Education News Bulletin
9.7.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Audio: Debating the Success of Charter Schools

NATIONAL – A new national study re-ignites the debate over the
promise and limitations of charter schools. Created as alternatives
to failing public schools, charter schools were supposed to offer
more innovation and less bureaucracy. But what about academic
achievement? Guests on this NPR Talk of the Nation segment included:
Bella Rosenberg, author of the report "Charter School Achievement on
the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress," published by
the American Federation of Teachers; Joe Nathan, director of Center
for School Change at Humphrey Institute at the University of
Minnesota; David Domenici, co-founder of the Maya Angelou Public
Charter School; and Mike Feinberg, superintendent of KIPP (Knowledge
is Power Program) Academy in Houston and co-founder of KIPP.
(National Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3879237

Commentary: Sixty Charter Schools Fall, With a Little State Shove

CALIFORNIA – In some ways, this month's collapse of the state's
largest charter school was school choice working at its best: A new
school opened, to which parents could choose to send their children.
The school was judged inferior; the school closed. But the case
wasn't that simple. It wasn't parents exercising choice that closed
the California Charter Academy's 60 schools across the state, but
rather government actions that effectively choked off funding. By
the standard of choice, the schools were a roaring success, with
more than 10,000 students enrolled in the academy's satellites. But
the whole network collapsed this summer after the state withheld $6
million on grounds that about 10 of the satellites were set up
illegally, without appropriate supervision by a local school
district. The demise of California Charter Academy shows that
sometimes choice and accountability run in opposite directions. (By
LA Weekly staff writer Howard Blume, in the Los Angeles Times –
free
registration required)

http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-op-
blume29aug29,1,2543396.story?coll=la-news-learning


HUMAN CAPITAL

The Secretary's Third Annual Report on Teacher Quality

WASHINGTON, DC – Across the nation, states and institutions have
launched a wide variety of innovative programs to meet the teacher
quality challenge. As has been previously noted in Chapter 2,
information in this report has been compiled from analyses of data
collected through the HEA Title II system. As data systems, both at
the state level and within institutions of higher education, are
enhanced to better accommodate the provisions of NCLB and the HEA,
the Department expects to be able to further refine indicators of
state teacher quality status and progress as well as to allow states
to more accurately report their positive efforts in improving
teacher preparation. Between 2001 and 2003, the HEA Title II system
has tracked changes in six key areas affecting the supply and demand
of highly qualified teachers, including: Alignment of teacher and
student standards; State certification requirements for new
teachers; Numbers of teachers receiving initial state certification;
State identification of low-performing teacher preparation programs;
Alternative routes to teaching; Numbers of teachers on waivers. (US
Department of Education)

http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/teachprep/2004/teacherquality_
pg7.html (or go straight to the report at
http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/teachprep/2004Title2-
Report.pdf)

All Dried Up: California faces a nasty drought of qualified teachers

CALIFORNIA – The teacher shortage, it seems, is back. Arguably,
it
never really left, certainly not in the places where its impact and
harm are most keenly felt. And now, with budget problems wracking
both state and local governments, with districts slashing payrolls
and programs to balance the books, with an inevitable age
demographic looming, the once and future teacher shortage threatens
anew. For evidence, you need look no further than "The Status of
the Teaching Profession 2003" report, produced by The Center for the
Future of Teaching and Learning, a public, not-for-profit
organization based in Santa Cruz that promotes teacher development,
in conjunction with the research group SRI International out of Palo
Alto. (California School Boards Association)

http://www.csba.org/csmag/Fall04/csMagStoryTemplate.cfm?id=47


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

Good Schools or Bad? Ratings Baffle Parents

NATIONAL – Students are returning to classes across the nation
amid a cacophony of contradictory messages about the quality of
their education, as thousands of schools with vaunted reputations
have been rated in recent weeks as low-performing under a federal
law. School ratings issued under the terms of the president's No
Child Left Behind law have clashed with school report card systems
administered by some states, leaving parents unsure which level of
government to believe or whether to transfer their children, an
option offered by the law. In North Carolina, which pioneered one of
the nation's most sophisticated accountability systems, more than 32
schools ranked as excellent by the state failed to meet Washington's
criteria for academic progress. In California, 317 schools showed
tremendous academic growth on the state's performance index, yet the
federal law labeled them low-performing. (by Sam Dillon for the New
York Times – free registration required)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/education/05school.html

Some minority SAT scores up

NATIONAL – SAT scores for the high school class of 2004 were
mostly the same as a year ago, though scores for some minority
groups showed an encouraging increase. The average cumulative score
on the country's most widely taken college entrance exam was 1026,
the same as for the class of 2003. Scores on the verbal section rose
one point to 508 while math scores fell one point to 518. The
stagnant scores were something of a disappointment following a six-
point jump last year from 2002 that produced a 36-year high. But The
College Board, which owns the test and was releasing the scores
Tuesday, said it was good news that more students are taking the
test and signaling they hope to attend college, even if that may
have weighed down average results. There was also some consolation
in improved scores for some minorities, who comprised a record 37
percent of the 1.4 million test-takers, also a record. (Associated
Press)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/08/31/sat.scores.ap/index.html
(see also press release from the College Board at
http://www.collegeboard.com/press/article/0,,37478,00.html)


CLOSING THE GAP

Falling Behind

NATIONAL – In study after study, scholars have investigated the
effects of differences among white and black students in their
socioeconomic status, family structure, and neighborhood
characteristics and in the quality of their schools. To be sure,
socioeconomic status and the trappings of poverty are important
factors in explaining racial differences in educational achievement.
Yet a substantial gap remains even after these crucial influences
are accounted for. To take a fresh look at the gap and its sources,
we examined a new data set, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
Kindergarten Cohort, compiled by the U.S. Department of Education.
The results are quite surprising: after adjusting the data for the
effects of only a few observable characteristics, the black-white
test-score gap in math and reading for students entering
kindergarten essentially disappeared. However, our results show that
the achievement gap, while negligible among black and non-Hispanic
white children with similar characteristics when they enter
kindergarten, expands as they grow older. (Education Next)

http://www.educationnext.org/20044/64.html


OTHER

18 School Districts May Face Sanctions

LOS ANGELES – Eighteen California school districts that failed to
meet federal goals in standardized testing for the second year in a
row could face state takeovers or other sanctions if they do not
show progress in the next three years, according to state data
released Tuesday. The small school systems, including the Centinela
Valley Union High School District in the South Bay and Oxnard Union
High School District in Ventura County, would be the first in
California to experience tough new penalties under the federal No
Child Left Behind education law. Most of the districts wound up on
the sanctions list because their students or a small segment of them
scored too low on standardized exams. Others were named for not
testing enough students, among other reasons. The school systems
primarily serve high school students scattered in rural communities.
… The state Department of Education on Tuesday also released
preliminary data showing that 64% of its 9,100 public schools met
their federal targets in testing this year under the No Child Left
Behind law. That was up from 54% last year — largely because more
high schools met required student participation rates on the tests,
officials said. (Los Angeles Times)

http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-tests1sep01%2C1%
2C6487075.story?coll=la-news-learning

Technical Difficulties

NATIONAL – The tendency has been to sprinkle computers and
Internet connections across classrooms in the pleasant hope that
teachers will integrate them into their lessons. The purpose is
seldom to make teachers more productive or to rethink the way in
which lessons are delivered. Indeed, PCs often serve as little more
than high-priced typewriters, sitting in the back of classrooms
unused for most of the school day. This state of affairs stands in
sharp contrast to how technology is used by business and government
enterprises that engage in competition with other manufacturers and
service providers. To them, technology is not an end in itself,
something to be adopted merely because it exists, but a tool for
self-improvement. … Why have public schools failed so far to put
all this fancy new technology to good use? (Education Next)

http://www.aei.org/news/newsID.21107/news_detail.asp

Education News Bulletin
9.13.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Charters get high grades in report

NATIONAL - Kids in charter schools do better on reading and math
tests than traditional public-school students, a new national study
shows. The findings differed dramatically from those in an American
Federation of Teachers report last month that found charter-school
students lagging behind their peers at regular public schools. The
latest study, by Harvard Professor Caroline Hoxby, found that
charter-school students were 3 percent more likely to be proficient
on their state's reading exam and 2 percent more likely to be
proficient on their state's math exam. "These differences are modest
but statistically significant," Hoxby wrote. "One clear lesson that
can be taken from [the two studies] is that it is too early for
anyone to draw sweeping conclusions about charter schools." The AFT
findings were flawed, she said, because they were derived from a
sample of 3 percent of fourth-grade students in charter schools.
Hoxby said she gathered data on "virtually 100 percent" of fourth-
graders in charter schools and compared them to students at the
nearest public school. (By David Andreatta for the New York Post)

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/28148.htm (for the
report, "A Straightforward Comparison of Charter Schools and Regular
Public Schools in the United States," see
http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/charters_04090
9.pdf)

California Charter Schools Showing Greater Student Achievement
Gains; Positive Results Come in Midst of Strong Increase in Number
of New Charter Schools

CALIFORNIA - California's public charter schools are making greater
student achievement gains compared to their non-charter
counterparts, according to an analysis of the 2004 Academic
Performance Index (API) released last week. In addition, the average
growth on student achievement for charter schools nearly doubled the
growth for their non-charter school counterparts. The positive
student achievement gains were announced during a new school year
that has 78 new public charter schools opening their doors for the
first time - a 15 percent increase in the number of new charter
schools compared to last year. … According to the latest data,
which looked at API growth gains from 2003 to 2004, 64.4 percent of
charter schools increased their API scores, compared to 61.1 percent
of non-charter schools. Charter schools increased their API scores
by an average of 12.9 points, compared to 7.3 points for non-charter
schools. (California Charter Schools Assocation, via
BusinessWire)

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?
ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040907005851&newsLang=en (for more on
California charter schools, see "Charters Remain Best Hope For
Public Education" by Sacramento Bee columnist Daniel Weintraub at
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/10678135p-11596683c.html)

Can competition really improve schools?

NATIONAL - When an economist first introduced the idea in the 1950s,
it was a notion both controversial and contentious. Education, he
argued, was a commodity like any other, and would benefit from
fierce, free-market competition. It was a fairly simple idea:
Parents and children should become consumers, and schools the
product. If a school isn't up to snuff, parents move their children
to a better one. Thus good schools flourish and bad ones are forced
to improve, or else fall away. ... But the theory of choice has
faced some difficult reality checks of late. Studies don't
necessarily support the claims that students will perform better
either in charter schools or in private schools made accessible by
vouchers. At the same time, the idea that students should be free to
leave failing public schools is bumping up against the simple
reality that there are not enough seats in good schools to go
around. It's causing some to ask if the growth of the choice
movement may not be outpacing evidence of its efficacy. (by Teresa
Mendez for the Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0907/p12s01-legn.html?s=hns


HUMAN CAPITAL

Executive Summary: How leadership influences student learning

NATIONAL - Effective education leadership makes a difference in
improving learning. There's nothing new or especially controversial
about that idea. What's far less clear, even after several decades
of school renewal efforts, is just how leadership matters, how
important those effects are in promoting the learning of all
children, and what the essential ingredients of successful
leadership are. ... This report by researchers from the Universities
of Minnesota and Toronto examines the available evidence and offers
educators, policymakers and all citizens interested in promoting
successful schools, some answers to these vitally important
questions. It is the first in a series of such publications
commissioned by The Wallace Foundation that will probe the role of
leadership in improving learning. It turns out that leadership not
only matters: it is second only to teaching among school-related
factors in its impact on student learning, according to the evidence
compiled and analyzed by the authors. (The Wallace Foundation - full
report coming soon)

http://www.wallacefoundation.org/NR/rdonlyres/52BC34B4-2CC3-43D0-
9541-9EA37F6D2086/0/HowLeadershipInfluences.pdf


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

Data Show Schools Making Progress On Federal Goals

More schools nationwide will meet their annual achievement targets
under federal law this year than last, if initial trends hold up.
But parents in many states won't know how their children's schools
did until well into the academic year. By Sept. 1, just over half
the states had released at least preliminary lists of the number of
schools that had made adequate yearly progress under the No Child
Left Behind Act, based on 2003-04 test data. In general, the percent
of schools that met all their targets either held steady or
increased compared with the previous school year - sometimes
substantially, according to an analysis conducted by Education Week.
… Yet while state press releases have largely attributed the
gains to hard work and better test scores, at least part of the
reason stems from changes in state accountability plans and the
additional flexibility granted by the federal government. (by Lynn
Olson for Education Week)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=02ayp.h24

Column: API or AYP test? Will we call the whole thing off? (by Peter
Schrag of the Sacramento Bee)

If ever there was a set of school testing and accountability systems
made for spinning, we've got them. And in California's case, the
spinning applies not only to the activities of the spinmeisters in
Sacramento, but to the spinning heads of the parents and community
leaders at the receiving end. Take last week's simultaneous release
of the state's API (Academic Performance Index) and the numbers for
the federally mandated AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). Each is
supposed to measure the performance of each school and district. The
news wasn't great on either scale, but since the two often diverged,
and since neither measure is based on anything approaching hard
science, there's plenty of room for confusion. (Sacramento Bee)

http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/10666678p-11585332c.html


CLOSING THE GAP

Preschool may help bridge rich-poor gap

BERKELEY -- Attending preschool can shrink achievement gaps between
poor and rich children and help students from all backgrounds enter
kindergarten better prepared, says a new report. The study, to be
released today in Sacramento, found that large numbers of children,
especially minorities and those from lower-income households, start
school already lagging their peers in reading and math skills. But
children who attend preschool early and regularly are about four
months -- or almost half a school year -- ahead of those who don't,
according to the report conducted by researchers at the University
of California and funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
(LA Daily News)

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0%2C1413%2C200~20954~2386257%
2C00.html (for more on preschool, see "Open the Preschool Door,
Close the Preparation Gap" from the Progressive Policy Institute at
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?
knlgAreaID=110&subsecid=180&contentid=252867, or go directly to the
report at http://www.ppionline.org/documents/PreK_0904.pdf)


OTHER

The Teachability Index: Can Disadvantaged Students Learn?

NATIONAL - This study, the first of its kind, systematically
measures the teachability of students by examining sixteen social
factors that researchers agree affect student teachability.
Combining these factors into a single Teachability Index provides
the first-ever valid measurement of whether schools are facing a
student population with greater challenges to learning. The
Teachability Index shows that students today are actually somewhat
easier to teach than they were thirty years ago. Overall, student
disadvantages that pose challenges to learning have declined 8.7%
since 1970. (By Jay Greene and Greg Forster of the Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research)

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_06.htm

Where Do Public School Teachers Send Their Kids to School?

