznow, program director of education for the Gates Foundation.

The foundation has worked with some individual schools but has not always seen improvements. As a result, the foundation now focuses on districtwide initiatives. In Austin, Seleznow said, the organization hopes it has found a place where it can make a strong impact.

"This is not a broken school district. We see it as a place where we could have the best chance of going from good to great," he said.

In Austin this year, three high schools, Crockett, Johnston and Reagan, were rated academically unacceptable by the state. The rest were rated acceptable.

Throughout the process, the district will be asked to provide regular updates on graduation rates, test scores, participation in Advanced Placement classes and attendance rates.

Of the $15.6 million, the $2.3 million from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation will go directly to new data systems that will provide principals and teachers information about student achievement.

The money supplements a $1.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation last year that was used to create redesign plans based on what students, teachers and parents have learned about successful programs across the country, a process that included traveling to other cities to see what works and what doesn't.

"I think you're going to see a lot of interest in what we're doing here, and I'm talking increased attention nationwide," said Jeffrey Richard, CEO of the Austin Area Urban League. "People are going to start doing studies and really measuring how we perform. We're in the spotlight now, and it's time for us to shine."

In other districts in the state, efforts to create smaller learning communities have been hampered by budget cuts and campus-level infighting.

In Houston, Joanna Pasternak, a former teacher who now works for the Houston Federation of Teachers, said some teachers in the First Things First program complained that they got to know only a few students, so if they saw a problem in the halls, for instance, they were less likely to know the students involved. Others said time they spent meeting with students took away from time they could have spent on instruction.

"It's just the latest fad that has caught on," Pasternak said. "You still have all the same problems that you have with kids in a large urban school."

Getting the grant was the easy part, Austin school board President Mark Williams said. The greater challenge is to make sure the money is spent wisely.

"This is great news that we got this, but the tough news is that we got this, and now we have to figure out how to do it," he said.

lheinauer@statesman.com; 445-3694

The redesign at a glance

Akins:

Changes include the creation of six small learning communities and enhanced student advisory programs.

Anderson, Austin, Bowie, McCallum:

Changes include a program for teaching improvements for students, the creation of a senior year project, and (except at McCallum) the addition of freshman academy and freshman student advisory programs.

Crockett, LBJ, Reagan, Travis:

Redesign is based on the First Things First model, which involves creating small learning communities of 350 to 400 students. The curriculum is built around themes based on students' career and academic interests.

Johnston:

The school has created three small learning communities: The Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Scientific Inquiry and Design, and the Academy of Global Enterprise and Information Technology. Other changes include enhanced student advisory programs and block scheduling.

Lanier:

Changes include enhanced student advisory programs, block scheduling and small learning communities.

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Monday that the U.S. higher education system is the envy of the world but primary and secondary schools are failing to adequately prepare students for college.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Gates said the experience of being a parent of three kids -- ages 10, 7 and 4 -- has led him to spend more time thinking about schools.

Specifically, he said the U.S. education system needs higher standards, clear accountability, flexible personnel practices and innovation.

Gates, whose children are in private schools, said every state should require students to take three or four years of math and science to graduate from high school -- 25 states currently have such requirements. He wants states to have the power to intervene at low-performing schools.

"Real accountability means more than having goals; it also means having clear consequences for not meeting the goals," he said in a speech earlier Monday to Washington state educators who came to hear the results of an education task force.

Gates said schools should also be able to pay the best teachers better and offer incentives to attract people with rare abilities.

"It's astonishing to me to have a system that doesn't allow us to pay more for someone with scarce abilities, that doesn't allow us to pay more to reward strong performance," he said. "That is tantamount to saying teacher talent and performance don't matter and that's basically saying students don't matter."

He also spoke of some creative school programs -- particularly charter schools run by private companies -- that should be a model for innovation in the nation's schools.

"This nation has to do something very challenging, which is to provide a strong education to almost every student," he said.

Gates will start working full-time in mid-2008 at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which seeks cures for the world's diseases and to improve American education. He said his role at the foundation isn't going to change that much, because he won't be running it.

He said the foundation, which received a $1.5 billion donation from fellow multibillionaire Warren Buffet in June, was discussing ways it could accept donations but that it was not actively seeking them.