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California looks to Ontario schools’ reformer for guidance
Michael Fullan may be coming soon to a school district near you. The man credited with transforming the Canadian province of Ontario into one of the world’s most effective school systems is ready to help California do the same. Fullan, though, would lead the state in a sharply different direction from the forced march that federal officials … Read entire article »
Filed under: Achievement Gap, Featured, International Comparisons, No Child Left Behind, Program innovation, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis, Research, Standardized tests, Systemic Change, Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Unions, Teachers, Turning around failing schools
Duncan admits flaws in current standardized testing
SAN FRANCISCO – Secretary of Education Arne Duncan acknowledged serious flaws in the standardized tests that currently drive American schools, telling an audience of education researchers on Tuesday that the tests are an inadequate gauge of student and teacher performance. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Duncan criticized “high-stakes testing where children’s lives or teachers’ careers are based on one test,” but he said that abandoning standardized testing was not the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Common Core standards, Featured, No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis, Standardized tests, Tests & Assessments, U.S. Education Policy
In his own words: Brown on education in the State of the State
The following is the section of Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State address devoted to education: In the right order of things, education — the early fashioning of character and the formation of conscience — comes before legislation. Nothing is more determinative of our future than how we teach our children. If we fail at this, we will sow growing social chaos and inequality that no law can rectify. In California’s public schools, there are six … Read entire article »
Filed under: Jerry Brown, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis, State Budget, Weighted Student Funding (Local Control Funding Formula)
Three California districts win in federal Race to the Top competition
Three California school districts are among 16 winners in the latest round of the federal Race to the Top funding competition. The relatively small districts beat out several of the state’s largest districts, which didn’t even make it into the final round. This round of funding was the first in the series of Race to the Top competitions to be made available to individual districts. New Haven Unified in Union City, with about 13,000 students, was … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis
Four CA districts make Race to the Top finals
The U.S. Department of Education passed over California’s largest school districts in selecting finalists for the Race to the Top district competition. Out of 17 districts that applied for a share of the nearly $400 million in federal grant money, only four made the cut to the finals: Galt Joint Union Elementary, Lindsay Unified and New Haven Unified school districts, along with Ánimo Charter Schools, a division of Green Dot Public Schools. Districts that didn’t … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis, Twenty-first Century Learning, U.S. Education Policy
Fresno coaxes union to sign, enters Race to the Top
If they awarded points for effort, Fresno Unified would get two Race to the Top grants. After a marathon meeting that concluded early Friday morning, Superintendent Michael Hanson and leaders of the Fresno Teachers Association agreed on wording of the district’s application for a $37.3 million piece of the $400 million competition open to districts nationwide. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Kindergarten and Preschool, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis
Skeptical unions pose challenge to districts’ Race to the Top
Nearly 900 districts nationwide, including 76 districts and charter schools in California, have told the federal government that they plan to compete for the final $400 million Race to the Top district competition. But with local unions having in effect a veto over their districts’ application, that number could dwindle. It’s already starting. The executive board of Sacramento City Teachers Association voted last week to decline to participate, putting the kibosh on the district’s hope to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis
Los Angeles Unified wants Race to the Top’s last brass ring
The federal Department of Education released criteria Monday for individual districts or groups of districts to compete for the last $400 million in Race to the Top-District dollars. Count Los Angeles Unified in the competition – if Superintendent John Deasy can persuade United Teachers Los Angeles President Warren Fletcher to sign the application (perhaps a big “if”). … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Race to the Top, Reporting & Analysis
Go for Race to the Top’s next round; all students would be winners
After 37 years in education policy, I can recognize a golden opportunity for our schools when I see one. California is staring at one right now, and it should take it. Earlier this year U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the third phase in the Race to the Top competition. Race to the Top is a grant program born out of the stimulus legislation passed in 2009 to spark innovation and high performance in states. This latest round of applications will provide states like California, which applied for earlier rounds but did not ultimately win, with the opportunity to receive federal funding. California should apply for this third phase of funding. In the last round of Race to the Top, California had … Read entire article »
Filed under: Common Core standards, Race to the Top
It’s still true: The future tends to happen first in California
July 22nd, 2012 | 3 Comments | By Merrill Vargo / commentary
It often seems as if the rest of the nation – and certainly education policymakers in Washington – wants to avert its eyes from California. Many of the large national foundations have stopped or curtailed their investments here, and the federal government seems to have followed suit: California has yet to receive Race to the Top money, there is no word on California’s request for a waiver on NCLB, and when researchers cite “cutting-edge” work, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blended Learning, Commentary, Featured, No Child Left Behind, Online Learning, Program innovation, Race to the Top