I’m the People’s Reporter today — so boss me around all you like. But first — the newsblitz!
- The second story in our series on teacher placement asks: What happens if nobody wants to go to a school — or if nobody wants to stay there? Our analysis of teacher transfers from 2004 to 2008 revealed that the poorest schools in San Diego Unified were more than twice as likely to lose teachers as the wealthiest schools in San Diego Unified. Yet some of the poorest schools have bucked the trend. It isn’t just poverty that pulls teachers away.
- Guest blogger Ashley Hermsmeier writes that with cell phones clogging up her Lakeside classroom, she longs for the days of note passing.
- KPBS reports on why an outside group is worried about science education in San Diego Unified, and how they say it can be saved amid budget cuts.
- School board member John de Beck opines in SDNN that the way to make budget cuts in San Diego Unified is to reduce pay and restructure benefits. Furloughs are now his second choice.
- One of the things that can make or break a teacher is classroom management — the ability to calmly control a class so that learning can happen. The Los Angeles Times delves into the issue.
- The California pension system for teachers expects to lose $64 million that it invested in a San Diego development company, the Sacramento Bee reports.
- Educated Guess gets down to brass tacks about what California school districts would have to give and take for a slice of Race to the Top money — that is, if California gets that second dose of stimulus dollars. The Contra Costa Times writes that some Bay Area districts are wary of jumping in without more details.
- In the San Francisco Chronicle, the California Teacher Corps fires back against a report that labeled many teachers from nontraditional pathways as “underprepared,” saying that those exact teachers can make the difference.
- Education Week zeroes in on a program called Diplomas Now that tries to identify and divert potential dropouts early.
- School Finance 101 blogs that since some states with the worst schools still get high marks for keeping good data on schools … is data really that important?
- This is really interesting in light of my article today: Charter schools have much higher teacher turnover than traditional public schools, a new study finds, and it’s not because they’re getting rid of underperforming teachers.
- NPR had the fabulous Beth Fertig on to speak about her book, “Why cant U teach me 2 read?”, which follows three illiterate New Yorkers who legally challenged their school system for failing to teach them to read.
— EMILY ALPERT