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January 27, 2006
Teachers - what's LEFT in your wallet?
Or should we ask, what interest groups on the LEFT are keeping you from having more money for classroom supplies, or to spend on your family?
My teacher friends are ticked:
1. They have to spend their own money on supplies, even tissues (didn't Heather say education should be free?)
2. Classrooms are overstuffed and termite infested
3. Classroom books and materials are outdated, missing or misshipped
4. And now, their National Union, the NEA, is spending money (read: union dues) on causes that many teachers themselves disagree with. My favorite is this one:
The next time the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank that received $45,000 from the NEA last year, issues a report slamming school choice, we'll have to wonder whether it was bought and paid for by the teachers unions.
Read the editorial and ask yourself - What would be the union's motivation to spend money so LIBERALLY?
And while you're at it - ask your favorite teacher, who until this disclosures were made public, probably had no idea of such Union largess.
Here's the editorial from the WSJ:
Teachers' Pets (Cont'd)
January 27, 2006; Page A8
Our recent editorial on the political spending of the National Education Association has caused something of a stir, and not always of the illuminating kind. In a letter to the editor on January 13, NEA President Reg Weaver claimed we misread the data his union has released to the Labor Department Web site. We didn't, but we appreciate the opportunity to draw more attention to the NEA's spending priorities.
New transparency rules now require large unions like the NEA to reveal more detailed financial information in forms (known as LM-2s) that they file annually with Labor. What caught our attention in the NEA's most recent filing is the extent to which it behaved more like a liberal philanthropy than a labor union in dispensing the $295 million in member dues it took in last year.
Under the new regulations, which Big Labor fought, unions itemize expenditures under categories like "general overhead," "political activities and lobbying" and "contributions, gifts and grants." In his letter, Mr. Weaver suggests that only a very small percentage of union dues money is steered toward politics, while the vast majority goes "straight to our local and state affiliates for education programs and member services." Nice try.
What Mr. Weaver didn't reveal is that the NEA also works though these same state affiliates to further its political goals by bankrolling ballot and legislative initiatives. To that end, the Kentucky Education Association received $250,000 from the NEA last year; the Michigan Education Association received $660,000; and the California Teachers Association received $2.5 million. We doubt this cash goes into buying more laptops for poor students.
And then there's the money that the NEA sends directly to sympathetic interest groups working at the state level, such as the $500,000 that went to Protect Our Public Schools, an anti-charter outfit in Washington State (never mind that charters are "public schools," albeit ones allowed to operate outside the teachers' union education monopoly).
Often, the recipients of these outlays have at best a tangential education mission. The Floridians For All Committee, a political action committee created by pro-labor Acorn to push for a minimum-wage hike, received $250,000 from the NEA last year. And the Fund to Protect Social Security received $400,000. In total, the NEA reports spending $25 million on "political activities and lobbying." But that doesn't tell the whole story.
The NEA spent another $65.5 million on "contributions, gifts and grants," and many of the recipients listed under this category are also overtly politicized organizations: the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation ($40,000), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute ($35,000), the Democratic Leadership Council ($25,000). The next time the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank that received $45,000 from the NEA last year, issues a report slamming school choice, we'll have to wonder whether it was bought and paid for by the teachers unions.
None of this is to suggest that the NEA or Mr. Weaver is engaging in any illicit behavior. Our point was to alert both the public, and especially the 2.7 million NEA members, that their forced dues payments are being spent on an agenda that could have been compiled by the most liberal members of the Democratic National Committee. And thanks to these new disclosure rules, this agenda is now out in the open, where it belongs
---end WSJ editorial---
Posted by Tim Keaney at 08:14 AM
January 26, 2006
Audits in LA LA Land...
From the Daily News... My favorite part of the editorial is in BOLD below...
Auditing the LAUSD
Chick's investigation can help determine district's future
After some foot-dragging, the Los Angeles Unified School District has complied with a public records request from City Controller Laura Chick. For better or worse, Chick now has every audit, report and study analyzing the district since the 2000-01 academic year.
That's 782 in total. It took 10 big boxes - and a truck - to move the documents from LAUSD headquarters to Chick's City Hall office.
But if the enormity of all this analysis measured up against the rate of reform at the LAUSD tells us anything, it's that audits don't do much. They can assess problems, not fix them.
The truth is that organizations don't change unless the people running them have the heart to do so. No matter how closely Chick pores over all the old audits - or even if she gets her wish to do an audit herself - it won't do much to make the LAUSD more efficient or effective.
For that, bigger, comprehensive reforms are needed, whether it's creating a lot more charter schools, or Antonio Villaraigosa's vision of mayoral control, or a breakup of the district into smaller, more manageable pieces.
The purpose of Chick's investigation, then, is not so much to direct the LAUSD, but to educate the people of L.A. Her analysis can tell us just what's going on at the district: What are the not-so-obvious successes and failures, and what steps have officials taken to improve things?