NATIONAL - Teachers, it is reasonable to assume, care about
education, are reasonably expert about it, and possess quite a lot
of information about the schools in which they teach. If these
teachers are more likely than the general public (which may not have
nearly as much information or expertise in these matters) to send
their own daughters and sons to the public schools in which they
teach, it is a strong vote of confidence in those schools. ... The
data show that urban public school teachers are more likely than
either urban households or the general public to send their children
to private schools. Across the states, 12.2 percent of all families
(urban, rural, and suburban) send their children to private schools -
a figure that roughly corresponds to perennial and well-known data
on the proportion of U.S. children enrolled in private schools. But
urban public school teachers send their children to private schools
at a rate of 21.5 percent, nearly double the national rate of
private-school attendance. (by Denis P. Doyle, Brian Diepold, and
David A. DeSchryver for The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation)

http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/publication/publication.cfm?
id=333

Education News Bulletin
9.20.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Test scores show no advantage for California's charter students

CALIFORNIA – California children attending charter schools do no
better academically than those in regular public school, a Chronicle
analysis of 4.7 million test scores shows in a finding that
undermines the logic of a federal policy that sees charters as a
remedy for low-scoring schools. The trend held firm even when the
scores of only low-income students were compared, suggesting that
there may be little merit in the frequent claim that the most
challenged students do better academically at charters, which are
self-governing public schools. But charter school students did not
perform significantly worse than regular school students, either.
… The Chronicle looked at results from the 2003 and 2004 California
Standards Test, which measures what students are being taught in
class. This broader look included results from 115,682 students in
all 393 charters that produced valid scores each year. (by Nanette
Asimov for the San Francisco Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
file=/chronicle/archive/2004/09/16/MNG0T8PNMP1.DTL

Opinion - Charter Schools: Still Proving What Works

NATIONAL – In the late 1980s, Al Shanker, the visionary president
of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), began barnstorming for
a radical notion of schooling. Fresh from a visit to an innovative
school in Germany, and back home in a country that had acknowledged
with alarm that its system of education was "at risk," Shanker put
forth his idea: creating schools that would be freed from the
strictures of bureaucracy, as long as they got results. Every
teacher and child would attend by choice. He called this new
institution a charter school. A decade and a half later, the charter
idea has blossomed. About 3,000 charter schools -- public schools
with public funding, nonreligious and open to all children -- are
educating an estimated 800,000 students. Yet just recently the AFT --
  the same big teachers union that the late Shanker once led -- fired
a heavy salvo against the controversial charter idea. On front pages
and on talk radio, the question suddenly seems to be: Are charter
schools bad for kids? (Washington Post – free registration
required)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13003-2004Sep10.html

Commentary: Parents Take Choice Driver's Seat, But Few Have a Map

NATIONAL – The days of expert debates about "whether" to expand
school choice are steadily shrinking in the rearview mirror. Instead
the debate is moving to "how" and "how well" parents will choose.
Why? By the millions, individual parents are driving the nation
toward more school choice. When they have a choice, parents of all
kinds choose in large numbers. … We need to turn our attention to
a new question: If parents have slipped into the school choice
driver's seat, how well equipped are they to drive? How can we
give parents driving lessons and a map? Right now, the road is full
of peril. We recently spent three years researching how parents
should and do choose schools. We heard countless stories of good
parental intentions gone bad. Even well-educated, affluent parents
living in high-choice cities seem befuddled at best and misinformed
at worst. (by Bryan Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel of Public Impact,
for Education Week – registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=03hassel.h24


HUMAN CAPITAL

Tackling an Impossible Job

NATIONAL – After years of hearing that a principal's main job
should be to raise the quality of instruction, districts and states
are experimenting with ways to make that ideal a reality. New
policies are emerging to give principals more of the time, training,
and tools to become leaders of school improvement, rather than
managers of operations. … There's also renewed talk of giving
building leaders more decisionmaking authority. An agreement with
the teachers' union in Memphis, Tenn., for example, will give
principals in low-performing schools more flexibility on personnel
issues. And across the country, evaluation systems and professional-
development efforts for administrators are placing a greater premium
on raising student achievement. (by Jeff Archer for Education Week –
free registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=03Overview.h24

Teacher policy follies: ten top errors

Every person in America wants every child in America to have a
terrific teacher every year. That much we can assume. Why, then, is
it so hard to craft sound policies yielding that universally sought
result? Excellent question. My answer is that we've made ten basic
mistakes, [including]: Out of deference to adult preferences rather
than what's best for children, we've opted for quantity rather than
quality, for hiring more teachers instead of demanding (and paying
for) better ones; We pay (and treat) teachers uniformly rather than
distinguishing among them on the basis of (among other things)
effectiveness, specialty, and work environment; and We don't make
key teacher hiring, assignment and retention decisions where they
should be made—at the building level—even though that's where
critical judgments can be made about a person's suitability for
teaching specific content to particular children. (by Checker Finn
in the Education Gadfly)

http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/gadfly/issue.cfm?id=162#1971


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

The Left Behind Syndrome

NATIONAL – Making sure that virtually all students in a given
area are tested equally is a legitimate goal. But as the Montgomery
example attests, sometimes what looks good on paper doesn't play out
too well in the real world. Under No Child Left Behind, any failure
is a complete failure. And there are lots of ways a school can fail,
even if it is doing its day-to-day job extremely well. … It's an
unquestionably noble idea. But is it feasible? Over the next decade,
the law's requirements will toughen until schools will be asked to
lift 100 percent of their students over the testing hurdles. Given
the data so far, it's hard to see how anything close to that number
could possibly be achieved. (by Alan Greenblatt for Governing
Magazine)

http://www.governing.com/archive/2004/sep/schools.txt


NEWSCHOOLS AND VENTURES IN THE NEWS

Software Tutors Offer Help and Customized Hints

NATIONAL – Fourteen-year-old Rochelle Brown was close to solving
an algebra problem. Yet she stumbled repeatedly on one calculation: -
2.3 + .5. As she sat at a computer screen, she kept typing 2.8, an
incorrect answer. Eventually a hint popped up: "Think about the sign
of your answer." When Rochelle finally typed the correct sum, -1.8,
the computer showed its appreciation by allowing her to move on to a
new problem. She smiled at her small triumph. Since January, Middle
School 301 in the Bronx, where Rochelle is an eighth grader, has
been using a software program called Cognitive Tutor to help
students learn math. The software, from Carnegie Learning, a six-
year-old company that got its start at Carnegie Mellon University,
is designed to give students individualized instruction when
personal attention is scarce. Although such intelligent tutoring
systems have their share of skeptics, students at schools that use
them have not only improved their performance in math but now
profess to enjoy a subject they once loathed. (By Katie Hafner for
the New York Times – free registration required)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/16/technology/circuits/16tuto.html


OTHER

Report: U.S. slips in education ratings

WASHINGTON - The United States is falling behind other countries in
having a high school-educated public, with the gap widening the most
among young adults, a new comparison of industrialized nations
shows. A total of 87 percent of U.S. adults age 25 to 34 have
finished high school, which puts the country 10th behind such
nations as Korea, Norway, the Czech Republic and Japan. The older
the population, the better the United States fares - it remains
first in high school completion among older adults and fifth among
adults age 35 to 44. But other nations are making fast gains among
younger adults and passing the United States on the way. (by Ben
Feller of the Associated Press)

http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0409/14/a08-273177.htm

Low-income students scarce at elite colleges

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Thomas Jefferson believed that democracy
wouldn't work unless poor but worthy students had access to a
quality education. So what would he think today about all those SUVs
or that shiny black Saab turbo convertible parked near student
hangouts at the campus he founded 185 years ago? The number of
students at his beloved University of Virginia who qualify for need-
based financial aid has slipped in the past decade, from about a
third of undergraduates to a quarter or less. Meanwhile, 58% of last
year's incoming class reported family incomes of $100,000 or more.
One in five reported $200,000 or more; only 2.4% of U.S. households
earn that much. … Studies show that rich kids are not only more
likely to pursue a bachelor's degree than poor kids, they're also
far more likely to land in the nation's most prestigious schools.
And the gap has widened: Wealthy kids are increasingly displacing
middle-income students, according to a study of selective
institutions by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. (by
Mary Beth Marklein for USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20040920/1a_cover20.art.htm

Organization: Education Pioneers
Position: Managing Director
Location: Boston

About Education Pioneers:
Education Pioneers is an enterprising nonprofit organization that
exists to train, connect, and inspire a new generation of education
leaders dedicated to transforming the educational system so that all
students receive a quality education.

Founded in 2003, Education Pioneers seeks to dramatically increase
the talent pool and effectiveness of the next generation of
education leaders. Education Pioneers collaborates with existing
education leaders and organizations to provide graduate students in
business, education, law, and policy with a rigorous summer training
program centered on practical work experience. During the program,
participants explore key leverage areas in education reform where
they can use their skills to drive significant change. Over time,
Education Pioneers and its partners will train, connect, and inspire
a national corps of leaders who can devise and implement innovative
solutions to our nation's most pressing educational problems.

In 2004, Education Pioneers successfully piloted its Fellows Program
in the San Francisco Bay Area.  During the summer, Fellows worked on
challenging projects for partner organizations four days a week.  On
Fridays, Fellows convened to develop leadership skills and learn
from experienced education leaders about the K-12 education reform
landscape.  In the next several years, Education Pioneers plans to
expand the Fellows Program by opening new sites in Boston, Chicago,
Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., and other urban centers
across the United States.

Position Overview:
Education Pioneers seeks a Managing Director to launch and lead its
2005 Fellows Program in Boston.  The Managing Director will be
responsible for managing the Boston site and contributing to the
overall success of the organization.  The ideal candidate will be an
entrepreneurial education leader with the skills to launch a new
program and the desire to join a start-up venture focused on
education reform.

Primary Responsibilities:
* Work closely with the Executive Director and future Managing
Directors to run a mission-focused, values-based, and results-driven
nonprofit organization and to ensure the effective management and
expansion of the organization.
* Lead the recruitment and selection of quality education
organizations and talented graduate students to participate in the
Fellows Program in Boston.
* Collaborate with all participants during the internship placement
process to find a strong fit between the skills of each Fellow and
the needs of each partner organization.
* Plan and facilitate the weekly training sessions and opening and
closing retreats for the Fellows Program in Boston by working
closely with the Executive Director, partner organizations, and
local guest speakers.
* Monitor Fellows Program evaluation and assessment through data
collection and analysis, including feedback from Fellows and partner
organizations.
* Establish a Boston Advisory Board and maintain positive and
effective board relations and communications.
* Design and lead new projects and initiatives in Boston that
support the mission of Education Pioneers.
* Assist with local fundraising in Boston.
* Build a strong professional network of "hybrid" education
leaders working to transform our nation's educational system.

Experience and Qualifications:
* A graduate degree (JD, MA, MBA, MPP, PhD) is required.
* Two or more years of work experience in the field of education;
significant education reform experience in Boston preferred.
* Knowledge of the current K-12 education reform landscape.
* Entrepreneurial in leading and managing a new and growing venture.
* Strong oral and written communication skills.
* Excellent facilitation and networking skills.
* Outstanding team and culture building skills.

Personal Characteristics:
* A strong commitment to Education Pioneers' mission and core
values of courage, optimism, collaboration, and action.
* Independent, organized, and detail-oriented self-starter.
* Energetic, hard-working, and enthusiastic team player.
* Flexible, resourceful, and persistent change agent.
* Creative, imaginative, and innovative problem solver.
* Principled leader with high ethical standards.

Start Date:
November 2004.

Compensation:
Competitive salary, benefits, and performance bonus.

Application:
Please apply by sending a cover letter and resume to Scott Morgan,
Executive Director of Education Pioneers, at
scott.morgan@....

Education Pioneers is an equal opportunity employer.  For more
information about Education Pioneers, please visit our website:
http://www.educationpioneers.org.

Are you interested in an opportunity to help under-served youth in
the Bay Area?

As a BUILD mentor, you can provide young, innovative high school
entrepreneurs with valuable real-world business experiences, as well
as meet and network with talented peers in the Silicon Valley. We
ask for a commitment of 1-2 hours per week from November through May
to help our students recognize the benefits of business and
entrepreneurship.

If you have a strong desire to work with young people and an
interest in business/entrepreneurship, join us at an information
session this fall:

- Tuesday, October 5, 2004 6 PM at the BUILD Office in Menlo Park
- Thursday October 14, 2004 6 PM at the BUILD Office in Menlo Park
- Tuesday October 19, 2004 6 PM at Lionel Wilson College Preparatory
Academy in Oakland

RSVP to chantal@...

For additional information about BUILD's Mentor Program, see
http://www.build.org/get_involved/mentors.htm

Education News Bulletin
9.27.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Stimulating the Supply of New Choices of Families in Light of NCLB:
The Role of the State

NATIONAL - Providing transfer options is a district responsibility
under NCLB. But since states are ultimately accountable for meeting
the terms of NCLB (and, most importantly, for the quality of public
education), it is worth considering whether states also have a role
to play in stimulating the supply of new choices. Even though states
have not historically taken on this role, they are uniquely
qualified to do so. Because of their statewide reach and
perspective, state departments and other state entities, such as
governors' offices, are in a position to leverage their influence in
several key areas, including assessing needs, creating a favorable
environment, and attracting and developing new "supply." States also
can aggregate resources for recruitment and development of new
options. This prevents individual districts from unnecessarily
duplicating each other's efforts and makes possible multidistrict
partnerships with providers of new school options. (Education
Commission of the States)

http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/54/26/5426.doc (see also "Closing
Low-Performing Schools and Reopening Them as Charter Schools: The
Role of the State," also by ECS, at
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/54/25/5425.doc)

Charter schools: A beacon of hope for California public education
(by Caprice Young of CCSA)

CALIFORNIA - Here's an offer to consider - an offer that is helping
reinvigorate public education, one public school at a time. Consider
that our public school teachers are working harder than ever, but
are continually thwarted by an Education Code that stifles teachers'
innovation, creativity and their ability to make a difference for
the students they serve. Teachers today are treated more like
political footballs than the highly capable professionals they
really are. It is no wonder that many are frustrated: today's
Education Code has grown thicker than the federal tax code. But
there is plenty of hope afoot; California's promising public charter
school movement offers public school teachers the opportunity to
design and lead high-powered public schools that are free from many
cumbersome rules that hold back public education. This new freedom
is leading to improved student achievement. … Recent studies by
major universities have shown that charter schools are improving
student achievement at a faster rate than the broader public school
system, especially on behalf of low-income students. (San Diego
Union-Tribune)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040919/news_mz1e19young.htm
l


HUMAN CAPITAL

How Leaders Build Winning Streaks (excerpt from HBS professor
Rosabeth Moss Kanter's new book, "Confidence: How Winning Streaks
and Losing Streaks Begin and End")

NATIONAL - Self-confidence is not the real secret of leadership. The
more essential ingredient is confidence in other people. Leadership
involves motivating others to their finest efforts and channeling
those efforts in a coherent direction. Leaders must believe that
they can count on other people to come through-like Elsie Bailey's
faith as a high school principal that inner-city children can learn,
and that her teachers can teach them. If the people in charge rely
only on themselves as heroes who can rescue any situation, while
focusing on other people's inadequacies, they undermine confidence
and reinforce losing streaks. In contrast, when leaders believe in
other people, confidence grows, and winning becomes more attainable.
(HBS Working Knowledge)

http://workingknowledge.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4388&t=leadership


ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Careful choices, good results

