One of my sources quoted ‘Bright and Early’ back to me yesterday. To paraphrase Sally Field, you like it! You really like it!
We profile the provocative leader of the teachers union in San Diego Unified, Camille Zombro, and blog about a new plan for spending some school stimulus money on training school councils.
The Union-Tribune reports that though schools have already adopted their budgets, they fear more cuts from the state if the economy stays sour. And KPBS zeroes in on a college preparatory program called AVID.
The North County Times describes new “high school learning centers,” meant for students trying to catch up or get ahead, that are making their debut in Oceanside schools next week. The Los Angeles Times reports on a federal probe that involves a Los Angeles Unified school board member. And in San Jose, school employees, along with the state superintendent, gathered to protest budget cuts.
Education Week writes that the federal government wants to see states adopt better tests that measure critical thinking and involve less multiple choice. “The real world doesn’t present itself as nice little abstract tasks with four options that you choose from,” one professor says.
Time Magazine takes on the question of whether parent groups should be able to fundraise to backfill for budget cuts. The Teacher Beat blog gives you a cheat sheet for understanding that leaked union document on paying teachers based on performance (here’s a link if you missed it yesterday.)
And the Indianapolis Star opines on some dramatic changes underway in Indiana regarding how educators are licensed. The proposed changes include stressing content more heavily than pedagogy (that’s jargon for how teachers teach), and using a basic skills test to weed out would-be-teachers before they start their programs. Schools of education are fighting it.