With that information in hand, the public will be best equipped to decide what changes will be needed to create a responsive, high-achieving school district worthy of this great city. L.A. residents are paying for the nation's most modern school facilities, and they deserve the results to match in the classroom.
---Keaney's Comments---
Why would Laura Chick be audting the LAUSD without the authority to do so? IS it because the City, and the USD have realized that economic vitality, and school performance are closely related?
Is it possible that LA is feeling the effects of decades of mismanagement by the LAUSD?
Is Romer complying so he can eventually deflect the heat?
And is this a model for your City and School District?
You should be asking the questions...
Tim
Posted by Tim Keaney at 07:41 PM
Fullerton on Fox
Those of you following the Fullerton Laptop Program should know that Fox News did a story on the controversy, and will probably replay it throughout the day.
Those of you who care, will realize that this blog beat Fox News by almost 30 days on this story...
Are we Fair & Balanced? You be the judge!
http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/vcs/keaney/archives/2006/01/live_free_but_n.html#comments
Posted by Tim Keaney at 09:35 AM
January 25, 2006
Are we getting schooled?
The New Middle School will contain 32 regular classrooms, 8 science classrooms, one computer lab, one design center, two art classrooms, industrial technology, band, orchestra, drama, special education, a 15,000-volume library, cafetorium, gymnasium with seating for 550, food service, administration, counseling, ancillary support areas resulting in a capacity of approximately 1,000 students in grades 6-8.
Is this in your neighborhood? Your town? Your district?
No, this is a school that is actually being designed and built based on statistics and research from "America's Schoolhouse"
Over the next few days, let's debate school construction, facility costs and the new ideas that America's School House suggests for education in our future!
Tim
Posted by Tim Keaney at 09:11 PM
We're advancing in Math & Science!
I got this submission from a reader in a local school district (the name of the reader was removed to protect the children of the person submitting:
Recently my daughter made me aware of conditions in her classroom. These learning conditions are unacceptable for any child attending public school. Apparently, her third grade classroom this year was infested with termites. I came to learn of this when we saw a home “tented” for termites, and I explained to her what that was. She then replied with “We had so many termites in our classroom, there were parts of the floor (she was in a raised portable) that we couldn’t even sit on!” She then went on to tell me that the teacher wanted to have the class find out if these were wood eating termites, so on the suggestion of the class, they left out a piece of wood for several weeks to see if the termites would attack and try and eat it. Like good, industrious termites, they did indeed begin to attack the wood.
Do we really have classroom conditions that are so bad that they’ve become laughable science experiments? Yes, indeed we do.
---end---
According to the ed code, and the Department of Education - based on the Williams vs. The State of California Case:
Pursuant to California Education Code Section 35186, you are hereby notified that:
There should be sufficient textbooks and instructional materials. That means each pupil, including English learners, must have a textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to take home.
School facilities must be clean, safe, and maintained in good repair. (emphasis added)
There should be no teacher vacancies or misassignments.
Misassignment means the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position for which the employee does not hold a legally recognized certificate or credential or the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position that the employee is not otherwise authorized by statute to hold.
Teacher vacancy means a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of the year for an entire year or, if the position is for a one-semester course, a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of a semester for an entire semester.
A complaint form may be obtained at the school office, district office, or downloaded from the school’s Web site at (Web site address). You may also download a copy of the California Department of Education complaint form from the following Web site: http://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/ce/wc/index.asp.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 08:21 PM
Rewarding Excellence
The Lew Roth Awards Dinner
On Friday, February 3, 2006, the Simi Valley Education Foundation will be hosting a very special evening to honor the recipients of the 2005 Lew Roth Awards. This year, SVEF will be holding their dinner at the Grand Vista Hotel, where the spotlight will be on honorees, their achievements, and the gift they bring to our children every day.
The recipients of this year’s Lew Roth Award are:
Management: Beverley Radloff, Big Springs Elementary
Certificated: Laurie Cariker, Madera Elementary
Classified: Cathy Munz, Atherwood Elementary
Volunteer: Steve Hayes, Hollow Hills Elementary
Special Education: Regina Reed, Garden Grove Elementary
The evening is designed for the recipients to celebrate with parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. Please save the date and join SVEF for this extraordinary evening.
Tickets are $55 per person and to pay via credit card, Click here!
---Keaney's Commentary---
Do you have a teacher, volunteer or school worker who made a difference in your life? Post it! Do you have a story about any of this year's award winners - Please take all of the space you want to tell us how these great folks are making a difference!
Congratulations to all of the winners!!!!!
Tim Keaney
Posted by Tim Keaney at 02:34 PM
January 16, 2006
Time to totally tolerate?
On a day like today, where we celebrate the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, it's important to acknowledge the strides America has made in justice and tolerance, and to realize there are still important steps to be made.
