The Echo

Published Online: December 30, 2010


N.D. Bullying Lawsuit Settled

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/30/395287ndstudentlawsuitsettlement_ap.htmlFargo, N.D.

The Fargo School District has reached a $300,000 out-of-court settlement with a former student over allegations that he was repeatedly bullied by classmates.

School district attorney Tiffany L. Johnson told The Forum newspaper Wednesday that terms of the settlement include payments to the former student of $190,600 and $109,400 to his lawyer.

Johnson says the district's insurance company has paid the claim.

The lawsuit said the school district didn't properly respond to repeated complaints about the bullying and didn't do enough to punish the perpetrators. It sought unspecified damages in excess of $50,000.

The lawsuit claimed that the bullying of the unidentified student, now 21, began in grade school.

Published Online: December 29, 2010
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/29/15mct_ilchicagoboard.h30.html

Chicago Teacher Coalition Calls for Elected School Board

By Tara Malone, Chicago Tribune (MCT)
As Chicago prepares to elect a new mayor, a coalition of teachers, community leaders, parents and students on Wednesday said the city's next leader should not control public education as Mayor Richard Daley has for most of his 21 years in office.

The group called for the return of an elected, 13-member school board that would be geographically representative of the city.

It said 7 of the 13 seats should to go to parents and community members, while also including two teachers, an administrator, an education researcher, a paraprofessional and a business person.

Jitu Brown of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization said the group plans to sit down with state legislators and rework the law that put Chicago Public Schools into Daley's hands in 1995. They also intend to make their case to the dozen or so candidates for the city's top office.

"We want to make sure this becomes an issue for the people seeking to be mayor of Chicago," Brown said during a news conference at the James R. Thompson Center that drew a group of students and teachers in the midst of the holiday break.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/29/15mct_ilchicagoboard.h30.html

Dispositions for Success

Across education and industry, research by Mr. Sackett; Neal Schmitt, a psychology professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing; and others shows the biggest predictor of success is a student’s conscientiousness, as measured by such traits as dependability, perseverance through tasks, and work ethic. Agreeableness, including teamwork, and emotional stability were the next-best predictors of college achievement, followed by variations on extroversion and openness to new experiences, Mr. Sackett found.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/23/15aera.h30.html?tkn=MSNFLv2qkoQhwOKkkn1cdTQl9A0azUKZ%2F7h%2F&cmp=clp-edweek

I must be dreaming. 

More and more, research shows young people need the same cognitive and social-emotional skills to complete school and progress in the workplace, and, moreover, that those skills can be taught and tested like any other subject in school.

Nope.  Not dreaming. 

Most schools do not teach or measure nonacademic readiness indicators directly, though they do pop up through conduct reports, attendance, team-project evaluations, and other areas. However, several groups are developing more-comprehensive assessments they hope will help school administrators predict a student’s academic and social-emotional readiness trajectory.

Education Sector, a Washington think tank, has been studying something other than the "common core."  Seems social-emotional learning plays a role in college and career readiness.  Research "shows the biggest predictor of success is a student’s conscientiousness, as measured by such traits as dependability, perseverance through tasks, and work ethic. Agreeableness, including teamwork, and emotional stability were the next-best predictors of college achievement, followed by variations on extroversion and openness to new experiences," according to the article. 

This research  is a potential blow to education "deformers," the likes of which see Race to the Top as the second-coming, and as such is likely to get little mainstream press for now.  However, education advocates would do well to read between the lines and get ready to stand with their educators.  It's a fissure in the attack on teachers and may well indicate that academic assessment and the movement to tie teacher evaluations to them is seriously flawed.  (Though many of us already know that.)

Yes, Virginia, there is something more to education than the DCAS.  Your success is as dependent on your HQ teacher as it is on YOU. 

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28765366&postID=4369108827936382105
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 24, 2010


NORTH POLE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Because only 17 percent of children are grateful for their gifts, the North Pole School District has adopted a strategic plan, which launches several initiatives for Christmas, 2010.


CAPACITY MANAGEMENT
Families have told us they want predictability in their gift assignments. Unfortunately, our existing gift assignment plan results in excess demand for some gifts, and inadequate demand for others.


To create predictability and ensure excellence for all, the North Pole School District has adopted the True Rejoicing Under the Tree Holiday Gift Assignment Plan.