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - In downplaying concerns about a new "digital
divide," education software vendors argue that poor districts tend
to buy more rudimentary programs because their students' needs call
for a remedial approach. Standing in the way of this argument,
though, is the experience of the Baltimore public schools. The
district spent heavily on so-called "drill and practice" software in
the 1980s and early 1990s, hoping the programs would raise student
performance in math and reading basics. … Unimpressed by its
early investment, the district's schools have purchased fewer of the
programs in recent years. And judging by the standards invoked by
the software vendors, the district hasn't been hurt by abstaining:
Its test scores have been steadily rising, even as the district has
been mired in deficits and management disarray. Where the district
is using math or reading software, it tends to be well-regarded,
more complex programs such as Carnegie Learning's Cognitive Tutor.
Compared with top-selling programs from bigger companies, it is
noticeably lacking in catchy graphics. Unlike other programs, it
judges and instructs students on the way they get to the solution,
not just grading them on whether they get the answer right.
(Baltimore Sun)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-
te.software21s2sep21,1,1612330,print.story?coll=bal-education-utility


OTHER

Garden Grove Schools Triumph

CALIFORNIA - A five-year push to improve student performance,
despite poverty and language hurdles, literally paid off Monday for
the Garden Grove Unified School District. The district was awarded
the 500,000 top prize from billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad's
foundation to acknowledge the most accomplished of the nation's
impoverished urban school districts. Garden Grove had made the ranks
of the five finalists in the last two years. The announcement that
it won triggered shrieks and hollers Monday from the district
teachers, administrators and trustees attending the ceremony at
Disney Hall in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times - registration
required)

http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-
broad21sep21,1,7079152.story?coll=la-news-learning (for more, see
also The Broad Foundation's press release at
http://www.broadfoundation.org/flagship/prize-net.shtml)

Education Leaders Council Undergoing Major Changes

WASHINGTON, DC - The Education Leaders Council, which has been
grappling with financial and leadership problems for months, is
merging with another Washington-based nonprofit organization. Lisa
Graham Keegan, the chief executive officer, is stepping down next
week. Theodor Rebarber, the president of AccountabilityWorks, will
replace her. The council's board of directors approved the merger
between the ELC and Mr. Rebarber's organization on Sept. 23. The
decision to merge the organizations capped a tumultuous few weeks,
in which three of the ELC's nine employees left the organization and
it was forced to postpone its national conference, which had been
set for October in Orlando, Fla. Ms. Keegan blamed the delay on the
recent Florida hurricanes, which threatened to keep many Floridians
from attending. The conference, an important fund-raiser for the
ELC, will be held in December, she said. (Education Week -
registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=05elc_web.h24

SCHOOLS FOR CITIES: URBAN STRATEGIES

NATIONAL - The Mayors' Institute on City Design was established by
the National Endowment for the Arts in 1986 to help mayors improve
the design and livability of their cities through intensive sessions
with design professionals. In recent years, it has also provided a
structure for addressing specific issues that have an impact on
urban development. Some of these specialized sessions have been
accomplished through partnerships with other federal agencies such
as the EPA, GSA, and HUD to establish conversations between elected
officials and these agencies, which are prime forces in the public
environment. Such collaborations allow Arts Endowment programs to be
a conduit for better design. As part of a series of four new
Leadership Initiatives, the NEA funded one of these special sessions
to identify ways in which schools can operate as catalysts for
community redevelopment. The three-day event was hosted by the
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in March 2000 and included
discussions of case studies involving historical schools in downtown
centers, school reuse in suburban settings, and the design of new
school buildings. This book is an outgrowth of that session and a
public forum that followed it. (National Endowment for the Arts and
the Mayors' Institute on City Design)

http://www.arts.gov/pub/Design/SchoolsForCities.pdf

Education News Bulletin
10.5.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Commentary: Chalk It Up (by Caroline Hoxby of Harvard)

NATIONAL - This summer the gloves came off in the charter school
debate. A study conducted by the American Federation of Teachers,
charging that charter school students lagged behind their public
school peers, was given unprecedented attention by the national
media. Yet, the study is not at all persuasive. It compared students
in charter schools and regular public schools, but the typical
charter student is not the typical public school student. Affluent
parents whose children are doing fine in suburban schools rarely
send them to fledgling charter schools. Charter schools often arise
where families have relatively low incomes, a single parent, and are
minorities or recent immigrants. (Wall Street Journal - subscription
required)

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109641540657430766,00.html?
mod=opinion (for another view on the charter school research debate,
see "Schoolhouse Schlock: Conservatives flip-flop on standards for
charter school research," by Lawrence Mishel, president at the
Economic Policy Institute, for the American Prospect at
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?
section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=8638)

No Way Out: The No Child Left Behind Act provides only the illusion
of school choice

NATIONAL - Since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, less than
2 percent of parents nationwide have transferred their children to
other public schools. Districts have not made a good-faith effort to
implement public school choice. Sometimes parents are not notified
of their option to change schools at all; other times they're told
only after the school year is well under way. Some districts send
parents letters discouraging them from transferring their kids. The
choices themselves are limited to marginally better schools, with
superior institutions often refusing to accept low-performing
students. (by Lisa Snell, director of the Education and Child
Welfare Program at the Reason Foundation, for Reason Online)

http://www.reason.com/0410/fe.ls.no.shtml


HUMAN CAPITAL

Commentary: Teaching Teams (by Arthur E. Wise of the National
Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education)

NATIONAL - Schools of the 21st century must break away from their
19th-century, "egg carton" organization. A new paradigm based on how
professionals work in this new century is needed. The egg-carton
organization, with its identical cells, expects that every teacher
will replicate the appropriate curriculum and instruction for 25
students each year, every year, from the beginning to the end of a
teaching career. The model, resilient as it is, has outlived its
usefulness. Among its dysfunctional consequences are high teacher
turnover, especially in hard-to-staff schools; a maldistribution of
teaching talent; and the achievement gap. It is time for a different
approach. (Education Week - registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=05Wise.h24


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

Column: Politics Aside, a School's Real Success (by Sam Freedman)

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - IN the late summer of 2003, a few weeks into his
first year as principal of Gainesville Elementary School here, Shawn
Arevalo McCollough identified 125 pupils who were lagging a grade or
two behind in reading and math. He could surmise that most were poor
and nonwhite, because virtually his entire student body was poor and
nonwhite. Mr. McCollough decreed that the 125 pupils should stay for
an extra three hours of class each weekday and seven hours on
Saturday, the additional time creating the equivalent of an eight-
day school week. Then he solicited the children and their parents,
one family at a time, visiting rusted house trailers and weathered
cottages besieged by kudzu vines, tracking down one father in the
lavanderia, the Laundromat. Under his leadership, 89 percent of
Gainesville Elementary's students passed the state English-language
arts test and 94 percent passed the math test. (by education
columnist Samuel Freedman for the New York Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/29/education/29education.html

Turning to More Than Scores to Rate Schools

RHODE ISLAND - Last year's academic ratings of Rhode Island public
schools showed that the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical
Center, a Providence high school, did not do very well. Its
students, many from low-income families, were near the bottom of the
list in math skills and writing effectiveness. But on another page
in the same book of Rhode Island statistics, the results were
startlingly different. The Met, as the school is called, led the
state in communicating with its students. Fifty-five percent of
students said they could talk easily to staff members about personal
problems, and 70 percent said that was true of academic problems,
too. No other school came close. That feedback was a godsend to
Dennis Littky, the school's director and co-founder. He has spent a
tumultuous career arguing that high test scores are only part of a
good school, and finally he found a state that grades schools every
year on factors he considers just as important. (by Jay Mathews for
the Washington Post - registration required)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55214-2004Sep27.html

Problems Seen for More Testing of U.S. Students

WASHINGTON - A new federal requirement to sharply expand annual
testing of students starting next school year faces serious
obstacles, including unreliable data and a lack of clear and timely
guidance from federal officials, according to a government report.
The report, by the Government Accountability Office, the
investigative arm of Congress, found wide variation in the rules
that states use to measure progress under No Child Left Behind, the
federal education law that has been one of President Bush's major
domestic initiatives. The variation makes comparisons between states
meaningless, the report suggested. The G.A.O. report, which was
released late last week, said that more than half the state and
school district officials interviewed said they had been "hampered
by poor and unreliable student data," with Illinois, for example,
reporting data problems in 300 of its 1,055 school districts. (by
Diana Jean Schemo for the New York Times - registration required)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/05/education/05child.html (check out
the full report, "No Child Left Behind: Improvements Needed in
Education's Process for Tracking States' Implementation of Key
Provisions" at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04734.pdf)


OTHER

Law will streamline school fund system

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday signed
legislation school officials say could free up hundreds of millions
of dollars in money now tied up in programs dictated by the state.
Before sending AB 825 to the governor, lawmakers watered down the
plan by state Sen. Deirdre Alpert, D-San Diego, which aimed to
simplify the state's so-called school categoricals system. The
system dedicates $12 billion a year to 120 programs, including
dropout-and gang-prevention and staff development days. In its final
form, the legislation calls for 22 categorical programs to be
shifted into six block grants, giving school districts more control
over how the money is spent. (Sacramento Bee)

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/education/story/10923384p-
11840860c.html

Need Space? School-Facility Public-Private Partnerships: An
Assessment of Alternative Financing Arrangements

NATIONAL - The Appleseed Foundation examines a variety of options
for public-private partnerships in school facilities financing.
Methods of structuring the debt and partnering for construction are
illustrated with case studies. Issues with state and local
governments are cited, along with ideas for creative occupancy
partnerships and the prudent management of facilities created by
these partnerships. (by The Appleseed Foundation via the National
Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities)

http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/appleseed.pdf

Boarding Schools Nurture Low-Income Students

NATIONAL - Most schools try to persuade students to get out of bed
in the morning by lowering their grades or giving them detention
when they don't, but Maya Angelou [Public Charter School in
Washington, DC] is one of a small but growing number of schools that
have a different approach to the problem. They invite teenagers who
need extra help to live in school quarters. A generation ago,
American boarding schools were generally of two kinds: private
institutions for the college-bound children of the wealthy, or state-
supported facilities for children under court supervision. But now a
few private schools and charter schools, which are independent
public schools exempt from ordinary rules and procedures, have set
themselves up as boarding schools for low-income students who want
many of the advantages and the support given to bankers' and
lawyers' children at Groton and St. Mark's. (by Jay Mathews for the
Washington Post - registration required)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36917-2004Sep20

Commentary: Rigor-Free Research

NATIONAL - Forget the anecdotes and assumptions. Under the No Child
Left Behind Act, federal education dollars are supposed to fund only
programs proven effective by "scientifically based research." That's
spotlighting a problem: A lot of what passes for education research
isn't reliable or rigorous, and many education professors aren't
keen on the scientific method. Some educators say there's no point
in doing controlled studies: The evidence will be ignored by policy
makers. Or they complain that schools will focus on measurable
outcomes -- test scores -- and ignore what's hard to measure. Yet
without scientific rigor, education researchers can't answer any of
the interesting questions. (by freelance writer Joanne Jacobs for
Tech Central Station.com)

http://www.techcentralstation.com/092704D.html

The Mad, Mad World of Textbook Adoption

NATIONAL - Statewide textbook adoption, the process by which 21
states dictate the textbooks that schools and districts can use, is
fundamentally flawed. Textbook adoption distorts the market, entices
extremist groups to hijack the curriculum, enriches the textbook
cartel, and papers the land with mediocre instructional materials
that cannot fulfill their important education mission. The adoption
process cannot be set right by tinkering with it, concludes The Mad,
Mad World of Textbook Adoption, the latest release from the Thomas
B. Fordham Institute. Rather, legislators and governors in adoption
states should eliminate the process and devolve funding for and
decisions about textbook purchases to individual schools, individual
districts, even individual teachers. (By Checker Finn and Diane
Ravitch for the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation)

http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/publication/publication.cfm?
id=335 (or go directly to the report at
http://www.edexcellence.net/doc/Mad%20World%20sm.pdf)

SchoolBoardMatters.org

San Francisco - SchoolBoardMatters.org, a non-partisan coalition of
groups devoted to providing San Francisco voters easy access to
information and tools to help assess the qualifications and
positions of each of the 12 candidates for the school board launched
a first-of-its-kind website October 1, 2004. Greatschools, Parents
for Public Schools, The Full Circle Fund, Coleman Advocates and
others want to ensure that issues and ideas take center stage, and
that the candidates have a clear way to communicate their positions
on issues to the voters. In a race with 12 candidates vying for 4
seats it is not unlikely that the fourth seat could be decided by
fewer than a thousand votes! The issues at stake in this election
include differing views on:

• Neighborhood schools vs. more school choice
• The Superintendent's leadership
• Working with the teachers' union
• Creating more high-quality school options
• Attracting and keeping great teachers

In addition, five candidate forums will be held throughout the City
in October. The forum format is designed to help voters easily
differentiate between candidates and better understand why their
vote will impact the quality of our public schools.

The site, www.SchoolBoardMatters.org, launched on October 1. The
site provides profile and endorsement information about each of the
candidates as well as each candidate's response to ten important
questions. It is also interactive - visitors to the site may
register their endorsement of up to four candidates. By doing so,
they will influence the visibility of the candidates on the site,
which dynamically reorders the candidates according to the number of
endorsements received.

Most of the 12 candidates running for four-year terms will
participate in the candidate forums. Candidates will participate in
a panel format with a moderator.

San Francisco School Board Candidate Forum Schedule

- Richmond District - Lafayette, 4545 Anza Street at 37th Ave
Saturday, October 9, 3:00-5:00pm
- BayView - Gloria R. Davis, 1195 Hudson at Whitney Young Circle
Monday, October 18, 7:00-9:00pm
- Downtown - State Building, 455 Golden Gate Avenue
Thursday, October 21, 6:00-8:00pm
- Sunset District - Lowell High School, 1101 Eucalyptus Ave. at
Forest View
Monday, October 25, 7:00-9:00pm

Childcare and Spanish and Chinese translation will be provided.