In our little corner of the world, a debate is beginning to rage on the Simi Valley School Board about teaching our youth "tolerance". Say what you will about our local school board (and I have!), I think this is a discussion and debate worth having. This debate covers all of the bases, from what is the proper role of the classroom, to which "tolerance" curriculum will be chosen. And in a time when budgets cuts are the complaint de jour, is it appropriate to bring in curriculum that may or may not help youth strive towards college or career?
According to the Daily News:
School board President Debbie Sandland said the goal is to provide a safe learning environment for all students despite their race, religion or language.
"I'm trying to accomplish respect for all people in our school campuses and give people the tools to respect the diversity of our population to ensure all people are treated fairly," said Sandland, a registered nurse.
On the other side of the dais, as well as the issue, is Carla Kurachi:
"Personally, you can't mandate tolerance," she said. "You can't tell people what they should or should not tolerate, but you can tell them that everyone deserves to be treated respectfully."
Before moving forward with the program, Kurachi will ask the district to define tolerance and, specifically, toward whom.
---Keaney's commentary---
When I was working on a Leadership class project, the teachers wanted us to teach youth character. There is a clear and compelling need for character education. At the same time, you can't untie character from "tolerance". Good character bespeaks tolerance.
What do you think?
Should schools be teaching tolerance?
How do you define tolerance?
Is there a program that teaches tolerance of the kind that President Sandland speaks of, while at the same time, protects and teaches tolerance of political and religious thought?
SVUSD's board seems primed for an interesting debate.
And now, so does this blog.
I welcome your comments.
Tim Keaney
Posted by Tim Keaney at 07:50 PM
January 13, 2006
Pleasant Issue is getting Less
There seems to be an "act getting together" problem in the issue over whether Camarillo Schools can leave Oxnard and become their own unified school district.
First - there was the committee...
Then - the committee wanted voters to Vote..
then, the State said No...
then, the County Board, said we'll get rid of the committee...
then parents and community members dissented...
The time ran out...
But the talking and yammering didn't...
And now the State wants to decide...
And the County wants to decide...
I thought a LAFCO would have to be formed to decide this? Has LAFCO been implemented (local Agency Formation commission)
And what do the parents really want to get done and when?
Why is the County Board trying to exert control?
What's going on here?
Why is Tim asking all these questions?
Folks - these are your schools. Decide what's in the best interest of the kids, then get it done? what kind of example is all of this dithering setting.
Debate - Decide - Vote - Form - Move On.
You read it here first.
Tim
Posted by Tim Keaney at 05:07 PM
Redemption?
The republicans in Congress have an opportunity. Reject handily the politics of gotchya, secret deals and political junkets. Reject the pay to play that has become Washington over the past 20 years.
Or do what you've been doing, and what you've accused the democrats of doing, at your own peril.
It's time for new congressional leadership in the house. Will it be a leader for our times, who will cut through the clutter, put the nation and the citizens first? - or will it be a member of Congress?
We should all be communicating to our local representatives what type of leader we expect them to elect to House leadership. They follow the leader, so we should play a role in determining who their leaders should be.
Tell congress to get it right.
Tim
Posted by Tim Keaney at 04:52 PM
January 12, 2006
Survey Says!?
Ok Class, let's examine the antics of the Conejo Unified School District Board of "trustees". I put trustees in quotes, as many still don't know what it means:
To manage and oversee the polcies and finances of an organization.
Mike Dunn, recently elected, seems to think he's a man on a mission. Seems to think he represents "the people" when, now that he's elected, he actually represents the district in both policy setting and financial respects.
In other words, is Mike still campaigning, or should he now be governing?
So if you haven't read the article I am referring to, click here:
And now, let's answer the survey!
1. Is Dunn out of line by doing a survey of the public and district staff?
2. Is Dunn trying to sidestep the duly appointed ICOC overseeing bond funds?
3. Is Mr. Dunn's job to "represent the interests of the community"?
4. Why wouldn't Mr. Dunn have asked the Superintendent or legal counsel if he had the authority to e-mail his "survey" to staff?
BONUS Question - Do you think he would have liked the answer?
5. Do you think Mr Dunn knows his authority to speak as a trustee begins and ends when the Meetings are opened and closed?
6. Do you think Mr. Dunn is aware that the bond funds he wants to spend on the high school are probably already allocated to other projects?
7. Is Mike right or wrong on his web site when he says: THIS BOARD IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE LOOKING
OUT FOR THE INTERESTS OF THE PARENTS AND
TAXPAYERS!!!
--tk here - emphasis and all caps was taken from "mikeforschoolboard.com"--
So c'mon Conejo Valley! Chime in and be heard! Mike - by all means, take a comment and speak out! Anyone else, if you like what Mike is doing, great - post away. If you detest what Mike is doing, speak up - post away!
