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Monday, November 10, 2014
New Issue of Law and Education: Value-Added Assessments in Untested Courses and Boarding Schools for Disadvantaged Students
Below are the abstracts for two forthcoming articles in the Winter 2015 issue of the Journal of Law and Education.
Michelle Croft, Ph.D, J.D. & Richard Buddin, Ph.D, Applying Value-Added Methods to Teachers in Untested Grades and Subjects
As more states begin to adopt teacher evaluation systems based on value-added measures, states face challenges in how to include teachers in subjects other than math and English language arts in the evaluation systems. This article reviews value-added methods with a particular focus on alternative approaches to improve teacher evaluation in untested grades and subjects. The article discusses the traditional teacher evaluation system; describes the history of student growth as part of teacher evaluations; provides background on research related to value-added measures generally; and gives information on how value-added measures are being incorporated into evaluations for teachers in non-tested grades and subjects, highlighting where recent lawsuits have been filed.
Shelaswau Bushnell Crier, Beyond Money: Public Urban Boarding Schools and the State's Obligation to Make an Adequate Education Attainable
This article argues that states should add PUB schools to their educational program offerings in order to provide an adequate education to those students for whom the cohesive educational and residential environment of a boarding school would address the unique disadvantages presently hindering their educational attainment. The article analyzes various factors affecting public education and identifies present state efforts to address areas of concern where states fall short. It explains how PUB schools effectively address areas of concern and discusses the utility of the "urban" portion of the PUB school. This article also looks at the cost of a PUB school and presents a dollars and cents cost-benefit analysis, while finishing with a snapshot of current PUB schools and a brief commentary on other public boarding schools in the United States. The article concludes with a statement regarding further areas of exploration regarding PUB schools.
November 10, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Predicting the Education Reform That Election Results Will (or Will Not) Bring
Michael Petrilli, of the Fordham Institute, has offered his post-election prognostication for education reform. He points out that, following the gains by Republicans in the 2010 midterm elections, we saw increases in teacher evaluation systems, the lifting of charter school caps, the expansion of voucher programs, and limitations on "last-in-first-out" teacher retention policies. He labels these changes positive education reform and predicts that this week's election results will spell more good news on these issues.
While I would contest the notion that these are all "good" reforms, I have little doubt that we will see more movement on these fronts. It, however, may not be as robust as 2010. Several important trends have developed since 2010 that may create more roadblocks or speed-bumps for these reforms. First, teachers have fired back with lawsuits in several states, challenging the constitutionality of certain teacher evaluation systems. In North Carolina, teachers won. In Florida, they stand a good chance of winning before the 11th Circuit. Teacher, of course, have lost in other places like Colorado. Overall, the results of the lawsuits will likely be mixed, but the represent an important concerted counter-force and demonstrate that some of these measures may be unconstitutional. Second, charter schools remain popular, but the increase in their number has also brought an increase in scandals and implosions. This has generated more conversation about the appropriate level of oversight state officials should exercise over charters. In some locations, it has led to moratoriums on the riskiest charters--online charters. Third, the aggressiveness with which the Department of Education has pushed these policies has eased considerably, particularly in regard to teacher evaluation systems, due to serious questions as to their validity. States like Utah and Florida have also pushed back and questioned the legal authority of the Department to compel reforms of this sort, absent new legislation at the federal level.
November 6, 2014 in Charters and Vouchers, Federal policy, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, October 3, 2014
Rebalancing Teacher Tenure: A Post-Vergara Guide for Policymakers
The New Teacher Project has released a new report, Rebalancing Teacher Tenure, as a response to the California trial court ruling striking down the current teacher tenure system there. TNTP proposes "eight common-sense changes to existing laws and regulations that will achieve a more balanced tenure system without stripping teachers of due process," including:
- Lengthen the tryout period and tie tenure to performance. Teachers should become eligible for tenure after five years and they should receive it on the basis of their success in the classroom.
