AFT President Randi Weingarten's recent speeches on the direction of the union as it relates to teacher evaluations is being welcomed by a broad cross section of leadership nationally. NYT recently wrote the ditorial below, but this is just one of many from major media outlets. This editorial references The New Teachers Project, which recently conducted a study in Cincinnati Public Schools. Their recommendations are aligned with Weingarten's comments and really position Cincinnati to take action in the emerging contract negotiations that make it a national leader in innovation. We need to be encouraging both the union and district administration to be bold in building on the innovative ideas that are often lost to many in the current contract.....and then support effective implementation of what emerges so it makes a difference for kids every day!
Editorial
Walking the Walk on School Reform
Published: January 17, 2010
The American Federation of Teachers took an important step recently by voicing support for sensible reform of teacher evaluations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/opinion/17sun2.html
Monday, January 18, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Skills Recession?
A recent article in the Huffington Post discusses the jobs outlook and suggests that the highest unemployment rate in nearly 30 years is here to stay for the forseeable future.
The fastest growing occupations require a college degree or some type of postsecondary career training, and according to another recent report out of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, there are over 88 million adults that do not have the basic skills necessary for 90 percent of the jobs in the these industries.
The current recession is unlike any that we have seen in quite a long time, and education is a critical factor in our ability to be competitive in the long run. The following chart is from the Calculated Risk Blog and depicts unemployment rate by education level.
Will a 'Skills Recession' Prolong Unemployment Woes?
Julian L. Alssid
Posted: January 12, 2010 03:28 PM
Despite some hopeful signs of recovery in late 2009, Americans welcomed a new decade with the realization that the highest unemployment rate in nearly 30 years is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. In December, jobless claims unexpectedly rose, keeping the national unemployment rate at 10 percent....
The fastest growing occupations require a college degree or some type of postsecondary career training, and according to another recent report out of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, there are over 88 million adults that do not have the basic skills necessary for 90 percent of the jobs in the these industries.
The current recession is unlike any that we have seen in quite a long time, and education is a critical factor in our ability to be competitive in the long run. The following chart is from the Calculated Risk Blog and depicts unemployment rate by education level.
Will a 'Skills Recession' Prolong Unemployment Woes?
Julian L. Alssid
Posted: January 12, 2010 03:28 PM
Despite some hopeful signs of recovery in late 2009, Americans welcomed a new decade with the realization that the highest unemployment rate in nearly 30 years is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. In December, jobless claims unexpectedly rose, keeping the national unemployment rate at 10 percent....
Breakthrough Speech by AFT President
AFT President Randi Weingarten laid out the clearest vision to date on the role she believes her union can help to play to improve teacher quality. Pushed in part by the dramatic changes the Obama Administration is pushing for as part of the Race to the Top grant, she stated in no uncertain terms that she was willing to link student performance to teacher evaluation. This has a direct impact on the Cincinnati Public Schools contract negotioations, giving some room to move in building upon a contract many around the country already see as innovative.
You can find the article on the speech at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/12/18aft_ep.h29.html
You can find the article on the speech at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/12/18aft_ep.h29.html
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Changing Demographics
Just recently, a landmark deomographic shift was realized in the South. The NYT carried the story below with supporting stats from Ed Trust. This challenges all of us to see that while education should have transformed already, in the face of a rapidly changing student population it simply has to if we are to achieve our shared goals of every student succeeding. KnowledgeWorks Foundation worked with the Institute for the Future to assess what education would be forecast (not predicted) to look like in the next ten years. One clear insight is that students will come to school with more "baggage" from the environments in which they live, not less. Are we going to blame this factor for low performance or transform the system to actually meet their needs?
Southern Schools Mark Two Majorities
January 7, 2010
By SHAILA DEWAN New York Times
The South has become the first region in the country where more than half of public school students are poor and more than half are ethnic minorities, a report found...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/us/07south.html
Southern Schools Mark Two Majorities
January 7, 2010
By SHAILA DEWAN New York Times
The South has become the first region in the country where more than half of public school students are poor and more than half are ethnic minorities, a report found...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/us/07south.html
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Public Schools Time to Shine
USA Today had an interesting story yesterday about the population shift from private to public schools as a result of the economy. See:
http://www.usatoday.com/_ads/interstitial/2008/page/interstitial_new.htm?http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-01-06-1Apublicprivate06_CV_N.htm
The story actually contains interesting insights from peopel who have made the shift and highlights how tough the transition can be....and how the public school environment can be positive for kids despite the challenges they often face. The class size issue is of particular interest for me. My girls have 24 students in their kindergarten class in Cincinnati Public, which seems very big to me. But I ask one of my daughters who she worked with that day and she names almost all the other kids, who happen to come from different backgrounds and every corner of the globe. I can then see the value.....as long as the teacher is able to work effectively with so many children demanding attention!
http://www.usatoday.com/_ads/interstitial/2008/page/interstitial_new.htm?http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-01-06-1Apublicprivate06_CV_N.htm
The story actually contains interesting insights from peopel who have made the shift and highlights how tough the transition can be....and how the public school environment can be positive for kids despite the challenges they often face. The class size issue is of particular interest for me. My girls have 24 students in their kindergarten class in Cincinnati Public, which seems very big to me. But I ask one of my daughters who she worked with that day and she names almost all the other kids, who happen to come from different backgrounds and every corner of the globe. I can then see the value.....as long as the teacher is able to work effectively with so many children demanding attention!
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