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Item(s) found: 241
Legislative and other last-minute school rule changes just a part of the educational landscape
Date CapturedMonday August 27 2007, 11:00 AM
The Journal News reports, "In a perfect world, no one would object to any employee taking time off from work to give blood. But if that employee were a teacher, the district would have to find and hire a substitute. Trying to estimate the number of employees who would ask for the time and put enough money in the budget to cover their absences was just another unplanned expense the district didn't need to worry about less than a month before school began. The bill was signed Aug. 15."
Take it from a teacher: We need merit pay
Date CapturedThursday August 23 2007, 9:00 AM
NY Daily News op-ed contributor and NYC teacher ARIEL SACKS opines, "When Chancellor Joel Klein and Mayor Bloomberg talk about performance pay, let's not blindly defend the status quo. Let's start developing a performance pay plan that makes sense to educators, students - and the age in which we live."
Tribes say No Child Left Behind leaves no room for culture
Date CapturedSaturday August 11 2007, 12:03 PM
Santa Fe New Mexican reports, "State [New Mexico] Secretary of Education Veronica Garcia said schools in isolated rural areas, where many tribal and pueblo schools are located, often have difficulty recruiting teachers. The government needs to support ways to encourage Native Americans to become teachers so they can return to teach in their tribes and pueblos, Garcia said. The law also disregards tribal sovereignty by forcing schools to adhere to state academic standards, said Samantha Pasena, a recent graduate of the Santa Fe Indian School. In addition to issues facing Native Americans, the panel also brought up the concern that under No Child Left Behind, special-education students are forced to take the same tests as regular students."
Spitzer, Williams celebrate plan to improve students’ performance
Date CapturedThursday August 09 2007, 10:39 AM
Buffalo News reports, "To applause and repeated kudos, Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer and Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams on Wednesday described a plan to increase instructional time and lower class sizes at 16 struggling Buffalo schools as a statewide model for improving student performance. But Williams’ suggestion that a final agreement with the teachers union is imminent was disputed later by union President Philip Rumore."
Gestures Convey Message: Learning in Progress
Date CapturedMonday August 06 2007, 7:47 AM
Washington Post reports, "Teachers who use gestures as they explain a concept -- such as the hand sweeps that Cook uses to emphasize an equation's symmetry -- are more successful at getting their ideas across, research has shown. And students who spontaneously gesture as they work through new ideas tend to remember them longer than those who do not move their hands."
To Teach or Not to Teach? Teaching Experience and Preparation Among 1992-1993 Bachelor's Degree Recipients 10 Years After College
Date CapturedWednesday August 01 2007, 10:42 AM
The report provides an overview of teachers’ job satisfaction and, for those not teaching in 2002-03, the main reason for not teaching. The second section looks at graduates’ preparation for teaching, including the key steps of completing a teacher education program, serving as a student teacher, and earning certification. Finally, the report examines the main reasons graduates who never taught gave for deciding against teaching. Alt, M.N., and Henke, R.R. (2007). To Teach or Not to Teach? Teaching Experience and Preparation Among 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients 10 Years After College (NCES 2007-163). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Ithaca City School District (ICSD) subs close in on forming union
Date CapturedTuesday July 17 2007, 9:08 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "Substitute teachers in the Ithaca City School District are a few steps closer to realizing their goal of becoming a union, representatives said. A conference on Wednesday will determine if there are any key issues the Ithaca City School District and the Ithaca Substitutes Association disagree on that need to be settled in a formal hearing."
CITY EYES 1,300 NEW TEACHERS
Date CapturedFriday July 06 2007, 10:27 AM
NY Post reports, "The city wants to hire 1,300 new teachers to reduce class sizes, using some of the millions of dollars in extra school funding it wrangled from the state, the Department of Education said yesterday."
Many Teachers Dubious of Merit Pay
Date CapturedWednesday July 04 2007, 2:39 PM
AP reports, "Merit pay tied to student test scores seems all the rage in some educational circles, but many teachers think it's an idea whose time hasn't come. It's a concept that is gaining ground in state capitals and in Washington, nevertheless. Members of Congress, for instance, are considering adding funding bonuses for teachers who raise student achievement as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is up for review this year. Proponents say such a system would reward effective teachers and attract strong new recruits to the profession. But teachers attending the annual convention of the National Education Association seem dubious -- even if it could put more money in their pockets."
A Local Lesson That Democrats Fail
Date CapturedTuesday July 03 2007, 9:18 AM
Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen opines, "The litany of more and more when it comes to money often has little to do with what, in the military, are called facts on the ground: kids and parents. It does have a lot to do with teachers unions, which are strong supporters of the Democratic Party. Not a single candidate offered anything close to a call for real reform. Instead, a member of the audience could reasonably conclude that if only more money were allocated to these woe-is-me school systems, things would right themselves overnight."
Union to Help Charter Firm Start School in the Bronx
Date CapturedThursday June 28 2007, 8:46 AM
NY Times reports, "Green Dot Public Schools, a charter school operator from Los Angeles, is seeking to expand into New York with the cooperation of the teachers’ union. Under the proposal, Green Dot, which is heavily financed by the billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, would open a high school in the South Bronx. The school, which must be approved by the state, would become one of only a handful of charter schools in the city to use a union contract."
Longer school day part of teacher pact
Date CapturedFriday June 22 2007, 8:20 AM
Times Union reports, "The school day will get a little longer in the Albany schools next year under a contract with teachers approved Thursday. In the middle and high schools, there will be 30 more minutes of classroom time each day. In the elementary schools, students will be taught for an extra 15 minutes each day. Students in both schools now spend six hours and 30 minutes in class."
School is fine - for teachers
Date CapturedWednesday June 20 2007, 9:20 AM
Denver Post columnist Al Knight opines, "Skepticism is the only appropriate response to news that the Denver Public Schools will hold principals and teachers more accountable for low student attendance."
SENATORS ANNOUNCE NEW LEGISLATION TO COMBAT CASES OF TEACHER-STUDENT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Date CapturedTuesday June 19 2007, 12:14 PM
Members of the Senate Majority Conference today announced legislation will be advanced to help combat the sexual abuse of students in New York State. The bill would require the immediate decertification of teachers following a conviction for a serious crime against a child, and also includes a provision that will require schools to contact both the parents of an alleged child victim, as well as law enforcement, whenever a report of abuse is made.
New York Suburban School Districts Among Top Spenders
Date CapturedSunday June 10 2007, 10:43 AM
NY Times reports, "New York’s high teacher costs are partly attributable to smaller class sizes: The state’s suburban districts, for instance, employ far more teachers than the rest of the country — 76 per 1,000 students, compared with the national average of 60 — but only slightly more than the New Jersey suburbs, at 74, and Fairfield, at 70. New York’s suburban districts, though, pay more for each teacher, even compared with New Jersey and Connecticut — about $133,000 in salary and benefits for each full-time teacher, compared with $94,000 in northern New Jersey and $100,000 in Fairfield, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Mr. Ernst said teacher salaries reflect higher costs in the state, and a more favorable legal and political atmosphere for labor in New York that makes it difficult to get concessions in years when money is tight. But Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers, said teacher salaries were simply a further demonstration of the state’s commitment to education."
Buffalo Public Schools see dire straits if city wage freeze is lifted
Date CapturedSunday June 10 2007, 10:12 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Lifting the wage freeze will eat up the Buffalo Public Schools’ $16.4 million rainy day fund in the next four years, shut down the recently established junior varsity sports program and force the layoff of 90 staff members and the closing of five schools, system officials say. Those projections get far worse if the Buffalo Teachers Federation wins an impending court battle and the school system is forced to pay workers for four steps on the salary ladder rather than just one, said Gary M. Crosby, chief operations and financial officer."
City Nonprofit Group Gets Money for Merit Pay at Charter Schools
Date CapturedThursday June 07 2007, 10:05 AM
NY Times reports, "The United States Department of Education has awarded a $10.5 million grant to a New York City nonprofit group to create merit pay systems in 10 local charter schools, local and federal education officials announced yesterday. The grant, to be spent over five years, will allow the charter schools to pay annual performance bonuses of up to $8,000 for school supervisors, $6,000 for teachers and $2,000 for aides."
Yonkers still lacks teaching assistants
Date CapturedWednesday May 23 2007, 8:45 AM
The Journal News reports, "For three years, the school district and the city's teachers union have been unable to reach a compromise on the hiring of teaching assistants. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires school districts to use teaching assistants, versus teacher aides, to give instructional support to students. The Yonkers school district still has not hired any teacher assistants, who have higher education and certification standards than aides."
STAFFING SCHOOLS
Date CapturedSaturday May 19 2007, 9:20 AM
NY Post Op-Ed contributor Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers opines, "Finally, I proposed a service differential to compensate teachers who go above and beyond for their students. As an alternative to taking courses to earn additional income, teachers would provide extra service, such as developing a unit of lesson plans for their department or designing a school-to-work internship program. These proposals are powerful recruitment and retention incentives that would transform hard-to-staff schools into schools that teachers would gravitate to and parents would want their children to attend. After all, that is what it's all about, isn't it?"
Section 3213 - Chapter 16, Title IV, Article 65, Part I -- Supervisors of attendance; attendance teachers; attendance officers; appointment, compensation, powers and duties
Date CapturedMonday May 14 2007, 9:39 PM
Reopen school talks
Date CapturedSunday May 13 2007, 10:41 AM
Buffalo News opines, "New York State’s schoolchildren received a huge gift when newly elected Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer earmarked millions of dollars in state aid for education. A district still struggling to enhance student performance and meet tough standards must spend as many of those dollars as possible in the classroom. Part of that spending — in the district’s view, $32.8 million — reasonably can go to contracts that improve district employee performance, morale and enthusiasm. Codifying the single-payer plan, which requires the district to match benefits under the previous multiple-insurer array and has worked as promised so far, is one way the unions can help reach that goal. The teachers union has argued that the single-payer plan must be negotiated, not imposed. This is its chance. The district has come up with a reasonable plan that looks several years ahead, and the BTF and other unions should embrace that for the sake of the students."
Where have all the dollars gone?
