Me: *calls the wrong cue*

Sound guy: It's okay, you're only human.

Celebrate the small victories? I was selected for the EducationWeek Top 200 Education Scholars in the US list for the 8th year in a row this year. So a super quick celebration!! and now on to the week. Thanks for being here with me doing the work for children.

Between 1971 and 2010, the authors write, supreme courts in 28 states responded to large gaps between richer and poorer school districts by reforming school finance systems. Although the changes had limited consequences for children from higher-income families, the paper says, they had large effects on the life chances of low-income children who were exposed to sizable and sustained spending increases.

For low-income students who spent all 12 years of school in districts that increased spending by 20 percent, graduation rates rose by 23 percentage points. 

The paper’s analysis also found that low-income children who were exposed to a 20 percent spending increase for their entire school careers attained nearly a full year of additional education after high school. (That estimate ranged from about four months to 1½ years.)

Instead of investing in prepackaged software programs, many teachers are harnessing the technology they already have—such as webcams, audio recorders, blogs, and other Web 2.0 tools—to boost literacy in students.

PITW #172:  Read at Least One News Source a Day

DailyNews: Local parents rally to demand more high-quality schools and teachers in L.A. Calling on elected officials to stop budget cuts that threaten public education, thousands of Los Angeles parents and educators rallied behind a single message Saturday: Students first.

DailyNews: LAUSD remapping panel schedules public meetings in the Valley. With a goal of having maps approved by March 1, the citizen commission tasked with redrawing the voting boundaries for the seven LAUSD districts is launching a series of meetings next week to gather public comment.

DailyNews: Poverty aid goes to Valley schools. Nearly two dozen LAUSD schools will get an infusion of $2 million to help them cope with the loss next year of federal money used to teach impoverished students, officials said Friday.

EdWeek: California Bus Aid Still Imperiled, Despite Reprieve. California legislators swiftly passed a budget bill last week aimed at sheltering school busing dollars from a midyear budget cut many districts and advocates said particularly hurt rural school systems, along with urban districts with desegregation plans.

Thoughts on Public Education: More CalSTRS pressure on lawmakers. The decision last week by the board of the California State Teachers Retirement System to lower the expected rate of return on investments from 7.75 percent to 7.50 percent equates to an additional $475 million that school districts and the State Legislature must eventually contribute annually to make up for the shortfall and keep the pension fund healthy.

Thoughts on Public Education: Doubts over 8th grade algebra for all. When it comes to flip-flopping, forget the Republican primary and take a look at California’s vacillation on when students should learn algebra. Yesterday, a year and a half after the State Board of Education adopted new math standards, researchers, educators, and policymakers once again sparred over the wisdom of requiring Algebra I for most eighth graders.

LA Times: Settling school disputes before they escalate. At Charles Maclay Middle School in Pacoima, a program funded by the Center for Civic Mediation teaches students how to resolve conflict and learn to coexist peacefully among their classmates.

LA Times: Who really benefits from putting high-tech gadgets in classrooms? How much genuine value is there in fancy educational electronics? Don't let companies or politicians fool you.

LA Times Op-Ed: School nutrition: A kid's right to choose. As the federal government plans to improve nutrition in school lunchrooms, it's important to look at what works, and what doesn't.

LA Times – Editorial: Passing the Blue Ribbon Schools test. Two Santa Ana schools overcome poverty and other challenges to win. What can they teach L.A.?

Arizona University, which boasts the largest teacher education program in the country, is totally revamping their approach to teacher preparation.  Their goal, according to this Ed Week article, is to have first-year teachers come into the classroom more like second-year teachers.

One of the most annoying things about the teaching profession is this old wives' tale that the first years of teaching are "all about survival," that you really don't know what you're doing until year 4 or 5.