Education News Bulletin
10.11.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Primers on special education and charter schools

NATIONAL - Although the charter schools movement has grown rapidly
since its beginning in the early 1990s, there is very little
recorded information available on the challenges related to
implementing special education in this new type of public school.
SPEDTACS (Special Education Technical Assistance for Charter Schools
Project, a federally funded project at the National Association of
State Directors of Special Education) convened three regional state
team meetings to gather the data that served as the basis of the
project's print and electronic technical assistance tools. Each
regional meeting brought together teams of professionals involved
with charter schools and special education in four or five states.
They shared their experiences with special education in charter
schools and identified successful practices to help charter schools
develop their capacity to meet their special education
responsibilities. (National Association of State Directors of
Special Education, Inc.)

http://www.nasdse.org/SPEDTACS/Compiled%20Primer%20with%
20appendices.pdf


HUMAN CAPITAL

Commentary: Bad Schools + Shackled Principals = Outsourcing (by Lou
Gerstner of the Teaching Commission)

NATIONAL - Our nation, which has prevailed in conflict after
conflict over several centuries, now faces a stark and sudden
choice: adapt or perish. I'm not referring to the war against
terrorism but to a war of skills -- one that America is at a risk of
losing to India, China, and other emerging economies. And we're not
at risk of losing it on factory floors or lab benches. It's
happening every day, all across the country, in our public schools.
Unless we transform those schools -- by upgrading our corps of
classroom teachers for the next generation -- and do it now, it will
soon be too late. ... American companies don't simply go offshore
for inexpensive labor. They are increasingly going abroad to find
skills that aren't available, or plentiful, in their own backyard.
(Wall Street Journal - registration required)


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

Locally Tailored Accountability: Building on Your State System in
the Era of NCLB

NATIONAL - Some education stakeholders may also be turned off by the
concept of accountability in general, writing it off as simply
disciplinary rather than helpful. But when accountability policies
grow out of local needs, establish reachable goals, inform school
reform, and reward outcomes that are prized locally, accountability
policies can serve as a foundation for school improvement. Through
thoughtful application of incentives and interventions,
accountability systems have the capacity to reward, inspire, and
foster meaningful conversation about student and school performance.
This Knowledge Brief argues for the value of creating a district
accountability system that complements the state's federally
prescribed effort. It also identifies essential decisions that must
be made in developing a local system and includes or points to
resources that can help inform and guide the process. (by Eric W.
Crane, Stanley Rabinowitz, and Joy Zimmerman of WestEd)

http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/KN-04-01.pdf


CLOSING THE GAP

Panel Outlines Strategy For Raising Minority Achievement

Concerned by minority students' perennially lagging academic
achievement, a panel of 20 scholars released a report last week that
outlines a comprehensive strategy that they say can bridge the
learning gaps between black and Hispanic students and their higher-
achieving white and Asian counterparts. The report, "All Students
Reaching the Top: Strategies for Closing Achievement Gaps," marshals
evidence from cognitive science, psychology, and education research
to guide educators and policymakers working to raise minority
students' achievement. "Demographic shifts in our nation's
population mandate that we attend specifically to these students'
achievement if we expect as a nation to maintain our standard of
living, our level of prosperity, and our place in the global
economy," the National Study Group for the Affirmative Development
of Academic Ability says in its report. (Education Week -
registration required)

http://www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=06gap.h24 (or go directly
to the report, "ALL STUDENTS REACHING THE TOP: Strategies for
Closing Academic Achievement Gaps" at
http://www.ncrel.org/gap/studies/allstudents.pdf)

OTHER

5-Year Plan for Smaller Schools Okd

LOS ANGELES - Every middle school and high school in the Los Angeles
Unified School District will be divided into smaller clusters of 350
to 500 students within five years under a plan approved Tuesday by
the Board of Education. Los Angeles is one of the last large urban
school districts to move to small "learning communities," a reform
intended to provide more personalized education. … Districts in
New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have embraced
the small-schools movement because research has shown that students
at such campuses are more likely to finish high school and attend
college. To create smaller schools, districts have sometimes divided
campuses into separate units that share the gymnasium or cafeteria.
In Los Angeles Unified, larger schools will be divided into groups
on the same campus, Romer said. Also, many new schools will be built
as smaller campuses. (by Erika Hayasaki for the Los Angeles Times -
registration required)

http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-
convert6oct06,0,5980068.story?coll=la-news-learning

Immigrant Grads Get Charter's Help

INGLEWOOD, CA - Educators at a charter school in California have
gone to extra lengths to make sure that undocumented immigrant
students who graduate from the school receive financial support to
go to college. The Animo Leadership Charter High School in
Inglewood, Calif., one of five charter schools run by the nonprofit
organization Green Dot Public Schools, has raised $31,000 in private
money plus $30,000 in scholarships so that 19 undocumented students
in the school's first graduating class can attend college. Those
students, who graduated in a class of 125 students last spring, are
college freshmen this year. California is one of a few states in
which undocumented students can pay in-state tuition at public
universities. But those rates-up to $12,000 a year in California-are
out of reach for many undocumented youths. Many scholarships aren't
available to them, and they can't get jobs legally. Moreover, they
can't receive federal financial aid. (Education Week - registration
required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=06Immigrants.h24

Constituents of Change: Community organizations and public education
reform

NATIONAL - Citing decades of research on the failures of educational
reform to bring about deep and lasting school improvement, a growing
number of education researchers have focused on the power of
community organizing to alter the underlying power dynamics that
determine schooling outcomes for urban students in low-income
neighborhoods and communities of color. Yet community organizing for
school reform remains a relatively under-researched and undocumented
phenomenon. Thus, in 2002, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation asked
the New York University Institute for Education and Social Policy to
initiate a study examining the effect of community-based school
reform organizing on schooling outcomes. (Institute for Education
and Social Policy at the Steinhardt School of Education, New York
University, September 2004)

http://www.nyu.edu/iesp/publications/cip/Mott%20Report%20(Final%
20updated).pdf

Wider Gap Found Between Wealthy and Poor Schools

NATIONAL - After narrowing in better economic times, the financial
gap between poor and wealthy school districts has widened, a new
report has found. State and local money account for more than 90
percent of all education spending, but high poverty districts
typically received $868 less per student from those sources than
their counterparts with relatively few poor children did in 2002,
the latest year for which data is available, the report found. As
recently as 2000, the gap was down to $728. … The findings, released
today by the Education Trust, a research group that supports the
federal No Child Left Behind law, showed that whatever momentum had
gathered to close the monetary gap between districts in recent years
quickly dispersed as state budgets started facing serious
challenges. (by Greg Winter for the New York Times - registration
required)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/education/06gap.html (or go
directly to the report, "The Funding Gap 2004," at
http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/30B3C1B3-3DA6-4809-AFB9-
2DAACF11CF88/0/funding2004.pdf)

Catapult Learning
Area Manager Position Description

Position Title: Area Manager
Expertise Needed: Education; Management, Public Relations
Daily Local Travel: 20-30%
Job Code: E02AE1 FLSA Status: Exempt

Catapult Learning, formerly Sylvan Education Solutions, is the
country's leading provider of high quality educational services to
schools, school districts and community organizations. We have
partnered with education institutions, government agencies and
community groups for more than 20 years. Our comprehensive range of
services include reading and math instruction, after-school
enrichment programs, early childhood education, English Language
Development programs, professional development, speech/language
services, vocational assessment and training, as well as
psychological, diagnostic and counseling services.

Primary Responsibilities:
1. Promotion of Catapult's Supplemental Services Programs: This
aspect of the position primarily takes place immediately preceding
the enrollment period, which is typically at the start of school.
Some promotional activity will continue throughout the year.
o Manage the entire outreach process from start to finish
o Act as a liaison with local education organizations, faith-based
organizations, and community centers to promote Catapult's role as a
supplemental services provider
o Build an understanding of supplemental services among parents of
eligible children through activities such as public speaking, open
houses, and distributing promotional materials
o Promote Catapult as a supplemental services solution to local
schools, community centers and faith based organizations
o Distribute promotional materials
o Organize recurring open houses in Catapult sites
o Enroll students eligible for supplemental services in sites
throughout the city
o Ensure high attendance rates among enrolled students

2.Managing Ongoing Site Operations: To manage and oversee the
operations and instructional program of several centers in a
geographic region. To lead, develop, and motivate center staff.
Meets the guarantee and ensures a continuing relationship with the
site location partner.
o Select and hire appropriate center staff
o Participate actively in all training
o Acts as a liaison between Catapult Learning and clients (school
administrators, teachers, parents, and students)
o Demonstrate an understanding of Catapult's programs and
philosophies
o Ensure Catapult policies and procedures are administered
consistently
o Ensure Catapult education quality standards are maintained in all
centers
o Establish and maintain positive relationships with all clients
o Ensure that all education quality standards are maintained
o Ensure requirements of the contract are carried out at all centers
o Conduct regular center observations and portfolio reviews
o Ensure that all staff developments and trainings are completed in
a timely manner
o Ensure employee performance reviews are carried out on a timely
basis
o Ensure financial reports are completed on a monthly basis and
assist in developing and implementing center budgets
o Ensure reconciliation of income and P & L statements are completed
on a quarterly basis
o Short periods of travel and/or relocation may be required

Qualifications:
Requires eight years of related experience in the areas of Education
and Business philosophies and practices.  Prior management and
budget experience is a must.  The desired candidate knows the city's
local communities intimately.  Excellent interpersonal, verbal,
written, and organizational skills needed.  Must have the ability to
communicate with all levels of management.  Working knowledge of
Microsoft Office Suite in a Windows environment.  A bachelor's
degree is recommended.

To apply, please send resume and cover letter to
nocal.jobs@....  Please include "Area Manager" opening in
the subject line.

The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill seeks New York Client Manager

The Grow Network/McGraw-Hill is an education company that brings
transformative assessment reporting products to states and large
school districts across the country. With contracts in excess of $1 -
$2M per annum, we currently partner with some of the largest public
school systems in the nation. Current clients include the New York
City Department of Education, the Chicago Public Schools, and the
California Department of Education.

As the Client Manager for New York City, you would manage one of our
largest district contracts. You would serve as the outward facing
representative of our organization to high ranking education and
government officials, while also assisting internally to lead
product development and delivery.

This role requires critical thinking, achievement orientation, and
self-direction as well as a deep understanding of the New York City
education environment. We are looking for candidates who understand
the complexity of working in education in a large urban district and
are capable of and confident about building relationships with
variety of stakeholders.

Responsibilities:
• Manage contract relationship with the New York City Department
of Education
• Build relationships and alliances with high-level client
decision makers
• Identify and address opportunities for business development
• Assess and distill client needs, partnering with internal teams
to develop customized products or product features that address
those needs
• Maintain a clear working hypothesis of Grow's impact on
student learning and student performance; district, school, and
teacher use of data; and parent and family involvement
• Define clear reporting goals in partnership with the client
• Contribute to the design and delivery of highly effective
professional development that cultivates deep, practical user
understanding among educators, administrators, and parents
• Build networks with government constituents, non-profit
entities, and local education and community groups
• Develop and 2004-2005 strategic plan for the New York City
market

Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree (Master's degree preferred)
• Excellent presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to create and manage long-term relationships
• Demonstrated ability to enter new situation and effect change
• Self-starter, with the ability to work independently
• Evidence of successful past collaboration with internal team
and external users
• Deadline-conscious, results-driven, and high-performing in a
high intensity environment
• Experience with MS Office, including MS Word, PowerPoint, and
Excel

Desired Qualifications:
• Experience in New York City public schools' administration
/ Department of Education
• Teaching or other school-based experience in K-12 education

Application Process
Please send a cover letter and resume to Katie Malachuk at
kmalachuk@...

Located in midtown Manhattan, we offer a dynamic and intellectually
stimulating work environment. We also offer a competitive salary and
comprehensive benefits package.

We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage applications from
all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity,
religion, sexual orientation or physical ability. We evaluate
candidates on merit.

Education News Bulletin
10.23.2004


HUMAN CAPITAL

A Teacher's Tough Model

Over the summer I read a number of classroom narratives. The most
interesting came from an iconoclastic fifth-grade teacher, Rafe
Esquith, in "There Are No Shortcuts." Esquith believes that all
students can love learning and achieve, despite crumbling schools,
incompetent administrators, foolish curriculums and what he thinks is
a misguided testing-accountability movement. The answers, according
to Esquith, are smart teachers, classic literature, a longer school
day and unremitting effort. The enemies are basal readers, dumbed-
down tests, rigid unions, professional development classes,
unimaginative administrators and incompetent colleagues. (by author
and Boston University research fellow Peter Gibbon for the Washington
Post – registration required)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25658-2004Oct11.html

Experimenting With Teacher Compensation

NATIONAL – During the 1990s, states and local districts began
experimenting with new approaches to teacher compensation. Different
from traditional single-salary schedules and merit pay, these
innovations included knowledge- and skills-based salary schedules,
school-based performance award programs, bonuses for certification by
the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, incentives
for teachers in subject-area shortages or assignments in low-
performing or high-poverty schools, and signing bonuses. Many of
these approaches are being adopted across the country, portending a
new era in teacher compensation. The main difference this time around
is that teacher pay is not being cast narrowly as a pay issue, but
rather as a strategic issue with a direct bearing on the mission and
objectives of education. (by Allan Odden of the University of
Wisconsin, and compensation consultant Marc Wallace, for the American
Association of School Administrators)

http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2004_10/odden.htm

Teacher Education: Scan of Issues, Roles, Activities, and Resources

NATIONAL – This paper offers a brief overview of five
interrelated topics pertaining to teachers: teacher preparation,
licensure and certification, employment issues, professional
development, and accountability. Organized by topic, it provides some
background and context, outline of the policy-related issues,
governmental roles, examples of organizational activities, and key
resources offering 50-state data. Three appendices serve as companion
pieces, organizing the material for ready reference. Appendix A:
Guide to Organizations offers greater detail on organizations
mentioned in this scan; it describes organizational purposes and
activities in a more holistic way, crosscutting the five topics.
Appendix B: Checklist of Organizations, a one-page table, offers a
concise summary of organizational activity by topic. Appendix C:
Recent Reports on Teacher Education highlights selected reports on
these topics published in recent months. (American Association of
State Colleges and Universities)

http://www.aascu.org/policy/teacher_education/tes.pdf


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

Press Release: States Are Moving In the Right Direction in Narrowing
Achievement Gaps and Raising Achievement for All Students, but Not
Fast Enough

Washington, DC – Student achievement in reading and math is
rising in the elementary grades in most states, and achievement gaps
are narrowing, according to a new report released today by the
Education Trust. But in many places, the pace of these gains must
accelerate dramatically if all students are to meet state standards
by 2014. This study, the Education Trust's first comprehensive
analysis of student achievement on state assessments since enactment
of NCLB, finds that: (1) Of the 24 states with at least three years'
worth of comparable state assessment data, math achievement has
improved in 23 states since 2002. Math performance declined in one
state. (2) Of the 23 states that had at least three years of reading
data, achievement increased in 15. Reading performance declined in
five states and remained the same in three. (3) Although statewide
achievement results broken down by race and ethnicity are available
in fewer states for all three years, we see a narrowing of gaps in
most of these states. (Education Trust)

http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/exeres/933C14F3-6640-4F57-9349-
51E243CC834D,frameless.htm?NRMODE=Published (or go directly to the
report, "Measured Progress," at
http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/images/MeasuredProgress.doc.pdf)

On leaving no child behind (by Checker Finn and Frederick Hess)