Date CapturedSunday May 13 2007, 8:01 AM
Newsday opines, "Where have all those dollars gone? Why can't more of them end up in taxpayers' pockets? Why can't schools keep up the high academic standards that help make Long Island one of the nation's most desirable places to raise children, but do it for even a little less - so we don't drive away homeowners with the nation's highest taxes? And what will happen when, inevitably, the state no longer doles out record school-aid increases, as it did this year? What are districts doing to prepare for the leaner years? As voters throughout the state go to the polls Tuesday to pass judgment on their school districts' annual spending, those are all legitimate questions and concerns. And there are answers - even if many taxpayers and lawmakers really don't want to hear them. Want to curtail costs? Try merging districts or scrapping laws that hamstring school boards from bargaining harder with powerful unions."
New York educators critique No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedSaturday May 12 2007, 9:20 AM
Legislative Gazette reports, "At the recent New York State United Teacher’s annual convention, delegates presented a No Child Left Behind initiative based on the results of a survey of teachers statewide. The survey results show teachers are frustrated with the federal law and say it jeopardizes creativity and curriculum not specifically focused on teaching students to succeed on standardized tests."
PEACE IN KLEIN'S TIME
Date CapturedWednesday May 09 2007, 9:46 AM
NY Post opines, "Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday laid out a funding plan for city schools - and, in so doing, made clear just what City Hall paid to buy peace from labor and allied radical groups. His plan includes funds to cover a deal announced last month with teachers' union boss Randi Weingarten and her radical pals. Officials say this won't cost more than 'a few million' dollars. But for how long did Weingarten stay bought? Not so long, it seems."
Rumore, assured of re-election, outlines goals for teachers union
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 9:01 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Supporters view Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore as a tireless champion for both teachers and children. Critics call him an obstructionist who short-circuits desperately needed change. And Rumore, 64, isn’t going away anytime soon. Since he faces no challengers in BTF mail elections being held this month, Rumore is assured of winning a 14th consecutive two-year term as president of the powerful 3,400-member union he has headed since 1981."
Rapaport: Selfless leadership made unity a reality statewide
Date CapturedSaturday April 28 2007, 3:46 PM
RA 2007 - April 28, 2007 reports, "NYSUT Vice President Robin Rapaport praised the seamless integration of former NEA/NY members into the NYSUT fold, and the work of NYSUT leaders in bringing the unification about, in a Saturday address."
The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher
Date CapturedFriday April 27 2007, 8:39 AM
Study finds, "Over the past two decades, teachers’ satisfaction with their careers has increased. According to the findings of this year’s MetLife Survey, over half (56%) are very satisfied with their careers. This is a striking contrast to the findings reported in the 1986 Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher: Restructuring the Teaching Profession when as few as 33% of teachers reported career satisfaction. One reason to measure teacher satisfaction is as an indication of whether or not a teacher will remain in the profession. Although analyses of this year’s MetLife Survey data indicate that teacher satisfaction is one of the predictors of whether a teacher intends to switch careers, it is not the only one. Evidence of this can be found in the number of teachers who plan to leave teaching in the next five years. One-quarter of teachers (27%) say they are likely to leave teaching. Despite the fact that teachers’ career satisfaction has increased by over 20 points since 1986, the number of teachers at-risk for changing careers has stayed the same. These results indicate that retaining high-quality teachers in the profession is as much of an issue today as it was two decades ago."
Class Dismissed
Date CapturedWednesday April 25 2007, 11:42 AM
Village Voice Mara Altman reports, "The UFT and the DOE each claim no knowledge of the origin of rubber rooms. One longtime employee says they have existed since at least the late 1960s, but in a different form. Teachers at that time who were accused of wrongdoing were reassigned to their district office where they were put to work—filing, typing up reports, and organizing data. Today, teachers simply rot."
THE SCHOOL WARS: TEACHERS UNIONS MAULED GOV
Date CapturedFriday April 20 2007, 8:46 AM
NY Post Op-ed contributor Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability opines, "In sum, the governor's vision for educational accountability got mangled in the legislative process. The public and educators will get much better student data. But the political process removed the 'teeth' from any consequences for failure. Teachers unions hijacked the infusion of billions of dollars in state money for things they favor - smaller class size (read more dues-paying teachers) - and blocked crucial companion measures like longer school days, longer school years and more flexible work rules that are the sine qua non for successful schools, especially those serving economically disadvantaged populations. At the same time, the governor couldn't expand school choice on anything like the scale of the vast need for alternatives, especially in New York City. The net result: New York state will spend billions more on public schools, and likely produce marginal, if any, changes in outcomes. Eventually, the new assessment system will let us demonstrate this failure conclusively - but that will be faint solace for the generation of children who will be forever damaged by our failure to get reform right."
Survey and Analysis of Teacher Salary Trends 2005
Date CapturedSunday April 15 2007, 5:22 PM
Teachers, especially new ones, are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing in their communities and to pay off student loan debts. These and other factors place the teaching profession—already plagued by high turnover and recruiting challenges—in further peril, according to the latest AFT teacher salary survey.
AFT Salary Survey: Teachers Need 30 Percent Raise
Date CapturedSunday April 15 2007, 5:11 PM
New York dropped to sixth in the nation for its average teacher salary in 2004-05, according to the American Federation of Teachers’ (AFT) annual teacher salary survey released today. Nationally, anemic teacher salary growth continues to lag behind inflation and precludes many teachers from finding affordable housing and paying off student loans. The average teacher salary in New York for the 2004-05 school year was $55,665, up 0.9 percent from the previous year when it was ranked third. New York was ranked fifth in the nation for beginning teacher salary, at $37,321, an increase of 2.5 percent from 2004.
Blowing the whistle
Date CapturedThursday April 12 2007, 8:44 AM
NY Daily News opines, "Weingarten's purposes are particularly transparent in that city laws already protect whistleblowers who report gross mismanagement or abuse of authority, and a special investigator is tasked with investigating school complaints. New York State law also protects whistleblowing teachers. Regardless, the Council Education Committee yesterday voted 14 to 1 in favor of Weingarten's bill. Among those in support was Chairman Robert Jackson, who allowed that he doesn't really know what's covered under existing law but "wholeheartedly supports" Weingarten's bill anyway. If it sounds good for kids, that's good enough for Jackson. But the people it's really good for are teachers who are worried about being subject to hard data analysis of student progress."
BLOOMBERG'S BULL'S-EYE
Date CapturedWednesday April 11 2007, 7:30 AM
NY Post opines, "Again, there's nothing wrong with looking out for No. 1. And most teachers do care a great deal about their students. But let's be clear: The union and its political allies (as we've noted before) have their own agenda here. They want to restore the old status quo - a system over which they and the entrenched educrats held sway, but one that failed to educate huge numbers of kids. Indeed, they want to ensure that they, and those who dance to their tune, are the ones who call the shots."
Blazin' Bloomberg, Mike fires salvo at school policy foes, comparing them with NRA fanatics
Date CapturedTuesday April 10 2007, 8:52 AM
NY Daily News CARRIE MELAGO reports, "Bloomberg said his detractors, including the teachers union, are merely a 'small chorus' that supports the status quo for its own self-interest, just like the National Rifle Association. 'You always do have the problem of a very small group of people who are single-issue focused having a disproportionate percentage of power,' he said. 'That's exactly the NRA.'"
MIKE'S SCHOOL-WAR BLAST: UFT = NRA
Date CapturedTuesday April 10 2007, 8:36 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Bolstered by a vote of confidence from 100 civic leaders, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday took aim at what he called 'special interests' trying to derail his education reforms, and compared the tactics of the teachers union to those of gun lobbyists."
POTEMKIN PROTESTERS
Date CapturedWednesday March 21 2007, 7:30 AM
NY Post opines, "Frankly, it's the UFT and its dubious allies who are disrespecting parents. Shame on them."
ACCOUNTABILITY for ALL
Date CapturedMonday March 12 2007, 2:41 PM
5 Ways to Reform the Teacher Discipline Process, New York State School Boards Association (2007).
Texas School District Asks Teachers to Return Pay
Date CapturedSunday March 11 2007, 7:59 AM
AP reports, "The school district that runs the nation’s largest merit pay program gave oversized bonuses to about 100 teachers and is now asking them to return the money. A total of about $75,000 was overpaid because a computer program mistakenly calculated the bonuses of part-time workers as if they were full-time employees, the Houston Independent School District said."
Subs, but paid tops
Date CapturedSunday March 11 2007, 7:50 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "Hundreds of tenured teachers who have failed to land permanent jobs in city schools are on the public payroll earning hefty salaries to work as substitutes and fill-ins, the Daily News has learned. While most substitute teachers make $141.70 per day, 236 of the 564 teachers whom nobody wanted to hire currently pull down more than $70,000 a year, plus benefits, to do the same work, according to a News analysis of Education Department data. Forty of those teachers make more than $90,000 - and some are slated to get raises next year, bringing them to the six-figure level."
Yates principal gets UAlbany award
Date CapturedThursday March 08 2007, 9:51 AM
Times Union reports, "Valarie Scott, principal of Yates Arts-in-Education Magnet School, will be the 2007 recipient of the Bertha Brimmer Medal. The award, which was established in 1934, is given annually by the University at Albany to an alumnus for excellence in teaching and dedication to the profession."
Teachers union given `F' for truth in lobbying ads
Date CapturedTuesday March 06 2007, 7:47 PM
AP MICHAEL GORMLEY reports, "Spitzer also supports more charter schools _ because they are highly regulated and accountable public schools run by private enterprises. Charter schools must prove success every five years or be closed, which has happened to some already. Spitzer also proposes 'transition aid' to help traditional schools cope financially when they lose students to a charter school, taking their state aid with them. 'Some of the claims are misleading,' said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson. Nonetheless, the administration will continue to work with NYSUT to advance Spitzer's budget proposal that also calls for a $1.4 billion increase in the fiscal year beginning April 1. 'I find it kind of astonishing, their lack of gratitude, the total piggyness that they want to have it all their own way,' said Tom Carroll of the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability, which supports charter schools."
NYSUT taking its campaign to public
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 8:05 AM
Times Union reports, "New York State United Teachers, the state's major teachers union, is launching today a media offensive against a proposal for private school tuition tax credits and increasing the number of charter schools allowed in the state."
Some Arizona school districts shun intended raises, lawmakers say
Date CapturedFriday March 02 2007, 10:22 AM
Tucson Citizen reports, "In a news release, the union said two districts planned to use the additional money to cover deficits while some other districts had pointed to discrepancies between the amounts they had received and what they thought they should have received. While the union didn't identify the school districts, including the two it said planned to cover deficits, it said similar situations were occurring around the state. John Hartsell, a spokesman for the union, said it was difficult to pinpoint districts that are failing to comply with the law's intent."
