KL Board Buzz

Cassidy: Don't bet against Neeru Khosla's idea to save our schools - San Jose Mercury News

At a time when public school budgets are in tatters and larger classroom sizes are making it tougher for teachers to provide individual help, Khosla's nonprofit CK-12 Foundation holds the promise of a double-barreled solution: online digital textbooks in primarily math and science, and exercises that are customizable, adorned with videos and other interactive features, and which cost schools nothing.

via www.mercurynews.com

[Posted by Brent from California]

Andrew Cuomo, the Education Governor—Editorial - NYPOST.com

“There’s a crisis in education in that the focus has become more about the business interests of the system than the student- interests,” Cuomo said. “Education is not supposed to be an employment program for the adults.”

Cuomo said the proper emphasis needs to be on “student achievement . . . as a measure of success.”

via www.nypost.com

This should be interesting. The evaluation system is part of the teacher contract. Does that mean this legislation opens up the contracts of every district?

For School Districts, It's Never too Early to Recruit | District Administration Magazine

Lagging state funding and declining births put more pressure on school officials to find ways to entice and retain students.

First comes the stork, then the schools' sale pitch.

Just months after a baby is born in Mound or its surrounding communities, a large white envelope arrives with a card from Westonka's superintendent, a red-and-white Westonka canvas bag and a tiny Onesie bodysuit stamped with the district's motto. To show its continued interest, the district sends the child a birthday card each year for the next five years.

via www.districtadministration.com

If school districts did the tax levy on a per student basis it would create some interesting incentives. DBS

Triborough Labor Law Likely to Survive - WSJ.com

New York state's Conference of Mayors, school districts and other groups have urged Mr. Cuomo to scrap or at least scale back what's known as the Triborough Amendment. Critics of the 30-year-old law have argued it gives unions less incentive to compromise on a new contract.

via online.wsj.com

The Empire Center And The ‘Trouble With Triborough’

With what I’m assuming is a nod to the classic Star Trek episode of a similar name, the fiscally conservativ Empire Center unveiled a report this morning that’s a salvo aimed at the Triborough amendment to the Taylor Law.

via www.capitaltonight.com

Education Week: Superintendents Push Dramatic Changes for Conn. Schools

The Connecticut classroom of the future may not be limited by a traditional school year, the four walls of a classroom, or even the standard progression of grades, based on a proposed package of unusually bold changes that are being advanced by the state’s school superintendents.

via www.edweek.org

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Bob D has let the cat out of the bag :-)

We have moved to California - still with IBM Research in our Almaden Lab.  I want to thank Don once again for creating this blog...and all the folks who have posted to the blog and all the readers.  I have enjoyed the interchange of ideas and all the arguments!

I wish the KL community the best of luck going forward.

Brent

Audit finds school district in strong financial shape

The Katonah-Lewisboro School District finished the fiscal year in good financial shape, according to a recent external audit.

At the school board meeting on Oct. 6, Domenick Consolo of O’Connor, Davies, Munns & Dobbins presented his company’s external audit of the district and said that it was “certainly a very positive year” for the district.

According to the audit, which is available on The Ledger’s Web site, “a moderate amount of unanticipated revenues and underexpenditures allowed the district to increase its unassigned fund balance” and return $2,254,012 to the taxpayers by factoring it into the budget.

via www.acorn-online.com

[posted by Brent]

Why merit pay for teachers sounds good — but isn’t - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Although individual pay for performance (or merit pay) is a widespread practice among U.S. businesses, the research on its effectiveness shows it to be of limited utility (see here, here, here, and here), mostly because it is easy for its benefits to be swamped by unintended consequences.

Indeed, psychological research indicates that a focus on financial rewards may serve to (a) reduce intrinsic motivation, (b) heighten stress to the point that it impairs performance, and (c) promote a narrow focus reducing how well people do in all dimensions except the one being measured.

via www.washingtonpost.com

[posted by Brent]

Parents Ask K-L District to Clarify Wellness Policy: 'Let's Dial Back the Sugar' - Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch

A group of 15 parents from Katonah Elementary School loved the second grade teaching team’s policy of no birthday treats served in the classroom. They loved it so much they wrote to the third grade teachers to ask them to continue the practice.

When they were turned down, they approached the principal, Jessica Godin, saying there was an inconsistent application of the district’s wellness policy, which encourages healthy food to be served at school celebrations.

via bedford.patch.com

[posted by Brent]

Middle School Students Reach for Space

The Olde Towne Middle School Radio and Technology Club, KC5NXD (RTC) in Ridgeland, Mississippi set off on an adventure this year by launching a balloon into the near-space region of our atmosphere.

via www.arrl.org

[posted by Brent]

Tax Cap Threatens Town's Open-Space Acquisitions - Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch

On Tuesday, the board voted to hold public hearings Nov. 1 on a series of proposed local laws. The five proposed measures would either suspend the open-space surcharge for a year or reduce its 3 percent tax-bill bite. Under the proposed reductions, the surcharge next year would range from half a percent up to 2 percent, in half-percent increments.