We aim to please (ok, and not to please) here at No Issues Left Behind.
Tim Keaney
Posted by Tim Keaney at 07:40 PM
January 11, 2006
Wonder why kids can't read?
Legislators go to Sacramento with the best of intentions. They have issues they want to address, to make the state a better place to live for them, and future generations.
Right?
And then we the citizens give them unlimited budgets, ability to write ad nauseum legislation etc...
So of course, should we be surprised when we get something like AB606? What is AB606 you wonder? -
This bill would require a school district to establish and
publicize an antidiscrimination and antiharassment policy that
prohibits discrimination and harassment based on specified
characteristics, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived
gender identify and sexual orientation. The bill would require a
school district to take specified actions related to increasing
awareness of, preventing, and ensuring appropriate responses to,
incidences of discrimination and harassment based on those protected
characteristics. By requiring school districts to perform additional
duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
---end--- - Click here to read the bill
Any thoughts on this?
1. The name of the bill was changed - which shows the true intent of the bill.
2. Existing law, the California Student Safety and Violence
Prevention Act of 2000, declares that its provisions do not require
the inclusion of specified instructional materials in any program or
activity conducted by an educational institution or postsecondary
educational institution. Existing law declares that its provisions
are not violated by the omission of any specified instructional
material in any program or activity conducted by an educational
institution or postsecondary educational institution.
In other words - districts will now have to post and distribute information about actual or perceived
gender identify and sexual orientation.
So when China, India and other developing nations continue to kick America's competitive BUTT in this information economy - let's all remember the legislation working its way through the California Legislature.
More from the bill...
(b) Pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 201 of the Education
Code, public schools in California have an affirmative obligation to
combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility
to provide equal educational opportunity.
(c) The California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of
2000 reaffirmed the right of all pupils to a safe school environment
by prohibiting a person from being subjected to discrimination on the
basis of actual and perceived gender identity and sexual orientation
in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution
that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or
enrolls pupils who receive state student financial aid.
(d) (1) Studies show that pupils in California continue to
experience discrimination and harassment, and that discrimination and
harassment based on actual and perceived gender identity and sexual
orientation is particularly pervasive.
(2) Many teachers, school staff members, and pupils are unaware of
the rights and obligations regarding discrimination and harassment
set forth in Sections 200, 201, and 220 of the Education Code.
(3) Many teachers and school staff members have not received
effective and comprehensive training to prevent or respond to illegal
discrimination and harassment. This training is particularly lacking
with respect to discrimination and harassment on the basis of actual
and perceived gender identity and sexual orientation.
(4) Many school districts are not effectively addressing
discrimination and harassment on campus, particularly with respect to
discrimination and harassment based on actual and perceived gender
identity and sexual orientation.
(5) Many pupils do not know the manner in which to file a
discrimination or harassment complaint.
(6) Many school districts are responding to complaints about
discrimination and harassment in an inconsistent manner.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 02:41 PM
This is a must read...
In it's entirety:
Ed Schools vs. Education
Prospective teachers are expected to have the correct 'disposition,' proof of which is espousing 'progressive' political beliefs.
By George F. Will
Newsweek
Jan. 16, 2006 issue - The surest, quickest way to add quality to primary and secondary education would be addition by subtraction: Close all the schools of education. Consider The Chronicle of Higher Education's recent report concerning the schools that certify America's teachers.
Many education schools discourage, even disqualify, prospective teachers who lack the correct "disposition," meaning those who do not embrace today's "progressive" political catechism. Karen Siegfried had a 3.75 grade-point average at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, but after voicing conservative views, she was told by her education professors that she lacked the "professional disposition" teachers need. She is now studying to be an aviation technician.
In 2002 the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education declared that a "professional disposition" is "guided by beliefs and attitudes related to values such as caring, fairness, honesty, responsibility, and social justice." Regarding that last, the Chronicle reports that the University of Alabama's College of Education proclaims itself "committed to preparing individuals to"—what? "Read, write and reason"? No, "to promote social justice, to be change agents, and to recognize individual and institutionalized racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism," and to "break silences" about those things and "develop anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-sexist community [sic] and alliances."
Brooklyn College, where a professor of education required her class on Language Literacy in Secondary Education to watch "Fahrenheit 9/11" before the 2004 election, says it educates teacher candidates about, among many other evils, "heterosexism." The University of Alaska Fairbanks, fluent with today's progressive patois, says that, given America's "caste-like system," teachers must be taught "how racial and cultural 'others' negotiate American school systems, and how they perform their identities." Got it?
The permeation of ed schools by politics is a consequence of the vacuity of their curricula. Concerning that, read "Why Johnny's Teacher Can't Teach" by Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute (available at city-journal.org). Today's teacher-education focus on "professional disposition" is just the latest permutation of what Mac Donald calls the education schools' "immutable dogma," which she calls "Anything But Knowledge."
