subota, 29.10.2011.
Special Education Training To Get Boost
AUGUSTA - More than one in six Maine children require special education services, but only one in eight teachers working with them is fully certified.
Maine will use a five-year, $3.35 million federal grant, announced Friday, to try to fix that. The grant aims to improve training programs and increase the number of highly qualified special education teachers, said Jan Breton, federal program coordinator at the Maine Department of Education.
"There's a shortage of special educators across the country," Breton said. "So what happens is that a school system has to have a teacher, and they will find the best teacher that they can possibly find, but sometimes that person is not fully certified as a special education teacher.
"They may have a teaching degree and just need a course or two. Sometimes it's more than a few courses."
Maine had 34,425 special education students in 2007 - 17.7 percent of total enrollment.
Last year, there were 4,072 special education personnel, 12.5 percent of whom were not fully certified. Hancock County had the highest percentage of special educators needing additional certification, 38 percent.
The fact that Maine's teacher salaries are lower than those in nearby states may contribute to the shortage, Breton said.
The Maine Department of Education will work with the University of Maine System and other institutions in the state to develop a long-range plan for providing the training such teachers need.
The state also will have to partner with institutions in Massachusetts, because no one in Maine provides training in two specialties with particular shortages - teachers of visually impaired students and those who teach students with orientation and mobility needs.
The grant money will also go toward increasing the number of special education students in regular classrooms, helping teachers adapt their instruction to the new common core standards and training teachers to help students develop effective postsecondary plans. Finding instructors for students with autism is also a challenge.
"The numbers of kids that are diagnosed on the autism spectrum is just rising all across the country, and Maine hasn't been exempt from that," Benton said. "We're going to put some money into providing some support and training to teachers who are working with children on the spectrum."
Augusta schools Special Education Director Donna Madore said the number of special needs children in the district has declined with overall enrollment. But the needs of today's students are more significant.
When the district advertises for a special education teacher, Madore said they do not get as many experienced highly qualified applicants as she would like.
The turnover rate is also high.
"I think we have a shortage because it's hard work. It's intensive," Madore said. "And people may not stay in that field for any length of time."
Augusta provides mentors to new special education teachers, especially ones who come in with less experience.
Madore said she was happy to hear there will be more support at the state level.
Maine will contribute $27,000 of existing state and federal resources to supplement the State Personnel Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs.
It's not yet clear when the money will become available, Benton said.
News By:
pressherald.com
- 12:13 -
Guest Column: Grading Teachers Vital To Education
Every student needs to be well prepared for life and the work force. Studies show that students with good educations get better jobs, are happier and live longer. Multiple studies by William Sanders, the father of value-added educational research, have shown that teachers are the most important factor in a child's education. A great teacher can have tremendous influence on students' ability to learn, and an unskilled teacher can be something from which a student never recovers.
Great teachers are more important than ever. In the coming weeks the Tennessee Department of Education will release reports that compare student performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests with performance on the more rigorous National Assessment of Educational Progress exams. The NAEP is the national standard for student performance. Early indications are that Tennessee students' aggregate scores will be very poor. Excellent, professional educators will be the single most important factor in improving student learning.
Tennessee recognizes the importance of high-quality teachers and has implemented a system of meaningful annual teacher evaluations based on verifiable data. This is not a punitive measure but rather intended to help teachers and principals improve.
In the private workplace, employee evaluations are a common practice. Companies regularly set clear, measurable expectations and then evaluate workers' performance against those goals. These measurements help businesses reward, encourage and train employees so that the company sees increasing profits and the employee experiences a more rewarding career. The employees who do not perform to expectations and do not respond to professional development are often encouraged to find other, more personally rewarding career options. In business the main metric is profit; in education it is and ought to be student performance.Tennessee's teacher evaluation program, the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model, aims to help teachers and principals understand how they are performing and how to grow in the teaching profession. For those for whom teaching may not have been the best career choice, TEAM allows for a clear, objective method to help make personal decisions regarding their future.The notion of teacher and principal evaluations has a number in the profession rattled. Through their professional organizations, such as the Tennessee Education Association and Knox County Education Association, a vocal minority is aggressively making its opposition to the TEAM evaluations known to members of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Gov. Bill Haslam's administration strongly supports teacher evaluations. In fact, the administration, the state Legislature, every school board and the TEA committed to support an evaluation system as a part of the $500 million Race to the Top grant Tennessee received in 2010.
The concern is that the opposition to teacher and principal evaluations will sway the Legislature to repeal or water down the teacher evaluation law. I served on the Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee that recommended the TEAM evaluation system to the state school board. The system is good and will improve as it is used, weaknesses are identified and corrections are made. Challenges with implementation exist and need to be resolved, but we should be working together to try to improve these processes rather than fighting about whether we should have meaningful evaluations. To allow those who do not want meaningful, frequent evaluations to succeed in convincing the Legislature to gut the law would greatly hinder getting Tennessee students ready for life. Please contact your elected officials today and support Tennessee's Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model evaluation system.
News By:
knoxnews.com
- 12:10 -
petak, 28.10.2011.
Outstanding Tasmanian Teachers Recognized
Outstanding Tasmanian teachers have been recognised for making a difference to the educational outcomes of Tasmanian students.
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, today congratulated Brook High School Principal Shireen Thomas for winning the Tasmanian Branch Australian Council of Educational Leadership (ACEL) Fellowship at a special ceremony in Hobart.
“Shireen has been recognised for her significant and exemplary practice in leadership,” Mr McKim said.
“Principal of Guilford Young College, Hobart Barbara (Bobby) Court was awarded the 2011 Tasmanian Eminent Educational Leader for an extensive contribution to education over a significant time.
“The most important contributor to student achievement is top quality teachers and school leaders. That is why these awards are so important.”
Mr McKim also paid tribute to the four Tasmanian winners in the prestigious National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA).
“South Hobart Primary Principal Greg Turner, Havenview Primary School teacher Alison Luck, Riverside Primary School teacher Janine Hosking and Mackillop Catholic College teacher Timothy Johns have all been recognised for their teaching excellence in this year’s state awards,” Mr McKim said.
“NEiTA, now in its 18th year, is Australia’s only national, independent community-centred teaching awards program that gives Australian students, parents, early childhood and school communities the opportunity to nominate teachers who they believe to be committed, dedicated and outstanding representatives of the teaching profession.
“These talented Tasmanian winners will now go on to the next phase of the awards where 10 teachers from around the country vie for a national award.
“This is a fantastic achievement and my congratulations go to each of these outstanding Tasmanian teachers for making a real difference to the educational outcomes of our young Tasmanians.”
Other ACEL award winners include:
Young Educator of the Year awards:
Jen Clifton, of Huonville High School
Kylie Porthouse, of Claremont College
Cassandra O’Neil, of Star of the Sea Catholic College, George Town
Certificates of Excellence in Educational Leadership:
Michelle Muir, of Big Picture campus at Montrose High School
Greg Dwyer, of Sacred Heart Catholic School in Geeveston.
News By:
media.tas.gov.au
- 12:55 -
Province Introduces New Oversight And Disciplinary System For Teachers
“The aims of it are to improve student safety, increase public confidence and transparency around disciplinary and other processes, and ensure we build a foundation for a more mature, respectful and constructive relationship – not only with the (BC) Teacher’s Federation – but among all the educational partners,” said Education Minister George Abbott in a press conference yesterday.
The legislation follows a report released last year by Don Avison – a lawyer and former deputy minister of education – who was appointed by the provincial government to conduct the review of the BC College of Teachers after members of the College’s Council, wrote a letter to the former education minister requesting the review. Of the 20-member BC College of Teachers Council, eight members were appointed by government and 12 were elected, usually among members of the BC Teacher’s Federation (BCTF). The College had been criticized for being too heavily influenced by the BCTF and Avison found that the Council had lost credibility as an independent body.
The new legislation seeks to dissolve the College and replace it with a new British Columbia Teacher’s Council that will set standards for teachers with respect to conduct competency and certification, as well as have the authority to approve teacher education programs for certification purposes. The new council will be made up of 15 members – three teachers from the BCTF; another five teachers – each from a different region of the province – elected by their peers; and seven members based on nominations from seven educational organizations (see the sidebar item).
It will also include one non-voting representative from the Ministry of Education who will report to the minister.
Abbott acknowledged public school teacher’s can still form a majority on the new council, but he said he believes that is appropriate and his hope is that the council can be the foundation for a new, more respectful relationship between the government, public school teachers and other education partners.
“That is deliberately part of the structure here,” he said. “In my view, given that B.C.’s public school teachers comprise 73 per cent of the total teachers and others who will be subject to the processes of the council, I felt it appropriate that they have at least a theoretical opportunity to form a [majority].”
The government would still retain the ability to vet the non-elected members.
A nine-member Disciplinary and Professional Conduct Board will be established with members from the Teachers' Council, and include four members of the BCTF. The government will appoint a commissioner to receive complaints and reports about alleged teacher misconduct, conduct preliminary investigations and, where appropriate, assign members of the board to hold disciplinary hearings in three-member panels. Those panels will not include more than one BCTF member.
The panels will have jurisdiction over fitness, conduct and competence and will have the power to revoke, suspend, grant or impose conditions on teaching certificates. Those panels will also have the ability to conduct their hearings in public, which has provoked concern from the BCTF about teacher’s careers being ruined even if allegations of misconduct are not true.
“I think transparency is a good thing,” Abbott argued. “I think it’s important the public understand what is at the heart of disciplinary issues, and I think this is part of the process of building public confidence.”
However, he added in-camera hearings would be possible if deemed necessary.
The legislation has been criticized from both sides. The BCTF put out a statement stating while they welcome the new clarity around the role of the Teacher’s Council, they see the voice of teachers being diminished on the new council. They also take issue with Avison’s report, saying the allegations that the BCTF used its influence on the Teacher’s College to protect unethical teachers is “completely unfounded,” and that the government has yet to investigate any of the cases cited in the report.
On the other side, the BC Conservative Party has blasted the Liberal government for not doing enough to limit the influence of the BCTF on teacher oversight and discipline.
Abbott said the criticism from all sides seems to indicate his government struck the right balance with the legislation.
The legislation mentioned above comes as the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) and the BCTF negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, and as the government and teachers negotiate a response to the overturning of Bill 28 by the BC Supreme Court. Abbott said he doesn’t believe the new legislation will impact either of those negotiations, though he added “minimal progress” has been made to date at the bargaining table to date.
He also commented on the BCPSEA’s application to the Labour Relations Board to have report cards declared as an essential service, saying he believes it is imperative that parents be informed on how their child is doing in school.
“I don’t believe it is fair, appropriate or acceptable for parents – three months in, four months in, six months in, or even months in – not to know how their child is doing in school,” said Abbott.
However, teachers’ unions maintain report cards were always understood to be part of the administrative duties teachers would not be carrying out under the current job action, and has never been an issue in previous collective bargaining negotiations. They also insist teachers are still communicating with parents in other ways.
News By:
energeticcity.ca
- 12:52 -
četvrtak, 27.10.2011.
Family Of Educators Produces County Teacher Of The Year
It is safe to say that Nevada County's Teacher of the Year, Meghan Salter, knows a thing or two about local education.
After all, she has taught seventh grade for nine years at Union Hill School along Highway 174, where she herself was once a student. Some of her former instructors still teach there.
If that isn't enough to give her an insider's perspective, Salter's mother, Brooke Blake, has taught at Union Hill for the last 16 years.
After attending Union Hill, Salter moved on to Nevada Union High School, where today her father is working his way through his first year as principal after transferring from the same position at Park Avenue Alternative Education Center.
“She really wants (her students) to succeed and she'll do whatever it takes to get them to that level to realize their potential,” said Mike Blake, NU's first-year principal and Salter's father. “She is willing to approach it from a kid's point of view. She really believes in them and that is her strength.”
Beyond her parents, Salter also had an aunt, an uncle and a godparent in education.
“There weren't any misconceptions about what it means to be a teacher,” Salter told The Union. “I grew up understanding that teaching is more than going to work for seven hours and returning home.”
Growing up, it was often just assumed that Salter would be a teacher herself, she said.
“I wanted to be anything but a teacher,” she said, adding that she wanted to distinguish herself from the rest of the family.
But after taking an occupational test during her sophomore year at NU, Salter said she wasn't surprised when the program suggested she had career aptitude for teaching.
Salter said she earnestly geared herself toward teaching because it fit her desire to make a difference in the lives of children. It also helps that he isn't concerned with monetary reward.
