Daily News RoundUp—July 23, 2010

EEP & Signatory News

• Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education (and EEP board member) Deborah Gist responds to the National Journal education blog’s question - Can communities and parents help turn around schools? – saying, “we cannot engage in serious and successful school transformation without encouraging meaningful involvement and broad-based support from community groups, parents, and families.”
• Education Next and the San Francisco Chronicle review filmmaker and EEP signatory Madeleine Sackler’s film The Lottery.
• Harlem Children’s Zone founder and CEO (and EEP signatory) Geoffrey Canada responds to the recent Brookings Institute report that criticizes the performance of his Promise Academy charter school.
• The LA Times reports that Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent (and EEP signatory) Ramon Cortines will step down from his post next spring.  An LA Times editorial praises Cortines for being an “education veteran who could be counted on as an able administrator in difficult times.”

National

• Politico reports that the Senate sent back to the House Thursday night a stripped-down $59 billion war funding bill, after removing all of the added education assistance that Democrats had wanted to avert threatened teacher layoffs in the fall (also known as Edujobs), no cuts to education reform programs were included in the bill either.
• EdWeek’s Teacher Beat reports D.C. schools Chancellor (and EEP Board member) Michelle Rhee plans to dismiss 302 teachers, mostly for poor performance, as a result of the rigorous IMPACT teacher evaluation system implemented last year.  IMPACT results also show that 16 percent of teachers earned the top rating on IMPACT and will be eligible for performance bonuses.
• EdWeek reports that the National Education Association (NEA) released a statement supporting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Fiscal Fairness Act, a bill sponsored by EEP signatory Rep. Chaka Fattah (D – PA). EEP is among a national group of education, civil rights, and equity groups who endorse this bill; read our letter here.
• Paul Peterson (on Education Next) sees the shifting political landscape of the House and Senate as a ripe opportunity for President Obama to garner bipartisan support for his education reform initiatives.
• The Corporation for National & Community Service announces the grantees for the Social Innovation Fund this year. Three groups that will be using their grant money in youth development and school support are: New Profit Inc. ($5 million; 1 year grant), The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation ($10 million; 1 year grant) and Venture Philanthropy Partners ($4 million; 2 year grant).
• EdWeek reports that an expansive Wallace Foundation study(pdf) devoted to examining the traits of effective school principals has found that high student achievement is linked to “collective leadership”: the combined influence of educators, parents, and others on school decisions.

From the States

California

The New York Times highlights Oakland Schools Superintendent Tony Smith’s five-year plan for turning around schools, which he is modeling from his success in nearby Emeryville.

Georgia

Edreformer showcases the success of Ivy Preparatory Academy in Gwinnett County, whose entire student body of 300 girls recently passed the state reading and language tests amidst high scrutiny from county officials.

Hawaii

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Hawaii schools are set to move to online testing this fall, hoping that the move will appeal to tech-savvy students and boost performance on the tests.

Texas

The Dallas Morning News reports that representatives for Texas' 460 independent charter schools asked the State Board of Education on Wednesday to tap into the state's education trust fund and for the first time provide them classrooms and facilities for their students.

Virginia

• EdWeek reports that the state Department of Education is examining how teachers and administrators are evaluated, and is considering issuing guidelines that would tie teacher pay to student performance.
• Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post about Virginia’s decision to not embrace Common Core standards for reading and math, saying that “the refusal of Virginia to embrace national education standards is a perfect example of the triumph of politics over economic reality.”

Washington D.C.

Chancellor Rhee is also in the process of formulating a new blueprint for special education reform that includes an expansion of voucher programs, according to the Washington Times.

Public Schedule of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

The Week Ahead: Monday, July 19-Sunday, July 25

MONDAY, JULY 19
No public events.

TUESDAY, JULY 20
No public events.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21
8:30 a.m.
The Secretary will speak at the National Rural Education Technology Summit, hosted by the U.S. Department of Education in partnership with the Smithsonian.  More than 100 rural superintendents, school leaders, researchers, technology experts and rural education advocates are attending from 24 states.  The Summit will be held at the National Museum of the American Indian, National Mall, Fourth Street and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C.

THURSDAY, JULY 22
Noon
The Secretary and Marian Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama, will read to local school children at the Department’s Let’s Read. Let’s Move. summer enrichment program. U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C.

FRIDAY, JULY 23
2:45 p.m.
The Secretary will tour the Delaware State Fair at the fairgrounds, 18500 South DuPont Highway, Harrington, DE 19952.

SATURDAY, JULY 24
No public events.

SUNDAY, JULY 25
No public events.

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