NATIONAL – It is still too early to judge NCLB's efficacy or
predict its ultimate fate. We are less than three years into its
twelve-year schedule for boosting student achievement to universal
"proficiency" (in math and reading, mainly in grades three through
eight). After all, it took more than a decade for the machinery of
its legislative ancestor, the less ambitious Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, to function approximately as Lyndon Johnson
and Congress intended. [But] it's not too soon to venture preliminary
assessments of the workability of some of its key provisions and to
suggest needed repairs. Implementing any statute as complex as NCLB
brings inevitable headaches. Different agencies and government at
different levels must learn to work in new ways, officials must take
on unfamiliar roles, and educators must alter ingrained routines.
(Originally published in The Public Interest, reprinted by the
American Enterprise Institute)

http://www.aei.org/docLib/20041004_PublicInterest.pdf


OTHER

1,200 Schools in State Could Face Federal Penalties

CALIFORNIA -- More than 1,200 California public schools — despite
steadily improved test scores over the last two years — face the
threat of federal sanctions under the No Child Left Behind law, a
Times computer analysis showed. Under the federal law, schools get no
credit for improving their test scores unless they meet strict annual
targets. And this year, for the first time, the bar is rising for all
schools in California by nearly 11 percentage points — a huge
leap for any campus. Based on their current test scores, the 1,200-
plus schools — about 13% of the state's 9,000 public campuses —
are likely to be labeled failures by the end of this year. And based
on the last two years of scores, a total of 3,500 would probably fail
by 2008, the analysis showed. (Los Angeles Times – registration
required)

http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-
failure13oct13,1,4192200.story?coll=la-news-learning (see
also "Double dose of bad news for schools in California" in
the San Francisco Chronicle at http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
file=/c/a/2004/10/14/MNGQA99FDS1.DTL)

Re-tooling K-12 Giving (by Rick Hess of AEI)

NATIONAL – The most famous philanthropic effort to improve K-12
schooling serves today as a cautionary tale. At a December 1993 White
House ceremony, Ambassador Walter Annenberg pledged $500 million over
five years to help improve the nation's most troubled public
school systems. A decade later, this ambitious effort had produced
dismal results, casting a harsh light on conventional philanthropic
efforts to improve schooling. The Annenberg experience put an
exclamation mark on longstanding frustrations regarding the results
of philanthropic giving to public schooling, and its disappointing
conclusion heralded the entry of a new generation of funders eager to
try another tack. Bill Porter, executive director of Grantmakers for
Education, says, "I think the whole understanding of the challenge
has shifted. What we're learning is that changing education systems
is a lot harder than folks expected. These systems are largely driven
by policy, politics, and public funding, so it's not an area where
you can wade in, make a few grants, and hope to change the world."
(Philanthropy Magazine)

http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazines/2004/SeptOct/K12Giving
.htm

High Schools Try a Scaled-Down Approach

LEBANON, Oregon – Thinking small may be the next big thing at
American high schools. From Oregon to New York, school districts are
scaling down to combat problems that are very big indeed: high
dropout rates, sinking test scores and low attendance. Over the
years, plenty of ballyhooed ideas for curing such ills have come and
gone. But the "small schools" movement has a powerful godfather in
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and is getting some backing from
Washington, too. Schools strategically designed to have no more than
400 students are in place or starting up in at least 41 states. Some
urban districts, like Sacramento, Calif., have converted to all small
high schools. In some places, the schools are new; others were
created by subdividing large high schools. (Associated Press via New
York Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Small-Schools.html

Organization: The Draper Richards Foundation
Position: Portfolio Director
Location: San Francisco, CA

About The Draper Richards Foundation
The Draper Richards Foundation, founded in 2002 by William Draper,
Robin Richards Donohoe, and Jenny Shilling Stein, concentrates
exclusively on social entrepreneurs. The goal of the foundation is to
create lasting and meaningful social change by funding and supporting
the best social entrepreneurs and their organizations. Our fellowship
program, the main thrust of our efforts, backs six new social
entrepreneurs a year and continues to fund them for three years.
Along with financial support, the Foundation provides guidance and
networking for the grantees.

Position Overview
The Director of the Draper Richards Foundation will be responsible
for sourcing, evaluating, and working with grantees in the portfolio.
The Director will report to the Executive Director and be responsible
for his or her own grantees. The ideal candidate has an enriched
professional background, an intense interest in the social sector,
excellent judgment and professionalism, and self-motivation.

Responsibilities
· Source and review new proposals for the fellowship. Work with
other foundations, advisors, and social entrepreneurs to discover
prospects.
· Follow-on due diligence on fellowship candidates. Extensive
research of the concept, the marketplace, and the founder. Interview
and evaluate applicants' teams, boards of directors, advisors,
and previous colleagues.
· Work with the executive director and board on final decisions.
· Advise fellows and act as a board member to some of the grantees.
· Monitor and evaluate work of the grantees. Work with grantees on
milestones and quarterly reviews.
· Basic marketing and PR for the foundation. Research and write
case studies on portfolio organizations, communicate with other
foundations and advisors, direct public relations for foundation.
· Travel several times a year required.
· Some evenings, weekend activities regarding grantees.

Experience and Qualifications
· BA required. Graduate degree: MBA, MPP, or the like preferred
· At least 6 years professional experience
· Self-starter, highly motivated; maturity and professionalism
· Excellent communication skills
· Knowledge of the social sector. Direct experience necessary.
· Full benefits and potential for 4 days a week/flexible schedule
· Job is based in San Francisco, California

Please send resume and cover letter to jenny@...

The Stanford Educational Leadership Institute would like to cordially
invite you to attend The Coming of Age of Educational Leadership
conference on Thursday, November 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at
Stanford.

The conference is being held in response to the growing demands
placed on educational leaders who are charged with developing and
managing effective schools in the face of dwindling budgets,
narrowing definitions of student achievement, and more diverse
student populations. The purpose of the conference is to highlight
the need to increase the leadership capacity of the education sector
to improve instruction and the organization designs that support
teaching and learning. The audience will include superintendents,
principals, business leaders, philanthropists, policymakers, and
professors of education and business. Attendees will learn about ways
in which education leaders are being asked to change the way they
manage schools and redesign them for greater effectiveness and will
become aware of 'best practices' for education leadership that can
support achievement for all students.

The day will include a mix of plenary and breakout sessions with both
keynote speakers and panelists who are leaders in organizational
change and school redesign. The keynote speaker will be John
Morgridge, Chairman of Cisco Systems. Other speakers will include
Tony Alvarado, former Superintendent of San Diego Public Schools,
Tony Bryk, Spencer Chair in Organizational Studies at the Stanford
School of Business and the School of Education, James A. Phills Jr.,
Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Director of the
Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford University School of
Business and Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at the
Stanford University School of Education.

To register: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=73762

Learn more about the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute:
http://seli.stanford.edu

Organization: Citizen Schools
Position: Regional Director, California
Location:

About Citizen Schools:
Founded in 1995, Citizen Schools provides after school and summer
programs for more than 1,800 students, aged 9-14, at campuses
(program sites) in Boston and around the country. With a mission of
educating students and building strong communities, Citizen Schools
works with community volunteers and front-line educators to deliver a
creative and effective learning model that addresses community needs
while building student skills through hands-on experiential learning
activities.

Our goal is to prepare students for leadership roles in the 21st
century. To achieve this goal, Citizen Schools has identified four
important objectives for students' success:

- Strengthen academic skills
- Develop personal leadership skills
- Facilitate access to resources
- Build community connections

Our learning model includes Apprenticeships, Explorations, Homework
Investment Time, and Team-building activities. In all of these
activities, Citizen Schools focuses on skill development -
particularly in the areas of writing, data analysis, and oral
communication – to help students find success in school and
develop into model citizens. Apprenticeships, taught by local
community volunteers, challenge students to learn a new skill or
trade and to "teach back" to their communities. These activities turn
children into community heroes as they argue trials before federal
judges, design web sites for their schools, organize public events,
publish newspapers and create lasting relationships with their
volunteer mentors.

In 2002, Citizen Schools launched a major national expansion, with
the goal of strengthening the out-of-school time movement across the
country. Local community- based organizations (CBOs) and school
districts have affiliated with Citizen Schools to operate affiliate
campuses in San Jose and Redwood City, CA; Houston and Baytown TX
(2); New Brunswick, NJ; Tucson, AZ; Worcester (2), Framingham,
Lowell; Malden, New Bedford, and Springfield, MA.

We launched our first California site in spring 2002 in partnership
with the Santa Clara Valley YMCA at the Castro Middle School, and
supported by the American Business Collaboration and Work Family
Directions. This fall, supported by the Peninsula Community
Foundation, our second campus in California was launched by the YMCA
of the Mid-Peninsula at the McKinley Institute of Technology.

We are committed to regional growth in California, and to this end,
recently secured a grant from the Omidyar Foundation to develop a
Citizen Schools regional office. This office will support the two
existing campuses in the areas of volunteer recruitment and program,
as well as work diligently to identify prospective affiliates and
funding partners for a Citizen Schools regional hub in California.
Our likely mid-term goal for regional expansion is 5-7 campuses
across 3-4 communities in California by 2006/2007. We are considering
communities that include East Palo Alto and San Francisco.

About The Position:
The Regional Director will assume leadership for Citizen Schools in
the California region. Under the direction of the Executive Director
of National Partnerships, and in collaboration with the National
Partnerships and Citizen Schools University teams, the Regional
Director will manage existing relationships with senior level staff
at Citizen Schools campuses in San Jose and Redwood City, support
campus directors, and cultivate new relationships and funding for the
growth of the California region of the Citizen Schools network.

Responsibilities
Management and Program Support to Regional Affiliates
• Manage community relationships with affiliate executive
director, Campus Directors, school principals and superintendents,
and funders.
• Provide program leadership, coaching support and technical
assistance delivery to affiliate Campus Directors. Assist with staff
hiring and management, school relations, curriculum, evaluation, and
volunteer and student recruitment.
• Provide training to program staff, using Citizen Schools'
modules.
• Facilitate interaction among regional programs to share best
practices and create network efficiencies; initiatives include
sharing staff, conducting regional trainings, holding regional social
events, etc.
• Collaborate with Citizen Schools HQ, informing programmatic and
administrative strategy and decisions.
• Author reports for regional and national intermediaries and
funders.

NEW SITE SELECTION
• Research and cultivate prospect cities and partners (CBOs,
schools, and school districts)
• Lead annual Request for Proposals (RFP) and selection process
in the region, coordinating with and leveraging Citizen Schools HQ
staff

Fundraising, Regional Development, and Public Policy
• Source and develop local and regional champions (individual,
corporate, and civic)
• Raise funds for Citizen Schools regionally and nationally
• Track and coordinate fundraising efforts among affiliates
within the region
• Inform and advance public policy initiatives for the region
• Build brand awareness of Citizen Schools

Compensation and Benefits
Starting annual salary will be $55K to $75K based on experience. Full
benefits include health care, 403B, three weeks vacation, and
extensive training.

Citizen Schools is an equal opportunity employer.

Additional Qualifications:

QUALIFICATIONS
All candidates should have demonstrated leadership skills, a passion
for education and community, and effective collaboration skills.
Other qualifications include:
• 5+ years of work experience, and at least 2-3 years of
management and fundraising experience
• Knowledge of the region and well developed professional network
• Ability to cultivate and manage high-level relationships
• Familiarity and/or experience in an education environment
• Entrepreneurial, resourceful self-starter; capable of managing
multiple stakeholders with minimal oversight
• Experience with non-profit organizations, management, program
operations, and boards
• Ability to interact at all levels of an organization, from the
executive director to apprentices
• Excellent presentation, verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity
• Strong organizational, follow-up, and logistics skills and
attention to detail

NEXT STEPS FOR INTERESTED CANDIDATES
Please send cover letter and resume to Amy Amatangelo, Human
Resources and Administration Manager at Citizen Schools, 308 Congress
Street, Boston MA 02210 or via e-mail to
amyamatangelo@.... For more information on Citizen
Schools, visit our website at www.citizenschools.org. Candidates will
be reviewed on an on-going basis.

Organization: High Tech High
Position: Director of Regional Operations, San Francisco Bay Area
Location: Northern California

High Tech High is seeking a Director of Regional Operations for its
Bay Area replication sites. We plan to operate two high schools in
the Bay Area in September 2005 and are seeking to expand to 3-5
schools over the next three years. The Director of Regional
Operations will, in concert with High Tech High staff in San Diego,
develop a strategic plan for this expansion while managing Bay Area
operations and cultivating new opportunities.

Background
High Tech High began as a highly successful single charter school in
San Diego. Created by a coalition of education practitioners and
business leaders, High Tech High provides an educational experience
that is in sharp contrast to the large impersonal high school model
that is common across the United States. High Tech High schools are
small, serving an enrollment of approximately 450 students. All
students are assigned personal advisors and engage in internships
where they have a chance to apply what they are learning in the
classroom to adult-world challenges. The school's instructional
design features a strong emphasis on project-based learning and on
maintaining a common intellectual mission where all students are
enabled to complete a rigorous college preparatory high school
education. A complete description of the programmatic aspects of the
High Tech High model can be found on line at
http://www.hightechhigh.org/HTHL/Resource_Center/Resource_Center.htm.

The early success of High Tech High has led to the school receiving
significant support to replicate the model in other areas of the
United States from philanthropic organizations including the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition to the three schools in San
Diego, eight schools based upon the design elements of High Tech High
are now operational in six states, and plans are in place for the
opening of an additional five schools in September of 2005.

Candidate Qualifications
High Tech High is seeking a candidate who:
- Possesses top-notch interpersonal and presentation skills, and is
able to generate enthusiasm in others
- Is willing to travel regularly to San Diego to learn the High Tech
High model and receive support from High Tech High staff
- Can devise and implement a vision and strategic plan for the
development of a portfolio of High Tech High schools in the Bay Area
- Has a proven track record with fundraising and a willingness to
pursue development opportunities on behalf of Bay Area High Tech High
schools
- Is knowledgeable about issues facing public education and
is interested in and willing to learn about the development of
charter schools
- Demonstrates the ability to manage the entrepreneurial challenges
of charter school startup including board development, hiring, and
partnership creation
- Is prepared to assist in the identification and acquisition of
facilities suitable for use as High Tech High schools
- Can work effectively in a fluid environment and with a wide range
of constituents, including board members, community members, parents,
teachers, and school principals
- Demonstrates a willingness to engage High Tech High staff about how
the High Tech High model may be further developed and/or adjusted to
meet the unique needs of the Bay Area

Compensation
In order to attract highly qualified candidates, High Tech High
offers competitive compensation including full health and retirement
benefits.

Contact Information
Interested individuals should submit a resume and cover letter to
Simi Bumia at sbumia@.... For further information, feel
free to contact Simi at (619) 243-5025. High Tech High is an Equal
Opportunity Employer. Women and people of color are highly encouraged
to apply.

Organization: Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators (RISE)
Position: Office Manager
Location: San Francisco, CA

Organization Description:
Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators (RISE) is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area that is changing the
way our nation recognizes and retains effective teachers in K-12 public schools
serving low-income communities.  RISE identifies teachers who are improving
student learning significantly, and then provides them with the resources proven
to enhance their effectiveness and satisfaction.   Founded four years ago, RISE
is a dynamic, growing nonprofit that currently supports 450 teachers and 50
schools in the Bay Area, Chicago and Los Angeles.

This position will begin effective January 3, 2005.

