Teach for America proposal squashed in Buffalo

Buffalo Board of Education meeting last night was heated after security guards had to escort would be board member Carl Paladino out for criticizing the slow response of School Board members to the problems at one of the schools involving sewage backup and the impact the environmental problem is having on the health of students and school employees, teachers from the Math, Science and Technology School that had complained on Wednesday. Also, the contract to hire 60 Teach for America recruits over a two year period 30 starting this summer and 30 more next year was squashed at the School Board meeting last night not enough votes or as Buffalo News education blogger Mary Pasciak wrote about the meeting last night " too many unanswered questions and too little time to resolve them" according to Board members Ralph Hernandez, West District and Jason McCarthy, from the North District. So it's back to the drawing board for M&T Bank Chairman and CEO Robert G. Wilmers who supported the arrival of the young fresh out of college recruits to teach in Buffalo schools. Hernandez is running for a third term in the upcoming school district seats up for grabs this year. The nominating petitions drive started in February and with Carl Paladino throwing his hat into the political arena once again, the Buffalo Board of Education elections will be a lively one. Lou Petrucci, Park District Rep. is not running this year told Paladino when he got a telephone call from the ex-gubernatorial candidate who had won the most votes from the South Buffalo District he plans to run in. Hopefully, philanthropic largess of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg similar to what he contributed to the Los Angeles California School Board race does not happen in the City of Buffalo. Imagine, Bloomberg gave a $1 million dollar donation to help support his school reform agenda as far away as in California! With donations from these hedge fund loving billionaires the average joe run for a school board seat across the nation will be a thing of the past.

The College and Career Girls Prep Charter High School letter of intent approved expected to open 2014

The State Education Department issued its 2013 Preliminary Review/Approval Round 1 Letters of Intent that have been accepted and invited to submit a full application for a charter school during the month of February 2013. There were 27 letters of intent for charter schools many of them in New York City with several in the upstate NY region Rochester and Buffalo City School District. The College and Career Girls Prep Charter High School in the Buffalo City School District had as a lead applicant Dr. Constance M. Moss and Co-Applicant Marvel E. Ross-Jones. Planned grades and enrollment in each year 96 students in 9th grade 2014-15 up to 364, in 2018-19 by adding a grade level each year. It did not respond to any proposed management or organizational partnership. Also, named as the Applicant Founding Group and Initial Board Members are: Dr. Moss, Mrs. Bradley, Sonia S. Burgin, Dr. Ramelli L. Choate, former school board member, Dr. Catherine Collins, Barbara Davis, Dr. Margarita L. Dubocovich, Elnora B. Grice, Reine Hauser, Joyce Hwang, Rev. Darius Pridgen, Sylvia E. Wright, and Michael V. Wright. The first application the group submitted on February 2011 had been withdrawn and it was suppose to be located in Niagara Falls, NY. The second revised application submitted on February 2012 also was withdrawn for other problems and again revised in July 2012 and withdrawn citing other issues and finally the letter of intent February 2013 resulted in the College & Career Girls Prep Charter High School appearing on the State Ed Website approved to move on to the next phase of the application process. The mission of the charter school is to prepare the female graduates to enroll in higher education. The target population is 81% eligible for free and reduced lunch program, 14.7% students with disabilities and 10% English Language Learners.

Teach for America teachers in Buffalo

With A Brooklyn Accent: Why School Boards Love Temporary Teachers aka Teach for America

Sequester and education :American Association School Administrators survey

AASA Sequestration July 2012

sequestration: what is it?

sequestration: what is it?

Teach for America glorified temp agency?

Teach for America Is a Glorified Temp Agency - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

Teach for America done deal or what?

Is Teach for America a Done Deal? | Slog

Teach for America, a problem

Has Teach for America betrayed its mission?

Doubt casts on using Teach for America recruits in poor urban schools

CRPE report casts doubt on using Teach for America novices in our neediest schools | Seattle Education

seattle school board considers rejecting TFA

Former Teach for America argues group harmful...as Buffalo school board considers hiring 60

Why I did TFA, and why you shouldn’t | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Private donors benefit from educational foundation pay- to- play scheme

Wondering why there's so much testing? Here is one reason: A new report sheds light on the influence of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation and its corporate backers on Oklahoma’s education leaders and latest policies. Through public records requests, a Washington, D.C.,-based advocacy group released a report called “In the Public Interest” that shows the Foundation for Excellence in Education is writing and editing education laws and regulations in six states in ways that could benefit its private funders. The group contends the arrangement is essentially a “pay-to-play” scheme in which corporations can influence policy and then reap the profits.

Mayor Bloomberg's iron grip on New York will be felt in education and development policy years after he leaves office http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gonzalez-bloomberg-iron-grip-city-felt-years-leaving-office-article-1.1264861

Mayor Bloomberg's legacy 176 charter schools in NYC.

Gonzalez: Bloomberg's iron grip on city will be felt years after leaving office http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gonzalez-bloomberg-iron-grip-city-felt-years-leaving-office-article-1.1264861?localLinksEnabled=false

D.C. the new charter school mecca

D.C. charter school enrollment outpaces that of city public schools : http://wapo.st/XVU8TI

Obama asking congress to change Higher Education Act

Through tax credits, grants, and better loans, we've made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few years. But taxpayers can't keep on subsidizing higher and higher and higher costs for higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it's our job to make sure that they do. So, tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid.  And -- and tomorrow, my Administration will release a new college scorecard that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria: where you can get the most bang for your educational buck. Now, to grow our middle class, our citizens have to have access to the education and training that today's jobs require. But we also have to make sure that America remains a place where everyone who's willing to work -- everybody who's willing to work hard has the chance to get ahead. Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants.

Obama to redesign American high schools to be more high tech

OBAMA: Tonight, I'm announcing a new challenge, to redesign America's high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. And we'll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering and math, the skills today's employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there in the future. Now, even with better high schools, most young people will need some higher education. It's a simple fact: The more education you've got, the more likely you are to have a good job and work your way into the middle class. But today, skyrocketing costs price too many young people out of a higher education or saddle them with unsustainable debt. Through tax credits, grants, and better loans, we've made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few years. But taxpayers can't keep on subsidizing higher and higher and higher costs for higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it's our job to make sure that they do.

Obama wants to model American high schools after German higher education

Let's also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to a good job. Right now, countries like Germany focus on graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges, so those German kids, they're ready for a job when they graduate high school. They've been trained for the jobs that are there. Now at schools like P-TECH in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York public schools and City University of New York and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree in computers or engineering. We need to give every American student opportunities like this. And four years ago... (APPLAUSE) Four years ago, we started Race to the Top, a competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards, all for about 1 percent of what we spend on education each year.

Early childhood education works boosts graduation rates, reduce teen pregnancy even crime said Prez Obama

Every dollar we invest in high-quality early childhood education can save more than seven dollars later on, by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children -- like Georgia or Oklahoma -- studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. We know this works. So let's do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind. Let's give our kids that chance.

Prez Obama wants to make high quality preschool ed available to every child

"...study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. But today, fewer than three in ten 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can't afford a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives. So, tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America."

Prez Obama wants to attract private capital to upgrade schools

And to make sure taxpayers don't shoulder the whole burden, I'm also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children.

Education Week: States Lack Data on Principals, Study Says

States lack data on principals training and evaluation

States Lack Data on Principals, Study Says Most states lack data on school leaders' training, evaluation By Sarah D. Sparks While principals increasingly are moving to center stage in national debates over school improvement, a new study finds most states have little or no information about how their principals are prepared, licensed, supported, and evaluated.