Educators React to No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedWednesday February 21 2007, 8:51 PM
NPR reports, "Joel Packer, director of education policy and practice with the National Education Association, offers reaction from educators to recent proposed changes to No Child Left Behind."
The Segregation of American Teachers
Date CapturedWednesday February 21 2007, 9:44 AM
By Erica Frankenberg, M.Ed., is a Research Assistant at The Civil Rights Project and Professor Gary Orfield, Professor of Education and Social Policy and Director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. "This report shows that in an increasingly segregated national system of schools, faculty segregation tends to add to — rather than counteract — the separation of students. We see that the white teachers, who continue to dominate the teaching profession, tend to grow up with little racial/ethnic diversity in their own education or experience. Not only did white teachers, on average, attend schools when they were elementary school students that were over 90% white, they are currently teaching in schools where almost 90% of their faculty colleagues are white and over 70% of students are white."
Spitzer's Deal
Date CapturedFriday January 12 2007, 5:06 AM
NY Post columnist Ryan Sager writes, "GOV. Spitzer wants to be the 'reform' governor, taking on Albany's entrenched power brokers on behalf of the people of New York. To do so, he's going to have to stand up to the most cancerous special-interest in all of Democratic politics: the teachers unions. To Spitzer's credit, it looks like he's stepping off on the right foot - by getting ready to push for a deal to expand the number of innovative (and typically non-union) charter schools allowed in the state. But he still risks stepping right in it - by conceding too much to the unions and crushing a promising experiment by over-regulating it."
Property taxes linked to job growth
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 8:52 AM
Times Union reports, "New York's governments and school districts have been hiring people at a rapid clip in recent years, far outpacing population and school enrollment, according to a speaker [Robert Ward, research director at the Public Policy Institute, which is affiliated with the state Business Council] Wednesday at a symposium on property taxes."
Supreme Court hears Washington state teachers' union case
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 4:01 AM
Washington Times reports, "Washington state in 1992 adopted a campaign-finance law that requires labor unions to annually ask members whether part of their union dues could be used for political purposes. Workers then could request a refund if they said no. But last year the state's high court struck down the law, saying that requiring the union to get specific consent from each worker was burdensome and infringed on the union's First Amendment rights."
Frozen Assets: Rethinking Teacher Contracts Could Free Billions for School Reform
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 6:57 AM
Education Sector report written by Marguerite Rosa . Many common provisions of teacher contracts require school districts to spend substantial sums to implement policies which research has shown have a weak or inconsistent relationship with student learning. This report examines eight such provisions: Increases in teacher salaries based on years of experience; Increases in teacher salaries based on educational credentials and experiences; Professional development days; Number of paid sick and personal days; Class-size limitations; Use of teachers’ aides; Generous health and insurance benefits; and Generous retirement benefits.
Cutting Provisions In Union Contracts Could Free Funds
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 4:01 AM
Washington Post reports, "U.S. public schools could have as much as $77 billion more a year to improve teaching if they reduced spending on seniority pay increases, teacher's aides, class size limits and other measures often found in teacher union contracts, a new study contends."
Public Schools Get 0 for Conduct
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 4:27 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Condon (Special Investigator) noted that his independent office investigates only serious misconduct by school employees. Complaints regarding corporal punishment and wrongdoing by students are referred to the chancellor's office. He said 259 cases of wrongdoing were confirmed last year - the highest ever."
TERRORIZED TEACHERS ARE BEING DRIVEN OUT
Date CapturedThursday January 04 2007, 8:40 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Many teachers cite fear for their safety as the reason for fleeing their middle-school jobs. Violent and disruptive incidents spike in middle schools, occurring at more than twice the rate as in elementary schools, even though middle schools account for about half as many students. The pattern mirrors a nationwide trend."
Online database opens a window for parents to compare schools
Date CapturedThursday January 04 2007, 5:53 AM
USA TODAY Greg Toppo reports, "A website by the National Council on Teacher Quality (www.nctq.org/cb), scheduled to launch today, promises to shine a light on teachers' working conditions. It gathers the minutiae of union collective-bargaining agreements and state policies for the nation's 50 largest school districts into a consumer-friendly database that allows anyone to compare districts. Together, the 50 districts educate 8 million children — about one in six public school children in the USA — and employ nearly half a million teachers."
Hawaii teachers' extra hours studied
Date CapturedMonday January 01 2007, 9:36 AM
The Honolulu Advertiser reports, "But there's a long way to go to reach agreement on whether teachers deserve extra money for what Hawai'i State Teachers Association president Roger Takabayashi calls the hundreds of extra hours they put in every year chiefly because of federal mandates under the No Child Left Behind Act."
Narrow the achievement gap in education
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 7:52 AM
Boston Globe reports, "The road to closing that gap is outlined in a report called 'Fulfilling the Promise of Education Reform, ' the union's [Massachusetts Teachers Association] action guide for the coming year. The organization will push for legislation and funding for more early childhood programs, full-day kindergarten for all, as well as reduced class sizes."
Classroom drama
Date CapturedSunday December 24 2006, 9:36 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Earlier this month, Sun celebrated the 200th performance of 'No Child ...', which chronicles her attempt to teach drama to the worst class at a fictional Malcolm X High in the Bronx."
Cheating Scandal
Date CapturedFriday December 22 2006, 3:32 AM
NY Times reports, "At least a dozen city educators were involved in an effort to help students at a Flatbush high school cheat by giving them answers to questions on science laboratory reports, city investigators said yesterday."
Ithaca Central School District report shows shortfalls in minority staff, AP participation
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 7:26 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "Diversity among faculty continues to be a struggle for the district. Of the 18 confidential or managerial positions, none are held by minorities. In 2005, only six percent of the district's teachers were minority, while 28 percent of the students the district educated were African-American, Latino, Native American or Asian. District Superintendent Judith Pastel said the district will be trying new ways to let a more diverse pool of people know openings exist in the area. 'For the first time we are going to use radio to advertise open positions,' she said. Beginning next year, the district will advertise on Power 106.9-FM, an urban radio station in Syracuse. The report card will be released every fall, the officials said."
Exam has changed how Florida teachers teach
Date CapturedSunday December 17 2006, 8:37 AM
Miami Herald reports, "The [Gov. Bush] governor gives a one-word response to account for the improvements: `'scrutiny.'' Except in one place: Private schools that take tax money to educate public school students. The voucher schools get the public money but face no punishments for FCAT scores, an exemption born of Bush's free-market privatizing philosophy as well as political necessity."
Election results push AFT legislative agenda closer to passage
Date CapturedFriday December 15 2006, 8:51 AM
New York Teacher reports on "a working people’s agenda" and revamping the No Child Left Behind Act. "Other AFT legislative goals include: Securing federal assistance to help districts modernize and rebuild schools; Winning greater national investment in education, health care and job training; Reversing the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling that allows employers to deny union rights to workers by classifying them as 'supervisor'; Raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, indexed to inflation; Protecting retirement security for all workers; Expanding access to college by halving interest rates for student loans and raising the maximum Pell grant award to at least $4,500."
Sucker Punch
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 5:11 AM
NY Post Op-Ed contributor Peter Murphy, director of policy for the New York Charter Schools Association writes, "Why is NYSUT so eager to squash the expansion of charters, even to the point of embarrassing itself with this political 'hit' masquerading as a study? Because it can't abide more competition from successful, accountable charter schools that work with less money but are free from union mandates like tenure and dictionary-length labor contracts. Thus the union has used all its political muscle to stack the deck against reform, ever since public charter schools were first proposed in New York in the mid '90s. It's shameful to see this powerful statewide organization denigrate the achievements of so many children, teachers and administrators in New York's charter schools. State legislators, who often portray themselves as standing up for the proverbial 'little guy,' should see NYSUT's bullying tactics for what they are - and do the right thing this week by allowing for more public charter schools."
Class dismissed
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 4:25 AM
NY Daily News reports on NYC schools closings, "'It is no secret that there have been problems at Lafayette, so its closing is not surprising,' said United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. 'As to Lafayette, we are working with the DOE to create a redesigned school - and potentially two new schools - that parents will want to send their children to and where educators will want to teach,' she said."
Schools' new worry: filling void at the top
Date CapturedMonday December 11 2006, 9:21 AM
San Jose Mercury News reports, "School districts across California are bracing for a wave of retirements from principals, superintendents and other key players -- raising questions about who will make up the state's next generation of education leaders."
Reform of Taylor Law to heat up Albany
Date CapturedMonday December 11 2006, 9:15 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "While the unions' proposals to tilt the field in their direction is on the table, most of what local governments want has failed to gather much support. Among their proposals: Abolish what is known as the Triborough Amendment, which keeps the provisions of expired contracts — including step raises — in place even when the contract has expired. Do away with binding arbitration for police and fire contracts, where a state-appointed panel has the final say over raises and other contract matters when police and fire unions can't reach a deal with their employers. Abolish teacher tenure, instead hiring teachers for five-year renewable contracts, and make it easier to discipline or dismiss ones who don't perform."
New York Teachers Union down on charter schools
Date CapturedSaturday December 09 2006, 7:43 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Peter Murphy of the New York Charter Schools Association called the report bogus and an attempt to sabotage expansion of charters. 'They are acting like a schoolyard bully to this fledgling reform movement that's showing real success for children by coming out with an 11th-hour hit-job, pretending to be a study, that's unworthy of a high-school research class,' he said."
Some schools taking a day off as teachers plan Trenton rally
Date CapturedFriday December 08 2006, 5:07 PM
AP reports, "Members of the New Jersey Education Association, the state's main teachers union, and other unions that represent state workers are planning to protest changes in their pension plans suggested by some lawmakers. The teachers union is trying to get 30,000 of its 196,000 members to Trenton for the day."
Teachers are truant, too, Philadelphia reform commissioner says
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 8:13 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "With 10 percent of students absent on any given day, and the mayor and a school chief pledging to hire 400 new truancy officers, there's plenty of attention on a student attendance problem in the Philadelphia School District. But at yesterday's School Reform Commission meeting, Commissioner Daniel Whelan suggested that teacher attendance deserves some of the spotlight, too."
THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE NEW YORK
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 2:18 PM
Robert G. Bentley, Executive Director of Professional Licensing and Teacher Certification, in a memo writes, "I am writing to let you know of a vacancy on the New York State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching in the following category: School Administrator: A building-level or district-level school leader in a New York State school."