- Hearings should be more efficient and focused on students' interests. The entire dismissal appeals process should take no more than 90 days, with hearings lasting just one day.
- Lower the professional stakes for teachers—but stop tolerating any instances of egregious misconduct. Formal dismissal from one school shouldn't cost a teacher his or her license. But the system should have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct and abuse.
Read the full report here.
October 3, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Education Advocates Abandon Federal Courts and Flood State Courts
Yesterday, Edweek pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court has not issued an elementary and secondary school case in the last five years--a dry spell unseen since before Brown v. Board of Education. In contrast, there seems to be major litigation filed in state courts every other day. The NEA just sued New Mexico in regard to its teacher evaluation system. The press release explained:
October 1, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
If David Boies Wants to Help, He Should Join School Finance Litigation
David Boies is making headlines again. This time it is by becoming the chairman of the Partnership for Educational Justice, a group founded by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown to challenge teacher tenure laws. These lawsuits seek to use the precedent and constitutional right to education developed in school finance litigation. David Sciarra, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, has helped establish and develop these educational rights in a number of cases. His response is that if David Boies really wants to help education, he should join school funding lawsuits in New York, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Texas, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Mississippi. Sciarra's comments strike at the irony of the new and impending upsurge in education litigation. Boies purports to be viewing education through a civil rights lens now, but to focus solely in on teacher tenure is to ignore any number of fundamental inequalities that stem from funding and segregation, not tenure. Even if tenure is a problem, eliminating it will do nothing to touch the underlying fundamental inequalities and segregation in schools that purportedly want to get rid of ineffective teachers but cannot.
September 24, 2014 in School Funding, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Low Teacher Salaries Equal Vacancies: Is the Problem Even More Acute?
In February, the Associated School Board of South Dakota, together with the School Administrators of South Dakota, sent out a survey to superintendents across South Dakota in all 154 districts. According to the results, almost 75% of the 130 who responded felt that one of the main reasons schools have been having trouble hiring and retaining quality teachers is how low the pay is. In fact, "[a]s of June, more than 30 percent of South Dakota teaching positions posted this year remained open when they probably would have been filled by the end of May in previous years," according to the director of the School Administrators of South Dakota, Rob Monson. As a result, multiple S.D. educational organizations will be presenting a plan to raise teachers' salaries to the legislative planning committee on Monday. The group will be presenting the draft of a bill that "would create a teacher enhancement fund in an effort to raise teacher salaries in the state," using both state and local funding.
September 9, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Can Education Be Reformed Without Equality?
On its face, the title of this post is rhetorical, but the authors of Badass Teachers Unite! would argue it is the key question dividing themselves and "reformers." For those unfamiliar, Badass Teachers is a group--not quite as radical as their name might suggest-- that "is for every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality, and refuses to accept assessments, tests and evaluations imposed by those who have contempt for real teaching and learning." They charge that reformers are taking the position
that schools in depressed areas can be radically improved without doing anything to improve conditions in the neighborhoods they are located in, [which] flies in the face of the common sense of anyone who lives or works in such communities, so much so that it represents a form of collective madness! The idea that an entire urban school system (not a few favored schools) can be uplifted strictly through school-based reforms, such as eliminating teacher tenure or replacing public schools with charter schools, without changing any of the conditions driving people further into poverty is contrary to anyone's lived experience and has in fact, never been accomplished anywhere in the world. Let me break down for you what the no excuses approach to school reform means in commonsense terms.