Besides, there are other ways to gauge an educator's success. In Salter's case, a panel of judges has named her Nevada County's teacher of the year.
“It's big honor with all the great teachers in the county,” Salter said.
Salter will be recognized, along with six other teachers of the year, chosen by their respective districts, at the annual Association of California School Administrators and Nevada County School Boards Association dinner, this evening at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center in Nevada City.
Salter brings more than a family legacy of education to the classroom.
After graduating from NU, Salter went on get her bachelor's from Dominican University of California, and a master's in education from California State University, Sacramento.
She has studied development of the teenage brain and co-authored an educational website that provides information on how adolescents differ from adults based on brain development.
“Meghan's knowledge in this area provides the foundation for all that she does to help students be successful learners, both in and out of the classroom,” noted Susie Barry, superintendent of Union Hill.
“There is no set path for any student, there are a lot of different ways a student can be successful,” Salter said, repeating a mindset shared by her father.
“I try to model behavior that focuses on respect, caring and integrity,” Salter wrote in an introductory letter as a Teacher of the Year finalist. “A person's character is more valuable than grades because it reflects dedication, determination, work ethic, compassion, and a number of immeasurable qualities.”
News By:
theunion.com
- 12:17 -
MPS Officials: Special Education Changes Aim To Better Meet Students' Needs
Teaching special education students in Montgomery Public Schools has been a weakness for the system when it comes to meeting federal accountability standards, but this year officials said things are different and new measures are in place to help students get the resources they need.
Changes to special education were discussed during Tuesday's Montgomery County Board of Education meeting, where officials got an update on what's new to hold staff accountable, get students the services they need and address the root of discipline issues.
"I think we're putting accountability in place," Superintendent Barbara Thompson said.
Of Montgomery County's more than 31,000 public school students, 3,082 have disabilities and are classified as special education. One example of how officials are making sure those students get what they need is something called a resource notebook.
Teachers have a notebook with a page for each student that receives special education services, and in it, they are required to document instruction and services given to the student. Educators also are tasked with filling out an observation form to monitor compliance and delivery of services to students in the classroom.
Yolanda Gracie, MPS director of special education, said the documentation shows that students' IEPs, or Individualized Education Plans, are being carried out.
"This is documentation showing they are doing what they are supposed to do," she said.
In addition, Gracie said teachers also are getting more opportunities for professional development and resources. Special education teachers are learning how to collaborate, desaggregate testing data, find alternatives to suspensions and expulsions, and for the first time, new special education teachers attended a new teacher academy.
Special education teachers also have been outfitted with electronic whiteboards, laptops, document cameras and other items.
The other piece to the puzzle is discipline. Gracie said that while educators are looking for alternatives to punishments that land students out of school, they also will work to determine why students are behaving the way they are.
News By:
montgomeryadvertiser.com
- 12:15 -
srijeda, 26.10.2011.
CSU Joins Nationwide Movement To Add More Teachers
The California State University system has recently decided to join a nationwide movement to add 100,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers to the education system within the next 10 years.
"100Kin10" was started by Carnegie Corporation of New York, Opportunity Equation and NewSchools Venture Fund, but was first recognized in June at the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting in Chicago.
In 2007 the United States gave out one of the fewest number of mathematics and science bachelors degrees out of 30 countries, according to the Digest of Education Statistics.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan praised the initiative.
"President Obama and I believe that recruiting and preparing 100,000 excellent new teachers in the STEM fields is essential for our students' success in the 21st century knowledge economy," he said in a press release.
In order to contribute and commit to "100Kin10," the CSU system has committed to preparing 1,500 math and science teachers annually through 2015.
"We will recruit excellent candidates, encourage them to work in the state's highest need schools and engage in partnerships with school districts to ensure they are retained," CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said in the release.
While this is a new initiative for math and science teachers in the nation, California has been trying to encourage students to study math and science for years.
The Math and Science Teacher Initiative is a CSU systemwide plan that has been striving toward getting credentialed and qualified math and science teachers into the classroom. Through this initiative, the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship is awarded to more than 200 math and science students interested in teaching with $10,000 stipends for up to two years to support their upper division and credential study, according to the CSU website.
Along with these initiatives, the Assumption Program of Loans for Education will pay up to $19,000 back in student loans for math and science teachers who are credentialed and employed by California at a low income or high need school.
The average cost to train a new teacher in the State of California is $27,750.
This means that over 10 years the CSU plans on spending $41,625,000. Although this is an extreme number to look at, Joan Bissell, director for Teacher Education and Public School Programs for the CSU, assures that this money is coming from programs already intended for the training of new teachers, therefore it will not cause any new deficits in the CSU system.
"The focus here is on using CSU resources currently invested in teacher preparation to prepare teachers in two subjects in which they are in the significant demand across the state currently and are projected to be over the next decade," Bissell said.
Since the CSU will be spending a large amount of money to provide STEM teachers to schools and districts in need, it is important to know the return the CSU will see.
The CSU will see three major returns from the resources invested in credentialing teachers, Bissell said. The first of these is employment for students graduating with a credential. The second is the formation of excellent relationships with public schools.
And finally, the relationships with these schools will give students more opportunities for in-field learning experience at the schools.
While many people agree the "100Kin10" initiative is even more reason for California to strive to produce more math and science credentialed teachers through the CSU system, some think it is going to be too difficult.
Sophy Huck, a lecturer in the math department, said despite being under the impression that it was easy to get math and science teaching jobs, she spent four years teaching high school, but never landed a full-time position. For this reason, she never received the benefits of the APLE incentive.
"I don't understand where the jobs are for 100,000 math and science teachers," Huck said.
Additionally, she said not everyone is going to want to work or have the ability to work in inner-city areas.
David Kagan, the chair of the department of science education, has been working at Chico State for 30 years and had a different perspective. Kagan strongly agrees with the idea of adding more math and science teachers to fulfill the nation's needs. He thinks the future of the world economy is dependent on not only creating technology, but on making the planet more sustainable, which is done by having a knowledge of science.
Although Kagan is very proud of what California and Chico State have already done, he thinks it is just a start.
"We're one of only two CSUs that has a department of science education," he said.
He added that the school can still contribute to the nation's needs.
"I'm sure Chico will step up and provide resources to address our nation's problems," Kagan said.
Since California already has incentives and programs in place for students getting teaching credentials in math and science, the goal of 1,500 new teachers each year in these subjects may be attainable.
News By:
theorion.com
- 13:42 -
Teachers From Wales Due To Protest Outside Parliament
Teachers and lecturers from Wales are due to gather outside Parliament, to protest against pension cuts.
The action is part of a joint campaign by seven education unions, and organisers hope every school, college and university in Wales and England will be represented there.
Unions have not ruled out strike action if the UK government continues to erode pensions.
The UK government says change is needed to ensure pensions remain sustainable.
Thousands of teachers, lecturers and support staff are expected at the protest.
A petition with more than 130,000 names will be handed to the Department of Education, before unions meet MPs. Approximately Ł35,000 loss.
Owen Hathway, Wales policy officer for the union NUT Cymru, said the average new entrant teacher in Wales would lose up to Ł80 a month under the proposed system.
Owen Hathway said teachers could be Ł80 a month worse off
He added: "At the end of it, we're looking at teachers who would otherwise retire at 60, retiring at 68, receiving - if they're lucky - the same pension that they would normally receive.
"For a teacher of an average 25-year retirement, that's approximately a Ł35,000 loss."
Industrial action has already been held across Wales and England.
The most recent in Wales saw more than 300 schools closed fully or partially as members of teaching union Ucac staged a walkout.
That action was criticised by Prime Minister David Cameron.
The union said it hoped further action could be avoided, but added "that's in the government's hands now".
News By:
bbc.co.uk
- 13:40 -
utorak, 25.10.2011.
HP Showcases Education Initiatives At BETT Middle East Exhibition
HP presented the latest education solutions and initiatives designed to integrate affordable and collaborative technology in the classroom at the BETT Middle East exhibition. HP PSG provides solutions that aim to facilitate and transform the learning experience for students and teachers, by providing more collaboration and innovation in the classroom as well as professional development for teachers outside of the classroom.
Extending their education portfolio, HP introduced the Digital Learning Suite for a virtualized classroom environment to help schools do more with less.
The integration of virtualization solutions in the classroom means schools can lower overall IT costs, improve data security and enable productivity which means teachers can focus on teaching instead of troubleshooting and students can access their educational materials in the classroom, at home or anywhere they have access to the web.
"HP and our partners have a long history of transforming how we educate our youth, from K-12 all the way through to higher education," said Salim Ziade, General Manager, Personal Systems Group, Middle East, HP.
"Our vast portfolio of products, solutions and services spans from supercomputing systems to mobile technology, with 24x7 support services and financing options. We work collaboratively with educators, administrators and our technology partners to build campuses that are adaptive and capable of managing change with minimal disruption or expense whilst ensuring secure access to information, data and applications."
The HP Technology in the classroom (HP TIC) initiative is designed to provide teachers with the skills they need to integrate technology throughout their personal and professional lives. Through a series of interactive courses, HP shows teachers how to use IT resources in an efficient way which in turn allows them to successfully navigate the constantly changing environment of technology integration in the classroom.
SABIS, a global education management organization with schools in 15 countries including the UAE and Qatar, needed to simplify the management of its computing platform in examination halls and computer labs while reducing overall costs and creating space. SABIS partnered with HP to deploy a Thin Client platform.
The new platform simplified device management, reducing time spent managing software and maintaining hardware and also minimized computer crashes during critical examinations due to the reliable devices. As a result, SABIS saved 60% through lower maintenance costs, lower up front hardware investment, reduced licensing fees and less energy use.
"Thin clients are making life easier for the IT team, reducing costs and improving reliability and performance. They have also allowed us to look at extending the number of seats in the labs from 45 to 65 due to increased availability of space," said Nabil Feghali, Regional IT Operations Manager, SABIS.
"Thin clients are a perfect solution for the education sector and have transformed the learning experience here so much so that we are exploring the potential of deploying the solution in all our schools in the region and perhaps even globally," he added.
News By:
ameinfo.com
- 12:45 -
Eighty-Two Years Since The Great Crash
America has again found itself at a crossroads where we must band together to lift our economy and remain globally competitive. An educated populace is crucial to our recovery. Instead of cutting funds for our teachers, students, and schools, we must keep investing in our education system to foster a generation of Americans fluent in science, mathematics, and liberal arts that can continue to lead our country forward in the 21st century.
After years of rising prosperity in an unregulated banking industry, a 34-point drop in the U.S. Stock Market on October 24, 1929, led to the market tumult that ultimately plunged our economy into depression. We unfortunately repeated the story in 2008, a decade after the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act that allowed banks to gamble with personal savings while deregulation under the Bush administration oversaw a rise in irresponsible consumer lending. In response to then Treasury chief Henry Paulson on September 23rd, 2008, in which he urged: "We must [enact a program quickly] in order to avoid a continuing series of financial institution failures and frozen credit markets that threaten American families' financial well-being, the viability of businesses, both small and large, and the very health of our economy," my Colleagues in Congress and I reluctantly bailed out Wall Street.
Yet our country still struggles with the fallout from the Great Recession: 15.1% of Americans are living at or below the poverty line. One in five children under 18 live in poverty. Among the 14.1 million Americans unemployed or underemployed, 16.1% are African Americans, 11.3% are Hispanic-Americans, and 24.6% are teenagers. The American Dream should not paint a grim future for our children, college students, and aspiring entrepreneurs.
We have hope for recovery: Education. In the recent address to the Joint Session of Congress, President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea attributed Korea's rise from a war-torn country to one of the strongest economies in the world to education. Quality teachers and schools will nurture potential talent for future industries and businesses at the heart of economic growth. Good learning environment is crucial to a successful education, which is why I introduced H.R. 2394, Rebuilding America's Schools Act. This bill would provide crucial investments in infrastructure, course development, and teacher retraining in targeted schools across our nation. This could help reduce the dropout rates of students in New York City and other urban areas, where minorities are twice as likely to quit school.
So far this year, the Republican majority has neglected to improve American education. Millions of families rely on schools and educators for a curriculum, a sanctuary from city violence, and a place to learn important discipline and social skills. Yet they refused to pass the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act which would create or save approximately 400,000 jobs for teachers, cops and first responders in our communities that need their invaluable services.