Windfall fades
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 4:29 AM
NY Daily News ERIN EINHORN writes, "City schools are in line for an extra $1.9 billion a year, thanks to a long-fought lawsuit - but nearly a third of the windfall could end up paying for a pricey new teachers contract. The contract, which will push top teacher salaries into the six-figure range for the first time, will cost the city an extra $89 million next year and creep up to an additional $684 million a year by 2010. That's about a third of the additional aid that the state's highest court has ruled Albany will owe the city annually by then."
NEA stands against real reform to help students
Date CapturedSaturday December 02 2006, 9:04 AM
Chicago Sun-Times contributor David White, adjunct scholar at the Lexington Institute, a public policy research organization based in Arlington, Va. writes, "The number of high school dropouts is reaching crisis proportions. Today, nearly half of all blacks and Latinos fail to graduate. Dropouts earn about $260,000 less over the course of their lives. They're 72 percent more likely to be unemployed. Among prisoners, 80 percent don't have a high school degree. The National Education Association just issued a much-ballyhooed 12-point plan to eradicate this problem. But don't hold your breath. The misguided plan is more about shifting resources to the NEA's power base than doing what it takes to ensure that more students will finish school."
Utah School board seeks 'a carrot'
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 7:16 AM
Deseret Morning News reports, "The board is seeking a $50 million bill to create a 'Utah Educator Quality' plan that would offer differential teacher pay, require school bosses to stay up to date, and encourage people to become teachers and keep them in the profession."
Buffalo school district acted to save teachers' jobs
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 9:41 AM
Buffalo News contributor James A. Williams, superintendent of the Buffalo Public Schools writes, "The hard work of our teachers is showing results, as evidenced by the success of our summer school program and the Commencement Academy. The determination of teachers who want to make a difference has allowed us to open the Math Science Technology School at Seneca, Academy School @ 44 and to bring Advanced Placement classes into every high school."
At Ease: Hey! Leave those teachers alone
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 9:34 AM
Gaylord Herald Times writes, "Teacher accountability and performance cannot be completely and accurately measured by student performance, for a litany of reasons which I don't have the space to get into. But there's a lot going on in those 16 other hours of the day that affect test results."
Schooling corporate giants on recruiting
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 9:17 AM
CNN reports, "Seniors who compete to be Teach for America corps members must endure hours of interviews and tests designed to assess their organizational skills, perseverance and resiliency - critical traits since recruits receive only five weeks of teacher training (albeit grueling) before they get plopped into a classroom in the South Bronx or some other impoverished locale. As the students voice their qualms about TFA 'What if I fail? Won't poor kids reject Ivy League teachers?' Kopp doesn't sugarcoat the obstacles: 'It can be really overwhelming and depressing,' she warns. 'We all have bad days, and people who teach in Teach for America probably have more bad days than most.'"
School reform: Haven't we been here before?
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 9:07 AM
Washington Times reports, " Schools cannot improve academic performance alone. They do not, and cannot, operate in a vacuum. But we expect educators to address all manner of social ills and economic impediments plaguing students who are not ready or too stressed to learn when they reach the schoolhouse doors. Then we place the additional pressure on overwhelmed teachers of teaching to a standardized test, as if that is the Holy Grail of measuring individual improvement."
4 failing Massachusetts schools may become pilots to fix themselves
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 8:27 AM
Boston Globe reports, "Dan French, executive director of the Boston-based Center for Collaborative Education, said that Boston's pilot schools generally perform better than regular schools on several measures, including daily attendance, college-going rates, and MCAS scores. But the 20 pilot schools have also been a source of contention with the teachers union, which blocked expanding the schools for months over issues such as overtime pay."
Elementary school report card: Too many teachers, too few jobs
Date CapturedMonday November 27 2006, 5:14 AM
Post-Standard reports, "A report done this year by the state Education Department shows there is a surplus of elementary and early childhood teachers in the state outside of New York City. The report shows severe shortages in career and technical education, math and physical education teachers in New York City, and in reading and literacy teachers elsewhere in the state. There are so many elementary teachers that local school districts are overflowing with applications for few open jobs."
Do Board-Certified Teachers Lift Test Scores?
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 4:00 PM
NPR Larry Abramson reports, "Many teachers say that board certification has reawakened their commitment to teaching, even kept them from leaving the profession. But some districts remain skeptical, because they're not sure they'll get the only benefit that matters in education today: improved test scores. That finding is back up by recent research from William Sanders, who works for the computer software company SAS. 'There's very little difference in effectiveness based upon the National Board Certification Status,' Sanders says."
"Photo Finish: Which Teachers Are Better? Certification Status Isn't Going to Tell Us
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 7:47 PM
Economists Thomas J. Kane of Harvard University, Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia Business School, and Douglas O. Staiger of Dartmouth College, in Education Next, 2007 No. 1 answer the question of whether certification ensures highly effective teachers in the classroom. Researchers write, "The results of our study of New York City public school teachers confirm a simple truth: some teachers are considerably better than others at helping students learn. For example, elementary-school students who have a teacher who performs in the top quartile of all elementary-school teachers learn 33 percent of a standard deviation more (substantially more) in math in a year than students who have a teacher who performs in the bottom quartile. Yet as we embrace this piece of conventional wisdom, we must discard another: the widespread sentiment that there are large differences in effectiveness between traditionally certified teachers and uncertified or alternatively certified teachers. The greatest potential for school districts to improve student achievement seems to rest not in regulating minimum qualifications for new teachers but in selectively retaining those teachers who are most effective during their first years of teaching. "
An Education Gov?
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 4:45 AM
NY Post contributor Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability and chairman of the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls and the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys, the top elementary public schools in Albany writes, "To start with, we need to get over the artificial distinction between public and private schools. As Rev. Floyd Flake is fond of saying, we should focus on educating the public, not public education. With literally hundreds of thousands of students now attending schools that the state Education Department designates as failing, the territorial and exclusive focus of some on public district schools is misguided. Our focus should be creating more good schools and fewer bad schools, regardless of whether these happen to be organized as private, religious, public charter or standard district schools."
Yonkers school board approves ethics code
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 6:20 AM
The Journal News reports, "Under the new code, employees are banned from hiring, supervising, evaluating, promoting or disciplining a family member. They can't accept gifts valued at $75 or more and must keep confidential any information disclosed in executive sessions on a wide range of subjects, including proposed, pending or current litigation or discussions involving collective bargaining. In addition, former employees are banned from appearing before the school board on any action in which they participated in as employees."
To boost students and teachers, steer clear of merit pay on the road to reform
Date CapturedMonday November 13 2006, 5:25 AM
Christian Science Monitor contributor Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association writes, "The key question for any teacher compensation system is whether it is designed to improve student learning or to advance short-term political goals. These efforts linking teacher pay to test scores are not part of any integrated strategy to raise student achievement. Instead they represent an oversimplified approach masquerading as school improvement."
Johnny got a raw deal
Date CapturedSunday November 12 2006, 8:23 AM
NY Daily News contributor Joe Williams writes on the New York City teachers contract deal, "By cutting such a deal so early rather than keeping pressure on, Bloomberg has made a statement loud and clear: Only contract nips and tucks are needed from here on out. Major new work-rule changes are unnecessary."
'No Secret Deal' in New York City Teacher Pact
Date CapturedFriday November 10 2006, 4:54 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Asked if she would push state lawmakers to reauthorize mayoral control when the law expires in 2009, Weingarten [United Federation of Teachers President ]said it was 'premature to decide.'"
New York City teachers deal not so sweet
Date CapturedFriday November 10 2006, 4:38 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Klein [New York City schools chancellor] has been critical of provisions in the teachers contract that he says protect incompetent teachers. He has called for the ability to alter the length of the school day and for the ability to pay some teachers more than others. He even boasted at a recent event that he was creating a 'new labor-management paradigm' in the school system. But the 24-month contract that teachers seem likely to approve in a formal ratification vote next month - the last teachers contract over which Klein is likely to have any influence - contained virtually none of reforms he has advocated."
$142 million in school fixes weighed
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 7:13 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "The increase does not include operating costs or the costs of hiring more teachers and staff for the buildings."
Now We Have Peace of Mind
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 5:58 AM
NY Post David Andreatta writes, "For art teacher David Klaw, the new contract means two things: more money in his pocket and peace of mind."
New York City teachers chalk up an early deal
Date CapturedTuesday November 07 2006, 4:41 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "In a stunning move last night, the city's 120,000-member teachers union inked a tentative deal for a new contract nearly a full year before its current contract expires. The pact jacks the top range of teachers' pay over the $100,000 mark and includes a 7.1% raise over two years. The Bloomberg administration and the United Federation of Teachers reached the deal after just three weeks of closed-door negotiations, a sharp contrast to prior years when teachers angrily worked months without a raise."
City Reaches Early Tentative Deal With Teachers’ Union
Date CapturedTuesday November 07 2006, 3:15 AM
NY Times reports, ""The new teachers’ contract includes a minor change to a remediation program for teachers who receive an unsatisfactory rating, and it allows the city to offer a voluntary buyout to any teacher who does not have a regular school assignment. But this time around there were no demands for such concessions and there were no explosive disagreements, no talk of a strike or political threats like the union’s intimation last year that it would endorse Fernando Ferrer rather than the mayor. In the end, the union stayed neutral. The contract needs the approval of the Panel for Educational Policy, as well as the union members."
Neediest schools to get helping hand
Date CapturedSaturday November 04 2006, 7:49 AM
Philapdelphia Inquirer reports, "Some Philadelphia teachers may be able to earn extra money for helping boost student achievement at schools in low-income neighborhoods under a $20.5 million federal grant announced yesterday. Part of the grant would be used to set up an experimental merit-pay program, which the Bush administration favors but unions generally oppose. The school district and its teachers' and principals' unions have now agreed to develop a pilot plan that will use the funds to reward educators at 20 struggling elementary schools who help students succeed."
Teachers' special-ed input sought
Date CapturedThursday November 02 2006, 9:42 AM
Buffalo News reports, "The effort to reform Buffalo's special-education system will involve input from teachers, School Superintendent James A. Williams said at Wednesday evening's Board of Education meeting. 'We will call on you to work with us,' Williams said of district staff members. 'It will not work unless we have input from the teachers.'"