September 3, 2014 in Equity in education, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (3)
Monday, August 18, 2014
NPR: When High Stakes Testing Leads to Academic Triage
NPR's piece yesterday on the Atlanta cheating trial touches on broader points of how educators can find themselves moving from an accountability culture to academic rationing of time to meet standardized test expectations. NPR discusses how we may think of cheating as outlandish behavior but that high-stakes testing at any level (bar exam passage rates, anyone?) can lead educators to adopt tactics that fall short of cheating but are also educationally ineffective. From the NPR article:
Daniel Koretz, the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an expert in educational testing, writes in Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us, that there are seven potential teacher responses to high-stakes tests:
1. Working more effectively (example: finding better methods of teaching)
2. Teaching more (example: spending more time overall)
3. Working harder (example: giving more homework or harder assignments)
4. Reallocation (example: shifting resources, including time, to emphasize the subjects and types of questions on the test)
5. Alignment (example: matching the curriculum more closely to the material covered on the test)
6. Coaching students (example: prepping students using old tests or even the current test)
7. Cheating
Strategies 1 through 3 pretty much describe what high-stakes testing is supposed to do: raise standards, ignite harder effort from teachers and students, and produce more learning.
Strategies 6 and 7 clearly undermine the effectiveness of tests as a metric of learning, and hurt students in the process. Perhaps 95 percent of educators will never go there.
Strategy 4 (reallocation) and 5 (alignment) are ambiguous. If the test is high quality — if it captures all the most important subjects students need to know — then changing school to prioritize those subjects is, again, exactly what we want to see. In other words, if the test is excellent, then "teaching to the test" can be a very good thing.
On the other hand, if the test captures only a few of the subjects students need to know, or emphasizes, say, memorization over comprehension, then reallocation and alignment can cause students to miss out on other important parts of learning.
Read more here.
August 18, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Journal of Law and Education's Fall Lineup: Charters, Teacher Evaluation, and Ethics
The Journal of Law and Education's upcoming Fall issue includes a particularly timely set of articles dealing with the new era of teacher evaluation and the ethics of education leadership. The abstract for each is below. I cannot help but mention that this is the third article by Preston Green that I have posted in the last few weeks. Kudos to Professor Green
An Analysis of the Policy, Research, and Legal Issues Surrounding the Exclusion of Charter Schools from the Teacher Evaluation Revolution by Preston Green, John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education, University of Connecticut
Abstract: Analysts such as Diane Ravitch have pointed out that charter schools try "to have it both ways" by obtaining public funding under state constitutional law while having private school autonomy with respect to student and teacher rights. This article contributes to the national discussion by analyzing the legal and policy implications of exempting charter schools from the teacher evaluation policies that apply to traditional public schools.
Evaluating Evaluation: Assessing Massachusetts School Districts' Implementation of Educator Evaluation Requirements by Ranjini Govender Dowley, Policy and Government Affairs Director, Stand for Children Massachusetts
August 7, 2014 in Charters and Vouchers, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Louisiana Adds Its Name to the List of Schizophrenic Litigation over Common Core and Teacher Rights
Seventeen Louisiana legislators have filed suit, alleging that Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's adoption of the Common Core Curriculum did not comply with the necessary process required by the state's Administrative Procedures Act. This case is the inverse of the one dismissed last week by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. There, the legislature had repealed the Common Core and the state board argued that the legislation violated the board's constitutional authority to supervise education. In Louisiana, the legislature is claiming the board acted unlawfully in adopting the common core.
The Common Core, teacher assessment changes, and NCLB waivers--which prompted the first two reforms, are producing schizophrenic litigation. Almost every week has brought new litigation,
July 23, 2014 in Federal policy, State law developments, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
David Sciarra and Billy Easton Weigh In on New York's Teacher Tenure Lawsuit
The Times Union ran this commentary by David Sciarra and Billy Easton yesterday. Thanks to David for sharing.
Sound Education Child's Right
With much fanfare, a novel lawsuit filed in Staten Island alleges teacher tenure, due process and lay-off procedures violate the constitutional right of New York school children to a "sound basic education."
Without offering specifics, the complaint baldly asserts that these procedures result in classrooms filled with "incompetent" teachers, especially in schools serving at-risk students.
The complaint also presents no evidence to suggest that ending tenure or altering due process protections for teachers will somehow improve student outcomes. Nor could it because there is none.
