Stimulus 'saved' teaching jobs that never were

Well, I was looking for some way to give Arne Duncan credit for something good. You know me. I always try to be balanced in my criticism of ed bureaucrats and deal makers. So when I read the DOE stats saying that the ed stimulus had "saved 325,000 jobs in education," I believed it and posted the NYT article with only its small disclaimer, that "counting jobs that were saved can be a squishier proposition than counting jobs that were created." Of course, it should have occurred to me that the whole story was pure B.S.

This from today's Trib:

More than $4.7 million in federal stimulus aid so far has been funneled to schools in North Chicago, and state and federal officials say that money has saved the jobs of 473 teachers. Problem is, the district employs only 290 teachers.
(h/t Brother Fred)

Dealing with the Bush recession

I'll give Arne Duncan his due here. 325,000 ed jobs saved by the stimulus.

Of course, counting jobs that were saved can be a squishier proposition than counting jobs that were created. Teachers have been laid off in some areas — and budget officials say that there would have been more layoffs without the stimulus money — but it is difficult to say with certainty how many teachers would have been laid off without that money. (NYT)

Obama wants longer school year

His lips say 'yes,' but...

Obama's version of school reform includes more time on task--longer school days & school year. But like most of his reforms, ie. "performance pay" for outstanding teachers, this one bumps into the realities of massive teacher layoffs, state budget shortfalls, and bankrupt local school districts.

From Edweek:

Hawaii educators are bracing for the instructional damage expected from the state’s budget-driven decision to effectively cut school days from the calendar over the next two years and put thousands of teachers on unpaid furlough for those days.

Quotables

Krugman: 'The uneducated American'

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States economy lost 273,000 jobs last month. Of those lost jobs, 29,000 were in state and local education, bringing the total losses in that category over the past five months to 143,000. That may not sound like much, but education is one of those areas that should, and normally does, keep growing even during a recession. Markets may be troubled, but that’s no reason to stop teaching our children. Yet that’s exactly what we’re doing. (Paul Krugman, NYT)

Scary dropout rates

“We’re trying to show what it means to be a dropout in the 21st century United States,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern, who headed a team of researchers that prepared the report. “It’s one of the country’s costliest problems. The unemployment, the incarceration rates — it’s scary.” (NYT)

Jeb Bush--the milkman

I wish our schools could be more like milk. You heard me, I said milk,” a copy of Bush’s speech reads. “Go down the aisle of nearly any major supermarket these days and you will find an incredible selection of milk. (Post on Politics) h/t Ken Libby

An American disaster for public education

Stimulus dollars make a small dent

This according to this morning's NYT story by Sam Dillon.

...in Arizona, California, Georgia and a dozen other states with overwhelming deficits, the federal money has failed to prevent the most extensive school layoffs in several decades...the shuffling of teachers out of their previous classrooms and into new ones, often in new districts or at unfamiliar grade levels — or onto unemployment — continues to disrupt instruction at thousands of schools...In Arizona, which is suffering one of the nation’s worst fiscal crises, some classrooms were jammed with nearly 50 students when schools reopened last month, and the norm for Los Angeles high schools this fall is 42.5 students per teacher.

Feeling the impact

My classes don't start until next week. I'm anxious to get back into the classroom. But I'm already hearing harrowing tales from other universities about the impact of the worsening economic crisis.

California, with a $26-billion budget deficit, is at the epicenter. State universities are facing the worst budget crisis in history. Tuition rates are skyrocketing, making post-secondary ed inaccessible to many students. Returning Cal State Fullerton, students found swelled classrooms, the result of teacher layoffs. Their school has been hit with a $33.7 million (about 11%) cut in its budget.

The lack of class availability has caused problems for many students, including seniors who are planning on graduating during the fall or spring semesters. “Many of the classes I was looking forward to taking since I started at CSUF aren’t being offered anymore,” stated Christa Connelly, 21, a photo communications major. “If I can’t get the classes I need next semester, it could push back my graduation date until who knows when.”