The dogma has been that primary and secondary education is about "self-actualization" or "finding one's joy" or "social adjustment" or "multicultural sensitivity" or "minority empowerment." But is never about anything as banal as mere knowledge. It is about "constructing one's own knowledge" and "contextualizing knowledge," but never about knowledge of things like biology or history.
Mac Donald says "the central educational fallacy of our time," which dates from the Progressive Era of the early 20th century, is "that one can think without having anything to think about." At City College of New York a professor said that in her course Curriculum and Teaching in Elementary Education she would be "building a community, rich of talk" and "getting the students to develop the subtext of what they're doing." Although ed schools fancy themselves as surfers on the wave of the future, Mac Donald believes that teacher education "has been more unchanging than Miss Havisham. Like aging vestal virgins, today's schools lovingly guard the ancient flame of progressivism"—an egalitarianism with two related tenets.
One, says Mac Donald, is that "to accord teachers any superior role in the classroom would be to acknowledge an elite hierarchy of knowledge, possessed by some but not all." Hence, second, emphasis should be on group projects rather than individual accomplishments that are measured by tests that reveal persistent achievement gaps separating whites and Asians from other minorities.
Numerous inner-city charter and private schools are proving that the gaps can be narrowed, even closed, when rigorous pedagogy is practiced by teachers in teacher-centered classrooms where knowledge is regarded as everything. But most ed schools, celebrating "child-centered classrooms" that do not "suffocate discourses," are enemies of rigor.
The steady drizzle of depressing data continues. A new assessment of adult literacy shows a sharp decline over the last decade, with only 31 percent of college graduates able to read and extrapolate from complex material. They were supposed to learn how to read before college, but perhaps their teachers were too busy proving their "professional dispositions" by "breaking silences" as "change agents."
Fewer than half of U.S. eighth graders have math teachers who majored in math as undergraduates or graduate students or studied math for teacher certification. U.S. 12th graders recently performed below the international average for 21 countries on tests of general knowledge of math and science. But perhaps U.S. pupils excel when asked to "perform their identities."
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.
© 2006 MSNBC.com
URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10753446/site/newsweek/
Posted by Tim Keaney at 11:42 AM
January 10, 2006
Woops - NEVERMIND...
Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone. I've been accused of many things, but in my
last post, one of the commenters suggested that I had ignored the Daily News Story on Simi's C4 bond because it was a positive story on the bond progress.
Well, it's true that I didn't comment on the story. Because I hadn't seen it. I am now REALLY glad this person (you know who you are) pointed it out to me!
If this is a positive story, I am a svelte, 18 year old International signing sensation.
Puff Piece? Yes! District Press Release with a follow up question or two? Perhaps.
Positive Bond Story? I don't think so.
Let's look at some facts in the story:
1. In two years, they say they've spent $17 million out of $145 million.
That's 11%, or 5.5% a year on a 10 year package. With costs escalating
out the chute, they are not moving fast enough to use the dollars, meaning
they will leave serious tonnage of dollars on the table.
They will have to compress their timeframe both because costs are escalating, AND
because they are not keeping up with them.
2. It is clear now that MANY projects on the list of projects will never see the
light of day. What are they? The Trustees have known for quite some time that costs
were escalating, and yet all the public gets is more of the same stories.
3. There is no mention of state matching funds. One of the driving factors behind
passing the bond, was that the community was told the district would be in line for
state matching funds. So how much has SVUSD qualified for?
4. Not one member of the Independant Citizens Oversight Committee was quoted in the article.
The watch dogs have been effectively silenced.
OH, and then there is that pesky matter of the Oversight Committee's web site. This same
paper, the Daily News reported months ago that the district had contracted for a $10,000
web site for the ICOC. Has the money been spent? Where is the web site with the facts
that refute these writings? Now that the ICOC has been re-organized, the excuse of
"members not showing up" is a non-starter. Where is the web site, or perhaps a better
question is: "Where is the $10K?"
I guess this is why I am a blogger, and not some reporter who puts their name on a press
release and calls it a story. Puff Piece? YES. Positive C4 Bond Story?
I think not.
In tomorrow's blog...
Tim's review of the Ventura County Star article on the bond (hint - think Puff piece redux)
Later in the week - A review of the Daily News Monday articles - Successful Charter Schools! Boy am I glad I was told to read the Daily News again!
Posted by Tim Keaney at 08:38 AM
January 08, 2006
Protect the teachers, AND the Students
The Daily News is out with the following article - as you read it, here are some things to think about:
1. How is this handled in other districts?
2. How is it handled in other public employee situations?
3. What rights will parents & students have?
4. Are there better ways to do this?
Blog! I welcome your comments - and now for the article:
---From the Daily News---
Teacher may learn accusers
Disciplinary plan may change rules
By Angie Valencia-Martinez, Staff Writer
LA Daily News
SIMI VALLEY - Under a proposal by local school officials, anonymous complaints against teachers would not be used to take disciplinary action against them.