July 16, 2014 in School Funding, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, July 7, 2014
New York Lawsuit Alleging Teacher Tenure Laws Violate Student Rights Filed
The New York lawsuit pitting students rights against teachers, based on the same theory as Vergara in California, has been filed. The plaintiffs claim that N.Y.'s current tenure laws "violate the State Constitution's guarantee of a 'sound basic education' by making it difficult to fire bad teachers and by protecting the most veteran teachers in the event of layoffs, regardless of their quality." Both this case and the recent decision in California are monumental and the road ahead is far from certain. As Michael Rebell remarks, "[i]t is basically unprecedented for a court to get into the weeds of a controversial education policy matter like this." The New York Times article on the case is here.
July 7, 2014 in School Funding, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Department of Education Makes New Push for Equitable Distribution of Quality Teachers
The U.S. Department of Education announced its Excellent Educators for All Initiative today. The purpose is to help ensure equitable distribution of quality teachers.
"All children are entitled to a high-quality education regardless of their race, zip code or family income. It is critically important that we provide teachers and principals the support they need to help students reach their full potential," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "Despite the excellent work and deep commitment of our nation's teachers and principals, systemic inequities exist that shortchange students in high-poverty, high-minority schools across our country. We have to do better. Local leaders and educators will develop their own innovative solutions, but we must work together to enhance and invigorate our focus on how to better recruit, support and retain effective teachers and principals for all students, especially the kids who need them most."
The three-part Excellent Educators for All Initiative includes:
- Comprehensive Educator Equity Plans
- The Department is asking states to analyze their data and consult with teachers, principals, districts, parents and community organizations to create new, comprehensive educator equity plans that put in place locally-developed solutions to ensure every student has effective educators.
- Chief State School Officers will receive a letter today from Secretary Duncan asking them to submit their new plans by April 2015. These plans were first created in 2006 and are required by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
- Educator Equity Support Network
- The Department is investing $4.2 million to launch a new technical assistance network to support states and districts in developing and implementing their plans to ensure all students have access to great educators.
- The network will work to develop model plans, share promising practices, provide communities of practice for educators to discuss challenges and share lessons learned with each other, and create a network of support for educators working in high-need schools.
- Educator Equity Profiles
- To empower communities and help states enhance their equity plans, the Department will publish Educator Equity profiles this fall. The profiles will help states identify gaps in access to quality teaching for low-income and minority students, as well as shine a spotlight on places where high-need schools are beating the odds and successfully recruiting and retaining effective educators.
- In addition to the profiles, the states will receive their complete data file from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). States will be able to conduct detailed analyses of the data to inform their discussions about local inequities and design strategies for improving those inequities.
For more information, see here.
July 7, 2014 in Federal policy, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Teacher Tenure Litigation Spreading Quickly, Part II: Reasons to Be Cautious
As emphasized at the end of my post earlier today on the spread of litigation (and policy initiatives) attacking teacher tenure, ineffective instruction is a serious problem in disadvantaged schools, but the causes and solutions are not obvious as the cases might imply. The California litigation is premised on the notion that tenure and due process protections are the cause and getting rid of them are the solution (along with replacing them with value added-metrics). This may very well be right. I will reserve judgment for a while longer. Without endorsing the contrary position either, I offer this from the LA Times as food for thought:
[The]s ruling by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu declaring all sorts of job protections for teachers "unconstitutional" is being hailed by a certain category of education activists.
What's curious about this is that they seem to have a unanimous view about the reason California schools are supposedly so bad: It's the teachers unions.
Not the imbalance of financial resources between rich districts and poor. Not the social pathologies--poverty, joblessness, racial discrimination, violence--that affect educational attainment in disadvantaged communities. Not California's rank at the very bottom of all states in its per-pupil expenditures, at $8,342 (in 2011), according to the quality index published by EducationWeek. That's 30% below the national average of $11,864, reflecting the consistent shortchanging of the K-12 system by the state.