A higher bar for future teachers
Date CapturedTuesday October 31 2006, 7:15 AM
Boston Globe contributor Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and president emeritus of Teachers College, Columbia University opined, "Teaching is a profession. It requires deep content knowledge, a familiarity with ways to teach that knowledge effectively, and an understanding of how young people learn and grow. Future teachers should complete a traditional arts and sciences bachelor's degree in a content area such as math, history or English, and then undertake a year of graduate study to learn how to communicate their subject in ways that promote student learning. Scholarships will also be necessary to encourage our most talented students to choose teaching careers over high -profile, better-paying professions."
Symbol of hope
Date CapturedMonday October 30 2006, 7:56 AM
Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "To upgrade instruction, she [Adderly, a hands-on principal] tapped two of the school's best teachers to be math and literacy leaders and to coach other teachers. Every day, the coaches and Adderly work with teachers from a different grade and brainstorm how to help struggling students. Because many students also come to school with family, emotional and behavioral problems, Adderly set up three meetings a week to deal with them. For those meetings, Adderly introduced videotaping to capture students' classroom behavior. The tapes are shown when counselors, parents and teachers meet to devise plans to help."
Proposal 5: Investing in future, or bankrupting Michigan?
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 7:31 AM
AP reports, "Supporters of a ballot measure that would establish mandatory school funding levels say it would force the state to adequately fund education, which would create a better-educated work force and provide a boost to Michigan's ailing economy. Opponents of Proposal 5 say it would mostly benefit retiring teachers by shoring up pensions while softening incentives to improve pupil performance and siphoning off funding for other state services."
Buffalo schools lose on insurance
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 9:30 AM
Buffalo News reports, "In a decision stating that the Buffalo Public Schools engaged in 'heavy-handed bullying,' an arbitrator Monday ordered the school system to reinstate four health insurance plans for its teachers and to rehire - with back pay and interest - as many as 66 teachers laid off last year in a high-stakes insurance dispute. School officials responded that they will not back down, but instead will appeal the arbitrator's opinion."
The Fordham Report 2006: NEW YORK STATE
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 8:05 AM
Thoman B. Fordham Institute report writes, "New York's current state academic standards are solid, and nearly one-quarter of high school students passed at least one Advanced Placement exam, leaving the Empire State second to none in this category. The state is also working diligently to grow the number of minorities taking Advanced Placement exams. Between 1992 and 2003, for example, the number of African-Americans and Hispanics taking the test doubled. Charter school policy is not doing as well. Charter schools have proven wildly popular in New York since 1998, when Governor George Pataki's charter school proposal became law-when it turned out that legislators wanted a pay raise for themselves more than they wanted to follow the teachers union's bidding."
The Children Left Behind
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 7:44 AM
The Cornell Daily Sun contributor Laura Taylor, a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University writes, "The achievement gap between whites and Latinos and blacks is staggering. At the end of high school, black and Latino students have reading and mathematics skills that are roughly the same as white students in eighth grade. Beyond that, black students are half as likely as white students to have a college degree by age 29, and Latinos are only one third as likely."
Money Flows Into Teacher Bonus Program
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 9:40 AM
Newsday Ben Feller reports, "Using the old-fashioned incentive of cash, President Bush's program encourages schools to set up pay scales that reward some teachers and principals more than others. Those rewards are to be based mainly on test scores, but also on classroom evaluations during the year."
CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS: Students' diversity outweighs teachers'
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 8:11 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The National Education Association reports that 40 percent of the nation's public school children are minorities, but only 11 percent of the teachers are. It also says that 38 percent of America's public schools do not have a single teacher of color on staff. The report contends that students of color tend to perform better — academically, personally and socially — when taught by teachers from their own ethnic group."
Today's teachers face unique diversity challenge
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 9:21 AM
Sun-Times News contributor Bryan Scherer, certified business and English teacher writes, "I think schools can do more to create a culturally diverse learning environment by matching teacher with student. Hiring more ethnic teachers to make those connections with minority students is a win-win. It would also benefit kids to hire teachers that have life experience, instead of selecting the same status quo new hire; typically, it's the 24-year-old that is starting his or her first job, and comes cheap."
Florida Board of Education approves first merit pay plan
Date CapturedTuesday October 17 2006, 9:09 PM
AP reports, "Under the Special Teachers Are Rewarded, or STAR, program, a school district must develop a performance-pay plan that includes an evaluation component focused on the improvement of student learning."
California Law Blocks Transfer of 'Lemon' Teachers
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 4:16 PM
Infozine reports, "If a teacher doesn't measure up, should he or she jump over other applicants for a job at a different school? Not anymore, at least not in California's neediest schools. A new state law bars school districts from forcing principals at low-scoring schools to hire teachers who transfer from elsewhere in the district."
Merit system won't pay off
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 2:29 PM
Statesman Journal contributor and mother of eight children, Karen Utley writes, "Public education is expensive. The rate of student failure is deeply depressing. Policy makers and budget-keepers search for simple solutions, but complicated problems require incremental adjustment and no progress will be made until they stop hoping they can fix the schools by blaming the teachers."
It's hard to ax the boss
Date CapturedSunday October 15 2006, 7:47 AM
NY Daily News reports, "But despite the tough talk, Klein's [New York City Schools chancellor] ability to fire a principal - even one who has signed a 'performance agreement' to become an empowerment principal - is severely limited by labor law, civil service rules and contractual agreements."
Teacher, management collaboration a key lesson
Date CapturedSaturday October 14 2006, 9:57 AM
The Providence Journal reports, "Urbanski [director of the Teacher Union Reform Network] argued that you can't accomplish true reform unless you change what happens to children's lives before and after school. That means doing more in the areas of early childhhod education, after-school programs, health care and housing."
Giving Gallaudet a Bad Name
Date CapturedFriday October 13 2006, 3:59 AM
Washington Post opined, "UNHAPPY WITH Gallaudet University's choice of a new president, students continued their blockade of the campus yesterday. Hundreds of students were being denied their college education. Elementary and high school students also were locked out of their Kendall Green schools, which share the campus. Every lost day of school for them is significant."
Florida's Gov. Bush joins New York City mayor to push education changes
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 10:44 PM
AP reports, "Bush and Bloomberg are also campaigning for measures that connect teacher pay with performance, with rewards for progress. Bush noted that Florida will begin rewarding its teachers next year with merit bonuses, and Bloomberg said New York City is considering the idea."
Twin Tiers Outstanding Educator Award
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 7:49 AM
The Star-Gazette reports on award recipient John Cain, "'He [social studies teacher John Cain] encourages debate and discussion so the students will be able to develop their own ideas and opinions,' she [Andrea Morrell] wrote in nominating him for the award. 'Research is an element in his classroom and his students always have to back up their positions with data.'"
Wheels in motion for Rochester district to keep advancing to success
Date CapturedSunday October 08 2006, 7:59 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guest essayist Manuel Rivera, superintendent, Rochester School District writes, "The gains of our students and the progress of our district is a direct result of people working together toward a common goal, and that includes the Board of Education, our union leaders, staff, parents, the higher education, faith and business communities and many involved citizens."
NYSUT partners with baseball museum for education program
Date CapturedTuesday October 03 2006, 9:57 PM
New York Teacher reports, "NYSUT is a partner in the Hall of Fame's 'America Grows Inning by Inning' education program. Besides providing financial support — the program gets most of its funding from the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Museum and Library Services — NYSUT members and staff also help develop the standards-based curriculum and market the program to their colleagues."
Ministers and school union reps convene
Date CapturedTuesday October 03 2006, 6:05 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "For the first time ever, City School District union heads and a ministers group met to address the concerns of current and former African-American school district employees. And in the first agreement in what could be a long dialogue, Rochester-area black ministers and union representatives agreed that the mix of approximately 85 percent white teachers and 85 percent black or Hispanic students needs to change."
New York City Teachers Union Files Grievance Over Overcrowded Classrooms
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 3:20 PM
NY1 reports, "The [New York] City Education Department calls the union's data "unreliable" and said the majority of oversized classes are addressed during the first two weeks of school."
Aid for Teachers Urged
Date CapturedTuesday September 26 2006, 4:44 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA reports on the lack of diversity of NYC teachers, "Initiatives that help paraprofessionals become teachers and other incentives that offer financial aid in the form of loan forgiveness or housing aid are attractive and would better diversify the workforce if they were broadened, she [Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers] said."
School Principals Criticize Union Leaders
Date CapturedTuesday September 26 2006, 3:21 AM
NY Times reports, "In a sign of open rebellion against their union, whose contract expired more than three years ago, 31 New York City public school principals have written a scathing letter, citing 'grave concerns' about the union’s 'ineffectiveness,' and accusing its leaders of being increasingly 'out of touch' with members."
Court OKs Buffalo wage freeze
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 12:59 PM
Buffalo News reports, "'We find no need to second-guess the wisdom of picking the wage freeze over other policy alternatives, especially those that appear more Draconian, such as further layoffs or elimination of essential services, the court [2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City ] ruled.
Giving Kids the Chaff: How to Find and Keep the Teachers We Need
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 9:08 AM
Marie Gryphon, director of educational programs at the Institute for Humane Studies and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute concludes, "Teacher quality can be improved dramatically when hiring managers understand the attributes that make for good teachers and are given the right incentives to make good hiring decisions. Many of the current public policy proposals to improve educational quality in American public schools, such as merit pay and hiring bonuses for teachers with subjectspecific expertise, attempt to create the same economic stimuli that are naturally present in competitive markets. Allowing families to choose their schools, and giving schools the freedom and market incentives to make wise personnel decisions, will reward good schools and good teachers, providing more students with the high-quality education they deserve."
Taking a look at longer classes
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 5:19 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin "A main roadblock to extending the year is financial concerns. Any move to add days to the school year, or hours to the school day, would have to be negotiated with labor unions, including teachers' associations, officials said. And this would mean higher labor costs. 'If you extend the school year, I would assume people would expect addition compensation,' Busch said."
Grim Minority Report Card on New York City Teachers
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 4:28 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Christopher Brown, an executive with the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, said the federal No Child Left Behind law has hampered recruitment of minorities because teaching licenses are now not as easily transferable from state to state. 'The majority of blacks in this nation attend traditionally black colleges, most of which are in the South,' Brown said. 'We're seeing an increasing number of teacher candidates remaining in the states where they earned their degrees, because that's where they get certified.'"
Save the kids caught in the middle
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 4:24 AM
NY Daily News opined on middle schools, "Klein [chancellor] is all too aware of the middle-school miasma. It is one of the reasons why he is establishing school-by-school accountability measures, pushing to expand the number of charter schools and seeking to empower principals. If anything, these dismal test results should give him more muscle in a fight to stop teachers and principals from treating kids as if they naturally become dull at the age of 12."