When TRUTHGAP takes effect, students in the northeast quadrant of the North Pole School District will be assigned new skis. Students in the northwest quadrant will be assigned an XBox 360 or Wii. Students in the southwest quadrant will be assigned a karaoke machine. Students in the southeast quadrant will be assigned wool socks. Students in the central area will be assigned an iPod, which they all must share with each other.


PLAY ALIGNMENT
Effective immediately, play will be guided by the North Pole School District's pacing plan. Children throughout the district will have the benefit of the same play experience on the same day. A child who has a playdate at a different house every day will not fall behind. Play alignment allows us to provide effective play-supervision coaching to parents.


Play alignment is not standardization. For instance, on Tuesdays, all North Pole children may be playing TROUBLE. Their play experience will be rich and diverse, based on the results of the Pop-O-Matic.


ELF QUALITY
The most important factor affecting a child’s happiness is the quality of elves making toys at the North Pole. Studies conducted by the Holiday Privatization Foundation have shown that children with highly-effective elves experience 1.5 years of joy in a single year, while children with ineffective elves experience only .5 years of joy.


Our new collective bargaining agreement with the elves union enables us to replace these problematic elves with altruistic college graduates, who -- although they have never produced actual gifts -- will manufacture superior skis, Nintendos and iPods (under the instruction of the experienced elves who have not yet been exited from the profession).
 DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
Because children’s happiness cannot be enhanced without accurate, easily-understood data, the North Poll School District will frequently, carefully measure student happiness.


The District has awarded a $6.5 million no-bid contract for the Children’s Rejoicing Assessment of Progress. Children will not be allowed to study or play for approximately three-week periods during fall, winter and spring. School libraries and computer labs will be repurposed for continual administration of the CRAP test.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Because the happiness of children is our overarching goal, we will be reaching out to key stakeholders. We will work collaboratively with Wal-Mart, Target, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, the North Pole Roundtable, the League of Gift Givers, the Alliance for Joy and other institutions with superior understanding of happiness. We’re listening -- and open for business!


THE NEW NORTH POLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS:


EVERYONE HAPPY. EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE. EXCELLENCE FOR ALL

Md. school cancels dance for 'dirty' violations


Associated Press • December 23, 2010


 A high school in Cumberland, Md., says it's canceling a February dance to crack down on the sexy gyrations known as dirty dancing or freak dancing.

Allegany High School Principal Mike Calhoun said Wednesday that students at the autumn homecoming dance ignored appropriate behavior guidelines developed by student government.

Calhoun says the February Sweetheart Dance is off, and the spring prom is in jeopardy.

Schools across the country are struggling to control dirty dancing by canceling events or making students sign contracts prohibiting the sexy moves.

Junior Sierra Sines tells the Cumberland Times-News she understands administrators' concerns but she really hopes to go to prom

Dear Christina,

I'm struggling with this issue.  At last week's board meeting at Stubbs, the board heard the impassioned pleas of those advocating that we approve a plan to convert a portion of our headquarters, the Drew Building, into a health clinic as part of Christina's Community School intiative in the City of Wilmington.  The board is scheduled to vote next month on the plan.

Children and Families 1st (no relation to our blog, Children & Educators First) has enlisted the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center as the potential partner.  HJ already has a clinic in Southbridge.  They would be opening a satelite location in 3,200 sq. ft. of space in Drew to be accessible by a separate entrance.  The Community Schools project will identify and obtain the funding for the conversion of the space.  In return, Christina will allow Henrietta Johnson to use the space for free in addition to conitnuing to pay the utilities on the space.  HJ will then provide the health care services to any member of the public who seeks medical care (covered either by ones' health insurance or on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay.)

The benefits are obvious - the plan creates accessible healthcare for children and adults on the east side of town eliminating unreliable transportation burdens affecting area residents.  And I know its right to make healthcare as accessible as possible for our children.  It's our moral obligation. 

Yet, I struggle with the idea of using tax payer money earmarked for education to support a medical center.  So, I'm putting out to you, Christina - please share your thoughts in the comments section. 

Thank You,
Elizabeth

Students using music as gateway to success



At concert, Ennis pupils show off skills they've learned

By MOLLY MURRAY • The News Journal • December 17, 2010

It's the music that takes center stage at most school holiday performances this time of year.
But at Howard T. Ennis, a school for children with developmental disabilities in Georgetown, the music in the "Celebrations" concert Thursday was secondary.