But California ranks much higher compared with other states in measures of teacher incentives and working conditions, so clearly those are the factors that need to be changed.
To Judge Treu and the plutocrats who funded Vergara v. California, the lawsuit on which he ruled, what's "unconstitutional" about California's school system is that teachers have too much due-process protection from being fired.
Observes David B. Cohen, a schoolteacher and associate director of Accomplished California Teachers, an education advocacy group associated with Stanford University, one should be "suspicious of wealthy and powerful individuals and groups whose advocacy for children leads to 'reforms' that won't cost a cent, but will weaken labor."
June 26, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Teacher Tenure Litigation Spreading Quickly
Over the past two weeks, there has been a steady stream of news of lawsuits and court decisions regarding changes in teacher tenure, evaluation, and rights. California, North Carolina, Colorado, and Texas have all seen major decisions or lawsuits. See here for a host of posts. Now, New York is prepared to join the group, apparently emboldened by the California decision finding that teacher dismissal processes were at odds with students' fundamental right to education. According to Edweek:
The suit will be brought on behalf of plaintiffs across the state, said Devora Allon, a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which is taking the case pro bono. As with Vergara, it will take aim at three state policies on the grounds that they are preventing poor and minority students from receiving an equitable education under the state constitution. Article 11 of the New York constitution guarantees a right to "sound, basic education," and it's under that clause that the plaintiffs will sue.
The suit will take aim at teacher tenure, which takes three years to earn in New York; the state's infamous "3020a" disciplinary proceedings for getting rid of a tenured teacher; and the statute governing the order of layoffs in the Empire State.
Politico also reports that former Obama White House aides will also play a major role in shaping a public relations campaign similar to the one that propelled the California case into the national spotlight well before a decision was even issued. Edweek reports there are another half dozen similar suits in the pipeline.
The White House and major law firm connections raise two significant issues. First, the White House has had enormous success in pushing value added teacher assessments through Race to the Top funding and NCLB waivers. There has been some political push-back at the local level, but the White House has basically won. Why now push even further through less transparent and indirect means?
Second, why would one of the nation's largest law firms jump into the teacher debate. In my experience recruiting large law firms to take on civil rights cases pro bono, they tended to like cases where there was clearly a "right" side, either in law or morally. This is not to say the cases were not controversial or legally difficult. They always were one or the other, but the cases also uniformly screamed of injustice. Cases styled after California's do not easily fit this model because the cause of and solution to the problem of ineffective teachers in needy schools is not obvious. Does Kirkland and Ellis not know enough about the underlying educational issues to appreciate they have jumped into an atypical pro bono case? Has it assessed the case, but reached a reasoned conclusion that it is on the right side? Or is it just looking for a high profile case?
June 26, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Expert Witnesses, Judicial Inferences, and the Case of California's Teachers
Two weeks ago, a California trial court sent shock waves through the education system by holding that California statutes that limit the removal of ineffective teachers and disproportionately expose poor and minority students to these teachers violate those students' fundamental right to education. This holding raises major issues regarding the identification and measurement of ineffective teachers. We might know that there are ineffective teachers, but reliably identifying them is another matter altogether.
The current position of the federal government and many other education reformers is that ineffective teachers can be identified through value-added modeling (VAM) that statistical measures the impact that particular teachers have on student growth from year to year. Two of the leading proponents of this approach are Professors Raj Chetty and Tom Kane of Harvard. The judge's opinion in Vergara relies heavily on Chetty and Kane for its factual predicates, without directly addressing their underlying assumptions in regard to (VAM) and the identification of ineffective teachers. In pertinent part, the judge writes:
I am one of the most firmly committed individuals to the notion that students' constitutional rights to education are sacrosanct and among the very first obligations of legislatures. I would also tend to agree that disproportionately exposing poor and minority teachers to ineffective teachers and cutting off remedies to this problem violate students' rights. But over time, I become increasingly less certain of exactly how we apply those two legal principles to real world facts. The judge in Vergara identifies the problem, but seems to assume its factual cause and remedy.