Supervisor Lee V.A. Roberts, who is unopposed in her bid for re-election next month, urged a reduction in the surcharge but not its elimination, warning, “I think that would be the end of the open-space fund.”

Others, including her deputy supervisor, however, expressed support for scrapping the levy altogether in next year’s budget. “Regrettably,” Councilman Peter Chrysoss said, “I think we’re going to have to suspend the whole thing.”

via bedford.patch.com

[posted by Brent]

On Education - North Carolina Turns Its Best Students Into Good Teachers - NYTimes.com

The idea is simple: the state pays top academic students to attend a public college, and in return they spend at least four years teaching in a public school.

via www.nytimes.com

[posted by Brent]

A Push to Improve Teachers' Colleges - WSJ.com

The Obama administration announced a new $185 million competition Friday that would reward colleges for producing teachers whose students perform well on standardized tests.

The competition would require states to provide data linking collegiate teaching programs inside their borders to the test scores of their graduates' students. Under the proposal, to be eligible for the money, states would have to ratchet up teacher-licensing exams and close persistently low-performing teacher-training programs.

via online.wsj.com

Thanks to Bob Dixon for the link.
[posted by Brent]

As seen on TV...

A few weeks ago KL's own Frank Nochese was interviewed for MSNBC.com's “Future of Technology” series for a story about technology in education. Video 1: Khan Academy sparks education reform debate http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43384144/vp/44653836#44653836 Video 2: Teaching with technology: What works in class http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43384144/vp/44653836#44653189 Also, News 12 Westchester did a story about the new online classes that David Gewanter and Jim Panzer are teaching: http://www.news12.com/archive/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=292474&position=1&news_type=news (you'll need to sign in with an Optimum account) In a few weeks, CUNY-TV will be visiting Frank's AP class for a story about how students are analyzing the physics in Angry Birds.

[posted by Brent]

A Better Way to Fix No Child Left Behind - NYTimes.com

Our legislation would scuttle entirely the Washington-imposed adequate-yearly-progress requirements set by No Child Left Behind, and would instead require states to set their own high standards to promote college- and career-readiness for all students. We agree that all states should aim to make their graduates capable of entering higher education or the workforce. But we also believe there are many ways to get there, and states should have the flexibility to find the ones that works best for them.

Our bill would change not only the way students are evaluated, but the way teachers are as well. The “highly qualified” requirement is usually met through graduate or professional training. But training doesn’t always translate into improved performance in the classroom. Instead, we would encourage states to develop teacher- and principal-evaluation systems related to student achievement.

via www.nytimes.com

[posted by Brent]

K-L School Board Aims to Keep 2 Percent Limit on Budget - Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch

Paul Kreutzer, superintendent of schools, pointed out the challenges associated with crafting a budget within the limit.

“I’ve been a superintendent for 10 years and operated under a tax cap for all 10 of those, and if you’re telling me you want a budget that operates at 2 percent with no losses of programming—I can’t do that with the current labor agreements we have and the rollups of all the other expenses we’re going to face,” he said. “I can mitigate and lessen damage, but can’t begin of thinking of taking ground in that scenario. I lack that skill and can’t think of a superintendent who has it.”

In the end, the board adopted a goal aspiring to stay within the cap.

via bedford.patch.com

[posted by Brent]

With No Child Left Behind Waivers, Obama Turns Some Education Powers Back to States - NYTimes.com

Mr. Obama invited states to reclaim the power to design their own school accountability and improvement systems, upending the centerpiece of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, a requirement that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014.

“This does not mean that states will be able to lower their standards or escape accountability,” the president said. “If states want more flexibility, they’re going to have to set higher standards, more honest standards that prove they’re serious about meeting them.”

via www.nytimes.com

[posted by Brent]

Neighbors File Complaint to K-L District About Lack of Landscaping at AP Fields - Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch

A Cross River couple living adjacent to the site of the new AP Farm Athletic Fields filed a letter of complaint to the Katonah Lewisboro school district citing its violation of an implied agreement to install a five-foot earthen berm between the fields and their homes.

via bedford.patch.com

[posted by Brent]

Life in the Laugh Lane: Laying down the ‘law’

We got the 36-page Code of Conduct (COD) booklet from the school district. I felt compelled to read it just to see how they could have 36 pages of rules. In my day, the COD was “sit down; shut up or we’ll call your parents.” And calling your parents wasn’t like calling your defense attorney. I was raised under the presumption of guilt. And for good reason, it saved time. I was guilty, so why belabor the point.

via www.acorn-online.com

[posted by Brent]