EdSource Today » Archive
Poll: Counselors are more important for school safety than police officers
To improve school safety, Californians overwhelmingly believe that having guidance counselors in every school would be more effective than deploying armed police officers. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discipline, Featured, K-12 Challenges, Interventions, Reporting & Analysis, School Safety
Rocketship’s cofounder departing for online learning startup
John Danner is leaving Rocketship Education, the innovative, Palo Alto-based K-5 charter school network he cofounded seven years ago, to become an entrepreneur again. He is starting an as yet unnamed company, he says, “out of my frustration that the online learning space never embraced student-centered learning, so we are going to try to do it right.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blended Learning, Charter Schools, Featured, Online Learning, Reporting & Analysis
Californians upbeat on education budget, poll finds
Californians are expressing a long-lost sentiment: optimism. A new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found growing support for Gov. Brown, for his education finance proposal and for making it easier for local communities to pass parcel taxes to help fund their schools. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Finance, Funding and Taxation, Jerry Brown, Legislature, Bills, Reporting & Analysis, Research, State Budget, Taxes, Weighted Student Funding (Local Control Funding Formula)
Several governors tackle early childhood education, not Brown
Unlike Gov. Jerry Brown, several governors have started the year highlighting early childhood education programs, according to a story in Education Week. Govs. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., Rick Snyder, R-Mich., and Mike Pence, R-Ind., all used January speeches to propose expansions of early childhood education programs in their states from state preschool to full-day kindergarten. Govs. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., and Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, also talked about the importance of investing in early childhood education in January speeches, according to the Education Week story. Govs. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., also have proposed expanding preschool programs. In contrast, Brown didn’t mention early childhood education at all in his budget address or in his State of the State address. He hasn’t proposed cuts to early education and child care spending, nor has he proposed … Read entire article »
Filed under: Governance, Jerry Brown, Kindergarten and Preschool, Quick Hits, State Budget
State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate
A state commission has ruled that the state must reimburse school districts about $1 billion in mandated special education costs dating back 20 years. But like many protracted mandate cases, the victory is largely one of principle. Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to include a small payback in next year’s budget, and the dollars will come from funding within Proposition 98, so it will essentially involve shifting education dollars around. The unreimbursed expenses are for intervention … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Reporting & Analysis, Special Needs
Uncertainty and unknowns beneath the gloss of Common Core
Listening to the people at the State Department of Education who are charged with California’s transition to the new Common Core K-12 learning standards, as I did (twice) earlier this month, you’d have to conclude that it’s all going pretty well. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Common Core standards, Featured
Report ranks California’s charter school laws 7th strongest in nation
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranked California 7th for its charter school laws among the 42 states and the District of Columbia that have passed laws allowing charter schools. For the past four years, the alliance has compared the strength of each state’s charter laws with its own model law, which includes measurements of quality and accountability, equitable access to funding and facilities compared with traditional schools, and no caps on charter school growth. California received high marks for its variety of charters (start-ups, conversions of existing schools, and virtual schools) and for its automatic exemption of charters from collective bargaining agreements with unions. Minnesota, which has revamped its laws to match the alliance’s model, not surprisingly ended up first. In general, more states are enacting or strengthening their charter … Read entire article »
Filed under: Charter Schools, Featured, Quick Hits, School Choice
Community colleges reject charge of excessive faculty power
California Community College Chancellor Brice Harris has rejected a legal complaint challenging the authority of local academic senates. The challenge by California Competes, an Oakland-based nonprofit organization, alleged that two sections of Title 5 of the Education Code violate state law because they allow local trustees to rely on the judgment of the faculty when making decisions about academic issues. California Competes’ complaint also said the regulation has led to “a tangled bureaucracy” and dysfunctional decision making at community colleges, and disenfranchises other members of the college community such as students and staff. In an official response to the attorney for California Competes, Harris wrote that after carefully reviewing the complaint with the community college attorney, “I have concluded that the regulations are not unlawful. Furthermore, California Competes’ positions regarding public policy, although well-meaning, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Adult education, California Colleges, Private Schools, Quick Hits
Linked learning comes of age in California with new pilot programs
The California Department of Education has selected 63 districts and county offices of education – many of them working together in consortia – to pilot “linked learning” programs in their high schools beginning next fall. These programs integrate academics with real-world work experiences in an effort to engage students. High schools with linked learning programs typically offer several courses in one or more career paths, such as healthcare, business or the arts. The career theme permeates … Read entire article »
Filed under: Career Technical Education, College and Career Preparation, Dropout prevention, Featured, High School Completion, Internships, Service Learning, Legislature, Bills, Multiple pathways, Multiple Pathways, Partnership Academies, Program innovation, Reporting & Analysis, Twenty-first Century Learning, Workforce preparation
Let’s take it down a notch
January 31st, 2013 | 3 Comments
By Jeff Camp / commentary ~ EdSource Extra
I recently sent a brusque email reply to a colleague. Yes, of course that was a dumb thing to do. But then again, she had it coming, right? How dare she! Indignation is a powerful emotion. It brings out our inner knuckle-dragging primate, primed for a fight. At school we learn math, reading and all that “academic” stuff. But just as importantly, school is where we learn not to drag our knuckles in public. Through experience, we … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Featured