June 24, 2014 in School Funding, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, June 23, 2014
State Admits Violating the Education Rights of Philadelphia School Children by David Sciarra
Newsworks published this essay last week by David Sciarra:
In March, Philadelphia's state-operated school district filed an extraordinary legal complaint with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The lawsuit asks the Court to approve changes in school staffing levels and the way teachers are transferred and laid off, effectively nullifying portions of a collective bargaining agreement between the Philadelphia School District and the teachers union.
Much attention has focused on the district's request for changes in teacher staffing and work rules. But unnoticed is the district's stark admission of the deplorable conditions that Philadelphia's school children must endure after 17 years of direct state control over their education.
In the court filing, the district says it wants to ease lay-off and transfer rules caused by an "unprecedented gap" between available funding and what's needed just to maintain services at "prior year" levels. The district then describes the services it hopes to maintain, levels so palpably inadequate as to fall far below even minimum education standards.
The complaint details the sub-basic education programs and support services now in district-operated schools. The district describes teacher and support staff as "bare bones," at levels "20 percent smaller than the year before and 33 percent than just three years ago." The district concedes it has made "very steep" layoffs, a one-third reduction in employees in just three years, leaving schools with "barely adequate" staffing.
The district goes on to catalogue a parade of resource deficits plaguing the system: over 40 schools with no guidance counselor of its own; three-fourths of schools with no librarian assistant; and "significant cuts" to instructional materials and supplies, enrichment opportunities for students, extracurricular activities, administrative support and school cleaning services. And, of course, as parents of Philadelphia children know all too well: closing 24 neighborhood public schools.
The complaint also acknowledges the "short supply" of school nurses, a fact familiar to Philadelphians in light of the deaths of two young students in schools lacking a full-time nurse in recent months.
Even more remarkable, the district pinpoints the state's $300 million aid cut in 2011-12 as being at the "root" of these serious deficiencies. And the district presents no evidence that the relief it asks for — making teacher layoffs and transfers easier — will generate any real budgetary savings. The district doesn't offer the Court a plan for bringing teacher and support staff back to reasonable levels, reducing class size, providing interventions to struggling students, and keeping neighborhood schools open, safe and clean.
The district's filing is the legal equivalent of asking the Supreme Court for permission to rearrange deck chairs on a fast-sinking ship.
What the district's complaint avoids is stating the obvious: the abject failure to provide city students with the basic resources necessary to achieve Pennsylvania's own academic standards. And the reason why is also obvious: The school district — and the entire state — is engaged in an ongoing and severe violation the right of Philadelphia students to a "thorough and efficient" education under the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Aside from the school district, the state and the teachers union, Philadelphia school children are not represented before the Court. At a minimum, the Court should appoint special counsel to represent their fundamental interest at stake in the case: the opportunity for an education to prepare them for productive employment and engaged citizenship.
It is also imperative that the Court, in considering the lawsuit, direct the District and State Education Department produce a substantive, concrete plan of action to promptly address the severe deprivation of basic resources endemic in Philadelphia's State-operated schools.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the last-resort guarantor of the right of Philadelphia children to a constitutional education. The evidence in the district's complaint is overwhelming: Education in Philadelphia schools is neither thorough nor efficient. The state, through the school district and the Department of Education in Harrisburg, has utterly failed these children. It's now up to the Court to act on their behalf.
David also addressed similar issues in the California school teachers' lawsuit here.
June 23, 2014 in School Funding, Teachers | Permalink | Comments (1)
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
High Stakes Testing and Teacher Evaluations on the Retreat?