Job Description:
Primary responsibilities include:

- General administrative tasks, such as ordering of supplies, answering phones
and checking voicemail, copying and faxing
- Ordering and updating print materials such as stationary and promotional
materials
- Managing office facilities including purchasing of equipment and maintenance
of technology contracts
- Maintenance of the RISE contact database, which includes RISE Teachers,
Partner Schools, vendors, donors, RISE schools and organizational partners
- Coordination of management team’s calendars, including scheduling and travel
arrangements
- Point person for RISE team meetings, maintaining calendar of RISE Partner
School events
- Assistance processing new teacher applicants
- Internal communications (notifications of events, sending along relevant press
articles)
- External communications (assistance with newsletters, direct mailings and
personal correspondence)
- Researching fundraising proposals
- Support for accounting and operations staff as needed.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate for this position will possess the following qualifications:
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to prioritize multiple tasks in a short amount of time
- Comfort with a fast-paced, start-up environment
- Familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook as well as other database
programs
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with a diverse group of people
in a variety of settings

Compensation: Competitive compensation package includes base salary, performance
based bonus and benefits.

To be considered: Please submit a resume and cover letter to Christina Legg
Greenberg, Vice President at clgreenberg@.... To submit via mail, or
fax, please see contact information below.

Christina Legg Greenberg
Vice President
Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators
177 Post Street, Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94108
P:  415.399.9929
F:  415.421.5510

Do you know an effective public school teacher in a low-income area?
Please visit www.RISEnetwork.org/referrals.html and take 15 seconds to
send them a prewritten RISE informational email so we can work to keep
them happy and effective.

Organization: New York City Department of Education
Position: Director of Process Improvement, Office of Strategic
Initiatives
Location: New York City, NY

The New York City Department of Education (DOE) provides primary and
secondary education to more than one million students in over 1,350
schools. The DOE operates a $13 billion budget and manages complex
processes that affect multiple core areas including instruction,
human resources, budgeting, youth development, enrollment,
admissions and technology etc. Under the leadership of Mayor Michael
Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein, Children First – a
multi-year reform effort to improve New York City's public schools –
is driving one of the largest transformations of any public agency
in decades. Key tenets of Children First include:
- City-wide core curriculum, including math and literacy coaches for
every school;
- Increased emphasis on school leadership through the DOE's
Leadership Academy and increased autonomy for school leaders over
the operation of their school;
- Focus on parent engagement in schools;
- Improved organizational and management structure; and
- Accountability and transparency throughout the system.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Director of Process Improvement will lead and manage the
DOE's initiative to target and restructure components of major
operations in order to maximize efficiencies and service delivery of
the core instructional and managerial priorities. The key
responsibilities of this position are to:
- Lead highly sensitive and important re-engineering studies
designed to review major segments of DOE central and regional
offices and determine what type of operating changes are
appropriate.
- Oversee implementation of major projects that have significant,
citywide impact on the educational goals of the school system and
involve coordination of various offices and divisions within the
Department of Education.
- Manage professional and technical staff engaged in process re-
design and analysis.
- Prepare comprehensive reports and recommendations to senior DOE
management of proposed process improvements.
- Provide training as needed to DOE management on business process
redesign.

SELECTION CRITERIA
The following qualifications are required:
- A Masters degree from an accredited college/university.
- A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in
operations management with demonstrated skill in process re-
engineering, process improvement and redesign, report-writing and
presentations to senior level management.

The following qualifications are preferred:
- Professional experience in public education, special education,
career & occupational education, curriculum development, educational
planning and/or a related field.
- Six Sigma training.
- Outstanding statistical and financial analysis.

Application
Send resume and cover letter via email immediately to
zcalix@.... Please include "Director" in subject header.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New
York to provide educational and employment opportunities without
regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, alienage
and citizenship status, age, marital status, disability, prior
record of arrest or conviction (except as provided by law), sexual
orientation, gender (sex), and to maintain an environment free of
discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, or
retaliation as required by civil rights law. Inquiries regarding
compliance with this equal opportunity policy may be directed to:
Office of Equal Opportunity, 65 Court Street, Room 923, Brooklyn,
New York 11201, or visit the OEO website at "w
ww.nycenet.edu/oeo."

Job Opening
Assistant Director, Summerbridge San Francisco
December 2004

University High School wishes to announce a full-time opening for
the position of Assistant Director of Summerbridge, a year-round
academic enrichment program for high achieving, low income middle
school students from local public and parochial schools.
Summerbridge combines a six-week academic summer school with after-
school tutoring, Saturday enrichment classes and high school
counseling to prepare students for success in rigorous high school
programs.

The Assistant Director works with the Director to plan and run the
program and is primarily responsible for three essential areas: 1)
recruitment and admission of students; 2) high school counseling for
the graduating class; and 3) the administration of year-round after-
school tutoring. In addition the Assistant Director serves as the
face and voice of the Summerbridge office, answering phones,
preparing correspondence, managing files and databases, and
providing other support for the Director.

Candidates should possess a B.A. and have excellent writing, public
speaking and interpersonal skills. Successful candidates will be
attentive to detail, highly organized, capable of managing multiple
projects and meeting deadlines, and independent in their work
habits. Past experience in teaching or school administration is
preferred; familiarity with a Summerbridge/Breakthrough program is
highly desirable; and an entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit is
a must. Candidates should have strong computer skills, particularly
with Microsoft Excel and Word; familiarity with database programs is
desirable.

Because San Francisco University High School is a college
preparatory school, we seek employees who are well educated in their
disciplines and devoted to the love of learning. Throughout the
school, we seek to hire adults who are stimulating and supportive in
their work with students and who share our belief in the moral and
educational value of diversity.

Candidates should let us know of their interest by November 8th by
submitting a rιsumι, the names and contact information for three
references, and letter of intent describing their experience, their
interest in the position, and their potential contributions to
Summerbridge to:

William Bullard
Dean of Faculty
San Francisco University High School
3065 Jackson Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
Email: bullard@...

For further information about the school and Summerbridge, please
visit our website: www.sfuhs.org.

Organization: InsideTrack
Position: Academic Coach
Location: San Francisco

InsideTrack is a fast growing business focused on higher education. Colleges
contract with InsideTrack to provide a pro-active coaching and management
service to students. By working with students directly, InsideTrack helps
students achieve academic success and get the most out of their college years.

While InsideTrack works with students to improve overall success, we
are especially focused on increasing graduation rates. When graduation rates
rise, colleges benefit from increased enrollment and student satisfaction,
improved academic standing and a number of significant economic gains.

Our Coaching Program is delivered either in person or over the phone depending
on the client college's needs. We are currently hiring coaches to start in
December to deliver coaching over the phone to online students throughout the
U.S. We will be collecting and reviewing resumes beginning October 20th and
conducting interviews from November 5th – 19th.

Coach Responsibilities
• Build trusting relationships with a diverse group of students through
individual phone meetings
• Uncover roadblocks to student success and respond appropriately to remove them
• Develop study skills and overall effectiveness of students
• Build student commitment to graduation
• Interact with college staff in a strong, positive manner
• Contribute to InsideTrack concept development and culture
• Participate pro-actively in your own training and development

Necessary Qualifications, Skills and Attributes
• Bachelors degree or higher, demonstrating strong academic performance
• Outstanding communication and problem solving skills
• Ability to motivate, inspire and develop people
• Strong management and leadership skills
• Excellent organization and time management
• Ability to work effectively in teams
• Passion for helping others
• Commitment to your own development
• Comfort with delivering a highly personalized service without face-to-face
interactions

Preferred Experience
We recognize that our work is relatively unique and that candidates from many
disciplines may possess the required skills. Specific experience which may be
especially relevant includes:
• People management
• Delivery of a one-to-one service focused on learning or skills development
(e.g. coaching, tutoring, teaching, mentoring)
• Management of multiple ongoing projects
• Experience in higher education
• Experience working with young adults or students

Compensation
• Salary commensurate with experience
• Full health care benefits
• Optional dental, vision and flex-care options
• Generous holiday and vacation package
• 401(k)

This is a full time position located at our Home Office in San Francisco. If you
are interested in applying, please send a cover letter and resume (Word
attachments are OK, but no zip files please) stating where you heard about this
opportunity and describing your interest and qualifications to Steve Maxwell at
bayarea@.... You are also encouraged to visit our
website at www.insidetrack.com. No phone calls please.

Education News Bulletin
10.27.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Voters to Decide on Charter Schools

SEATTLE, WA - Washington is not the only place to battle over
charter schools recently. A Chicago plan to close 100 failing
schools and replace some with charter schools has provoked protests.
In Detroit, an entrepreneur offered $200 million to create 15
charter schools, but the teachers union and some parents persuaded
the State Legislature to block the proposal. In Massachusetts and
Ohio, school budget problems aggravated by the loss of money to
charter schools have touched off a movement against them. Florida
and California are tightening regulations after corruption scandals.
Those who support charter schools point to hundreds of successful
ones operating in neighborhoods from the South Bronx to San Diego,
using their freedom from the bureaucracy to try out new ways of
teaching and learning. But several scandals, including the recent
collapse of 60 charter schools in California just days before the
opening of the fall term, and an August report by the American
Federation of Teachers based on federal government statistics that
found that students in charter schools did not perform as well as
those in comparable public schools, have given critics new
ammunition. (by Sam Dillon for the New York Times - registration
required)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/25/national/25charter.html

Privatization Produces Gains in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - Competition between public and privately managed
schools in Philadelphia over the past two years has allowed all
public school students to benefit from best practices and has led to
overall achievement gains for Philadelphia students that are
dramatically above the state average. The average test-score gain in
Pennsylvania on the 2004 Pennsylvania System of Schools Assessment
(PSSA) was five points in reading and six points in math, according
to data released by the state Department of Education on August 24.
The School District of Philadelphia exceeded those rates, posting
average gains of 10 in reading and 10 in math. The gains achieved in
Philadelphia are among the highest of any of the nation's largest
school districts, according to the Council of Great City Schools.
Moreover, the gains in student achievement occurred in
contracted "partner" schools as well as traditional public schools,
providing the first substantial evidence that the city's public-
private school management experiment, aimed at turning around the
district's lowest-performing schools, is working. (Reason Public
Policy Institute)

http://www.rppi.org/privatizationproducesgains.shtml (for more on
Philadelphia, see also "Core curriculum brings uniformity, new
challenges" at
http://www.thenotebook.org/editions/2004/fall/core.htm)


OTHER

PTOs Lure Parents Sick of Split PTA Dues

Thousands of PTA groups that have voted to leave the national
association in recent years. The PTA's national membership has
declined steadily from a high of 12.1 million in 1963 to 5.9 million
last year. Fewer than one in four American schools with grades K-12
has a chapter, according to National PTA spokeswoman Jenni Gaster
Sopko. The declines in membership and dues have dealt a blow to the
PTA, which was founded in 1897 and over the next century became a
powerful advocacy group for measures to improve American schools.
The group's influence has dwindled, education experts say. Experts
say most local groups are leaving the PTA for one reason: money.
Parents increasingly say that they do not see the benefit of sending
dues to a national organization when funds are urgently needed at
their neighborhood schools. (Washington Post - registration required)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43260-2004Oct18.html

Voters Weigh K-12 Finance at Ballot Box

NATIONAL - Voters in some states will cast ballots Nov. 2 on
proposals that could shape the future of school spending for years
to come. Among the 32 states that will decide ballot measures in the
upcoming general elections, residents in at least a dozen will take
stands on whether to force their states to raise school funding,
provide lottery or gambling revenues to schools, or restrict taxes
that traditionally have raised money for education. The results
could mean dramatic increases in K-12 spending in states such as
Nevada, Oklahoma, and Washington. At the same time, the outcomes
could shrink local money available for schools in Maine, Missouri,
and other states where ballot measures would limit municipalities'
ability to levy property taxes. (By David Hoff for Education Week -
registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/10/20/08initiatives.h24.html

College degree pays off big - not just in income, study concludes

ARIZONA - Forget about hot stock tips - as investments go, it's hard
to beat a college education. College graduates also appear to enjoy
better health, they volunteer more, they donate more blood, they pay
more taxes and they generally exert less of a drag on
society. "There's been a lot of focus on the costs (of higher
education)," said Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst for the College
Board, an educational association that released the study. "The
headlines of benefits to individuals and society are much rarer." In
today's dollars, college graduates can expect to earn about $2.5
million over their lifetimes, compared with $1.4 million for people
with high school diplomas only, according to the study, which drew
on Census Bureau data. People with advanced degrees can expect to
earn even more. (Arizona Republic)

http://www.azcentral.com/families/education/articles/1019collegebenef
its19-ON.html

Experts Develop New Way to Rank Colleges

NATIONAL - Critics of college rankings say universities aren't like
their sports teams: you cannot settle who is best with head-to-head
competition on the playing field. But in a new paper, a group of
economists and statisticians begs to differ. They lay out a system
that ranks colleges on how they perform in one kind of head-to-head
competition they claim says a lot about a school, and can be
measured: the battle for students who are admitted to several
colleges and have to choose among them. While the U.S. News & World
Report rankings use statistics like admission percentage, SAT scores
and student-faculty ratio, critics say that those figures are not
necessarily much use to prospective students and that colleges can
manipulate them. In their proposal, the economists sidestep the
tricky question of what makes a good college. Instead, they assume
top high school students know best, and they simply report their
choices. The authors - Caroline Hoxby and Christopher Avery of
Harvard, Andrew Metrick of the University of Pennsylvania and Mark
Glickman of Boston University - have been working on their model for
years. Their most detailed results yet were published recently by
the National Bureau of Economic Research. (by Justin Pope for the
Associated Press, via the Miami Herald)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/9959282.htm

Organization: Galileo Educational Services / Camp Galileo
Position: Camp Director(s)
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Galileo Camp Director - Position Information
We are looking for outstanding leaders to found and/or run our 2005
Camp Galileo & Tech Museum summer camps. Work is part-time during
the school year and full time for 5-8 weeks during summer. Pay is
$9,000-$14,000 in the first year, an amount that could double or
more over the subsequent two years depending on the growth of the
program. Applications are due November 5.

Founded in 2001, Galileo provides opportunities for young people to
discover and pursue their passions. Through collaboration with The
Tech Museum of Innovation, Klutz, and Art in Action, Galileo offers
museum quality programming to Bay Area families at neighborhood
schools and on location at the Tech Museum of Innovation.

The company's flagship program, Camp Galileo, offers a high-energy
day camp experience for K-5th grade children. Campers engage in
hands-on art, science, and outdoor activities along with traditional
camp standards like opening ceremonies, group games, and skits.

The Tech Summer Camps offer hands-on science and technology classes
for kids entering 4th-8th grade, with topics ranging from Lego
Robotics to Roller Coaster Physics. Campers can register for a half-
day or full-day at The Tech.

Camp Directors at any given site will assume overall leadership of
the program, including staff selection, training and management, and
day-to-day operations. Directors will spend an average of eight hours
per week preparing between March and June and will work full-time for
5-8 weeks during the summer. In addition, a Pre and Post camp
meeting/retreat is scheduled for the Spring and Fall.

Successful candidates will share the following attributes: college
graduate; several years of experience working with children;
demonstrated leadership and management ability; school year
employment to complement this work; summers off. Camp experience is
a plus.

To learn more and apply visit www.galileoed.com. If you have any
questions, feel free to email jobs@... or call 510-595-
7293.

WHAT IS GSVC?
GSVC is a business plan competition whose mission is to promote
entrepreneurial businesses that satisfy two criteria: they have
clear and quantifiable social objectives; and they are financially
sustainable, in the sense that they are profitable or self-
supporting through revenue generation. GSVC originated at the
University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business and is
now a partnership that includes Columbia Business School and London
Business School. The Goldman Sachs Foundation has supported the
competition for the past three years.