Reform vs. privatization

The Arizona Republic ran a debate on that topic between Arizona State prof Gene Glass debates right-wing think-tanker Jay Greene:

If not stopped, this privatization of the public system will leave behind a generation of Americans to intellectually wither in underfunded neighborhood schools, short on supplies and qualified teachers, said Glass, who examines this debate in his latest book "Fertilizers, Pills and Magnetic Strips: The Fate of Public Education in America."

Weekend Reads

Charters need to change their ways

While Obama and Duncan keep calling for more and more charter schools, even threatening to cut funding for states that fail to lift their caps, it is clear that charters aren't doing much for the cause of equity and diversity. But they can, write Harvard researchers, Susan Eaton & Gina Chirichigno. (Education Week)

Duncan as "King Maker"

“They don’t have a balanced education program when they put so much emphasis on charter schools. I think they have latched onto charter schools as a magic solution, and it isn’t,” said Jack Jennings, president and CEO of the Center on Education Policy, an advocacy group for public schools. “I think they should focus on regular public schools. That’s where the majority of students are.” (Politico.com)

Some stim $$$ finally reaching Detroit

The Detroit Public Schools, one of the biggest local recipients of stimulus cash, is set to receive more than $148 million, and many local districts and charter schools are getting money as well. Another $80 million is headed to students at universities, colleges and vocational schools in the area, with Wayne State and University of Michigan-Dearborn students getting a lot of the money.

Another recipient, the Everest Institute, which trains dental assistants, massage therapists and medical administrative assistants, is expecting more than $9 million for student Pell Grants. Vocational schools like those training beauticians and barbers are also getting a chunk of the Pell Grant money. (Detroit News)

The running of the rabbits

A week ago I wrote about former Gates Foundation lieutenant, Tom VanderArk and the way he wanted to divide states seeking stimulus money, up between rabbits, rebels and laggards. The laggards, those states that might question VDA's (Duncan's) 8-point reform package, would be hard pressed to receive any federal dollars, if he had his way. As an example of a rabbit state ("those ready to move") VDA offered up only Florida, even though it's the state with the lowest high school completion rate in the nation.

What then does he like about Florida? He says, they "put data to work to narrow the achievement gap."

Well, according to the Palm Beach Post, they sure put data to work all right. Half of Palm Beach students performing below grade level attend A-rated schools. The Post reports that Palm Beach County's highest rated A schools do no better than D and F schools at teaching the students who are most behind.

That stinging indictment comes directly from the Palm Beach County School District in a proposal for a $120 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Usually district administrators tout Palm Beach County as a shining star among the state's urban districts, the only one to earn an A rating five years in a row.

As you might expect, PB district leaders blame the failure completely on the teachers. claiming in their Gates grant proposal, that, "70% of their teachers are ineffective." That alone ought to get them some Gates money. The district's grant proposal calls for shifting over to merit pay, paying teachers on the basis of test scores and dividing them up into one of four categories: associate, professional, master and Palm Beach Certified.

How will that improve teaching/learning for the bottom quartile of students? Well maybe Tom VanderArk can explain that to us. In the meantime, Florida's data gathering system (grading of schools A to F) continues to make it the laughing stock of the nation.

"No confidence" in mayoral control of L.A. schools

Duncan is threatening to withhold stim dollars from school districts that don't implement top-down mayoral control of the schools. But where's the research or evidence to support mayoral control everywhere? In L.A., mayoral control appears to be a big flop.

Eight out of 10 schools delivered a "no confidence" vote, and we're talking landslides (84 to 17 at Santee Education Complex, 96 to 13 at Stevenson Middle School, 70 to 13 at Gompers Middle School, 61 to 8 at Markham Middle School and 184 to 15 at Roosevelt High, which the mayor himself once attended). (L.A. Times, "Mayor getting schooled")

A taste for the exotic

Gov. Sanford (SC) attacked Obama and said he would refuse to accept stimulus dollars to keep schools open and save jobs in his state. Instead he went the er... Appalachian Trail, er.. I mean to Argentina to look for a "more exotic" stimulus package.