Top Stories and Commentary for Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Why do Asian students generally get higher marks than Latinos? Lincoln High students have candid ideas.
By Hector Becerra/Los Angeles Times

The eight students walked into a room at Lincoln High School prepared to discuss an issue many people, including some of their teachers, considered taboo. They were blunt. Carlos Garcia, 17, an A student with a knack for math, said, "My friends, most of them say, ‘You’re more Asian than Hispanic.’ " "I think Carlos is Asian at heart," said Julie Loc, 17, causing Carlos to laugh good-naturedly. Asian students who get middling grades often get another response, she said. "They say, ‘Are you really Asian?’ " Julie said.

State launching site that lets parents e informed shoppers.
By Edwin Garcia/San Jose Mercury News

The state of California will give parents one-stop shopping starting today to compare neighborhood schools’ performance on everything from test scores to graduation rates to student demographics. The Department of Education’s new Web site, www.schoolfinder.ca.gov, will gather at least 18 comparisons between schools that the state had only made available until now through a variety of pages and links. "You can view a school’s academic rating, graduation and dropout rates, teacher-to-student ratio, and how much money each school receives per student," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says in a video message on the site. "It is an important tool in improving transparency and accountability in our education system."

With budget cuts too deep to fund sound instruction, schools won’t be able to teach algebra properly.
By Paul H. Chatman/Los Angeles Times
Paul H. Chatman is president of the California School Boards Assn.

The recent action by the State Board of Education, as reported by The Times in "California mandates testing every eighth-grader in algebra — ready or not,” is a disappointment for those involved at the front lines of California’s educational system. The board’s action is a classic example of a decision made in haste in response to a manufactured crisis, and it will result in a strain on the relationships between teachers, parents and students who are simply not ready for algebra in middle school. It is unfortunate that the hue and cry surrounding this issue has cast the debate in stark, black-and-white terms: You are either for rigor in public education or against it.

Blog by John Fernsterwald/San Jose Mercury News

The Santa-Cruz based Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning has offered a sober warning, now that the State Board of Education has voted to require every eighth grader to be tested — and therefore take a course in — Algebra I within the next three years. The study, released after last week’s momentous state board vote, documents the shortage-of-algebra-teachers. It reports that about a third of middle school teachers assigned to teach Algebra I lack the credentials and probably the expertise to teach the subject. And yet the number of students taking Algebra I — currently 50 percent — will rise sharply under the state board’s new policy.

Keeping algebra requirement a vote of confidence in eighth-graders.
Column by Greg Jones/Orange County Register
Greg Jones is member of the State Board of Education and Chairman of the California Business Roundtable.

My grandmother had a saying: "Nobody rises to low expectations." She knew that, in order to succeed, it is important to set a goal and rise to the challenge. She graduated from college in 1908, when relatively few Americans, and even fewer African Americans and women, were expected to attend, let alone graduate, from college. But her embrace of high standards had a significant impact on me and my family. I grew up in a household of working people – my father a custodian and my mother a teacher. To ensure my life would be better than theirs my parents held my brother and me to high standards, especially with respect to our education.

By Devlin Barrett/San Francisco Chronicle

John McCain is telling the NAACP he will expand education opportunities for children in failing schools. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, on Wednesday is addressing the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. In excerpts released in advance of the speech, McCain says that the worst educational problems in the country are often found in schools in black communities and that as president he will provide greater school choices and scholarships for such students. McCain also asks the group to excuse his absence from their convention last year, saying he was "a bit distracted" dealing with his then-faltering presidential campaign.

Also Noted for Wednesday, July 16, 2008:

Campaign to involve Hispanic parents in their children’s education
La Opinión

La Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos (LULAC) impulsará una campaña denominada "Iniciativa de Participación Paternal" con el fin de que los padres de familia hispanos tengan un rol activo en el proceso de reforma educativa. A través de la Campaña por la Equidad en la Escuela Secundaria (CHSE, por sus siglas en inglés), que coordina LULAC junto a varias agrupaciones nacionales, la organización busca disminuir el números de estudiantes hispanos que abandonan la escuela secundaria.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is launching a campaign called the "Initiative for Parent Involvement," with the goal of having Hispanic parents play an active role in education reform. Through their Campaign for High School Equity, LULAC brings together various national organizations, in an effort to reduce the drop out rate among Hispanic students.

Blog by Katy Murphy/Oakland Tribune

Tomorrow in Sacramento – the week after the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury released an unflattering report on the subject — legislators will hear all about state takeovers in Oakland and elsewhere in California. A new Assembly committee recently formed to take a look at the school financial takeovers system. They’ll probably get no shortage of suggestions on improvements. School board member David Kakishiba is expected to be there, along with other school board members, policy analysts, superintendents, and union representatives. I won’t be able to make it to Sacramento tomorrow.

By Melissa Kossler Dutton/USA Today

Megan Schroeder rides her bike or walks to school to do her part to help the planet. She also likes the incentives that her school, Bear Creek Elementary, uses to reward kids who ditch mom or dad’s car in favor of biking or walking. "You get treats, too — usually some kind of food. I won a bike at the awards ceremony," said Megan, 8, of Boulder, Colo. "Since I like animals, I want to save the environment." Across the country, schools are encouraging families to forgo their cars to promote healthy habits, relieve traffic congestion around school buildings and reduce auto emissions.