15 State & National Groups Launch Coalition to Recruit 1,000 New Teachers of Color for Florida's Schools
Date CapturedSunday September 24 2006, 12:13 AM
Miami, FL (PRWEB) writes, "Florida faces a severe teacher shortage crisis, with a need for tens of thousands of new teachers every year. Additionally, the percentage of teachers of color in Florida is not representative of the percentage of students of color. Fifty two percent of the state’s students are Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian or multiracial but only 25 percent of teachers are individuals of color."
Buffalo Teachers Federation now affiliated with NYS United Teachers
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 8:19 AM
Business First of Buffalo reports, "The 3,700-member BTF Thursday officially joined with the New York State United Teachers, the Albany-based group that represents 575,000 educators and school personnel. NYSUT said in a statement it would immediately begin working with the BTF leadership in its struggle with the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority for a fair contract."
Start of school year is always a big thrill
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 10:40 AM
Buffalo News contributor and teacher MARGIE HERBERGER writes, "It was late August and I was excited. Every table in my study, dining room and living room was littered with pads, notebooks and texts about teaching. I fluttered from one to the other like a crazed butterfly, alighting on one pile, finding a paper, making a note and moving on to the next pile. What was I doing? Planning. I'm an English teacher, September was coming and I couldn't wait."
Wide Variety of Factors Involved in Achievement Gap
Date CapturedSaturday September 16 2006, 10:32 AM
Norwalk Citizen News reports, "The panelists [at a forum last week at Norwalk Community College] offered a wide range of observations dealing with the prospect of success in closing the achievement gap, including the following: *Educators have to think beyond the community. *Communities can't put blind faith in a charismatic leader. *Communities need to have courageous conversations about class and race and not be afraid to bring up the issues. *Communities have to be open to data that may fly in the face of beliefs. *Educators must look at the best practices that achieve success in other countries. *Thinking that low achievement in a school system is acceptable is offensive. *Investment in professional development should relate to what teachers are doing in the classrooms. *Opportunities for teachers to get together should be built within the school day. *Principals need to realize that their primary purpose is to know what's going on in the classrooms. *The way education is funded is a huge barrier to closing the gap. Therefore schools systems can't wait for more money to change a system. *The focus needs to be on the teachers and the students in the classrooms. *Four-to-six-week teacher-generated pupil assessment is important to determine if teaching goals are being met."
Gender No Excuse For Poor Academic Performance
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 10:47 AM
The Daily Campus Jamie Willie opined, "What it sounds like is professors and researchers are running out of reasons why some students perform better than others. Here's a thought - students learn differently than others. Let individual teachers figure out what needs to be done to get receptive students. It is the teacher's job - isn't it - to make sure that every child's learning needs are attended to. It can be dangerous to generalize too much when dealing with millions of children and the different ways that they learn."
Taking charge, making history: Stewart, Binghamton's first black principal since '80s, brings enthusiasm to Horace Mann
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 7:18 AM
Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The district hired Stewart, who worked for five years as principal of Sidney Elementary School in Delaware County, because he's an experienced, successful elementary school principal whose style of collaborating with parents and teachers fits with Binghamton's philosophy, Superintendent Peggy J. Wozniak said. But the fact that Stewart is black is a plus as the region's most racially diverse school district makes efforts to diversify its staff, Wozniak said."
New York schools test scores made easy for parents
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 5:22 AM
Times Union Rick Karlin wites, "'These reports are designed to be parent-friendly,' Martha Musser, coordinator of information and reporting systems for the Education Department, said Thursday as the agency unveiled the new reports. They also will allow parents to track how their children are doing on standardized tests over time, said Acting Deputy Commissioner Jean Stevens."
Taking a byte at teaching
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 4:44 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Martin, 35, is one of 1,700 new recruits in the city's Teaching Fellow program - a joint effort of the Department of Education, the United Federation of Teachers and local universities and schools. The program, which started in 2000, trains professionals and recent graduates to teach subjects with a shortage of teachers, such as math, science and special education. There are now 7,000 teaching fellows."
A Not-Quite-New Teacher Starts a New School Year
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 3:34 AM
NY Times reports, "Once the Batavia teacher’s gender identity disorder was diagnosed and she told officials of her intention to continue teaching, the school’s course of action was governed by state law, as well as its own instincts. 'Because it’s a medically diagnosed condition, it fits in as a disability under the New York Human Rights Law,' Mr. Spitz said. 'We have to accommodate the disability and allow the individual to perform the job.'”
NEA head speaks at Ithaca City School District rally
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 7:52 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "Weaver [NEA head] stressed the impact educators have on children and told the district's employees that teaching methods must evolve with the students. 'As times change we have to change too,' he said. 'You can't teach in 2006 the same way you did in 1986.' Weaver, who taught middle school for 30 years, talked about his own efforts to change when in the late 1980s he observed his students' home lives becoming more volatile."
Education system needs reform, not a billion dollars
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 3:56 PM
Las Vegas Business Press contributor Chuck Muth, president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. writes, "A BILLION (!) dollars more for education? That's a lot of dough. But if it comes with spending offsets and serious education reforms that break the government-school monopoly on education, it might be worth considering. The only thing apparently standing in the way is: the teachers unions."
States turn to teacher bonuses: Maryland, many others signing on to trend, but critics call such programs unproven
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 10:41 AM
Baltimore Sun reports, "Most teacher incentive pay programs are just a few years old and too new to evaluate, educators say."
Teachers program seeks recruits
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 10:00 AM
Richmond Times Dispatch reports, "The Troops to Teachers program is a favorite among schools looking for experienced teachers to fill tough jobs in urban and rural school systems. But three years into the Iraq war, the program is struggling to find recruits as the military stops highly trained personnel from retiring."
Summer's bell tolls for kids: New schools, rules as class resumes
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 4:26 AM
NY Daily News talks with NYC Chancellor Klein about school choice, teachers, and cellphones, "We have charters that are ready and we could open in the fall of [2007]. We will continue to work with them in the hope and the optimistic sense that this cap will be lifted."
New Hampshire begins recruiting future special ed teachers
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 11:02 AM
AP reports, "The program is aimed at middle, high school and college students and others who may be interested in a career change. The state is looking for specialists to work with students with disabilities."
'Twas the night before school and hope sprang eternal
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 10:31 AM
Times Herald contributor Laura Giner Bair , Newburgh Schools teacher, writes "We hope that our children are safe and that they make academic progress. We hope that children are respectful and grow in moral conduct. We hope that teachers are wise and kind and mindful that our children are young and sometimes fragile. We hope that parents are supportive and join us as partners in the education of all our children. We hope that whatever there is that might need to change will change."
Labor Day lesson: Unions still hurt schoolkids
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 9:01 AM
NY Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch writes on unions, "At this point, we can see that the grand monster and enemy of public education in our fair city has struck again. That monster is the principals union, which almost always seems more concerned with feather beds for its members than quality performance. As we found out last week from Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, a union contract requires the city to keep 44 inept assistant principals to the tune of millions of dollars when what is actually needed amounts to more high quality teachers."
Chancellor Klein Reverses Hiring Freeze
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 2:37 PM
New York Public Radio reports, "In this latest memo the chancellor also encouraged principals to consider Assistant Principals that have been excessed. The principals union had complained the day before about a letter in which the chancellor said he was spending millions of dollars creating jobs for more than 40 assistant principals because he didn't want to force them on any schools."
For a longer school year
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 11:48 AM
Buffalo News opined on extended school year, "New York retains that old model with the average public school year at 184 days, historically the standard locally and statewide. An increasingly global economy, where places like Shanghai allow an enriching set of after-school programs that involve music, dance, art and science, demands a high level of academic and personal achievement. That's better obtained with additional time in class."
Teachers' contracts stall over health care: District standoffs rise 33%
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 10:27 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "New York State United Teachers, the state's largest teachers union, reported Thursday that 209 local teacher unions and 169 NYSUT-affiliated unions -- cafeteria workers, bus drivers, teacher aides, teaching assistants and other professionals -- will work with expired contracts. Overall, 70,000 employees are in those locals. State law requires that teachers eligible for step raises get them even if the contract is expired."
Education Secretary Spellings spotlights early literacy
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 8:50 AM
The Providence Journal reports on funds granted, "The $3.6-million Reading First grant will be used to train childcare workers at four Providence daycare centers: Federal Hill House, West End Community Center, Genesis Center and John Hope Settlement House. The grants will also help the centers buy books and other materials to prepare children for kindergarten and first grade. The $3.3-million professional-development grant will pay for 250 hours of training in early childhood literacy for 200 childcare workers."
New York Teachers union opposes new mandate for English language learners
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 8:30 AM
New York Teacher reports, "Until now, students who have attended school in the United States for less than three years were not required to take the ELA exam. The recent ruling by the U.S. Depart-ment of Education contradicts the state's policy and NYSUT is investigating possible actions."
KLEIN BLOWS THE WHISTLE
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 8:20 AM
NY Post opined, "Surely the public would like to hear why these people have to be given "make-work" jobs . . . rather than be let go. Surely the public would like to know why a union would be organized to permit - indeed, encourage - one part of its membership to undermine the efficiency of another."
$3 billion plan for struggling California schools is revealed
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 12:08 PM
UNION-TRIBUNE reports on agreement with the California Teachers Association, "The estimated 600 schools in the pilot program would be selected from applicants among 1,600 low-performing schools whose scores on statewide tests are in the bottom 20 percent. The schools would have to maintain an average class size of 20 students in kindergarten through the third grade, a current requirement, and an average of 25 students not to exceed 27 students in most fourth-through 12th-grade classes. The schools would have to have at least one credentialed counselor for every 300 students. Using a new index, the average experience of teachers would have to equal or exceed the district average. The schools also would have to move toward a three-year goal of improving their test scores. Pupil attendance and graduation rates also would be expected to show improvement."
NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS AX 328 JOBS
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 8:39 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA reports, "The spokesman [NYC schools], David Cantor, said that $87.5 million has been trimmed from jobs related to teaching, counseling and administrative functions."
New York City Chancellor Klein: We gotta keep the rejects
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 8:12 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Although the city's 1,400 schools still need to hire 22 assistant principals, none of the 44 administrators will be sent to schools where they aren't wanted. At a cost of $5.2 million, they will get paper-pushing jobs, Education Department officials said. The union contract prohibits administrators from taking teaching positions. The contract and state law also allow administrators to bump less-senior colleagues from their jobs."