During last year's competition, four social ventures from the US
and Europe took the top awards in the final round of the Global
Social Venture Competition at London Business School. The winners
shared $100,000 in cash and travel prizes that have helped the
winning teams to launch businesses committed to creating significant
positive social impact. This year's final competition will be
held at the Haas School of Business in Berkeley, California, USA.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
The first step to winning the Global Social Venture Competition and
launching a successful social enterprise is to submit a short, 1-2
(but no longer than 5) page Executive Summary about your business
idea. Executive summaries are due on November 17, 2004.

While an executive summary is not required for entry into the
competition (a business plan is!), the submission of an executive
summary allows us to match your team with a professional mentor.
Past participants have attested that mentor guidance was invaluable
as they wrote and revised their business plan.

DATES & DEADLINES
Executive Summaries Due (optional, but highly encouraged): November
17, 2004
Mentor-Entrant Day Workshops (optional)
- at the Haas School of Business: December 4, 2004
- at London Business School: December 4, 2004
- at Columbia University: December 11, 2004
Final Business Plans Due (required for entry): February 1, 2005
Semi-Finalist Revised Business Plans Due: February 25, 2005
Final Competition at Haas School of Business: April 15, 2005

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
For GENERAL INFORMATION about GSVC, please visit:
http://www.socialvc.net.

For information about ENTRANT AND COMPETITION RULES, please visit:
http://www.socialvc.net/index.cfm?
fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=110&parentID=56

For more information about DATES AND DEADLINES, please visit:
http://www.socialvc.net/index.cfm?
fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=116&nodeID=1

Education News Bulletin
11.1.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

City Mayors Turn to Charter Schools

WASHINGTON, DC – With pigeons fluttering through the rafters and
plaster crumbling from the walls, the future home of the Thurgood
Marshall Academy charter school scarcely looks like a place to
entertain the likes of a big-city mayor. Yet District of Columbia
Mayor Anthony A. Williams seemed happy to be there earlier this
month, as he helped kick off a project to convert the long-vacant
eyesore into a community-oriented campus for 350 high school
students. Mr. Williams is not alone among big-city mayors in
extending a growing interest in public education to charter schools.
In Indianapolis, Bart Peterson has taken full advantage of his
status as the nation's only mayor with authority to charter
schools. And New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chicago's
Richard M. Daley, both of whom control their school systems, have
recently launched initiatives to form more of the independently run
but publicly financed schools. (Education Week – registration
required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/10/27/09mayors.h24.html

CREATING the CAPACITY for CHANGE: How and Why Governors and
Legislatures are Opening a New-Schools Sector in Public Education

NATIONAL – This is the central issue now for policy: whether it
is realistic to assume that law and regulation and exhortation can
overcome the constraints of faulty system design. Even if
conceivably they might, the uncertainty makes such an assumption
clearly a risk. Remember: The bar is set very high. We are talking
seriously about educating all students to high standards. This asks
a lot of the organizations we have. It may be that within the
present arrangements the job cannot be done. This book describes the
efforts by states to create a new `open sector' in public
education, partly inside but substantially outside the district
framework. This requires being open to the idea that more than one
organization can offer public education in the community. (by Ted
Kolderie of Education | Evolving)

http://www.educationevolving.org/pdf/Kolderie_book.pdf


HUMAN CAPITAL

Evaluating Administrators With Portfolios

NATIONAL - Seven years ago when Andy Dotson became principal of
Phelps High School in Pike County, Ky., the school was the lowest-
performing high school in the district and the fifth lowest in the
state. As of last spring, Phelps is the second-highest performing
high school in the district and close to being in the top third of
all high schools in Kentucky. All along the way, Dotson has used a
portfolio of his work to help guide his own professional development
and ensure his superintendent had a complete understanding of the
work he was doing. Dotson's notable experience notwithstanding,
the use of portfolios to evaluate the performance of administrators
lags far behind their use among classroom teachers. In most parts of
the country, evaluation of principals and administrators remains
largely the same as it has been for decades—which is to say minimal.
Simple checklists, one-shot interviews, brief site visits and
narrative evaluations remain widespread as the tools of assessment.
(The School Administrator, a publication of the American Association
of School Administrators)

http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2004_10/russo.htm

The Qualified Teacher Charade

NATIONAL – No Child Left Behind (NCLB) … mandates that to be
highly qualified a teacher must not only have a bachelor's degree
and be certified, which the states already require, but also
demonstrate competence in the subject being taught. This is the
great innovation of the act — it requires competence. For new
teachers, competence can be demonstrated by having a college major
in the relevant subject or by taking a rigorous test of knowledge.
Veteran teachers can demonstrate competence in these same ways. Or
they can do it by meeting a "high, objective, uniform state standard
of evaluation" (HOUSSE), which the states are allowed to devise on
their own. Herein lies the problem. The HOUSSE provisions create a
loophole big enough to drive three million veteran teachers through —
  and the states have incentives to do just that. They are under
intense political pressure, especially from teachers unions, to
protect the interests of veteran teachers and to ensure that no one
loses a job. (by Terry Moe for the Hoover Institution)

http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/pubaffairs/we/2004/moe10.html (for
related research, see also "Does Highly Qualified Mean High-
Quality?" at http://www.ascd.org/publications/
infobrief/issue39.html)


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

Wyoming Signs Innovative Test Contract With Harcourt Assessment

WYOMING – The state's four-year contract with the San
Antonio-based Harcourt Assessment Inc. calls for the development of
tests in reading, writing, and mathematics for grades 3-8 and 11, as
well as science tests for grades 4, 8, and 11, in accordance with
federal law. But Wyoming's endeavor is unusual in several respects.
Working with teachers, the state will identify the most important
skills and ideas included in its academic-content standards and
measure them on its assessments. The state also plans to give
districts two options: either end-of-year tests, or semester tests
that students would take in January and in April. While both sets of
assessments would emphasize the same topics, the semester tests
could probe students' learning in more depth and provide more
frequent feedback. The results would then be aggregated to determine
whether a student was proficient in a given subject. Harcourt is
custom-developing both the end-of-year and semester tests for
Wyoming. But perhaps the most useful instructional tools will be
paper and online tests aligned to state standards that teachers can
give any time in their classrooms and receive results almost
immediately. Harcourt is rolling out the benchmark assessments,
known as Stanford Learning First, state by state. (Education Week –
registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/10/13/07wyoming.h24.html

New Report Shows How California's API Growth Model Hides
Achievement
Gaps

CALIFORNIA - The Education Trust–West released a new publication
today that illustrates - through statistics, through research, and
through the testimony of students, parents, educators, and
policymakers – the alarmingly limited access of California's
high school students to the curricula and classes they need to
succeed in the workforce and in college. The report incorporates
testimony of students, parents, advocates, and educators from
Oakland, Los Angeles, Davis, Long Beach, San Jose, and Fresno given
at a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on College and
University Admissions on June 14, 2004. (Education Trust-West)

http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/ETW/own%20words.htm (or go directly
to the report itself, "In their own words: Why Students and
Parents Want and Need Rigorous Coursework In California High
Schools," at
http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/audio/In_Their_Own_Words-audio.pdf)


CLOSING THE GAP

Jumping Into the Rigors of Learning

NATIONAL – Kindergarten, which is German for "children's garden,"
is serious stuff these days. With half-day programs giving way to
full days in state after state, the curriculum once saved for first
grade has been pushed down to 5- and 6-year-olds. Nearly 98 percent
of youngsters in the United States attend kindergarten, 60 percent
of them in full-day programs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Once focused heavily on a child's social and emotional development,
kindergarten is now a largely academic experience -- sometimes with
math drills and daily homework and worksheets. In many schools, time
for music, art, recess and games has withered. Kindergarten also has
become a political battleground, as lawmakers, educators and parents
argue over what should be taught. (Washington Post – registration
required)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62371-2004Oct25.html


OTHER

Rule changes aided school progress

PHILADELPHIA – School accountability gains that Pennsylvania
education officials lauded resulted from lower standards, not
improved performance, according to an Inquirer analysis. More than
twice as many schools would not have made what the state
considers "adequate yearly progress" toward goals set under the
federal No Child Left Behind Act if the rules had not been changed.
The changes allowed schools with lower graduation rates, lower
standardized test scores, or lower attendance than in previous years
to win passing marks. (Philadelphia Inquirer – registration
required)

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/education/10034106.htm

Fine Line on Schools for Bush, Kerry - Candidates Both Favor
Increased Accountability

NATIONAL – There's no doubt that the two major-party
candidates in the hard-fought 2004 presidential contest part company
on some education issues. President Bush, for instance, backs
private school vouchers. Sen. Kerry wants to see bigger spending
increases for schools. But it's striking how much ground they seem
to share on the fundamentals of policy. One notable contrast is
experience. Education has been one of Mr. Bush's top priorities,
dating back to his previous job as the governor of Texas. When the
Republican entered the 2000 presidential race, he trained his sights
on transforming federal K-12 policy. He delivered on central
elements of his plan with the No Child Left Behind Act, though
critics say that Mr. Bush hasn't made education enough of a budget
priority, and that he hasn't provided much leadership on other
education matters. Mr. Kerry has been a leader on some major issues
since entering the Senate more than 20 years ago — especially in
foreign relations — but education isn't one of them. He has never
served on the Senate education committee, and he has only
occasionally jumped into the education fray. (Education Week –
registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/10/13/07bushkerry.h24.html

School Inflation

NATIONAL - Small schools, once derided as relics of the education
system and obstacles to national progress, now lie at the heart of
one of America's most popular reform strategies. After decades on
the endangered species list, small schools have become the next big
thing in education. Among its followers, the small-schools movement
includes some of the heaviest hitters in the education world, such
as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation,
and the New York City school system. … Support for small schools
also comes from some advocates of charter schools and school
vouchers. To justify the push for smaller schools, some proponents
point to the fact that, on average, private schools are a third
smaller than public schools, an indication that the private sector
is responding to the market's demand for smaller schools. Yet
there has not been enough rigorous research examining the effects of
school size on student achievement. (by Christopher Berry, assistant
professor at the Harris School for Public Policy Studies at the
University of Chicago, and former postdoctoral fellow at Harvard
University, for Education Next)

http://www.educationnext.org/20044/56.html (for related research on
small schools, see "School Size, Achievement, and Achievement
Gaps" at http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n58/)

Do you want to start your own business? Do you have a great idea for
a social venture?

You are cordially invited to "Opportunity Recognition," a
workshop sponsored by the UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition and
the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC). Featuring a panel of
successful entrepreneurs, this workshop will focus on recognizing
both profitable and socially beneficial business opportunities.

Our distinguished panelists are:
• David Charron, entrepreneur, startup consultant and technology
transfer professional
• Will Rosenzweig, professor, author, and noted business leader
in the field of social entrepreneurship
• Kevin Warnock, entrepreneur, UC Berkeley Business Plan
Competition Finalist

Panel discussions will include topics such as:
• Entrepreneurs' best practices in vetting opportunities
• What venture capitalists and business plan judges look for in
evaluating business plans
• What makes an opportunity a "social venture"

Please join us for drinks, discussion, and the chance to find out
more about the many advantages of entering these business plan
competitions, including prize money, business plan feedback, future
workshops, and mentorship.

What: Opportunity Recognition Workshop
When: Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004, 6:00-8:00pm
Where: Wells Fargo Room at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/haas/maps.html

The UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition provides a year round
forum in which UC Berkeley students and alumni can develop and test
their business vision and plans. Students and alumni form teams,
develop their business ideas, and compete for cash prizes. The
competition provides a network of resources for mentorship, team
creation, education, networking and new venture financing for these
aspiring entrepreneurs. The competition is run by MBA students at
the Haas School of Business and supported by the Lester Center for
Entrepreneurship.
http://bplan.berkeley.edu/

The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) invites aspiring
entrepreneurs to develop plans for business ventures that have a
clear, quantifiable social return as well as a healthy financial
bottom line. It is the largest social venture competition of its
kind, developed in partnership with The Lester Center for
Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School, London Business School,
The Goldman Sachs Foundation, and Omidiar Foundation
http://www.socialvc.net/

Panelists:
David Charron has been focused on technology commercialization and
entrepreneurship for 15 years. He has held positions in technology
licensing and commercialization with Xerox PARC, MIT and Stanford
University. In 1995, he co-founded and was Vice President of
Scientific Learning Corporation, a publicly-traded neuroscience
company based on innovations from USCF and Rutgers. He has consulted
to startups, inventors and entrepreneurs and lectures on
Entrepreneurship at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. He
received and MBA from the Haas School of Business and a BS in
Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

Will Rosenzweig is a professor, author, and accomplished business
leader in the field of social entrepreneurship.  He currently
teaches at the Haas School of Business and serves as Faculty Advisor
to the Global Social Venture Competition.  Prior to Haas, Will
founded or led a number of business ventures, including The Republic
of Tea, Venture Strategy Partners, Odwalla, and Hambrecht Vineyards
& Wineries.

Kevin Warnock founded Hotpaper.com: a finalist in the 1999 UC
Berkeley Business Plan Competition. He subsequently raised $2M in
venture capital for Hotpaper from Nokia Venture Partners and others.
He built the company to over a dozen employees and the company was
acquired 14 months later for $10M. Kevin founded his latest company,
Silveroffice (www.GOffice.com) in 2003 to bring the convenience of
web-based e-mail to productivity applications including word
processing, desktop publishing and electronic presentations. Kevin
attended UCLA and serves on the Advisory Council at the Lester
Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Available Job Openings at New Leaders for New Schools

ABOUT NEW LEADERS FOR NEW SCHOOLS
New Leaders for New Schools is a national non-profit organization
that fosters high levels of academic achievement for every child by
attracting and preparing the next generation of urban school
principals. In our fourth year, over 150 New Leaders serving 75,000
students in five cities form the foundation of our 10-year goal to
build a 2,000 person principal corps impacting the lives of over a
million children. New Leaders carefully selects aspiring principals
from a large pool of diverse recruits (our New Leaders represent the
top 6% of a pool of over 2,500 applicants). These outstanding
individuals attend courses by and receive certification from
nationally-recognized experts/practitioners, engage in a year-long
residency at an urban school with a mentor principal, receive three
years of intensive one-on-one coaching from a successful urban
school principal, and become part of a national movement of like-
minded leaders dedicated to transforming urban public schools. For
more information, visit www.nlns.org.

JOB OPENINGS
New Leaders for New Schools currently has several available
positions. For complete job descriptions and more information about
New Leaders for New Schools, visit our website at www.nlns.org.
Questions? Contact Tracy Breslin, National Director of Strategy and
Development, at tbreslin@....

National-Level Positions (based in New York City) - see below for
descriptions
• National Director of Development
• Deputy Director of Admissions Operations
• National Recruiter
• Deputy Director of Curriculum Design
• Office Manager

City-Level Positions - see below for descriptions
• Deputy Director (possible openings in Chicago, Memphis, and
Washington, DC)
• Program Associate (possible opening in Washington, DC)
• New Leader Principal (openings in Chicago, Memphis, New York
City, Washington, DC, and Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area)

National-Level Positions (based in New York City)
National Director of Development – The National Director of
Development will identify high-potential new funders and revenue
sources for New Leaders, develop and maintain relationships with new
and existing national funders, and support local fundraising efforts
for each city program.

