District Administration - January 2009 - (Page 10)

Briefings Newsupdate PeoPle Watch in with the new Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan has been tapped to serve as U.S. education secretary. He is credited with boosting achievement in the nation’s third-largest district, partly through performance rewards. SettinG A hiGh BAR San Francisco schools superintendent Carlos Garcia wants all seniors, starting with the class of 2014, to pass the college prep classes required for UC and CSU admission, calling it a “rigorous lifereadiness curriculum.” GettinG the Boot David Brewer has been voted out as L.A. schools chief with a $500K-plus buyout package from the district. Just midway through his four-year contract, he came under fire from critics who called him an ineffective figurehead. APPointeD New Jersey state transportation commissioner Kris Kolluri will take the reins as head of the state’s $12.5 billion school construction program and help speed up overdue school projects. SentenCeD Ruben Bohuchot, former Dallas ISD chief technology officer, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery and money laundering. He accepted $1 million from a computer vendor for a contract. by Zach Miners As part of Massachusetts’ new education program, high schools like Framingham High, pictured above, will have an early warning system to get help to students at risk of dropping out. Three States Eye Bold Change for Schools Talk is cheap when iT comes to high school reform, but three states— massachusetts, new hampshire and Utah—are doing just that as they experiment with some new ideas to prepare students for a competitive workforce and global economy. The states are pioneering programs closely aligned with proposals laid out among a set of education reforms in a 2006 report by the new commission on the skills of the american workforce. among the changes being implemented are college at age 16, teacher-run schools, and state exams featuring teacher-determined assignments. “This is a challenging time of initiating such a change movement,” says massachusetts education secretary paul Reville, referring to the economic downturn, “but the cost of not initiating this scope and scale of change far exceeds in the long run the cost of doing it.” one recommendation in the report, Tough Choices or Tough Times, is to ensure that children have the supports they need to do well in school. in response, massachusetts has created a child and Youth Readiness cabinet, a panel that will share health, social services, and education information in a student data system. The report also urges that teaching be treated as a quality profession on par with other jobs, so Utah has begun raising teacher salaries to recruit top college graduates. The state also created the 21st century workforce initiative to address the fact that almost 60 percent of its high school graduates don’t move on to postsecondary education. in new hampshire, education officials are considering a state board exam that echoes one of the report’s key proposals: for all students to demonstrate that they’re ready for the next level of education, even though they might arrive there at different paces. one possible model for the exam is the University of cambridge international General certificate of secondary education, which includes an exam as well as a series of assignments graded by teachers. District Administration 10 January 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2009

District Administration - January 2009
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Security
Facilities & Construction
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Conversations
Leadership Books
Research Center
District Web Site Essentials
The Second Annual X-Factor Student Achievement Grant
Social Studies for the 21st Century
Tech Disruptions
Professional Opinion
New Products
Product Focus
Understanding the Times

District Administration - January 2009