The new rule would bar the Simi Valley Unified School District from taking formal action against any of the district's 1,000 teachers without first disclosing pertinent information to the employee - specifically, the complainant's name.
The proposal, being drafted by Arleigh Kidd, a teachers union leader, and the district's assistant superintendent of personnel services, Don Gaudioso, must be approved by the five-member school board and would change the way schools handle complaints about staff members.
"It's not fair to the employee unless they know all the details," Gaudioso said, adding that the proposal would be ready by month's end.
Now, most complaints are handled at the school site at the discretion of administrators. A written policy, revised in 1995, details a step-by-step process of handling complaints concerning school personnel, but makes no mention of anonymous sources.
The policy states that a parent or guardian with a complaint should attempt to resolve the issue with the teacher personally. If that doesn't work, the school principal can get involved and open an investigation. If the complaint remains unresolved, the superintendent makes the final decision.
Kidd, former Simi Educators Association president, said anonymous complaints have unfairly been used to take formal action against teachers in the past, including one case in which a teacher was going to be put on "an improvement plan." Teachers are entitled to respond to the charges and tell their side of the story, he said.
"Anonymous information should not be used at all," said Kidd, now executive director of a local chapter of the California Teachers Association. "You have a right to know who your accuser is. How can you defend yourself when you don't even know who is accusing you?"
The policy should make its way to the school board in February or March, officials said.
"We need a new policy," said board member Rob Collins, a former teacher for more than three decades who pushed the issue to the forefront. "Every school has a different policy. It should be more uniform. Parents need to work with teachers to better reach a solution. The teacher has a right to be informed."
School board member Carla Kurachi said she is not sure she can support the proposed policy because all complaints - anonymous or not - should be investigated.
"I have a problem with this," she said. "If they investigate and it's true, what difference does it make if it's anonymous? There have been incidents of severe inappropriate behavior that's been anonymously reported and found to be true. I would hesitate to ignore them. If it's true, you take appropriate action."
Kurachi said some parents might not want to disclose their names out of fear of retribution.
Angie Valencia-Martinez, (805) 583-7604
--thoughts?---
Ok - so here are a couple of mine:
1. What's wrong with "an improvement plan"? If it's based on the truth?
2. Do Americans have the right to confront their accuser? There have been thousands of cases where this didn't happen for fear of retribution - and do they have this right in their work-place or can't the workplace set the rules?
What do you think?
Tim
Posted by Tim Keaney at 12:36 PM
January 06, 2006
Props Jack!
SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O’CONNELL HOLDS FIRM ON HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM; RECOMMENDS OPTIONS FOR STRUGGLING STUDENTS
Test Ensures Students Have Skills to Compete In Global Economy of the 21st Century
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell today announced that he will work to expand options for students who have not successfully passed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) by the end of their senior year in order to encourage them to continue their education in order to gain the necessary skills needed to pass the exam. O’Connell also announced that he will not recommend or support any alternative assessments to the current exit exam.
"After reviewing research and considering options for non-special education students, I have concluded that there is no practical alternative available that would ensure that all students awarded a high school diploma have mastered the subject areas tested by the exam and needed to compete in today’s global economy," O’Connell said. "I am convinced that the only way to make sure all of our graduates have the critical skills they need in adulthood is through requiring passage of the high school exit exam."
It should be noted that with respect to students with disabilities, the California Department of Education (CDE) had agreed to a settlement in the case of Chapman, et al v. the California Department of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Board of Education. The lawsuit sought to delay the consequences of the CAHSEE for students with disabilities.
"I agreed to this settlement because we know that our standards-based education reforms take time to implement, particularly for students with disabilities," said O’Connell. "This settlement would provide a path for certain students with disabilities in the class of 2006 to receive a diploma, while giving our schools more time to provide them with the skills necessary to pass the CAHSEE. I will continue to fight to make this settlement law and firmly believe it will it be in place for the class of 2006."
O’Connell wrote the law creating the High School Exit Exam in 1999 to address the problem of schools across the state having widely disparate standards for what students were learning and what constituted graduation requirements. The High School Exit Exam is now one of the cornerstones of California’s education accountability system. The consequences of not passing the exam take effect for the first time with the graduating class of 2006.
"I wanted to ensure that no child could fall between the cracks and be sent into the world, diploma in hand, lacking the skills and knowledge necessary for meaningful work or college," O’Connell said. "I believed that the Exit Exam would challenge the system and raise expectations and results for California students. Our schools are now focused on teaching California’s world-class academic standards, and students are meeting higher expectations as a result of the exam."