Vanderbilt University to study link between teacher incentives, student performance
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 7:31 PM
The Tennessean reports, "A national research and development center designed to answer questions such as­ 'do financial incentives for teachers, administrators and schools affect student achievement?' will make its home at Vanderbilt University."
Workshop on transgender teacher will go online
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 7:37 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The meeting with students is the next step for the district, which has already met with parents and trained staff to support a transgendered science teacher who will start the school year as a woman."
The Why Chromosome: How a Teacher's Gender Affects Boys and Girls
Date CapturedTuesday August 29 2006, 9:34 AM
Thomas Dee, associate professor in the Department of Economics at Swarthmore College and a faculty research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research writes, "Adverse gender effects have an impact on both boys and girls, but that effect falls more heavily on the male half of the population in middle school, simply because most middleschool teachers are female."
New Jersey school funding, shared services, pensions to get scrutiny
Date CapturedSunday August 27 2006, 8:16 PM
AP reports, "As lawmakers strive to cut New Jersey's soaring property taxes, they will focus this week on the state's unused school funding formula, whether taxpayers can save by merging governments and what retirement plans are available for public employees."
Recent Philadelphia high school grads tutor student teachers
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 10:01 AM
Philadelphia Daily News reports, "Fresh and four other recent Philadelphia public-school graduates talked yesterday with prospective teachers about what it takes to connect with city-toughened teens. Their talk was part of a three-day 'Pipeline to the Future' professional-development series intended to prepare rookie teachers for the harsh realities of urban schools."
SMEARING SCHOOLS THAT WORK
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 7:39 AM
NY Post Op-Ed contributor Peter Murphy, New York Charter Schools Association writes, "In the forefront of opposition to charter-school expansion is the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), the statewideteachers' union. Most charter-school faculties have chosen not to unionize - a freedom of choice codified by the state's charter-school law - putting them outside NYSUT's monopoly control. Thus far, NYSUT's raw political opposition to charters has prevailed over the schools' academic merits and the demands of thousands of parents of children on charter waiting lists."
Funding windfall will go to salaries, programs: North Dakota legislature to consider equity formula; state funds will help some districts
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 1:32 PM
Grand Forks Herald reports, "Devils Lake Superintendent Steve Swiontek has no trouble finding potential uses for his school's expected windfall in state funding for education. 'No. 1, we'll look at teachers' salaries,' he said. 'Our base salary is $23,200, compared to about $30,000 at Grand Forks and Fargo.'"
NO MORE EXCUSES FOR SCHOOL FAILURE
Date CapturedTuesday August 15 2006, 8:43 AM
NY Post op-ed adapted from speech given by Joel Klein, New York City schools chancellor, "OUR reform strategy, which we call 'Children First,' is premised on the core belief that strong school-level leadership will result in high-functioning schools. Our aim is to accomplish three fundamental cultural shifts."
CLASS $TRUGGLE: LITTLE RETURN ON 13G PER STUDENT
Date CapturedSunday August 13 2006, 9:52 AM
NY Post reports on education return on investment, "But despite the dollars being doled out, student achievement per buck was astonishingly low in New York state - which ranked in the bottom five in the U.S., along with New Jersey, Alaska, Connecticut and the District of Columbia, according to a 2004 report by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research."
School spending called ineffective: New York top in spending, bottom in graduation
Date CapturedTuesday August 08 2006, 7:46 AM
The Journal News reports, "The head of the state's largest teacher union said the findings did not surprise him. 'We do spend a lot on education because we offer a lot,' said Richard Ianuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers. 'In New York state, the cost of living and the quality of curriculum and the toughness of the standards demand a lot.' And he said high standards mean that not everyone will graduate on time."
The teacher becomes the student in Oregon
Date CapturedTuesday August 08 2006, 1:02 AM
The Gazette-Times reports, "The K-12 teachers take mathematics and leadership courses, attend study halls and even do homework each night. They are taught by faculty from universities across Oregon, and they learn how to be active students, how to facilitate learning among instructors in their districts who didn’t attend the institute, and how to bring their learning into their classrooms."
NEW YORK EDUCATION STATISTICS SHOW HIGH SPENDING FOR AVERAGE RESULTS
Date CapturedMonday August 07 2006, 11:34 AM
The Public Policy Institute of NYS "Just the Facts" series shows, "New York's per-pupil spending is the second highest in the nation while the state's graduation rate is near the bottom." Additional data on pupil/teacher ratios, class sizes, teacher salary, student performance on math and reading exams and SATs, and other higher education statistics are included.
Texas teachers union slams testing as overkill, urges better system
Date CapturedSunday August 06 2006, 10:19 AM
San Antonio Express-News reports, "The federation also recommended replacing the exit-level TAKS with end-of-course tests aligned with curriculum, compensating teachers for tutoring outside the school day and developing a 'learning environment index' for all schools that would take into account school safety, facility conditions, neighborhood, teacher retention, and financial and professional support. The index could be used to identify and help schools working under greater challenges."
Mahopac group confident it will raise enough money for sports
Date CapturedSunday August 06 2006, 9:54 AM
The Journal News reports, "The 'pay-to-play' system was put together by the MSA, parents, teachers and the Board of Education after this year's second budget defeat, which required that the school board adopt a $95.8 million contingency budget. The board voted to eliminate all extracurricular activities for a savings of $1,037,000."
Choice of a coach should be based on qualifications, not union membership
Date CapturedSunday August 06 2006, 9:44 AM
The Press Republican reports, "The choice of a coach should belong to the board of education and not be dictated by a union contract. Let the board hire the most qualified applicant with the best chance to do the best job for the students."
NYSSBA's Opinion - Taylor Law
Date CapturedThursday August 03 2006, 11:08 AM
By Timothy G. Kremer, Executive Director, New York State School Boards Association. Kremer writes on property taxes and the Taylor Law, "The problem is that the Taylor Law contains only a vague definition of bad-faith bargaining. PERB under the current chairman has been even-handed in its rulings, but past PERBS have been friendlier to the unions. The Abbate-Robach bills don’t punish the school board or mayor, but the property taxpayer. And it’s not as if public employees are still underpaid as they once were. A typical teacher earns an average of $53,000 in New York State. Public employees’ health insurance plans and retirement benefits are among the best. That they are somehow being taken advantage of at the bargaining table by cold-hearted local and state governments is pure fiction."
Michigan's Teachers union can't challenge community college's charter schools
Date CapturedThursday August 03 2006, 12:38 AM
Free Press reports, "A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals found the Michigan Education Association could not pursue its claim of potential damage from the operation of schools chartered by Bay Mills Community College because it could not provide evidence that public school teachers salaries would be adversely affected by the opening of charter schools."
Educators, unions question vetoes
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 7:55 AM
Star-Gazette reports, "Robert Lowry of the New York State Council of School Superintendents said there is a lot of concern about school property taxes, and the pro-labor bills would not have helped. 'If they want school districts to restrain costs, this is not the direction they ought to be headed in,' he said."
New Jersey special interests mobilize for tax reform fight
Date CapturedSunday July 30 2006, 9:15 PM
Northjersey.com reports, "Public school teachers will be summoned by their union to attend a one-week "boot camp" to teach them how to lobby lawmakers to protect their benefits."
Teachers explore Hudson Valley's challenges
Date CapturedFriday July 28 2006, 7:56 PM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "'School teachers can contribute by helping to build 'a new civic culture, one of engagement,' Nolon said. Teaching the Hudson Valley awarded eight grants to schools from Albany to Westchester county this summer in an effort to give more students more opportunities for field trips to Hudson River parks and historic sites."
Salaries down for teachers, up for superintendents
Date CapturedThursday July 27 2006, 10:22 AM
Bloomberg News reports, "The average U.S. teacher salary fell 0.1 percent in the past school year to $46,953, while pay for superintendents rose 1.1 percent, according to a survey by the nonprofit Educational Research Service."
NYS Education Dept. Office of Professions & Teacher Certification accepting applications for immediate vacancies on the New York State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 3:42 PM
NYS Education Department: Apply for appointment to the Board if you have an interest in helping to shape teaching policy in New York State and if you qualify for appointment in one of the following categories: Higher Education (President or chief academic officer of a NYS college or university that prepares teachers), Teacher (Either a classroom teacher or pupil personnel service professional in a New York State school) Public (Representative of business, parent group, community organization, etc.) Teacher Education Student (Student matriculated in a teacher preparation program at a NYS institution, full-or part-time). Application information here.
American Federation of Teachers
Date CapturedSunday July 23 2006, 8:37 PM
Ohio local school district agreement stresses all be drug-free campus
Date CapturedSunday July 23 2006, 10:09 AM
The Marion Star reports, "The Pleasant Education Association, which represents 83 teachers, has agreed to drug testing as part of its new three-year contract. Pleasant Board of Education President Gary Sims and Superintendent John Bruno said the board also plans to pass a policy that would require administrators to be tested."
United Federation of Teachers
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 1:20 PM
Sun shines in 'No Child' - a class act about NYC schools
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 7:24 AM
The Daily News reports, "Sun, a native New Yorker who is half-black, half-Puerto Rican, based the work on her outer-boro teaching experiences. It's about a naive instructor (named, natch, Ms. Sun) struggling to stage a 10th-grade class production of 'Our Country's Good,' Timberlake Wertenbaker's drama set in 1788 about Australian convicts doing a play."
Pay teachers more and demand results
Date CapturedTuesday July 18 2006, 9:07 AM
Morton Kondracke, columnist and executive editor of Roll Call, writes on school reform, "With student performance still dismal 23 years after a federal report proclaimed a 'nation at risk,' it’s just possible that a decisive, bipartisan 'grand bargain' can be struck to improve the public schools."
Unions drive a hard bargain in New Jersey
Date CapturedTuesday July 18 2006, 9:03 AM
NorthJersey.com reports, "Cops and teachers who, a generation ago, were underpaid and overworked are now enjoying compensation and working conditions that are the envy of the private sector."
Secretary Spellings Delivers Notre Dame Alliance for Catholic Education Commencement Address
Date CapturedMonday July 17 2006, 9:34 PM
Secretary Spellings said, "To keep the system diverse, Catholic schools reach out to low-income, minority, and immigrant communities. To keep academic quality high, they often work longer days and stretch the school year into the summertime. And to keep tuition affordable, they often set tuition rates lower than the actual cost of educating each child."