The ongoing Occupy Wall Street movement that has now spread across America reflects the many frustrations including the decay in moral leadership in the business and political community. Since the Republicans gained majority in the 112th Congress, we have not been able to put forth a single bill that has created jobs and strengthened our education system. Some Members in Congress seem to be more preoccupied in defeating President Obama rather than saving the future of our country.
Still, there is hope. Democrats in Congress last year fought tooth-and-nail to pass funding that saved thousands of teaching jobs and state Medicaid programs. In New York City, I commended Mayor Bloomberg's Young Men's Initiative, a $130 million program that helps minority students complete their education through paid internships, as well as job training and recruitment centers in lower income areas. The Harlem Children's Zone in my Manhattan Congressional District exemplifies teacher innovation by integrating neighborhoods into a program that streamlines pre-school to high school graduation. Parents, teachers, administrators, and after-school counselors are all engaged in the education of students.
We saved Wall Street, and the nation's top 1% continues to gain record-profits since the bailout. Main Street and the 99% of Americans continue to suffer, and are struggling to put food on the table. This is unacceptable. The wealthiest Americans should pay their fair share. We all have an obligation to help the poor, the aged, the sick and most vulnerable among us. I urge the clergy and spiritual leaders to shed further light on our moral priorities.
We can choose to give tax breaks for the millionaires and big corporations or make a direct investment in our infrastructure, small businesses, and children's education. The American Jobs Act achieves the second option. Let us learn the lessons of the past and rebuild the foundation for the present and future generations to restore the faith in the American Dream.
News By:
huffingtonpost.com
- 12:26 -
ponedjeljak, 24.10.2011.
Cloud Computing Brings Teaching Aids Into Class
The Department of Basic Education has teamed up with business to launch a mobile education programme aimed at increasing teachers’ and students’ access to superior teaching resources through cloud computing.
Most schools in SA struggle to access academic resources, with statistics from the department indicating that only 7% of schools have a stocked library. Only 23% of schools have a computer "centre", with only 10% having sufficient computers.
"Through this initiative, teachers will now be able to use cloud computing to access vital content, teacher aids and resources to help deliver quality education," Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys said last week.
The Vodacom Mobile Education Programme — a partnership between the department, Vodacom, Microsoft, Cisco and Mindset Learn — will establish nine information and communications technology (ICT) centres, each serving 200 schools. This would reduce the need for physical infrastructure in schools by providing direct access to an internet-based "cloud" of applications and academic databases, Mr Uys said.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga last week welcomed the initiative, saying that it would go a "long way" to addressing the education system’s "ICT challenge".
Mr Uys said the programme would help level the playing field for rural schools, which often did not have access to the same quality of teaching materials as urban schools.
In addition to this, 2400 principals in Gauteng had been connected to the department and each other through a reporting management application run on BlackBerry cellphones. This would be rolled out nationally, enabling greater communication between the department and school administrations.
The ICT centres would also serve as training centres and provide ICT infrastructure and tools to teachers.
Cisco SA GM David Meads said access to comprehensive academic material was necessary as "shortfalls in IT business skills persist across our region and governments are increasingly concerned about digital exclusion and the need to optimise the entire workforce".
Cloud computing would contribute to a comprehensive, 21st century learning experience that enabled students to develop the foundational ICT skills needed to design, build and manage networks, along with career skills such as problem solving and critical thinking, he said.
News By:
businessday.co.za
- 08:21 -
'Schools Should Stop Trying To Not Be Political'
A traditional civics education can go something like this: Open your text book, read a little bit about Canada's political structure, who is the prime minister and what the Governor General actually does.
It can involve a lot of reading and watching a lot of "grainy old films," said Jeremy Diamond, director of national programs for the Historica-Dominion Institute, which advocates for history and citizenship education in Canada. But "are we engaging them in the process?" asks Diamond, who answers: "Not really."
Observers say that outcome is reflected in low voter turnout - a reality that continues to invite questions about how to engage more people, particularly youth, in politics and voting.
New research indicates that students can better develop their attitudes about politics by debating some of the most controversial issues of the day, such as abortion.
"It's the exact thing that schools don't do," said Joel Westheimer, the research chair in democracy and education at the University of Ottawa.
When civics education is done right, he said, research shows students become more engaged politically.
The problem is how to talk about controversial issues in the classroom, a place teachers are leery to allow politics to enter, Westheimer says.
"That is their dilemma and it shouldn't be," he said. "Schools should stop trying to not be political."
Politically charged classroom discussions do take place, but they have been on the decline over the past 10 years, Westheimer said. There has been a narrowing of the curriculum in the years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he said, as citizenship courses on both sides of the border focused more on patriotism than on critically analyzing political ideas.
A 2010 study Westheimer helped conduct of civics education in Canada, which included interviews with high school teachers and students in the Ottawa area, found lessons focused on teaching students procedural knowledge about politics because they didn't know enough. However, those facts did little to help them become more politically engaged, the study said.
But some educators are receiving more tools to make lessons in politics more political.
When Nova Scotia looked to update its citizenship curriculum, it wanted to make sure students not only knew how government works, but also how to get involved.
"You need the knowledge, skills and attitudes. It's the attitude we're looking at," said Jennifer Burke, the province's consultant on social studies curricula. "It's a process we're just starting."
Similar guidelines are available in curriculum documents across the country. In B.C., high school civics classes place an emphasis on political debates and current events, according to the province's Ministry of Education.
In recent years, provincial election agencies such as Elections Ontario, Elections B.C. and Elections Saskatchewan have also provided educational material for teachers to use in the classroom, while Elections Manitoba has its CitizenNext.ca website, designed to teach students about how and why to vote.
Elections Ontario is updating its lesson plans for Grade 5 and 10 students this year. Student handouts are in the form of a graphic novel and have so far been used in 800 classrooms, said agency spokeswoman Julia Bennett. The foray into educational material is relatively new for the organization, she said, and is seen as one important step into boosting voter turnout for young people.
Westheimer said sometimes provincial governments are quick to back away from any hint of controversy in the classroom.
He notes the Ontario government's scrapping of a revamped sex education curriculum that caused controversy over not only what was being taught, such as sexual identity, but also beginning the curriculum at an earlier age.
Making the curriculum more politically charged will require a change in thinking at the most senior levels of government, he said.
"You need policy-makers with backbone," Westheimer said.
"Canadian democracy depends on it."
News By:
ottawacitizen.com
- 08:19 -
subota, 22.10.2011.
Framingham State Poised To Help Teachers Grasp STEM Subjects
While teaching science and math may not literally be rocket science, it’s close enough to scare off some educators.
“Their eyes do glaze over,” said Mary Liscombe, director of the McAuliffe Challenger Center at Framingham State University. “It’s a tough nut to crack a lot of the times.”
At risk are the futures of students who will need to know the basics of the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — to get the top jobs of the future. An unqualified teaching force also threatens the future of the local economy, which will need those positions to be filled to keep the workforce humming.
It’s no surprise, then, why state and local officials were so excited this past Monday to celebrate Framingham State’s designation as an official NASA Educator Resource Center, the first one in Massachusetts. The university joins a nationwide network of around 60 centers that have access to the aerospace agency’s vast library of online materials, a trove that includes everything from detailed satellite images to live, interactive video courses that can be beamed into classrooms.
The thrust of the new center will be to help local teachers get a better grasp of STEM, as well as make the subjects more palatable to education majors who might otherwise avoid them due to their difficulty. It coincides perfectly with the state’s ongoing efforts to ramp up STEM education throughout the public education system, said Jake Foster, director of science and technology/engineering at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Foster envisioned the center becoming a learning hub for educators, a resource “every district can access and know what’s going on.”
The benefits of collaboration with NASA should be well-known to any educator who’s worked with the agency, Liscombe said.
“When I knew NASA was going to be involved, I knew I was going to walk out with a big bag of stuff,” she said.
Even more valuable are the professional development opportunities offered by the agency. Through her work at the Challenger Center, which is part of a national network of space science education programs, Liscombe said she’s seen students’ outlook on STEM change after interning with NASA.
“They come away feeling like they’re more confident … and able to help their students really engage in their learning,” she said. “That’s the most important thing.”
Kevin Thurston, executive director of the Greater Boston Readiness Center and MetroWest STEM Education Network, said the sagging interest levels in math and science at his schools could use a boost.
“This center will help build interest,” he said. “It’s more than the materials - it’s the teacher development.”
While professional development is “the foundation that keeps us going everyday” at the Challenger Center, Liscombe said it’s an area that hasn’t always received the attention it deserves in Massachusetts. One of the first big challenges facing Framingham State will be figuring out how to make NASA’s training and materials available to more teachers around the state. Though mostly digital in format, the agency’s library at first will be accessible primarily through a website maintained at the university’s Whittemore Library. Eventually, though, officials hope to allow teachers to link to the content from their classrooms.
Regardless of how the medium changes, Framingham State president Timothy Flanagan said the importance of STEM education will be constant.
“Certain things today won’t be happening five to 10 years from now,” he said. “But there will always be science, and there will always be math.”
News By:
wickedlocal.com
- 12:32 -
Education Report: Science Night In West Oakland And Thoughts On Teacher "Consolidation"
Oct. 20
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in West Oakland is taking its science and math instruction up a notch this year -- and to do it, Principal Roma Groves said, the faculty is enlisting parents' help.
This evening, the school held its first Family Science Night to involve parents in the school's new STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) focus. Teachers led demonstrations while parents helped out or just took it all in.
I didn't make it to all the classrooms, but I observed a geology lesson and watched the liquid substances kids dropped into plastic baggies turn into slime.
Jasella Jones, an MLK parent, said she doesn't remember having any science instruction when she attended another West Oakland elementary school years ago. Now, she said, her 8-year-old daughter, Amunique Usher, comes home from school and teaches her what she's learned. "She always has important questions that I can't answer about the moon and the stars and the sun," Jones said. "Just imagine what the future holds, not only for her, but for her kids and her grandkids and everyone else." Michele Williams' first-graders took home their neon-colored slime, but only after solemnly swearing to take care of it and not eat it, or smear it on other children. What do your schools do to promote science and to involve families in the process?
Oct. 16
On Friday, I wrote about the upcoming transfer of five Oakland teachers to other schools on Week 8 of the school year. David Braden, a teacher at Bella Vista Elementary School, wrote an essay for The Education Report about the effects of the district's budget-balancing act. His piece about the process known as "consolidation" is posted in full on the blog.
Braden writes: "Through the years, we have united together as a staff, we have felt safe to take risks and learn from each other, and we have firmed and solidified our teaching practice. We have consolidated ourselves into a high-functioning school of people who live, learn and achieve. To use the same word to describe the process we've been asked to endure, and which will surely set us back in our race to the top, is nauseating and hurtful."
Reader response
CogIntheOUSDWheel: Interesting post from David Braden. I certainly can testify to most of it, although many teachers do NOT know their assignments in May. Or June. Or July. Or much before the first bell. I too was "consolidated." ... I was moved out of a job where I was highly successful into a job I would never have applied for, because I knew it was the wrong population for me to work with. ... Just having a teaching credential does not mean that one is a match for every job and every school. I went from loving my job to dreading it. I used to be a great teacher, but that is not true now. I do keep plugging away, but my heart was sort of broken by being forced out of my job that I loved. Unfortunately, in OUSD, teachers are pawns and cogs in a wheel, interchangeable and easily replaceable. And what's really sad, is that noncertificated staff get even less respect than teachers, which is hard to imagine, but true.
Del: Consolidation is a huge problem and a nightmare for students, families, teachers, administrators, and everyone else. But what else can be done? There is no money to pay teachers if there are not enough students. Union rules understandably make the situation even less flexible.
Ms. J: I think it is worth repeating that the victims of consolidation are not only the teachers (and I am going to take on eight first-graders as a result of the consolidations at Bella Vista, taking my class to 30 kids), but the students. The district may not have any money, but the thing that is so frustrating and tragic is that this mismatch of funds is being sorted out 34 days into the school year.
News By:
mercurynews.com
- 12:28 -
petak, 21.10.2011.
Teachers Happy To Talk To Parents
The Comox District Teachers' Association would like to thank the parents and students of School District #71 for your continued support and understanding as we work through Phase One of our job action.
Teachers fully understand that parents are concerned about your child's education.
Because of this, we have structured Phase One so that it is all about teaching and not about the administrative duties and paper work that often take up considerable time. That time is better devoted to the classroom.