Since its inception, the CAHSEE has been thoroughly reviewed and updated. The exam has been studied annually by an independent evaluator, the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO). HumRRO has confirmed that the test is a valid and reliable indicator of student knowledge in mathematics and English-language arts and that the test brings needed consistency across the nearly 1,000 districts in California. In it’s most recent report, released last fall, HumRRO recommended to keep the CAHSEE requirement in place for the class of 2006 and beyond. HumRRO also recommended the consideration of alternatives and/or options for those students who may be unable to pass the CAHSEE by June 2006.
"To be clear, this does not mean, as some have said, that those students who have been unable to pass the exam will be denied a diploma indefinitely," said O’Connell. "It simply means that their basic education is not complete and they must continue on through our K-12 system, adult education, or community colleges to obtain the necessary skills to warrant receipt of a diploma."
At O’Connell’s direction, CDE staff examined exit exam models throughout the country and considered all possible alternatives and options.
"We face a new economy driven by global innovation that will demand higher-level skills and knowledge to meaningfully enter the work force," O’Connell said. "It is imperative that all of California’s children reach at least the minimal bar set by our exit exam. Our education system must ensure that every student who has satisfied local graduation requirements, but has been unable to pass the exit exam, be given the opportunity to continue their education in order to obtain the necessary skills they will need to succeed. I am committed to breaking down any possible barriers in order to guarantee that every child who wants to continue his or her education will find a place to do so in California’s education system."
O’Connell announced that he will work with the Legislature to lift enrollment caps and increase funding for adult education programs, summer school, and independent study programs. He called for eligibility for Cal Grants to students who meet all other high school graduation and grade point average requirements, but have not passed the CAHSEE.
For more information, please visit California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) - Testing.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 02:26 PM
Schools Mean Business
From Yahoo News...
U.S. business group will rank school performance
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The largest U.S. business association said Wednesday it would start ranking school systems' performance as part of efforts to raise a work force that could better compete in the global economy.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said the United States could not maintain its economic lead while many of its schools performed poorly and its global competitors had increasingly well-educated work forces.
"The bottom line is that this nation cannot rightfully expect to lead the 21st century's information and technology-driven global economy when we have upwards of 30 percent of our young people not even graduating from high school," Donohue told a news conference called to announce the chamber's agenda for 2006.
In some minority areas, the number of students failing to get a high school diploma is closer to 50 percent. "This is a travesty," Donohue said.
The chamber, which in recent years has crusaded for legal reform, will now urge education reform by ranking the performance of state school systems and some local school systems, Donohue said. More details would be announced within six weeks, he said.
The chamber is already working with other business organizations to double the number of U.S. math, science and engineering college graduates by the year 2015.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 11:09 AM
January 04, 2006
Live Free, but not Learn Free?
The California constitution is clear:
ARTICLE 9 EDUCATION
SECTION 1. A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being
essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the
people, the Legislature shall encourage by all suitable means the
promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural
improvement.
ARTICLE 9 EDUCATION
SEC. 5. The Legislature shall provide for a system of common
schools by which a free school shall be kept up and supported in each
district at least six months in every year, after the first year in
which a school has been established
According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary, "free" is defined as:
5 a : having no obligations (as to work) or commitments
6 : having a scope not restricted by qualification
So what do you make of what's happening in school districts today?
Parents in Fullerton and other areas REQUIRED to purchase laptops
Parents required to pay for band uniforms & other supplies
Parents being begged to deliver school supplies and teachers having to provide thousands of dollars in their own supplies and equipment
Foundations raising thousands, as if Districts are actually non-profit organizations.
Heather Sutherland from Fullerton has posted the following elsewhere in this blog:
"The Fullerton School District's "Laptops for Learning" program puts an Apple iBook laptop computer into our children's hands 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, this laptop is not being funded by the School District, but by parents at a cost of $1,500, despite the fact that this is a PUBLIC school district. Many, many parents are opposed to paying this cost.
A parent group has been formed, which consists of parents from various schools throughout Fullerton. While many of us have concerns about the "Laptops for Learning" program itself, most of us are not fundamentally opposed to the use of technology in our schools. However, we are steadfastly opposed to the District asking the parents to fund this program. By law, all students attending public schools are entitled to a FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION and the District cannot force parents to pay for a laptop for their child."
So what is fair? And what is free? Should you be asked (required) to provide laptops at your expense? What if your district couldn't afford desks?
What if parents can't afford the expense? Is that child left behind?
I welcome comments from all of you. Teachers, parents, especially parents who are experiencing this type of siituation...
Bring on the debate.
Tim Keaney
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:40 PM
January 03, 2006
Define, Before Depleting
The Sac bee is reporting that the Governor is proposing more than $4 billion in new spending for k-12...
Governor proposes to give schools a boost
By Clea Benson -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Published 1:26 pm PST Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Seeking to mend fences with education advocates who said he shortchanged schools in this year's budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose an additional $4.3 billion for schools next year, California Education Secretary Alan Bersin said Tuesday.