"Our kids learn a lot throughout the process," Principal Kris Perfetti said.


Finish the Story HERE:  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101217/NEWS03/12170323

DOE's Ennis Profile Here: http://profiles.doe.k12.de.us/SchoolProfiles/school/Default.aspx?checkSchool=750&districtCode=36

Published Online: December 14, 2010

Study Finds Bad Schools Rarely Get Better—or Shut Down

By Sarah D. Sparks

The lowest-performing public K-8 schools often linger in that state for years, neither improving enough to get off accountability life support nor being shuttered completely, and persistently failing charter schools fare no better than regular public schools, a new study finds.


Of 2,025 chronically low-performing elementary and middle schools identified in 10 states in 2003-04, it found, only about 1 percent had improved enough to exceed their states’ average academic performance five years later, and fewer than 10 percent had even broken out of the lowest 25 percent of schools in their states. The findings are in a report released Tuesday by the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Basis Policy Research, of Raleigh, N.C.

Continued HERE:  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/14/15fordham.h30.html?tkn=RLSF9%2FcFtNFcFVpVvIvvHn9mlKCrc%2FXlnaTv&cmp=clp-edweek#

Posted at 5:32 PM ET, 12/ 7/2010


Was Friends of Bedford ready for Dunbar?

By Bill Turque

As promised, DCPS moved Monday to bolster safety and security at Dunbar High School, which officials say has suffered from a lack of both under Friends of Bedford, the outside operator hired by former Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.

The package includes additional police presence, more experienced school security guards, and extra administrative types from the school system's central office. A team of social workers met with every English class (to make sure they covered all students) to talk about sexual behavior and respect in the wake of the alleged assault that took place at the school last month. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2010/12/was_friends_of_bedford_ready_f.html

Former DC Chancellor and Education Deformist, Michelle Rhee brought in Friends of Bedford to reform Dunbar High School, "once the pride of black Washington" as Turque puts it.  Bedford had an excellent pedigree stemming from the groups' five years of experience at Bedford High School in Brooklyn, NY, a highly regarded public school with an intense emphasis on college preparedness.  But the Friends built Bedford from scratch while at Dunbar they assumed leadership and operations of a failing school. 

Leonard built Bedford from scratch. Dunbar, once the educational pride of black Washington, had been a failing school for years. Enrollment is nearly twice that of Bedford (750 vs 400) and when he arrived, students were housed in a sprawling '70s-style building with concrete ramps and no walls for classrooms, part of an "open" design in vogue a generation ago.


Bedford was an application school, where students were screened by the city's education department for grades, standardized test scores and attendance. The names of incoming ninth graders were also available to school officials in May or June, allowing the staff time to reach out to new families.

At Dunbar, Friends of Bedford is required to accept anyone with the legal right to attend, including students from Walker Jones and Emery education campuses, some of whom are multiple grade levels behind in reading when they enter Dunbar. Also destabilizing, Leonard said, was the steady stream of late enrollments after the start of school in August, which interfere with attempts to establish some continuity of culture.  -- Turque

A day after Turque's post ran in the Washington Post, Kaya Henderson, Rhee's replacement ousted the Friends of Bedford, just three years after Rhee had hired them.  In another twist, Henderson brough back the former principal Stephen Jackson, who was removed by Bedford in the 09-10 school year to head the new leadership team.

Henderson's action underscores the extreme difficulty of high school turnarounds - especially involving operators who try to transplant their success into new soil in a different city. Rhee selected Friends of Bedford on the basis of its success at Bedford Academy, a highly regarded Brooklyn public school with an unstinting emphasis on college preparation. Anacostia Senior High School, which was placed under the control of Friendship Public Charter Schools by Rhee at the same time she hired Bedford, has also had leadership changes and discipline issues.