Deputy Director of Admissions Operations – The Deputy Director of
Admissions Operations will manage all admissions operations for New
Leaders for New Schools, including the recruiting and admissions
database, communication materials, website, on-line admissions
application, and interview protocols.

National Recruiter – The National Recruiter will design, manage
and implement New Leaders for New Schools' efforts to identify,
attract and select exceptional potential principals.

Deputy Director of Curriculum Design – The Deputy Director of
Curriculum Design will play a critical role in designing New
Leaders' training program and will shape content, define
objectives, select faculty, develop multi-day courses, and ensure
that the program's content/pedagogy reflects effective
professional development and adult learning needs.

Office Manager – The Office Manager will maintain the efficient
functioning of a fast-paced, high-performing office and ensure that
all staff members have the information, resources, and a working
environment necessary for highest levels of productivity.

City-Level Positions
Deputy Director (openings in Chicago, Memphis, and Washington, DC)
– The Deputy Director for each New Leaders for New Schools'
program site will assist the local Executive Director in leading and
implementing all aspects of our recruiting and training program for
outstanding future principals.

Program Associate (opening in Washington, DC) – The Program
Associate will be responsible for a mixture of project management
and administrative functions, including external communications with
partners and funders, event planning, data entry, phone management,
scheduling and general office management.

New Leader – Become an urban public school principal!  This year
we seek highly motivated individuals nationwide to become New
Leaders in California's Bay Area, Chicago, Memphis, New York
City, Washington, DC and a new city to be announced in January 2005.
Accepted applicants demonstrate an unyielding belief in the
potential of all children to achieve academically at high levels, a
record of success in leading adults, knowledge of teaching and
learning, and a relentless drive to lead an excellent urban school.
The New Leaders for New Schools' application will become
available on November 3, 2004. Priority deadline is December 7,
2004! All applications to be a New Leader principal must be
submitted online at www.nlns.org.

Organization: Level Playing Field Institute

Position: Academic Director, Summer Math & Science Honors Academy
(SMASH)

Location: San Francisco

We are seeking outstanding candidates for a terrific educational
opportunity!  The Level Playing Field Institute (www.lpfi.org) seeks a
highly skilled individual to lead an exciting, challenging and
much-needed program in California.  Just having completed its inaugural
summer, the Summer Math & Science Honors (SMASH) Academy is a
three-year, residential program that helps talented high school students
from underrepresented populations to become competitive and successful
in science, technology, mathematics, or engineering majors at the
University of California or selective colleges and universities.

We recruit high-potential students, meaning those who are already
high-achieving, but come from disadvantaged backgrounds and/or low
performing schools, who are willing to work hard in a rigorous program.
The curriculum will present these students with a balance of academic
training and scientific research activities to enhance their science and
mathematics knowledge and capabilities.

The goal of SMASH is to increase the number of students from
underrepresented communities who are competitive in top-level college
math and science-related studies, while cultivating a graduate school
and/or professional vision for all students.  Our ultimate vision is for
a high percentage of SMASH graduates to eventually enter science,
technology, engineering, or math-related graduate studies or careers.

The Summer Academy is inspired by the (MS)2 program at Phillips Andover
Academy that has been in existence for 28 years.  We had a solidly
successful pilot program, held for five weeks on the U.C. Berkeley
campus with 24 Bay Area students, during the summer of 2004.  All of the
materials-both administrative and curriculum-from these programs are
available to us.

Funding for the next two years (2005-2006) are already committed, as
well as half of the funding for the fourth year (2007).  The LPFI
Development Director has the responsibility to raise remaining funds.

We are seeking an experienced Academic Director with visionary,
functional, and collaboration skills.

Job duties would include:

*    Quickly come up to speed on Andover's (MS)2 program, as well as
other programs focused on math, science, technology, and engineering,
and those addressing underrepresented populations

*    Build on the academic and operational successes from the 2004 pilot
program

*    Develop and implement strong plans for STEM teaching/learning,
building community, and day-to-day operations

*    Assess current staff and hire additional staff; train and supervise
all staff

*    Assume a leadership role and collaborative style to work with
others at LPFI

>Create engaging and integrated educational opportunities outside the
classroom (speakers, field trips, etc.)

>    Facilitate creation of tech plan for summer and academic year needs

>    Design school year academic program

>    Work in a leadership capacity with SMASH Founding Director to:

o    develop Academy vision, standards, and measures of success

o    conduct thorough and rigorous curriculum development

o    plan and integrate strategies for assessing students

o    devise and implement outreach and selection process


QUALIFICATIONS

*    A bachelor's degree required; graduate educational or math/science
degree preferred

*    Experience in secondary education as teacher or guidance counselor
or administrator preferred

*    Experience working with underrepresented communities

*    Knowledge of professional networks, innovative programs in
education for both content (math, science, engineering) and students
(underrepresented, disadvantaged)

*    5+ years proven experience managing educational projects

*    Superior organizational skills

*    Demonstrated ability to be efficient, self-starting, creative, and
professional

*    Progressive values; general understanding of diversity issues

*    Demonstrated excellence in interpersonal skills; exemplary ability
to work well independently and with groups

*    Excellent verbal and written communication skills

*    Ability to work effectively with diverse ethnic, cultural, and
socio-economic backgrounds

*    Must have a proven track record of meeting or exceeding
project/program goals and objectives while working with and managing
diverse teams

*    Must have excellent leadership, time management, communication, and
presentation skills

LPFI is committed to diversity and welcomes applicants with diverse
perspectives and backgrounds. People from backgrounds similar to SMASH
students are encouraged to apply. Salary commensurate with experience.
Excellent benefits package included. Great working environment!

A full job description is available on our website: www.lpfi.org
<http://www.lpfi.org/> .

Please submit a resume and cover letter ASAP to: directorjob@...
(with "SMASH Academy Director" in the subject title) OR by US Mail to:
LPFI, 543 Howard Street, 5th floor, San Francisco, CA  94105.

Position available now; open until filled by an exemplary candidate.

Classroom Connect,  a K-12 Educational Technology company, is looking
for a personable, highly motivated part-time individual to assist
with a market research phone survey project at our headquarters in
Brisbane, CA (just south of Candlestick Park). Days and times of work
are flexible, but should be during normal working hours (or slightly
earlier due to interviewees in a different time zone).

Job responsibilities include surveying personnel at school districts
about their intentions in an upcoming curriculum adoption.

Candidates must:
* Have excellent telephone skills
* Be professional with our respondents (who could in turn become our
prospective customers)
* Be able to keep track of the status of dozens of queries
* Be able to problem solve and ferret out the current person to speak
with at a school district
* Telephone, telesales, phone room and/or related experience is a
plus, though not required (please note: this is NOT a sales position)
* Knowledge of the K-12 publishing industry and buying processes a
big plus. Former/current K-12 educators are encouraged to apply
* Basic understanding and technical knowledge of computers is a plus,
though not required

This is a part-time hourly position with a salary of $12 per hour.
Expect to work ~20 hours per week onsite for 4-8 weeks. This is a
perfect fit for an education graduate student or someone with a
flexible as well as a reliable constant schedule.

If interested, please send a resume or a bio to:
hr@...

For more information about Classroom Connect, please visit
http://www.classroom.com

Education News Bulletin
11.8.2004


CHARTERS, CHOICE AND NEW SCHOOLS

Charter School Authorizers and Oversight: Where is the Line Between
Effectively Holding Schools Accountable and Overregulation?

NATIONAL - The basic charter school bargain-freedom in exchange for
accountability-presents unique challenges to authorizers.
Authorizers must walk a tightrope of sorts, respecting each charter
school's independence and distinct mission, while holding every
school accountable for educational results and public obligations.
Overseeing charter schools is thus a delicate balancing act, which
most authorizers must navigate through trial, error and
improvisation. To gain perspective on how effective charter school
oversight can and should be conducted, the following question was
posed to four leaders within the charter school community: It is a
fundamental tenet that charter schools should be held accountable
for performance rather than regulated for process. How should
authorizers uphold this distinction when conducting charter school
oversight? (National Association of Charter School Authorizers)

http://www.charterauthorizers.org/files/nacsa/BECSA/IssueBriefNo5.pdf

Few Parents Move Their Children Out of Failing Schools

NATIONAL - More than 1 million students in the nation's largest
urban school districts have remained at poor-performing campuses
despite a federal law that allows them a chance to escape to better
schools. The offer extended by the No Child Left Behind education
law is intended to expand school choices for children in low-income
communities. But in Los Angeles, only 215 students switched to
better campuses last year out of nearly 204,000 who were eligible.
In Chicago, 1,097 students out of 270,000 transferred. And in New
York, 6,828 out of 230,000 students moved to other campuses. A lack
of interest on the part of parents and a shortage of available seats
in good schools have combined to weaken the impact of the law. (Los
Angeles Times - registration required)

http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-transfer8nov08%2C1%
2C5475412.story?coll=la-news-learning


HUMAN CAPITAL

Veteran Teachers in City Schools Help Colleagues Sharpen Skills

NEW YORK CITY - Teachers and students at P.S. 35 and at nine other
schools in District 9 in the Bronx are part of a bold experiment
that Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein believes will reinvent how
teachers are trained to do their jobs by carving out a new role for
veteran educators and paying them more to fill it. For the new
teachers, the goal is to improve the abysmal retention rates, which
officials say have reached crisis levels. For the veterans, the hope
is to give them a reason not to retire or to leave the city for
higher-paying jobs in the suburbs. The program formalizes something
that many principals say they have done informally for years -
finding someone to take over a dynamic teacher's class for a period
or two so that teacher can go be a role model for others. (New York
Times - registration required)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/education/01teach.html

NCLB Presents Middle School Complications: 'Highly Qualified' Rule
Vexes Teachers

NATIONAL - Almost since President Bush signed the law in January
2002, local and state education officials have voiced concerns that
middle-grades teachers would be affected by the "highly qualified"
provision far more than teachers at the elementary and high school
levels. Disruption and perhaps shortages would result, especially in
urban and rural settings, where teacher labor pools are smaller.
… Experts generally give two reasons that more teachers in middle
schools than in elementary and high schools do not meet the
standards to be judged highly qualified. Many states have allowed
teachers with elementary certification, which generally requires
less evidence of depth of knowledge than secondary certification, to
teach in middle schools. And the organization of many middle schools
has favored assigning teachers to teach more than one subject. To
make sure that children are known by their teachers and that
subjects are not artificially cut off from one another, middle-
grades teachers often operate in teams. (by Bess Keller for
Education Week - registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/11/03/10teach.h24.html


ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

Educators expect flood of lawsuits

THERMAL, California -- The federal No Child Left Behind Act
threatens costly penalties for schools deemed failing to meet
academic standards. In response, many educators have a threat of
their own: A flood of lawsuits aimed at avoiding the sanctions.
(Associated Press, via CNN)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/11/01/left.behind.ap/index.html

'Data rooms' latest tool for school improvements in Georgia

FORSYTH, GEORGIA - They used to take their student test data, cram
it in a three-ring binder and hope teachers would use it as an
example for next year's students. "But it just stayed in there,"
said Maggie Bowden, executive director of instruction for Monroe
County schools. That was until school administrators happened upon a
Georgia school improvement workshop where they heard a strange new
concept: Some schools weren't waiting around for their state-
mandated test results in order to make strategic plans, and they
certainly weren't keeping data stashed away in book binders. With
federal No Child Left Behind Act accountability pressing down on
them, more and more schools were analyzing their information and
taping it up on empty walls, transforming them into "data rooms" - a
place for school officials to always see the bigger picture and
narrow their focus to achieve. (Macon Telegraph)

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/local/10066798.htm

Districts Spar With Ed. Dept. Over Tutoring

CHICAGO AND BOSTON - In Illinois and Massachusetts, state education
officials are appealing to the U.S. Department of Education for
exceptions to allow the Chicago and Boston school systems to provide
free tutoring for their students. Although preliminary data show
that Chicago's schools have made some academic gains, the district
could be identified as "in need of improvement" for failing to meet
state goals for a second year. The state education agency has not
issued final data. So Chicago started its tutoring program this
month, serving roughly 41,000 of the almost 77,000 students who
signed up for academic help. That move has put Chicago in a standoff
with the federal Education Department, which is expected to formally
notify the district that it can't provide tutoring if it indeed
fails to meet state standards. But officials with the Illinois
education department are pleading the district's case-along with
those of 10 other school systems that are tutoring students.
(Education Week - registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/11/03/10chicago.h24.html


OTHER

Parents use test scores to pick out new houses

CALIFORNIA - The latest API scores, released Thursday, rank
California public schools based on how well students score on
standardized tests. Parents, teachers and superintendents always pay
close attention to the scores. But the scores are also driving real
estate prices for prospective home buyers and sellers, real estate
agents and educators say, because they make it possible to compare
schools to others within the same school district. … Sarvesh
Jagannivas, a marketing director at San Jose's Agile Software, knows
that API doesn't tell a school's whole story. But when he and his
wife began their house hunt last spring, he crunched API data with
gusto. He talked to friends and colleagues about schools and scores
and pored over Web sites such as www.greatschools.net. He carefully
plotted charts and graphs, paying close attention to schools that
made gains on API over time and those that showed volatility. (San
Jose Mercury News)

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/10045224.
htm

'Weighted' Funding of Schools Gains Favor

NATIONAL - Rather than allocate staff members to schools on the
basis of student enrollment, a weighted-student model divvies up
money based on the actual number and kinds of students at each
school. Interest in weighted-student funding, which Seattle adopted
in 1997, is on the rise among education leaders. San Francisco
started using it in 2002. Hawaii, with a single, statewide school
system, is in the midst of implementing it. Officials in California
and Colorado are studying how they could push the model throughout
their states. As the accountability movement prompts closer scrutiny
of what it costs to educate children to higher academic standards,
education leaders are searching for new ways to allocate finite
resources among schools. (by Jeff Archer for Education Week -
registration required)

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2004/11/03/10weighted.h24.html

The Enlightened M.B.A.

NATIONAL - Harvard Business School has just celebrated the 10th
anniversary of its Initiative on Social Enterprise, a program that
aims to prepare M.B.A.'s like Mr. Kuziev and Mr. Kanalosh to manage
nonprofit enterprises, oversee philanthropic activities or start
scrappy companies that attack social ills. The effort unofficially
began in 1989, when an assistant professor, J. Gregory Dees,
proposed a new class that would teach students to blend the best of
the nonprofit and commercial sectors, using their business skills to
solve problems like hunger and illiteracy. Ten years ago, few
business schools offered formal education in social
entrepreneurship; now just about every first-rate business school
does. Stanford, Columbia and Duke have embraced the idea. Oxford
University in England opened the Skoll Center for Social
Entrepreneurship last year with a grant from Jeffrey S. Skoll,
eBay's first president. (New York Times - registration required)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/education/edlife/117CAT.html