The increase is about $4 billion less than schools advocates say is owed under the terms of Proposition 98, the state law that guarantees a certain level of funding each year for education. But unlike last year, when they said they were betrayed, education groups are taking a friendly tone.
"We're saying it's a constructive step," said Scott Plotkin, director of the California School Boards Association, who met with the governor this morning along with the heads of other education groups.
The governor's spending plan will allocate a total of $54.3 billion for kindergarten through 12th grade education, Bersin said. Some of the money will be earmarked for programs the governor wants to promote, such as incentives for teachers to work at low-performing schools, arts and music education, and mentoring for teachers.
Bersin said Schwarzenegger's proposed education initiatives were "statements by this governor of his values and what he believes in."
---end---
I, for one, would like to know where the money is going to be spent...
T
Posted by Tim Keaney at 03:16 PM
Teachers - What's in your Wallet?
According to the Wall Street Journal, Teachers are getting (enter adjective here) by their own union:
---WSJ Editorial---
Teachers' Pets
January 3, 2006; Page A24
If we told you that an organization gave away more than $65 million last year to Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Amnesty International, AIDS Walk Washington and dozens of other such advocacy groups, you'd probably assume we were describing a liberal philanthropy. In fact, those expenditures have all turned up on the financial disclosure report of the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union.
Under new federal rules pushed through by Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, large unions must now disclose in much more detail how they spend members' dues money. Big Labor fought hard (if unsuccessfully) against the new accountability standards, and even a cursory glance at the NEA's recent filings -- the first under the new rules -- helps explain why. They expose the union as a honey pot for left-wing political causes that have nothing to do with teachers, much less students.
We already knew that the NEA's top brass lives large. Reg Weaver, the union's president, makes $439,000 a year. The NEA has a $58 million payroll for just over 600 employees, more than half of whom draw six-figure salaries. Last year the average teacher made only $48,000, so it seems you're better off working as a union rep than in the classroom.
Many of the organization's disbursements -- $30,000 to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, $122,000 to the Center for Teaching Quality -- at least target groups that ostensibly have a direct educational mission. But many others are a stretch, to say the least. The NEA gave $15,000 to the Human Rights Campaign, which lobbies for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights." The National Women's Law Center, whose Web site currently features a "pocket guide" to opposing Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito, received $5,000. And something called the Fund to Protect Social Security got $400,000, presumably to defeat personal investment accounts.
The new disclosure rules mark the first revisions since 1959 and took effect this year. "What wasn't clear before is how much of a part the teachers unions play in the wider liberal movement and the Democratic Party," says Mike Antonucci of the Education Intelligence Agency, a California-based watchdog group. "They're like some philanthropic organization that passes out grant money to interest groups."
There's been a lot in the news recently about published opinion that parallels donor politics. Well, last year the NEA gave $45,000 to the Economic Policy Institute, which regularly issues reports that claim education is underfunded and teachers are underpaid. The partisans at People for the American Way got a $51,000 NEA contribution; PFAW happens to be vehemently anti-voucher.
The extent to which the NEA sends money to states for political agitation is also revealing. For example, Protect Our Public Schools, an anti-charter school group backed by the NEA's Washington State affiliate, received $500,000 toward its efforts to block school choice for underprivileged children. (Never mind that charter schools are public schools). And the Floridians for All Committee, which focuses on "the construction of a permanent progressive infrastructure that will help redirect Florida politics in a more progressive, Democratic direction," received a $249,000 donation from NEA headquarters.
When George Soros does this sort of thing, at least he's spending his own money. The NEA is spending the mandatory dues paid by members who are told their money will be used to gain better wages, benefits and working conditions. According to the latest filing, member dues accounted for $295 million of the NEA's $341 million in total receipts last year. But the union spent $25 million of that on "political activities and lobbying" and another $65.5 million on "contributions, gifts and grants" that seemed designed to further those hyper-liberal political goals.
The good news is that for the first time members can find out how their union chieftains did their political thinking for them by going to www.union-reports.dol.gov1, where the Labor Department has posted the details.
Union officials claim that they favored such transparency all along, but the truth is they fought the new rules hard in both Congress and the courts. Originally, the AFL-CIO said detailed disclosures were too expensive, citing compliance costs in excess of $1 billion. The final bill turned out be $54,000, or half of what the unions spent on litigation fighting the new requirements. When Secretary Chao refused to back down, the unions took her to court, and lost.
It's well understood that the NEA is an arm of the Democratic National Committee. (Or is it the other way around?) But we wonder if the union's rank-and-file stand in unity behind this laundry list of left-to-liberal recipients of money that comes out of their pockets.
---end editorial---
Is the NEA advocating for kids, or is it advocating for the Democratic Party? And are those the same things?
What do you say?
Tim Keaney
Posted by Tim Keaney at 11:07 AM