Bedford Chief Executive George Leonard, who had been acting principal since the beginning of the current school year, could not be reached to comment Wednesday. But in an interview Saturday, Leonard said the District's intervention was politically inspired, the product of disgruntled parents and former staff who had the ear of Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D), a Dunbar alumnus, and D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D), who represents Ward 5, home to the school.  -- Bill Turque, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 9:27 PM  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807351.html

While Bedford's chief executive blames politics for his groups removal, he would do well to remember that politics brought him in to Dunbar - NCLB forced Dunbar into restructuring.  Bedford High School was formed under the New York "empowerment zone" which granted broad control over budget and other matters.  A former Biology teacher, George Leonard took on schools in the deformist hot bed of New York City, where his programs blossomed under the idealogy of Joel Klein.  But, as someone who rose to success because of the political climate in New York, he also had a penchant for upsetting parents and a reputation for being non-collaborative.  He readily admits he's told parents “Just stay out of my way and let me create the scholar, because you’re usually the problem. I’ll see you at graduation.” 

“Our approach isn’t very palatable at times, I will say that,” said Bevon Thompson, chief financial officer (of Friends of Bedford). “We don’t wait for any debate or discussion about what should be done. We are at times confrontational because we consider ourselves advocates of children. We are not politicians.” http://www.dragonparadox.com/online-education/onlinedegree-onlineeducation-onlinecollege-onlineschool/school-d-c-s-dunbar-high-school-getting-new-administrators-more-security-to-quell-violence/

In the end, it looks more like this:  A Lead Partner's successful reform efforts are only as successful as the population they serve in the conditions they provide.  The ability to replicate success depends on the ability to replicate the conditions.  Educators will say Bedford failed to deliver in DC.  Bedford will claim the political culture in DC failed them.  But, I see something more:  I see a failure to apply standard scientific protocols to education reform. It starts in the planning phase if you hope to see it in the delivery.

In grade school, I did a science fair project on handwashing.  Every student in my class pressed their fingers on the augar in the petri dish and then we locked them in an overheated classroom for the weekend.  The following week, we identified the colonies growing in each dish.  Each dish grew something, but no two were the same.  It's a lesson in replication.

Published Online: December 10, 2010


EXCHANGE: Schools head denounces Rockford racism

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — Superintendent LaVonne Sheffield cited the community's racial divide as an obstacle to providing excellent public education for all children.

Her State of the Schools address, during a luncheon with business and community leaders Thursday at Cliffbreakers, was hosted by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. She spoke in her usual straightforward style, and began with a warning that she wouldn't just focus on "nice things, warm and fuzzy things, feel-good things."

She didn't.

She instead blamed racism for recent angst over the possible elimination of high school honors courses.
"Students who want to keep honors courses freely admit that they don't want the additional rigor of AP studies, but they do want to be separated from 'those other students' who they believe don't want to learn. They said so as recently as two days ago at the special Board of Education meeting. ...

"The ugly truth is that honors classes are not rigorous but serve as a contemporary form of segregation."

Parents and students rallied at the Nov. 23 and Dec. 7 board meetings against cutting honors courses.

Sheffield said some of those same people are criticizing the district because more answers aren't available about potentially shuffling the district's gifted programs.

"My concern is that I don't see anyone who looks like me in the crowds jamming recent board meetings, which means that we aren't hearing from 70 percent of our population," she said.

Of the district's 27,000-plus students, 37 percent are white, 30 percent are black and 23 percent are Hispanic, according to the 2010 report card from the Illinois State Board of Education.

The lack of diversity at meetings, she said, is a socioeconomic issue.

"Typically folk who are struggling to make ends meet don't find time. Folk who are working two jobs don't find time" to attend additional meetings, she said.

Mayor Larry Morrissey said he was frustrated by what he described as a confusing message. Sheffield, he said, took time during her address to tout a number of positive community partnerships between the district and Alignment Rockford, Rock Valley College and Rockford College, and police and court systems.

"That doesn't sound to me like the racist community she described," he said.

Anqunette Parham of Crusader Community Health applauded Sheffield for being bold enough to discuss the issue of race.

She recalled being in fourth grade when sanctions from the People Who Care lawsuit came down.

"It requires courage to get the job done," she said.

Tiana Cooper, an administrator with Rock Valley, said she appreciated the bluntness of Sheffield's speech, dubbed "Having the courage to put children first."

"She showed exactly that, which was very encouraging to hear," Cooper said.

Sheffield made a point during her speech to thank School Board President David Kelley and board members Lisa Jackson and Jeanne Westholder. Sheffield made no mention of board members Harmon Mitchell, Alice Saudargas, Jude Makulec or Bob Evans, who have been critical of her administration in recent months.

Sheffield told the audience that she's paid a "huge personal price" and been subject to personal attacks working in Rockford.