You may have heard in the news that Education Minister George Abbott is considering legislation to end the current strike. His rationale for this government interference is his concern that you, the parents, are not being given the details of your child's progress.
There are two points that need to be made clear immediately so that you have accurate information.
First, the school year has only just begun. Formal report cards, the type referred to by Minister Abbott, would not be occurring in most schools until November if we were not in job action so his presumption that you are uninformed about your child's progress is premature at best.
In the meantime, teachers should be contacting you in their usual ways if they have a concern and their doors remain open for your questions.
Second, Phase One does not stop teachers from providing students and their parents with progress reports at any time.
In fact, the Comox District Teachers' Association and the BC Teachers' Federation expect that informal reporting is occurring on an ongoing basis be it teacher, student or parent initiated and that if there are any concerns, that these are discussed with parents at the earliest possible date.
These communications may include informal meetings, phone calls, assignments sent home to be signed and returned, comments in agendas, notes home, or emails depending on the usual method employed by an individual teacher.
The intent of this phase of job action is for teachers to get back to the basics of teaching by limiting administrative duties with as few disruptions for students as possible.
For the Minister to suggest legislation this early in the process, for reasons that are unfounded, is disingenuous and appears to be based on misinformation.
If you have any questions about the progress of your daughter or son, please contact her/his teacher/s.
They will be happy to discuss your child's progress with you.
Steve Stanley CDTA President.
News By:
canada.com
- 12:43 -
Teaching Union Starts Dispute With Welsh Government Over 'Excessive' Workload And Conditions
A TEACHING union has broken ranks and entered into a dispute with the Welsh Government over excessive workload, conditions of service and job losses.
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) warned that conditions for a “perfect storm” had been brewing and members would be voting next month on industrial action.
The UK’s largest teaching union is the first to dispute issues with the Welsh Government, though pension changes put forward by Westminster are also being challenged.
The majority of education is devolved in Wales but teachers’ pay and conditions are dictated centrally by the UK Government.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates this week outlined her grievances in a letter to Welsh Education Minister Leighton Andrews.
She said “excessive workloads” and the “explosion of bureaucratic burdens” were distracting teachers from teaching.
Ms Keates believes that some local authorities are being allowed to flaunt statutory contracts and are asking too much of their staff.
She told the Western Mail: “We have warned the Minister that unless he took action to address the concerns we have raised with him and his officials repeatedly that all of the conditions for a perfect storm were brewing.
“Simply ignoring the evidence doesn’t make the problem go away. Standards of education for children and young people are inextricably linked to the conditions of service of teachers.”
In an earlier letter to the Minister, Ms Keates said teachers were “buckling” under the weight of excessive lesson planning, assessment and reports.
“Excessive, punitive monitoring, masquerading as classroom observation, is also a contributory factor. Failure to apply the statutory contractual provisions compounds this problem,” she said.
“Evidence shows that the work of teachers and school leaders is at the heart of securing sustainable improvement. If professionals are given the right working conditions, pupils’ performance improves.”
The union is concerned new performance management regulations being considered in Wales would prove “punitive and judgmental rather than supportive and developmental.”
It also opposes what it believes are “unjustifiable attacks” on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), which would see monthly contributions and the normal retirement age for teachers rise under plans, tabled in Westminster.
The union is hoping to settle its dispute with both the UK and Welsh Governments through negotiation, though a successful ballot could see members joining a nationwide day of action on November 30.
Members of both the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers balloted members earlier this year in a dispute over pensions.
Teachers downed tools on June 30 in a co-ordinate national strike with civil servants and other public sector workers.
The National Association of Head Teachers is in the process of balloting members for what would be the union’s first strike in its 114-year history.
Rex Phillips, NASUWT Wales organizer, said: “The Minister should treat this notice of our intention to ballot as a wake-up-call over the Welsh Government approach to the standards agenda.
“Standards will rise if teachers are treated with the respect that they deserve and have working conditions that enable them to concentrate on teaching and learning.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “We have no desire to overburden teaching staff in Wales.
“The Minister met the NASUWT recently to discuss their concerns in more detail and has asked for some specific examples to illustrate their concerns. We will respond to the NASUWT’s letter in due course.”
A spokesman for Westminster’s Department for Education said its pension proposals are a “fair deal” for teachers and will remain among the best available.
News By:
walesonline.co.uk
- 12:40 -
četvrtak, 20.10.2011.
Smyrna Educator Named Teacher Of The Year For 2012
Amber Augustus, a fifth grade teacher from the Smyrna School District, is Delaware's State Teacher of the Year for 2012. Augustus teaches math, science and social studies at John Bassett Moore Intermediate School, where she began her teaching career in 2005.
Governor Jack Markell announced Augustus as Delaware's "top teacher" in front of more than 515 invited guests at the Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center in Dover tonight.
In an earlier endorsement letter to the Teacher of the Year Selection Committee, John Bassett Moore Principal Elyse Baerga described Augustus as a mentor to other teachers, adding, "while Mrs. Augustus is an amazing instructor, her talents lie in her ability to connect with her students by cultivating a learning environment that is warm and welcoming. "This connection fosters a relationship of safety and security in the classroom that inspires her students to engage themselves in the learning process," Baerga said. "Each time you enter her classroom you witness students engaged, participating, sharing and excited about learning."
Stephanie Bowser, a parent of two former students of Augustus, shared similar praise: "I never worried how Cole was doing in school nor [did] I worry about Naomi's progress. Mrs. Augustus demonstrates accountability and high expectations for all of her students.
"Not only is Mrs. Augustus concerned about her students' academic progress, she also has regard for them as individuals," Bowser wrote. "Mrs. Augustus focuses on her students' strengths and talents. While others may see a child as 'challenging,' Mrs. Augustus recognizes the positive aspects of different points of view."
Education was not Augustus' original plan. In 2001, she earned a bachelor's of art in communications with a concentration in interpersonal communication from the University of Delaware, quickly landing a job with an international company.
Augustus was drawn to the profession while watching the careers of her mother- and father-in-law, both educators: "While I was making so much progress professionally with my previous employer, I watched my in-laws do the same except, in my opinion, their job really mattered," she wrote. "I started asking to come to their classrooms. Their days were fast paced and busy, yet what impressed me more was how much fun it was!"
She went back to school, earning a master's in education in elementary studies from Wilmington University in 2005.
That is when she joined the staff at John Bassette Moore, where she has served as lead teacher in social studies since 2005 and as the fifth grade department chair from 2008 to 2011. She also has been the Bank at School coordinator since 2006 and has participated in the Elementary Math Teacher Leadership program led by the University of Delaware since 2010.
Now with a classroom of her own, Augustus works hard to ensure every student feels safe, cared for and supported. "My students do not all need the same type of teacher ... I work hard to create a positive, personal connection with each student and his or her family," she wrote to explain her philosophy of teaching.
"I cannot control the lives of my students outside of my classroom," she said. "However, when they are with me they know they are with an adult who cares about their well-being and success. I encourage them when they are struggling, identify areas in which they can direct their efforts to improve, and celebrate with them when they make progress."
The demanding process of selecting Delaware's Teacher of the Year is designed to find that teacher who is most representative of the entire profession through in-class observations, portfolio reviews and consideration of finalists by a representative panel.
Augustus now inherits from outgoing Teacher of the Year Joseph Masiello the enormous responsibility of representing all teachers in Delaware. She will address community groups, business leaders, legislators, and educational organizations to inform the public about the status of Delaware schools. She also will become Delaware's entrant in the National Teacher of the Year Program, presented by the ING Foundation and a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
By action of the General Assembly, Augustus will receive a $5,000 grant to use for the educational benefit of her students, as well two personal grants totaling an additional $5,000. The remaining 19 school district candidates will each receive a personal grant of $2,000.
Augustus also will receive an educational technology package valued at approximately $18,000 from the SMART Technologies, ULC. Additionally, she will receive: a $1,000 grant for educational/classroom use from Pearson; grants from the Delaware State Education Association, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and the Delaware Professional Standards Board; a State of Delaware Teacher of the Year commemorative plate from the Division of Motor Vehicles; free graduate-level courses from Delaware's higher education institutions, including a full doctorate program from Wilmington University; a gold watch from the Delaware State Teachers of the Year Association and lunch in Washington D.C. with Sen. Tom Carper.
Other organizations that made presentations to the newly-selected Teacher of the Year include: the Delaware Chief School Officers Association; Delaware Association of School Administrators; Delaware School Boards Association; University of Delaware; Delaware State University; Wesley College; Delaware Technical and Community College; and the Future Educators of America.
Augustus' selection as Delaware's top educator makes her the 48th Teacher of the Year since Delaware's recognition program began in 1965. This year's celebration is sponsored in part by ING.
News By:
newarkpostonline.com
- 12:23 -
Schumer Supports Back To Work Act
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer Wednesday announced his support for the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act that is expected to be voted on in the Senate this week.
The legislation, a piece of President Obama’s jobs bill that will now receive a separate vote, would provide more than $1.7 billion to New York to try and reverse over 7,500 teacher layoffs, as well as protect an additional 11,000 teaching jobs.
As a result of the current recession, New York faced a budget shortfall of $10 billion in 2012, a staggering 17.6 percent of the state’s general fund. Because of the post stimulus drop-off in federal support and huge reductions in state revenue from the ongoing economic downturn, New York had to cut funding for a variety of educational programs and services. This year, New York’s elementary and high schools are currently receiving 0.6 percent less state funding than in 2008.
“We must immediately pass the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act in order to put thousands of teachers back in New York classrooms where they belong,” said Schumer. “Right now there are more and more children raising their hands in New York’s classroom and fewer teachers there to answer their questions. That’s a recipe that will lead to a failing grade for our kids and New York’s economy, and I am going to push hard for passage of this jobs legislation.”
The Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act would save or create nearly 18,000 education jobs in New York and 400,000 nationwide through critical investments in our education system. Specifically, The Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act would invest $30 billion to support state and local efforts to retain, rehire, and hire early childhood, elementary, and secondary educators. The bill would provide New York with more than $1.7 billion in additional funds that will support 18,000 education jobs, provide a jolt to the state economy, and improve the quality of education. This legislation would not add a dime to the federal deficit, as it is fully paid for with a 0.5 percent surcharge on the tax returns of millionaires.
Schumer noted that this job-creating legislation could not come at a more critical time to New York’s education system. New York’s budget shortfall has resulted in a reduction in funding in both elementary and high schools across the state. Since these cuts in educational spending, many New York local school districts have been forced to cut back on educational programs and services, often laying-off needed teachers and other critical staff. As a result, local government employment fell by 13,000 jobs in New York since 2008, including positions such as teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public employees.
Schumer noted that a recent survey of school superintendents conducted by the New York State Council of School Superintendents demonstrated the negative repercussions of the current fiscal crisis on New York’s education system. 66 percent of superintendents said that their districts had cut teaching jobs in the 2010-11 school year, and 44 percent said they had done so in the 2009-10 school year as well.
Of the approximately 700 school districts in New York, about 90 percent are receiving less funding than they did three years ago, all while health insurance and pension cost continue to surge. Many school districts were forced to increase class size, or make cuts to other instructional costs. A great deal of districts were forced to scale back summer school programs, extracurricular activities as well as minimize their supplemental education offerings to students.
News By:
thedailynewsonline.com
- 12:21 -
srijeda, 19.10.2011.
Connecticut Teacher Of The Year Is Berlin High's David Bosso
BERLIN — David Bosso has deep roots in his small hometown, but the flags hanging in his classroom — from Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Japan — reflect his global vision.
Bosso, who was named Connecticut's teacher of the year Tuesday, grew up in Berlin, attended Berlin High School as his father did, came back to teach social studies at the high school and met his wife, Jennifer, who teaches math there.
"Berlin High School means a lot to me," Bosso said just after his award was announced in the school gymnasium packed with students and state and local officials. "Some of the most important memorable and important days of my life have taken place within these walls."
Yet his passion to learn about the world and bring that knowledge back to his students has taken Bosso far from his hometown, earned him statewide recognition and made him a contender for national teacher of the year.
"What a spectacular teacher you are, sir," Stefan Pryor, the state's new education commissioner, said at the ceremony. "You have done a remarkable job of maintaining your duties on a day-to-day basis while importing ideas and inspiration from around the world."
Bosso has traveled widely abroad, often winning grants to make trips and working with teachers, talking with students or spending a day in a school to get a sense of the country's culture and educational system.
Last May, Bosso traveled to Ghana through the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program to work with numerous educators in the development of best teaching practices.