Buffalo aternative school's staffing becomes an issue
Date CapturedSunday July 16 2006, 8:44 AM
Buffalo News reports, "When school violence was a hot topic last year, President Philip Rumore of the Buffalo Teachers Federation lobbied relentlessly for a new alternative school for troubled students."
New York State United Teachers
Date CapturedFriday July 14 2006, 2:25 PM
National Education Association of New York
Date CapturedFriday July 14 2006, 1:59 PM
No educators left behind?
Date CapturedWednesday July 12 2006, 8:18 AM
USA TODAY Greg Toppo writes, "Worried that the USA could lose ground in global competitiveness, a group of academic and business leaders wants to increase the pay of public school teachers immediately by as much as 20% and up to 50% in the foreseeable future."
Echo Chamber: The National Education Associations's Campaign Against NCLB
Date CapturedTuesday July 11 2006, 1:59 PM
By Joe Williams. "This Education Sector report examines the financial relationships between the NEA and a number of organizations that have been sharply critical of NCLB."
Report: NEA pays opponents of No Child Left Behind law
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 10:39 PM
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY reports, "The nation's largest teachers union has spent more than $8 million in a stealth campaign against President Bush's education reform law, paying for research and political opposition in an effort to derail it, according to a Washington think tank that supports the law."
825 CITY TEACHERS EXPELLED
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 6:52 AM
NY Post registration required. NY Post reports, "Under a state mandate last year, uncertified teachers are prohibited from working in the city school system unless they are on track to earn their certification."
Yonkers looks to hammer out deal for teaching assistants
Date CapturedSunday July 09 2006, 10:36 AM
The Journal News reports, "The school district and the city's teachers union have yet to strike an agreement on wages and working conditions for an estimated 80 teaching assistants who are scheduled to begin work in September."
New York's teachers are public workers looking to be treated fairly
Date CapturedWednesday July 05 2006, 8:24 AM
Times Union includes letter to editor from NYSUT president, "The New York State School Boards Association gets an A in creative fiction for arguing that adding equity to the Taylor Law would increase property taxes ("An education in soaring property taxes," June 29). The specter of higher property taxes is a red herring from an organization that has enjoyed the upper hand in contract negotiations for nearly 40 years and opposes a level playing field for teachers and other school employees."
Los Angeles Unified Losing Staff to Charters
Date CapturedMonday July 03 2006, 10:17 AM
LA Times registration required. LA Times reports, "Amid the continuing growth of charter schools in Los Angeles, hundreds of teachers and administrators have left the city's school system to take jobs at the independently run campuses."
NEA teachers' union plans blitz on No Child Left Behind act
Date CapturedSunday July 02 2006, 3:57 PM
A Better Bargain: Overhauling Teacher Collective Bargaining for the 21st Century
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 5:49 PM
By Frederick M. Hess, American Enterprise Institute and Martin R. West, Brookings Institution.
Unions: For the Children?
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 9:48 AM
An education in soaring property taxes
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 8:33 AM
Times Union
Teacher unions to merge Sept. 1
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 8:28 AM
The Journal News
Ithaca students more diverse than teachers
Date CapturedTuesday June 27 2006, 7:35 AM
Ithaca Journal
Teacher Dismissed
Date CapturedSunday June 25 2006, 7:49 AM
NY Times registration
Unions Seek Joint Bargaining With City
Date CapturedFriday June 23 2006, 10:50 AM
NY Times registration required
Summer toil would teach kids a lesson
Date CapturedThursday June 22 2006, 6:57 AM
NY Daily News
Educators are surrogate parents
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 7:35 AM
Education Week Notes High Number of Math and Science Graduates Joining Teach For America
Date CapturedSaturday June 17 2006, 5:04 PM
Will more teachers accept merit pay?
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 8:29 AM
Union day care measure vetoed
Date CapturedFriday June 09 2006, 7:20 AM
California Teachers Union broadens to include other education workers
Date CapturedMonday June 05 2006, 11:30 AM
Unions' retirement advice is failing teachers
Date CapturedTuesday May 30 2006, 10:20 AM
'TEACH On-line'
Date CapturedMonday May 29 2006, 8:57 AM
BOCES TEACHERS PROTEST IMPASSE
Date CapturedFriday May 26 2006, 8:33 AM
Education Next: Students Achieve More With Teachers Who Take Personal Responsibility for Student Learning
Date CapturedThursday May 25 2006, 12:49 PM
Testing undervalues us, Florida teachers say
Date CapturedMonday May 22 2006, 9:26 AM
North Carolina School Systems Turn To Pay Incentives To Draw, Keep Teachers
Date CapturedSunday May 21 2006, 10:24 AM
Report says teacher union contracts hamper education in Rhode Island
Date CapturedFriday May 19 2006, 11:37 AM
TEACH JAM AT UFT CHARTERS (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedThursday May 18 2006, 8:46 AM
Schools Find Chinese Teachers in Short Supply
Date CapturedWednesday May 17 2006, 11:40 AM
UFT Delegate Assembly says ‘no’ to more work time in future contracts
Date CapturedTuesday May 16 2006, 1:58 PM
UFT Objects To Psychological Tests For Teachers
Date CapturedTuesday May 16 2006, 7:52 AM
FUROR OVER PSYCH TESTS FOR TEACHERS (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedMonday May 15 2006, 7:00 AM
IMPROVE STUDENT PERFORMANCE: Teachers Ask the Secretary
Date CapturedFriday May 12 2006, 6:52 PM
California teacher named best in U.S. for bilingual education
Date CapturedThursday May 11 2006, 11:03 AM
NYSUT: A 'yes' vote on May 16 is more important than ever
Date CapturedWednesday May 10 2006, 8:33 AM
ELIOT EYEBALLS TEACHERS' TANGLE (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedTuesday May 09 2006, 5:55 AM
Teachers union members approve merger with education association
Date CapturedMonday May 08 2006, 3:08 PM
Five remarkable members of a very special profession (Staten Island Advance registration)
Date CapturedMonday May 08 2006, 11:39 AM
WORKER SLAMS UFT FOR 'BIAS' (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedMonday May 08 2006, 7:48 AM
TEACHER UNIONS VS. . . . TEACHERS (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedThursday May 04 2006, 7:29 AM
Poll laments Rochester city schools student behavior
Date CapturedWednesday May 03 2006, 7:59 AM
Letter to America's Teachers by Secretary Spellings in Honor of Celebrating Teachers Week
Date CapturedTuesday May 02 2006, 7:38 PM
Kansas House OKs Tuition Bill For Those Wanting To Teach
Date CapturedTuesday May 02 2006, 11:05 AM
Teachers unions consider merger
Date CapturedSaturday April 29 2006, 7:18 AM
Election nears on merger of teachers unions
Date CapturedSaturday April 29 2006, 7:11 AM
A $100 million incentive to improve teaching
Date CapturedFriday April 28 2006, 8:32 AM
Chicago principals flunk more than 1,000 teachers
Date CapturedThursday April 27 2006, 12:46 PM
Gap in teacher quality falls on income lines
Date CapturedThursday April 27 2006, 7:33 AM
New Study Links National Teacher Certification Program to Rising Student Achievement
Date CapturedWednesday April 26 2006, 11:37 AM
FACEOFF: Are teachers paid enough?
Date CapturedTuesday April 25 2006, 10:29 AM
Richer areas more successful in attracting qualified teachers
Date CapturedMonday April 24 2006, 11:58 PM
Ohio putting learning at center stage
Date CapturedSaturday April 22 2006, 9:02 AM
Skills tests for teachers miss mark, studies find
Date CapturedMonday April 10 2006, 9:01 AM
Pittsburgh's teachers union imperils plans for boosting student achievement
Date CapturedFriday March 31 2006, 2:59 PM
Teacher Qualifications, Instructional Practices, and Reading and Mathematics Gains of Kindergartners
Date CapturedWednesday March 29 2006, 11:23 AM
This Research and Development (R&D) report uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) to explore relationships between kindergarten teachers' reports of their qualifications and instructional practices and direct assessments of children's reading and mathematics achievement during the kindergarten year. Spending more time on subject and working within a full-day kindergarten structure were found to be associated with relatively large gains in achievement.
Is There a “Qualified Teacher” Shortage?
Date CapturedTuesday February 21 2006, 5:07 PM
Is There a “Qualified Teacher” Shortage? What factors do affect the market for teachers, anyway? by MICHAEL PODGURSKY. Education Next, Spring 2006. Hoover Institution.
Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts
Date CapturedSaturday February 18 2006, 2:55 PM
by Jessica Levin, Jennifer Mulhern and Joan Schunck. November 2005. Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming The Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts shows how contractual staffing rules undermine urban schools and the educational needs of their students.
Teacher Professional Development in 1999-2000: What Teachers, Principals, and District Staff Report
Date CapturedFriday January 27 2006, 12:44 PM
NCES, 2006. This report uses data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to describe teacher professional development activities in 1999–2000. The first part of the report examines the ways in which districts and schools organize and manage professional development, and the second part describes the extent to which teachers participate in various types of professional development activities.
'Rising Above the Gathering Storm' (NY Times registration required)
Date CapturedTuesday January 24 2006, 12:48 AM
Teacher Education at the Community College: Partnership and Collaboration
Date CapturedSunday December 18 2005, 3:36 PM
Allen, Robin. ERIC Identifier: ED467986. Publication Date: 2002-05-00. Community colleges are examining their role in helping to meet the need for teachers in their own communities.
Education’s Information Could Help States Further Implement Teacher Qualification Requirements
Date CapturedMonday December 12 2005, 4:43 PM
GAO-06-25 NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT Improved Accessibility to Education’s Information Could Help States Further Implement Teacher Qualification Requirements.
Teacher Attrition: A Costly Loss to the Nation, and to the States
Date CapturedWednesday December 07 2005, 9:57 AM
Alliance for Excellent Education: New teacher turnover rates can be cut in half through comprehensive induction, which helps to develop novice teachers into high-quality professionals who improve student achievement.
How Changes in Entry Requirements Alter the Teacher Workforce and Affect Student Achievement
Date CapturedSaturday December 03 2005, 2:07 PM
November 2005. Donald Boyd (U at Albany) Hamilton Lankford (U at Albany), Pamela Grossman (Stanford University), Susanna Loeb (Stanford University), and James Wyckoff(U at Albany).



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