"In case you didn't know, quelling rumors is not in my job description," she said.

Though Sheffield signed a four-year contract with the district in 2009 and has repeatedly stated she's in Rockford "for the long haul," she admitted she's having second thoughts.

"In recent days, I'm sad to say, I've started to wonder. As a biracial woman, the daughter of a German mother and African-American father, two people who married in 1950 and who fought the good fight for human justice, I have lived in both worlds. And I will not serve as superintendent of a school system being sued for racial discrimination."

Makulec said Sheffield has focused on race since she first arrived in Rockford. Sheffield's comment about a possible lawsuit reinforces that the superintendent's interests spread beyond the district to the city itself.

"That doesn't show allegiance to your job in the district," she said.

Sheffield's speech was heartfelt and explained the challenging times the district is in, Rockford dentist Cyrus Oates said.

"I was surprised by the bluntness of it," he said.

Oates said he wonders now whether the community will step up to the plate and help.

A typical Chamber of Commerce luncheon draws about 250 people, but about 350 attended Thursday, said Einar Forsman, the agency's president and CEO.

Paul Logli, CEO of the United Way of Rock River Valley, described Sheffield's address as one of the more direct presentations the chamber has hosted.

"The community needs to take some time to digest what she said," Logli said.
———
Information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com

Protesters attack car containing Prince Charles


Associated Press • December 9, 2010

LONDON — Angry protesters in London have attacked a car containing Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

An Associated Press photographer saw demonstrators kick the car in Regent Street, in the heart of London's shopping district. The car then drove off.

The prince's office had no immediate comment.

Protesters angry at a huge tuition fee hike are fighting with police and smashing windows in London after British lawmakers today approved a controversial plan to triple university tuition fees by a narrow margin.

The plan to raise the cap on tuition fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,000) was approved, 323-302 in the House of Commons, a close vote given the government's 84-seat majority.

The tuition vote posed a crucial test for governing Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, and for the government's austerity plans to reduce Britain's budget deficit.

Outside Parliament, police with riot shields and batons tussled with angry student protesters, keeping them away from the building.

Many in the thousands-strong crowd booed and chanted "shame" when they heard the result of the vote, and pressed against metal barriers and lines of riot police penning them in.

There was a standoff as the Metropolitan Police force said the "extreme violence currently being directed towards officers" was making it hard to let demonstrators disperse.

Earlier small groups of protesters threw flares, billiard balls and paint bombs, and officers, some on horses, rushed to reinforce the security cordon. Police said 13 protesters and eight officers were injured, while seven people were arrested.

The scuffles broke out after students marched through central London and converged on Parliament Square, waving placards and chanting "education is not for sale" to cap weeks of nationwide protests aimed at pressuring lawmakers to reverse course.

The vote put Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrat party in an awkward spot. Liberal Democrats signed a pre-election pledge to oppose any such tuition hike, and reserved the right to abstain in the vote even though they are part of the governing coalition proposing the change...

Keep reading at: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101209/NEWS/101209023/Protesters+attack+car+containing+Prince+Charles

Well, folks, I'd love to give some snippets from the latest MI report, but they've got copyright tags all over this one.  So, you'll have to follow the link http://www.massinsight.org/publications/stg-resources/125/file/1/pubs/2010/12/07/STG_-_School_Improvement_Grants_Take_2_Dec_2010__.pdf if you'd like to know how to write a SIG Grant application and win the Big Money!  No whammy, no wammy, NO WHAMMY!

I will share that they go as far as encouraging state departments of education to turn the SIG process into a mini-RTTT competition!  What a fabulous idea! (I hope you can taste my sarcasm.) 

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/walt_gardners_reality_check/2010/12/the_astonishing_illiteracy_about_pisa.html

PISA measures learning that has taken place since birth, but not necessarily what students have learned during their previous year in school. (PISA has been given every three years since 2000 to 15-year-olds.) As a result, it's extremely difficult to disentangle school effects from non-school effects. Although this distinction is crucial, it is given short shrift by the media in their reportage and commentary.

It's also vital to determine if a true sample of students from each country is being tested. It's here that China's results are highly suspect. About 5,100 students only from Shanghai were chosen. But Shanghai is hardly representative of China because it is an industrialized center with scores of modern universities. In contrast, the U.S. selected students from both public and private schools across the nation.