"It's important to be familiar with the places and regions and the cultures about which you teach, to go beyond the textbook," Bosso said. "There has to be a personal connection there. That's really been the goal."
In addition to flags, Bosso has filled his classroom with photos from his travels — the Great Wall in China, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, an Egyptian pyramid, a mosque in Saudi Arabia — and thick notebooks of his research.
Lia D'Amato, a senior at Berlin High School who gave a speech at the ceremony, had Bosso for a world history class.
"He made me want to be not just a better student, but a better person," D'Amato said. "He brought the perspective of everything else going on in the world to this small town of Berlin."
She said that Bosso's class was part of the reason she had just joined Habitat for Humanity to help others and why she is interested in traveling to other countries.
Another student, Jill Ferraguto, a junior, gave Bosso a thumbs up as he walked into the auditorium. "He's the best teacher I ever had," Ferraguto said. "He knows when to have fun and when to be serious."
Her friend, Lauren Aresco, also a junior, said, "He connects with the kids really well."
Bosso was recognized by the Connecticut Council of the Social Studies with its Excellence in Social Studies Education award in 2009. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and social studies from Eastern Connecticut State University, a master's degree in history from Central Connecticut State University and another master's degree in educational computing and technology from the University of Hartford. He currently is pursuing a doctorate in education at American International College in Springfield.
Connecticut's teacher of the year was selected from nominations made by 110 of the state's 166 school districts; the state has more than 50,000 public school teachers overall.
Christopher Poulos, who is president of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council and the state's 2007 winner, said the contest isn't about picking the best classroom teacher, which would be very difficult to judge, "but rather to pick the best representative of excellence in education."
He said the selection process is extensive and includes visits to finalists' schools to interview students, teachers, bus drivers, school secretaries and others.
Poulos said Bosso will travel extensively around the state and the country, including a trip to Washington D.C. in the spring to meet with President Obama and Arne Duncan, the U.S. secretary of education.
It was the second time a teacher from Berlin High School has won the statewide Teacher of the Year award. Carol Virostek, who received the award in 1989 and taught Bosso, attended the announcement ceremony.
"He was a great kid, a good student, a good athlete and came from a great family," Virostek said. "He's done everything he could possibly do to make himself the best teacher he could be, the most knowledgeable teacher. I'm so proud of him."
News By:
articles.courant.com
- 12:17 -
The Importance Of Inclusion: Why I Learned British Sign Language
If you ask any of my colleagues they will tell you how important inclusion is to me as a teacher. I firmly believe, as all teachers do, that every child deserves the right to be treated equally and to receive the same quality of education as everyone else. I have worked with children from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, and with children with varying educational needs and abilities. I constantly adapt my teaching style, learning environment and activities to suit every child in my class.
I was fairly new to supply when I came to be working at a delightful school one week. I was intrigued when I got the phone call and was asked to cover a reception class for two days in a mainstream school with a Unit for Hearing Impaired children attached. My head was full of questions – What would this unit look like? Can deaf children speak? How do I teach a class of mixed hearing and deaf children at the same time? So with trepidation I arrived at the school. I shouldn't have worried though, the class was fully staffed with 1:1 learning support assistants who could sign and translated everything I said to the children. My relief was immense.
On this particular day I found myself yet again at the lull before lunch. The children were tired and hungry from the morning's activities and I had about 10 minutes to kill so what did I do?
I decided to play a game of the old faithful… Chinese Whispers (or Telephone as it's called in the US – see Wikipedia to find out why).
Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that Chinese Whispers may not be the most appropriate game to play when there are deaf children in the room. However, I was so busy trying to keep the children happy that the thought had not even entered my impatient head.
I told the children to sit quietly in a circle, the LSAs were oblivious to my plan and the children were shuffling excitedly in their seats. The game began, as before with me passing round a silly sentence to the child to my left. There were quiet giggles as the hearing children passed on the message around the circle and all was going well. Until, of course, it came to this particular deaf child. In my mind, the realisation dawned upon me for the first time and I caught the LSAs eye as she glared at me in surprise and said, "I'm not sure that this game was the best choice for this class". I could have died. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Needless to say, I have NEVER played Chinese Whispers with a class, hearing or deaf, since!
On a positive note, the experience I had at the school with deaf and hearing children inspired me to learn British Sign Language. I signed myself up to evening classes and achieved my Level 1 and 2 BSL of which I am extremely proud of. I am more aware of the challenges faced by deaf children and adults and I enjoy attending signing clubs with my friends. I went on to work with deaf children in a mainstream school and spent two years teaching them Literacy and Numeracy, translating for them in assembly and working 1:1 with each child in their own class.
Who knows, if I had never decided to play that fateful game of Chinese Whispers, maybe I would never have learnt sign language and worked with the fantastic children at my school. You may be interested to check out the following excellent websites the National Deaf Studies working group and the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children.
News By:
guardian.co.uk
- 12:14 -
utorak, 18.10.2011.
New Evaluations Will Foster Teacher Respect
As the spouse of a teacher, I know at least this much about the current education reform debate: Teachers don’t get the respect they deserve.
Fortunately, Tennessee education officials are working to change that, in part by instituting a new teacher evaluation system. Although controversial, the state’s new assessment and feedback program for teachers conveys a critical message: that teaching is a rigorous profession, and it should be treated like one.
That’s not the message you hear from critics. According to them, the new teacher evaluation program is half-baked, unfair and leads to dire consequences.
Complaints include that it involves overwhelming paperwork, requires unnecessary lesson planning, demands administrators spend too much time in classrooms watching teachers, and — most ominously — leaves teachers so fed up that they quit.
What, exactly, is all the fuss about?
Under the old system, school leaders rarely observed teachers working in their classrooms, and teachers were evaluated without taking any measure of their students’ success. As a result, teachers seldom received substantive feedback about the day-to-day practice of their craft. At the same time, administrators too often failed to appreciate why their best teachers were so effective or missed warning signs that struggling teachers needed support.
That wasn’t a formula that was going to improve teachers’ skills or — ultimately — change the disappointing state of Tennessee schools.
The new system was designed to make that change. Now, administrators must watch each teacher in the classroom at least twice per semester and provide timely feedback. And teachers’ evaluations depend, at least in part, on what students learn in the classroom.
These are substantial improvements, but they’re only part of the equation. The critical piece is that the entire evaluation and feedback process is built around a specific, detailed blueprint of expectations and best practices developed by experts here in Tennessee.
This blueprint recognizes that teaching is as much science as art. Drawing on research about what works, it measures the environment a teacher creates in the classroom, the planning that teachers conduct before and after class, and the instruction that takes place during the class period itself. Within each of these elements, it provides specific examples for what separates an excellent teacher from a good one. In effect, the blueprint represents the educational equivalent of Moneyball, promoting research-based techniques over gut reactions.
Critics who describe it as a burdensome checklist, or believe that it’s too detailed to be useful, miss the point.
What Tennessee is trying to do is take the state-of-the-art in teaching and make it the day-to-day reality in our schools.
Make no mistake: This will require administrators to spend much more time supporting teachers at the expense of other responsibilities. It will require teachers to think longer about what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it. And, yes, some teachers might quit as a result.
But these are features of the new program, not flaws.
If we’re serious about racing to the top in education, we must respect our teachers’ abilities, push them even harder, and trust that they can lead the way.
News By:
tennessean.com
- 12:14 -
How To Teach … Saving Energy
As the nights draw in, the heating and lights go on and it's too damp to hang clothes on the line. So what better time to focus on energy consumption?
Next week (24-28 October) is Energy Saving Week and the Energy Saving Trust has some useful resources on the Guardian Teacher Network, including top tips on how to save energy at home, a poster full of practical ideas (such as installing water-displacement devices) and up-to-date fact sheets on solar power, micro generation and renewable.
There is also a Guardian interactive on climate change, plus lessons on renewable energy, energy use around the world, carbon footprints and recycling.
To help secondary school-aged children and sixth-formers understand the bigger picture, our Guardian interactive on everything you need to know about climate change is a must. It's an up-to-date guide to the facts of global warming, from the science and politics to economics and technology.
To get to grips with the basics of renewable energy try our interactive science lesson designed for 11- to 14-year-olds on how renewable resources are used to generate electricity and on how solar energy can be used to produce hot water. After completing the lesson, children should be able to understand the advantages of using renewable and non-renewable energy as well as make predictions and find patterns in results.
For upper primary age-children, try this resource designed by the Saving Squad, which helps children to understand what their carbon footprint is and how to save energy.
And we have some educational materials and lesson plans for 8- to 13-year-old students from Recolight, a not-for-profit organization that funds the recycling of energy-saving light bulbs. They've commissioned specialist teachers to create a series of practical lessons for their Big Light Project, which includes an investigation of light bulbs, an energy audit and recycling. All the PDFs can be downloaded.
News By:
guardian.co.uk
- 12:10 -
ponedjeljak, 17.10.2011.
Sudden Switch To BM For Science Students
PETALING JAYA: Students who began their Standard One in 2003 under the English stream – where Science and Mathematics were taught in English – are now expected to learn Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia when they go to Form Four next year.
The change in the “teaching process” has got parents in the urban Klang Valley are all frantic with anxiety. They are trying to get the Education Ministry to clear up the matter.
So far the bewildered parents have received no statements from their respective school heads but worried students have told their parents that “all Form Four subjects will be taught only in Bahasa Malaysia”.
A housewife, who wanted to be known only as Siva, from Subang Jaya said: “Everyone is confused… I went to inquire from my son’s school and was told that they were waiting for the ministry’s directive. But they said they were unofficially told that the teaching will be in Bahasa Malaysia if you have more than 15 Malay students in Form Four.
“I called the Education Ministry last week to verify this and an officer told me that the teaching of all science subjects in Form Four will be in Bahasa Malaysia.
“She also said some schools have a choice of teaching in English or Bahasa Malaysia depending on how many Malay students they have.”
Let them complete SPM
Another worried parent, who preferred to be called Tan, from Taman Desa, said the new policy was “not fair to our children”.
“We were told at the onset when this batch started Standard One in 2003 that they will complete their Science and Maths in English until SPM (Form Five).
“They should just let them finish it. How can they (the ministry) victimise this batch of students now?
“It’s rubbish to say the exams will be set in dwibahasa (dual language), but all the teaching in the class will be in Bahasa Malaysia.
“Why confuse the students? Already, they are under so much pressure.
“What will happen if the students answer the exam questions in English? Are there enough English proficient teachers and examiners who can give them a fair reading?
“Can the ministry guarantee that our children who answer their exam paper in English will not be victimised?” asked Tan.
No ‘dwi’ bahasa textbook
Another concerned parent, Dr Raja, from Damansara, said he had gone around the bookshops and private stores looking for Form Four Chemistry and Biology books for his son and was shocked to find only Bahasa Malaysia textbooks.
He said the government had promised that the Science and Mathematic books would be ready before it implemented the MBMMBI (Upholding the Malay Language, Strengthening the English Language) policy in 2012.
But now that parents are wanting to prepare their children for the hard days ahead, there are no books available.
“How are we supposed to assist and prep our children if we cannot find dual language textbooks? I assume the teachers are also not readyto teach the subjects,” said Raja.
“This is crazy. We are not against the Education Ministry’s Bahasa Malaysia policy.
“But it is absolute stupidity to teach the students in English from Standrad One until Form Three and then switch to Bahasa Malaysia in Form Four and Form Five.
“What assurance is there that there are sufficient and capable examiners who will mark their English answers in SPM fairly?
“As it is, my wife spotted so many errors in the ministry-level quarterly tests papers the students sat for regularly before PMR,” said Raja.
BN doesn’t care
Unhappy parents from several schools in Subang Jaya, Damansara and Old Klang Road are now demanding that the Education Ministry stick to its earlier promise, made in 2002, to allow this batch of students to complete their SPM education in English.
But whether the Barisan Nasional-led government will compromise and rescind its decision is a worrying question as most of the complaining parents are from the opposition-held urban areas.
Said a grassroots political activist here, who declined to be named: “In this country, schools, universities and education as a whole are a political issue.
“Education here is not about building minds… it is about churning out loyalists which begins with schools and language.
“(Education Minister) Muhyiddin (Yassin) was firm when he announced a non-reversal of the MBMMBI policy.
“They’ve (BN) done their groundwork and know that those who will complain are the Chinese and Indians, especially those living in the urban areas.
