Please see: Governor Patrick Gets an Education
"Administration launches school reform contest; Billions are up for grabs in competition" by Joseph Williams, Globe Staff | July 25, 2009
WASHINGTON - President Obama, using stimulus funds in a bid to jump-start education reform, announced a national competition for the best ideas to boost student performance of charter schools and bring the best educators to the classroom, with more than $4 billion in federal dollars as the prize....
My idea? Don't waste the $4 billion bucks on this.
Obama said, flanked by Education Secretary Arne Duncan at an afternoon press conference in the Department of Education headquarters:
“This competition will not be based on politics, ideology, or the preferences of a particular interest group. Instead, it will be based on a simple principle - whether a state is ready to do what works. Not every state will win and not every school district will be happy with the results, but America’s children, America’s economy, America itself will be better for it.’’
But that is EXACTLY what it is, sir!!!! And why do I not trust him?
Carol Johnson, Boston Public Schools superintendent, said the city and Massachusetts are well positioned to claim their share of the money. Both the state and the city have a long history of innovation in the classroom, she said, including mentoring programs for struggling students and aggressively working to turn around underperforming schools.
“We have a tradition of high standards,’’ and have worked hard to close the achievement gap between successful students and their lower-performing peers. “We all want to look at some [creative] teaching and leadership work to change our current practices but also boost the efforts that we made’’ to give all students a quality education.
We never meet 'em, but we have a tradition of high standards.
The office of Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Democrat and chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, issued a statement yesterday hailing the program:
“[It is] a dramatic new era in the federal, state, and local partnership to improve America’s schools. This historic $4 billion investment in rewarding and supporting states whose schools are most effective in improving the quality of education holds great promise in achieving the reform we urgently need. I’m confident that Massachusetts and many other states will use this opportunity to make our schools the best in the world.’’
I'm tired of his flatulence. I know he's sick, but that doesn't excuse everything.
Russ Whitehurst, a senior education analyst at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, said the president’s announcement “certainly got the attention of states - they are desperate for the money’’ during the severe economic downturn. “They don’t want to leave it on the table.’’
Who does? Bankers didn't.
Duncan said yesterday that perhaps 10 to 20 states will have successful ideas that can be replicated, and divvy up the $4.3 billion prize - a significant windfall as financially strapped states continue to trim education budgets.
But we got TRILLIONS for WARS, BANKS, and -- awwwwwwwww, never mind!
“The administration is using a huge amount of money to advance the president’s own policy,’’ Whitehurst said. “It’s unprecedented that [Duncan] gets to dole it out’’ with relatively little oversight from Congress.
But it is NOT POLITICAL and WE HAVE CHANGE from Bush, right?
Under the guidelines Duncan announced yesterday, to be eligible for the money a state must meet a series of standards - including some conditions that could anger teachers’ unions, which helped sweep Obama into office last fall.
Obama to teachers: (gesture)
States that bar links between student performance and teacher evaluations, such as California, New York, and Wisconsin, are ineligible, and the program won’t allow states that put caps on the number of charter schools - including Massachusetts....
Oh, so we can't win!
--more--"