“These are political seats they have already lost… regaining these seats will be a struggle for BN so I don’t expect the BN government to be too concerned about our children.
“Their general perspective of us is that we are disloyal and avaricious.”
Muhyiddin firm on policy
In October last year, Muhyiddin told Parliament that the government will not return to the policy of teaching and learning Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI).
He said the new MBMMBI policy was in line with the country’s need to dignify Bahasa Melayu as the national language.
Bernama reported Muhyiddin, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, as saying that the government would not turn back on its decision as it “could not please every group”.
He said the government had set 2012 for its implementation and that students in Year Four, Form One and Form Four would be affected.
Muhyiddin had at the time urged parents not be unduly worried about the reversal of policy.
He said the government was already taking preliminary measures to implement the new policy in 2012.
“We may even have to recruit English teachers from abroad,” he said, adding that the implementation of the new policy also meant that Science and Mathematics textbooks need to be produced in Bahasa Malaysia as well as a new curriculum for teaching English.
News By:
freemalaysiatoday.com
- 13:20 -
Teachers To Join L.A. Protesters
Prompted in part by a three-time South Bay congressional candidate, a group of Los Angeles Unified teachers plans to march to school district headquarters Tuesday in solidarity with ongoing protests on Wall Street and at L.A. City Hall.
"Occupy LAUSD" is the newest permutation of the Occupy movement that has gained steam - and media attention - over the past month since protesters took over Zuccotti Park in New York's financial district to express frustration with growing income inequality in the face of rising corporate profits.
Protesters with the Los Angeles branch of Occupy Wall Street began camping out Oct. 1 at City Hall, which has seen a densely packed tent city take over the surrounding lawn. Thousands marched through downtown over the weekend.
It's perhaps no surprise that Los Angeles teachers - known for regularly donning red union shirts and mobilizing against school board actions - would want to join in the protest, especially since labor groups have begun to get support from Occupy L.A. and vice versa.
Budget cuts, closed school libraries, lost teaching jobs and the district's initiative to let charter organizations run LAUSD campuses are among the teachers' complaints.
Those frustrations have been articulated elsewhere - and well before what some are calling "the Occupation" began. But Occupy LAUSD organizers say they have common cause with a movement that conservative critics have termed an un-American call to class warfare.
"There is a natural linkage. The Occupy Wall Street movement is challenging corporatization of America, privatization of the public sphere, and that's exactly what we're seeing in our district," said LAUSD teacher Marcy Winograd.
An antiwar activist who twice mounted challenges against former South Bay Rep. Jane Harman and ran last in spring's primary against now-Congresswoman Janice Hahn and others hoping to succeed Harman, Winograd is one of two organizers of Occupy LAUSD. She was laid off from her job at Crenshaw High last year and is now substitute teaching in the school district.
Her collaborator is Jose Lara, a history teacher at Santee Educational Complex south of downtown and a member of the board of United Teachers Los Angeles.
Winograd and Lara said teachers were frustrated with the growing charter school movement and Public School Choice, an unusual district program begun in 2009 that lets outside groups bid to control new and troubled LAUSD campuses.
Lara called it "the 1 percent influence on our school district," in reference to the Occupy movement's claim to represent the other 99 percent of Americans who are not wealthy. He said concern about affluent donors' and charitable foundations' support of the charter school movement aligns with Occupy Wall Street criticism of the banking industry.
"The link that I would see is the influence that big money has on government," Lara said.
Lara last week introduced motions that were passed by UTLA's 50-member board in support of Occupy L.A. and Occupy LAUSD. Because the union's 350-member House of Representatives will take up the matter at a meeting this week, UTLA support for the movement is not yet official, spokeswoman Marla Eby said.
Winograd said Occupy LAUSD supporters did not want to wait for the endorsement of UTLA.
"We're going to be building something much larger, but we did want to join forces with Occupy L.A. and we don't know how much longer they'll be at City Hall. It is in the news; it's on people's minds. And there is a cost to waiting," Winograd said. "It's time for the rank-and-file to step up."
Winograd said she hoped several hundred teachers would participate in the march initially.
Lara expects to see tents erected on sidewalks in front of the district's headquarters on Beaudry Avenue, right next to the Harbor (110) Freeway.
"We have a few teachers ready to do the camp-out," Lara said.
The Occupy LAUSD group planned to meet Friday night to identify and refine a set of demands.
Susan Cox, a spokeswoman for the school district, said Friday that LAUSD had not gotten any notice of a planned protest. Typically, the district will receive advance warning when UTLA plans to protest in front of district headquarters, she said.
"There's nothing to comment about," Cox said. "We don't comment on anything speculative."
News By:
dailybreeze.com
- 13:16 -
subota, 15.10.2011.
Education Funds Sought To Uncover Cheating
New York state education officials, in an attempt to boost confidence in test scores as they become part of teacher evaluations across the state, want to spend $2.1 million to hunt among millions of students' tests for evidence of cheating.
That would include spending $1 million to scour score sheets for suspicious erasing patterns, a tactic that has helped snag cheaters in cities such as Atlanta and Washington. The state will also ask the state Board of Regents to ban teachers from scoring their own students' tests starting in 2013.
The recommendations, which will be up for a vote before a Regents committee Monday, were crafted by a state Education Department task force convened over the summer to figure out ways to improve testing policies. The potential changes in New York come amid growing national concern about whether teachers will try to improve their performance evaluations by cheating on behalf of their students.
Officials stressed that they believe 99% of teachers are honest, but they said preventing teachers from scoring their own students' tests would take away any temptation to beef up scores.
If approved, the spending requests will go to the governor or Legislature.
The state will not prohibit teachers from acting as proctors for their students' tests. Several members of the Regents board last month said they worried about young children becoming nervous if their regular teachers were not in the classroom.
By this spring, the state hopes to be able to analyze erasure marks on about 500,000 tests, or 10% of the third- through eighth-grade tests and the high school-level Regents exams.
The state hasn't decided how it will pick answer sheets to analyze. Highly sensitive machines can detect when answers have been erased and changed, which could mean that a teacher or teachers systematically changed answers.
Education Commissioner John King said the sampling methodology "is certainly one way to try and both identify trends and also create a disincentive for test integrity violations."
In 2010, as part of a successful bid for $700 million in federal education funding, the state passed a law requiring school districts to begin including test scores in teacher evaluations. But the districts do not have to start using test score data—which often factor in variables such as poverty and special needs—until local unions adopt new contracts.
The state Education Department also said Friday it wants to spend $10 million for the rest of its testing program, which includes tests in grades three through eight and the Regents subject exams required for a diploma.
The request also includes $1.5 million to pay for a round of exams held in January. Last year, the January Regents exams were canceled, but a group of private donors led by Mayor Michael Bloomberg chipped in to reinstate them statewide.
News By:
online.wsj.com
- 12:41 -
Rupert Murdoch Heckled At California Education Forum
San Francisco: Protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement heckled News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch during a speech at an education forum Friday, accusing the media mogul of trying to profit from public education.
Activists repeatedly interrupted Murdoch as he gave a keynote speech at a downtown San Francisco hotel about how technology could help transform the nation's public education system.
"Equality in education, not privatization!" one woman shouted as security guards escorted her out of the ballroom of the Palace Hotel, which hosted the National Summit on Education Reform.
"Corporations own all the media in the world. Why should they not own all the education as well?" activist Joe Hill yelled sarcastically. Hill, who was dressed as the "Count" character from the TV show "Sesame Street," also was pushed out of the meeting room.
Murdoch appeared unfazed.
"It's OK, a little controversy makes everything more interesting," he said to audience applause before continuing his half-hour speech.
About half a dozen hecklers were escorted out of the hotel after they disrupted Murdoch's speech but said they were not arrested. They joined about two dozen protesters holding signs and chanting "Occupy Wall Street! Occupy Sesame Street!" outside the conference.
Speaking outside, Hill accused Murdoch and other corporate leaders of trying to "use the economic crisis to further privatize education and divert more public funds into private corporate interests."
Murdoch appeared as part of a two-day education forum sponsored by the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a group chaired by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The organization champions school vouchers, charter schools, performance pay for teachers and digital learning.
"We need to tear down an education system designed for the 19th century and replace it with one suited for the 21st," Murdoch said during his morning address.
"You don't get change by plugging in computers at schools designed for the industrial age," Murdoch said. "You get it by developing technology that rewrites the rules of the game by centering learning around the learner."
Last year, News Corp. acquired Wireless Generation, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based company that provides software and services to K-12 schools. In August, New York's comptroller rejected a $27 million contract with the educational technology company because of the phone-hacking scandal involving News Corp.'s British newspapers.
On Thursday afternoon, more than 100 protesters, mostly San Francisco teachers, picketed outside the hotel, protesting Murdoch's presence at the education conference.
News By:
ndtv.com
- 12:39 -
Labour Would Back 'free schools', Says Party's New Education Spokesman
Labour's new education spokesman has said he backs the setting up of "free schools", signaling a significant shift in policy from his predecessor.
In an interview with the Liverpool Daily Post, Stephen Twigg said Labour will embrace the government's "schools revolution" providing certain tests are met.
The first 24 free schools opened last month. They are intended to tackle divides in England's education system, including a concentration of the weakest schools in the poorest areas. But analysis commissioned by the Guardian has found that the first 24 are tilted towards areas dominated by middle-class households.
Labour leader Ed Miliband told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme three weeks ago that he was opposed to free schools. Twigg's predecessor, Andy Burnham, had described free schools as a "reckless gamble". Then Burnham said free schools were a "free-for-all, where good schools can be destabilised and where teachers can be employed without teaching qualifications".
But in his first interview, Twigg, the Liverpool West Derby MP, said he would back the setting-up of "free schools" by parents, teachers or non-profit groups if they helped poorer children and the wider community.
Twigg said: "On free schools, I am saying that we need to apply a set of tests, that we are not going to take an absolute policy of opposing them.
"The tests should be: will the school raise standards for pupils and parents, will it contribute to a narrowing of the achievement gap between rich and poor, and what is the wider impact of that school?"
He insisted he was not dramatically shifting the party's position, adding: "Andy never said he had an absolute policy of opposing free schools either."
The Tories are privately pleased at this shift, believing greater cross-party consensus can only serve to shore up the project that has had a faltering take up.
While Burnham was in position, Twigg was disciplined in what he said about education, but during a parliamentary debate in May, he admitted to being "hugely impressed" by free school equivalents in the US – the knowledge is power programme that he described as "a great example of how some of these new, more autonomous schools in the US are delivering".
News By:
guardian.co.uk
- 12:36 -
petak, 14.10.2011.
Georgia Takes Tough Stance On Cheating Cases
Eleven Atlanta educators accused of cheating lost their teaching certification Thursday, a swift and severe punishment that indicates how the state might deal with similar cases moving forward.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which licenses educators, voted to revoke the teaching certificates of three administrators and impose two-year suspensions on eight teachers. Some of the educators were from Parks Middle, cited by state investigators as an egregious example of the test-cheating culture in Atlanta Public Schools.
Educators can appeal the sanctions through a multi-step legal maze that could take years to resolve. But leaders and testing experts say this first round of stiff punishment speaks to Georgia’s growing reputation as a tough-on-cheating state. A revocation severely damages an educator's public school career, as the sanction would show up in a national database searchable by other states.
“We’re going to protect the integrity of this profession, and we’re going to protect the students entrusted to educators,” said Kelly Henson, executive secretary of the commission.
The commission is investigating almost 200 cases of unethical behavior from APS teachers and hopes to have all cases resolved by January. The range of punishments involving certification can go from warning to revocation. A revocation will make it tough for an educator to work in a public school in Georgia or another state, as the sanction would show up in a national database searchable by other states.
Revoking or suspending a teacher’s certification is a more aggressive punishment than seen in other states where cheating is swept under the rug, said Walt Haney, a testing expert and a professor of education at Boston College. He cited a recent case in Connecticut where teachers involved in test tampering lost 20 days pay and were forced to serve 25 hours of community service by tutoring students.
“I applaud Georgia for taking this issue seriously,” he said. “And I am thrilled the higher-ups who encouraged or condoned this behavior are getting a stiffer penalty than the ground troops. It’s so unusual.”
Atlanta's school cheating scandal is considered a unique case, not only because of its scope but because of how it came to light. Following a series of articles in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, former Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed a team of seasoned criminal investigators to look into unusual test gains. Using their power to subpoena sources, they crafted a detailed report on the culture of fear and intimidation in APS that nurtured widespread cheating. In the end, about 180 Atlanta Public Schools employees were implicated and test tampering was uncovered at 44 schools.
Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the state's largest teacher advocacy group, said the cheating alleged to have taken place in APS warrants significant sanctions. But educatorsalso deserve the chance to defend themselves, something that doesn't happen before the commission makes its ruling. Educators can appeal the PSC's vote to an administrative law judge.
"[Thursday's] actions were based in large part, upon the GBI report and the allegations made in it. It was not the “day in court” that they will be entitled to at the appeal," Callahan said.
A similar story could also play out in neighboring DeKalb County Schools. There, 24 educators were singled out in January for possible test security violations. Of those, 11 were expunged by the commission, one was revoked and two were given two-year suspensions. The remaining cases are still awaiting action.
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James told the AJC Thursday that his office is investigating testing irregularities at multiple schools. Two attorneys and six investigators are working on the case, and James hopes to conclude the work early next year.
Abby Martin, a parent of Grady High and Inman Middle students, said without knowing the identities of educators, its hard to tell if the punishment fits the crime. But she is pleased with the state’s stance on cheating.
“I think this goes to show that Georgia is taking a more serious view toward public education, which is positive,” she said. “I think Georgia is treating educators as professionals and holding them accountable.”
News By:
ajc.com
- 13:34 -
Eton College is backing plans to increase the number of state boarding school places in the UK.
The boys-only private school has been involved in talks with at least two state schools about the prospect of opening up new boarding houses for their pupils.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, told The Independent that the number of state boarding schools will grow as a result of the stampede to take up academy status. "As they develop specialisms in areas such as sports and music, the likelihood is that they will be attracting students from further afield– for whom boarding could have a positive impact."
Mr Little rejected the idea, pioneered by Andrew Adonis in the last Labour government, that state boarding places should just be for vulnerable children from broken homes or where parents were on the verge of splitting. Mr Little said they should offer the opportunity to young people from a range of backgrounds. He added: "The old image of boarding as fagging and beating and not walking down certain corridors, that's pretty well long gone."
Instead, today's 1,300 pupils at Eton all have their own boarding room rather than being crammed into dormitories.
The drive towards opening up more boarding school places in the state sector is among several initiatives being planned by Eton to improve links with the state sector.
The college is to increase the number of pupils on scholarships and bursaries from its present level of 20 per cent to 33 per cent. In addition, it wants at least 70 of its pupils to have free places.
And the college will be among 10 independent schools helping to set up a free school for bright but disadvantaged pupils in the East End of London. Eton will be responsible for English teaching at the London Academy of Excellence.
As from this September, it is also offering mentoring by its sixth-formers to students taking A-level maths at neighbouring Slough and Eton Church of England College.
This flurry of initiatives, Mr Little insists, is nothing to do with any fear of the Charity Commissioners scrutinising whether it still deserves its charitable status. "We have had links with the state sector for years," he said. He rejected David Cameron's claims – made in his party conference speech – that there was an "apartheid" between the state and private sector. At a meeting with independent school heads at Downing Street, Mr Cameron exhorted his alma mater to become an academy sponsor itself. Mr Little said: "I don't doubt that some of our teachers would be excellent [at dealing with the problems of pupils at inner-city schools] but it would be wrong to assume that a school like mine has the expertise to deal with some of the problems that arise."
News By:
independent.co.uk
- 13:32 -
30 Per Cent Of Teachers Face False Claims
Almost a third of teachers have faced a false allegation from a pupil, a survey suggests.
poll by the NASUWT teaching union and the Tonight programme revealed that 99% of teachers are concerned that one of their students may make a false claim against them.
A total of 30% said they have had a false allegation made by a student.
The findings will feature in Taking Control of the Classroom, due to be broadcast at 7.30pm this evening on ITV, which will look at the scale of allegations against teachers.
The NASUWT said the survey also showed that two-thirds of teachers would think twice about breaking up a fight between pupils because of the risk of students making a false allegation against them.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "For years the NASUWT has been collecting data, tracking allegations and supporting members who have had their lives and careers destroyed by false and malicious allegations made against them.
"Therefore, while the results of the survey come as no surprise, they do serve to highlight the continuing and significant risks facing teachers.
"99% of teachers surveyed said that they were concerned that pupils may make a false allegation against them, yet more than four out of five do not feel that protections for teachers are adequate."
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: "False allegations from pupils are hugely damaging.
"They can end the careers of school staff and blight their private lives as a result of the stress. Good teachers, heads and support staff are lost from schools to the detriment of children's education.
"Of course, the protection of children should be paramount but it should not be at the expense of natural justice.
"We hope that changes being introduced in the Education Bill will redress the balance so that school staff are not presumed guilty until they are proven innocent and their anonymity is preserved.
"However, many ATL members are worried that if the Bill encourages staff to search pupils it could backfire and lead to false allegations about improperly handling pupils and complaints from parents."
Ministers have announced plans to give teachers more powers to deal with poor discipline, such as searching pupils for items that disrupt the classroom, handing out no-notice detentions and allowing them to use force where necessary to restrain students.
News By:
independent.co.uk
- 13:27 -
četvrtak, 13.10.2011.
Hollywood Star Hugh Jackman So Devoted To Family He Lets Them Pick His Film Roles
AUSTRALIAN superstar Hugh Jackman admits he doesn't pick his movie roles - his family do.
The 43-year-old Hollywood hunk moved from straight dramas to musicals when his wife Deb told him "after a few Bacardi and cokes" that he should make more of his singing. Now he's set to appear opposite fellow Aussie Russell Crowe in Les Miserables.
And his latest role as a washed-up fighter, who teams up with his estranged young son to train a robot boxer, was picked out for him by his 11-year-old son Oscar.
"They had sent me the script and I was supposed to have a meeting about it," he said. "The night before, I still hadn't read Real Steel so when Oscar went to bed, I read some of it to him as a bedtime story."
"I know - I'm a bad dad," he laughs. "I got to the end of the scene and Oscar was still awake. He told me to keep going and when we got through it, he said, 'Dad, you have to do this.'"
Even though Hugh is famously devoted to his family, unlike the deadbeat dad of Real Steel, the father-son relationship in the movie struck a chord with him.
And he admits that Oscar got a little jealous of Hugh's screen son, played by Dakota Goyo.
"It was the summer holidays so Oscar hung out on the set a lot - I think more than usual," he said.
"Deep down I think he wanted to make sure I was spending time with him."
Hugh's kids are particularly important to him because he and actress wife Deb discovered, after IVF and two miscarriages, that they couldn't have children.
"It was painful," said Hugh.
"We thought we'd have a kid two biologically and then adopt."
Their heartbreak was healed by Oscar and Ava, six.
"I don't think of them as adopted they are our children," said Hugh.
"We feel things happen the way they are meant to. Obviously, biologically wasn't the way we were meant to have children."
But although he lights up talking about his family, he's frank about the stresses of parenthood too. He and Deb vowed never to spend more than two weeks apart, so wherever Hugh goes, his family go too, and crying children on long-haul flights are a nightmare, even when you are a hunky, superfit celebrity with a string of hit movies.
"With kids, you discover you have this wonderful ability to carry on for months without any sleep," he says wryly.
"And you learn patience. Kids have a way of pushing every button. They find the trigger points - those things that make you frustrated or angry and they use them."
The upside? "I love waterslides and roller coasters. But if you're alone, it looks a bit weird. Kids are a great excuse."
Although Hugh will earn a reported Ł15million for his next turn in The Wolverine, he still drives his son to school every morning.
And he's anxious his kids don't take their privileged upbringing for granted.
"From the age of 12, I was expected to pay for my own clothes and entertainment. I pass that on to my children but Deb does the opposite," said Hugh, who celebrated his birthday yesterday.
"When the day comes that they leave home, I'll hand them a few hundred dollars and say, 'Ring me if you get into trouble.' Deb will slip them a credit card and whisper, 'Don't tell Dad.'"
Although his weight fluctuations while bulking up and down for roles as Wolverine and the fighter in Real Steel have meant he's lost three wedding rings, Hugh has been happily married to Deb for 15 years.
It's given them the last laugh on those who thought the relationship couldn't survive their 12-year age gap.
"I've found my perfect woman," he says of Deborra, 55. The blonde actress once turned down the chance to meet Mick Jagger because she was having a quiet dinner with Hugh.
"Age wouldn't be mentioned if it was the other way around," he said.
"She is the first person in my life I feel with."
For Real Steel, Hugh spent a year preparing to play the former boxer by using a skipping rope and sparring.
The studio hired world champ Sugar Ray Leonard to make sure Hugh moved more like a veteran of the ring.
"Sugar Ray said, 'Don't make me look bad,'" laughs Hugh, who added that in real life he's a lover not a fighter.
"I once got into an argument with a guy in a pub about the rugby or something and the next thing he'd thrown a punch and I was flat out on my face.
"Luckily, as an actor, most people don't want to punch you in the face."
However, Sugar Ray said Hugh had a natural talent and an enviable fitness level.
"I don't really enjoy training" said Hugh. "People say it's addictive but I think, 'Not so much.'"
And in the last three or four years, it's just got harder.
"I have to eat a stricter diet. I have to effort has paid of g clearly in ManAlive groans train even harder. I can't get away with what I used to."
The effort has paid off though.He's clearly in excellent shape and certainly a worthy member of the Sexiest Man Alive Club. Hugh at this.
Since he won the title in his apparently can't stop teasing him.
He said: "A friend of mine emailed me and said he had cowboy boots sexier than me."What is it that grounded? Success came relatively late, he points out. That means he's grateful.
"I'd been a waiter between jobs often enough to appreciate what I was given."
Now he icebreaking tradition on all his movie sets to make sure he gets to know the crew he's working with.
Every Friday, there's the Jackman jackpot, where he treats everyone on the set to a lottery ticket.
"I buy 500 lottery tickets of whichever country I happen to be in," he said.
"It gives us all a bond and I've been doing it for years.
"One thing I've learned though is that the lottery isn't the way to make big money - 12 years I've been doing this and the most anyone has won is about Ł60.
" Hugh has family in the UK and often visits - he's just spent the last few months touring Europe and he's about to spend the first half of 2012 shooting in London with Les Miserables.
"I really couldn't be more excited and I really chased this pretty hard," he said.
The film will be directed by Tom Hopper straight after his success with The King's Speech.
Helena Bonham-Carter and Anne Hathaway are also expected to join the cast.
But even with an all-star line-up, Hugh isn't taking the success of the musical for granted.
"Sixty-five million people already love it," he said.
"It's a difficult job to get them to fall in love with it all over again."
After that, he begins work on his second Wolverine movie.
He popped up earlier this year in a splendidly snarling cameo in X Men FirstClass, where he told James McAvoy's Professor Xavier to "F*** off".
"Wolverine is a tortured, eternally flawed with the weight of the world on his shoulders," said Hugh.
"I feel we've not yet nailed him and to get him."
Tortured? You certainly can't say that about happy-go-lucky Hugh.
News By:
dailyrecord.co.uk
- 13:42 -
Andrew's Role In Doubt As Cotton Agrees To Review RFU Structure
Fran Cotton has agreed to chair an independent review of the entire England structure at the Rugby Football Union, which will place fresh scrutiny on Rob Andrew's role at Twickenham.
Cotton, the former RFU vice-chairman, will lead a two- or three-strong panel that will include at least one member with no rugby connections. Cotton's team will be charged with reviewing the performance of the RFU's professional rugby department and assessing Andrew's own report into England's failed World Cup campaign.
The independent panel will undertake their review next month and make recommendations to the RFU's management board and the council on 2 December.
Andrew's current role is as Twickenham's rugby operations director and he announced on Sunday that he had accepted the new position of professional rugby director, although his appointment is yet to be rubber-stamped. Cotton's panel will have the power to recommend the person they believe should head up the professional rugby department.
Cotton's panel will also have the power to recommend changes to the England team's management structure.
News By:
independent.co.uk
- 13:40 -
Wales Set To Be Without Pivotal Pair In Semi-Final
Two of the fastest-improving members of a Wales team who suddenly find themselves 80 minutes or so from a first World Cup final have been slowed to a standstill by injury just at the wrong moment and are significant doubts for this weekend's last-four tie with France at Eden Park. The Scarlets outside-half Rhys Priestland, a rank outsider in the race for the No 10 shirt as recently as the beginning of August, and the Newport Gwent Dragons lock Luke Charteris are causing such concern that the coaching team delayed their team selection yesterday.
Some of those close to the Wales squad believe that even if he is named in the starting line-up today, Priestland has little chance of recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in the closing minutes of the quarter-final victory over Ireland in Wellington last weekend, although the Red Dragon camp will give their medics every opportunity to get him fit.
Warren Gatland, the head coach, is not bereft of options at stand-off: indeed, he is probably the envy of every other coach still left in the competition – particularly the Dan Carter-less All Black coach Graham Henry – given that he has the reigning British and Irish Lions playmaker Stephen Jones at his disposal, not to mention a midfielder as gifted as James Hook. However, Priestland has been a very big hit indeed in this tournament and the shape he puts on his team's attacking game is at the heart of their success. Gatland and company badly want to run him against Les Bleus.
Charteris was gone by half-time in Wellington, having made 16 tackles in the opening period – a jaw-dropping tally for a lock forward, particular one as tall as he. Like Priestland, he has a shoulder issue. Earlier in the week he was extremely confident he would be "good to go" this weekend, but his condition has not improved as rapidly as expected. Should he be ruled out, Bradley Davies of Cardiff Blues is his likely replacement, although the Welsh have used the former captain Ryan Jones in the engine room on the odd occasion.
The Australians, who take on their great Bledisloe Cup rivals New Zealand in the second semi-final on Sunday, are also firefighting on the injury front, but they at least have their resident Maori, the Waikato-born Quade Cooper, to shift the spotlight away from the medical room and on to centre stage, where he loves to operate as a high-risk outside-half.
Hardly the most popular man in this country, the exiled local has been given a rough ride by home supporters over the course of the tournament. Yesterday, he did a good job in turning the tables on them. Asked how New Zealanders would react to a sixth successive World Cup failure, especially if he turned out to be the man who condemned them to it, he replied: "That would be a tough one for them to swallow, I guess, but I'm sure they've more things to worry about than me. They were supposed to win the tournament on each of the last three occasions and this one is no different. There's a lot of pressure on them."
Cooper was fiercely criticised for his performance against South Africa in the quarter-final, even though the reigning champions were ultimately dispatched from the competition. "It wasn't the brightest performance," he confessed. "But with great teams, great athletes, it shows character when you don't play your best game and still come away with the points.
"Having a good game personally is always going to play second fiddle to winning. I don't care if I have a shocker, as long as we win. I'd much rather walk off the field having won than walk off having had the greatest game of my career and lost."
Wallaby medical staff are working hard on the full-back Kurtley Beale, who has a hamstring strain, and the loose-head prop Sekope Kepu, who is suffering from ankle trouble, ahead of the trans-Tasman contest. Neither man trained yesterday. By contrast, the teak-tough centre Pat McCabe played a full part in the run, despite having been invalided out of two tournament games with serious shoulder problems.
News By:
independent.co.uk
- 13:36 -
Education: Too Much Testing?
The high-stakes measurement of student progress through annual standardized tests has, in many classrooms, restricted creativity, innovation and individuality. It has emphasized the skills involved in taking multiple-choice tests over those of researching, analyzing, experimenting and writing, the tools that students are more likely to need to be great thinkers, excellent university students and valued employees. But, by pressuring schools to raise achievement, it also has ensured that more students reach high school able to read books more sophisticated than those by Dr. Seuss — which, sad to say, was a major problem a decade ago — and tackle algebra by ninth grade.
There is now widespread agreement that the federal No Child Left Behind Act, with its sole emphasis on standardized tests in English and math, was overly rigid, unfair to good schools and constricting to the curriculum. It's equally important to remember that the law was enacted for a reason — to pressure schools to do more for disadvantaged, black and Latino students.
Gov. Jerry Brown weighed in on this conundrum last week as he vetoed a bill that sought to make the state's measurements of schools broader and more meaningful. His lengthy veto message contained an inspiring reminder that no one talks about learning for the sake of learning anymore. Even before the economy nose-dived, the entire conversation about schooling had been reduced to a mantra about economic competition and good jobs. Those are key, absolutely. But so is learning as a way to develop a thoughtful mind that gathers and uses quality information to reason well throughout life.
At the same time, Brown's message sounded oddly anachronistic, as though he were drawing his lessons about education from his own experiences as an intellectual youngster from an educated, well-off family with access to a heavily enriched education. Yet he obviously knows that student demographics and the academic landscape have changed in California; as mayor of Oakland, he started two charter schools to boost achievement among the city's disadvantaged students.
Rather than adding new measurements of progress, no matter how well intentioned, Brown said, the schools needed to move away from data and toward a more holistic approach to assessing educational quality. "Adding more speedometers to a broken car," he wrote in his veto message, "won't turn it into a high-performance machine."
His suggestion: panels of inspectors to visit and assess schools. It was unclear whether he was suggesting this in addition to the existing testing system or in place of it, but in any case, his message included a few whiffs of the Gov. Moonbeam of old.
We mean that in the nicest possible way. It's far more inspiring to think of education being judged by the engagement of students on campus and portfolios of their work rather than through a narrow snapshot of learning as measured on a few testing days. Brown can be caustic — as he was in his veto message, throwing jibes at experts, academics and, yes, editorial writers — but he also can be visionary. His anti-testing message is sure to please the California Teachers Assn., which has staunchly opposed most aspects of reform, yet it didn't sound like its intention was political expediency. Rather, Brown appeared to write from a deep-seated conviction that the state is not on the path to great education. He's right.
That makes it all the stranger, in ways, that he vetoed SB 547, writtenby Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). The bill would actually have limited the amount that test scores could count toward a school's Academic Performance Index, the yearly measurement of its progress, and would have included dropout rates, which have for too long been virtually ignored by accountability measurements. Beyond that, it would have required schools to show that they were providing an enriched curriculum and preparing students for jobs or for attending college without needing remedial help. The bill intentionally did not spell out how those would be measured, leaving the details to be worked out by a committee appointed by the state Board of Education. Because the governor appoints the board, Brown had an opportunity to bring his school visitation idea into the mix. We'd be glad to see it.
But there are lots of things that panels of school inspectors would be unlikely to find out about a school. They wouldn't see, for instance, how most students are doing; it would be impossible for them to look at more than a sample of the student body (and that sample might be manipulated by school administrators). They might view some nice portfolios of student work, but they wouldn't see how much work a teacher might have put into burnishing them to make students look more proficient. They might interview enthusiastic students, but most important, they wouldn't see all the students who weren't there — the dropouts who gave up. The dropout rate has been shamefully ignored by the reform movement at both the state and federal level, and a distaste for hard data is not a good reason to keep ignoring it.
California is at a particularly awkward stage educationally. It is phasing out its old curriculum standards and tests and bringing in new ones that should be a big improvement. Teachers have to prepare their students for the existing tests but also worry about piloting the new ones; their professional lives have become a hodgepodge of acronyms. Deadlines are looming for states to apply for waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act, but California is increasingly unlikely to even try because of the Obama administration's restrictive demand that states include test scores in teacher evaluations. A congressional overhaul of the law is also in the works. In the midst of all this, Brown's veto leaves the state with the same test-heavy accountability system that everyone, including the governor, agrees is overdue for a rewrite.
If Brown has a realistic new vision for education in California, he should pull the relevant parties together quickly and develop a concrete proposal that the state can afford and carry out effectively. Just saying no to others' efforts isn't going to fix the car either.
News By:
latimes.com
- 13:33 -
Corbett Education Plan Has Foes, Allies
Private school advocates lauded Gov. Tom Corbett's education agenda, while public school officials and supporters of public education criticized the plan for relying on taxpayer-funded vouchers and charter schools to improve student achievement.
Corbett unveiled his proposal in York Tuesday, saying the current model for education in Pennsylvania isn't working, and "we have to think and act smarter."
The governor wants to implement a voucher program for students in the state's lowest-performing public schools, adopt a more rigorous teacher evaluation system, loosen restrictions on public charter schools and expand a business tax credit program that funds scholarships and school educational foundations.
None of the ideas is entirely new; the package represents revised versions of legislative proposals that have been debated, without winning legislative approval, over the past 10 months.
The Rev. Joseph McFadden, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, praised the plan, in a prepared statement calling it "a reasonable beginning to address the educational malaise that exists in the state, especially for children living in poverty with few alternatives to often failing schools."
The diocese operates nine Catholic schools in Lancaster County.
A Christian school association representing several other county schools also had kudos for Corbett's proposal.
"(The plan) provides parents the choice and the ability to access a school that best supports the needs of their child," said David Hegedus, associate director of the Northeast Region of the Association of Christian Schools International, based in Lancaster.
Richard Thomas, superintendent of Lancaster Mennonite School system, said he also supports Corbett's plan.
County public school administrators generally favor a more rigorous teacher evaluation process — five school systems here are already piloting the system — but they had concerns about other elements of Corbett's agenda.
The most controversial is the "opportunity scholarship" program that would award state grants to low-income students in school districts with the lowest-performing schools in the state.
A family of four with an income of $29,000 or less would be eligible for vouchers for tuition at a private school or another public school.
Corbett said scholarship recipients would be subject to state-administered assessments to assure the money is being spent wisely, but he provided no details on how that process would work.
County school superintendents said they don't mind the competition the voucher program is designed to create, but believe all schools receiving state funds should be held to the same academic and enrollment standards.
"Right now, parents have no measure to assess whether or not students are performing better than they were when they started at the new school," said Pedro Rivera, superintendent of School District of Lancaster.
SDL likely would be included in the voucher program because its McCaskey High School campus and Phoenix Academy were listed among the lowest-performing schools in the state.
Washington Education Center, an alternative school in Ephrata Area School District, also was on the list.
Rivera said private schools receiving vouchers should be required to accept all students, just as public schools must, instead of picking whom they enroll.
"I have students who take $90,000-plus a year to educate because of their special needs. Are those students going to be included as educational opportunity scholarship students?
"Are schools going to be required to take students in need of English-language learning services or in need of refugee services?
"Until the governor and state Legislature can address those issues of equity, especially in regard to urban school populations, this isn't school choice."
Other county school officials questioned whether the state should be implementing new programs when it's slashing subsidies to public schools.
In addition to implementing vouchers, the governor wants to expand funding for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, which this year will provide $75 million worth of tax credits to businesses that donate to scholarship funds and other educational programs, mainly at private schools.
"If they're putting money into EITC tax credits, it will mean less money for public schools," said Bill Clark, superintendent of Manheim Central School District.
With public schools still reeling from $860 million worth of state funding cuts this year, now is not the time to implement a new voucher program, said Gerald Huesken, superintendent of Conestoga Valley School District.
"We are in the midst of economic trouble and budget cuts are the order of the day at all levels of government, including school districts," Huesken wrote Wednesday on his school district blog.
"Yet this proposal — and Gov. Corbett's Opportunity Scholarship Program — amounts to new programs and new mandates for schools that will inevitably cost taxpayers money."
Senate Bill 1, a voucher plan proposed last January, was projected to cost $89 million when it would be opened to all students in districts with failing schools, like the Corbett proposal.
State Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis said he could not put a price tag on Corbett's plan because talks with the Legislature about the package are ongoing.
County school administrators also questioned the merit of a proposal to establish a statewide authority to approve, license and oversee public charter schools, which currently are approved by sponsoring school districts.
Taking charter school control out of the hands of districts, which pay tuition for students who attend them, doesn't make sense, they said.
Corbett vowed to "improve the current payment mechanism" of charter schools as part of his plan, but he didn't outline what that would mean.
Like other local school officials, Michael Leichliter is taking a wait-and-see approach on the governor's education agenda.
Leichliter, superintendent of Penn Manor School District, said the details of the plan won't emerge until specific legislation is proposed to implement the proposals.
Already, opposition to those bills is mounting.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association both oppose the voucher and charter school expansion plans.
Research doesn't support the claims that voucher programs and charter schools boost student achievement, the groups say, and opinion polls over the past year have consistently shown the public opposes taxpayer-funded vouchers.
PSBA also has questioned whether vouchers would violate the state Constitution's prohibition on giving state grants to parents to fund their children's pre-college education.
But supporters say the state needs a new approach to public education that will allow students to leave failing schools, forcing those schools to improve.
McFadden, in his prepared statement, said the reforms are "a defining social justice issue of our society."
If implemented, they would "herald an era in which we focus on the ideal educational environment for each student, not a mandatory system in which students are assigned to a school based solely on geographic location."
News By:
lancasteronline.com
- 13:29 -