In a surprising about face, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has called for a moratorium on relying on high stakes testing in connection to teacher evaluations and student promotion. The Gates Foundation has played an outsized role in education policy over the past decade and has been instrumental in bringing business perspectives to education, which many educators argue is at the root of ill-conceived reform and reform churn. Regardless, this announcement may also have outsized importance. It could be a momentary pause by the business reformers to give them time to regroup, or it could be a sign of the pendulum swinging back toward more reform from within the education community. If it is to swing back, there is certainly a growing grassroots movement behind it. Moreover, it should be no surprise that this statement comes in the wake of several recent high profile lawsuits in regard to teacher rights and evaluations. See here for more analysis of the Gates release.
June 17, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, June 16, 2014
Texas Lawsuit Argues "Value Added" Evaluations Violate Due Process and Equal Protection
The Houston Federation of Teachers and a group high-achieving individual teachers have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the "value added" teacher evaluation system recently implemented by the Houston Independent School District. This system is part of the nationwide change in teacher evaluation ushered in through conditions placed on grant applications for Race to the Top and NCLB waivers by the Department of Education. The plaintiffs allege that the evaluation system violates Due Process and the Equal Protection. In particular, they argue the tests and curriculum are not aligned and that they have no ability to challenge the results of the evaluation system. Teachers are then treated unequally and aribitrarily based on these results.
As proof that the system does not work as a practical matter, they point to an award-winning history teacher who has received low marks under the system. In 2011-2012, prior to the new system, the district labeled him as one of the top teachers in the entire district, but the new evaluation system indicates that he makes "no detectable difference" on student learning.
June 16, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, June 13, 2014
Colorado Court Upholds the Constructive Dismissal of Veteran Teachers Without Process
Back in January, the Colorado Education Association filed a class action lawsuit citing concerns over the "mutual consent" provision of the state's teacher effectiveness law. Under this provision, school districts cannot force different schools to accept veteran teachers who lost their jobs (usually due to budget concerns at low-performing schools). Rather, the teachers can only be placed in new schools if the principal agrees to hire them. A problem arises when a teacher is unable to find a new position within a year and is subsequently placed on unpaid leave. At this point, the teacher has been dismissed as a practical matter, although not formally. The teachers union argued that this violations the normal process that requires a hearing before an impartial officer for dismissals and layoffs under the Teacher Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act.
The trial judge recently dismissed the case. The court found that Colorado's revised teacher-tenure act makes clear that teachers are not guaranteed contractual rights to continued employment at all. Second, the court emphasized that there is a difference between a teacher being removed from one school and put on leave and a teacher being dismissed from the district entirely. Since the teachers are not being dismissed, but merely put on leave, there is less, if any, process due to them in these situations.
I haven't seen an actual opinion in this case, but based on reports, I find it hard to square this decision with the one reached in North Carolina recently. There, the court found that teachers had vested rights and legislatures are not free to change vested rights without implicating constitutional protections regarding the impairment of contracts and taking of property. If the Colorado decision is defensible, it is because it is correct that this "leave" is not the same as dismissal. But after being at home for a year without pay, those teachers would seem to have a job only on paper.
June 13, 2014 in Teachers | Permalink | Comments (0)


text:
Sunday, and every day, we celebrate mothers. We all had one, and some of us are one. Even more than gifts, let's think about our mothers this weekend, wherever they are.
Mother's and Father's days can be difficult for those among us who wanted to be parents but for whom it just never worked. Let's be sensitive to them, too. They have to look at the Hallmarkness of these holidays and really can't escape the reminders.
Just showing up is plenty, if that's possible. Plants and books that last are always good gifts, unless you have sweet ideas or want to cook or take mother out for a meal.
If out is your best option and she likes that, several Sonoma restaurants are preparing special dishes or feasts.
Alphabetically, except for the exceptional exception of Sonoma Overnight Support:
Sonoma's Brown Baggers, who supply all sorts of food to undernourished locals, will use their culinary skills for the second annual Sonoma Overnight Support champagne brunch on Saturday, May 10, at Burlingame Hall. Guests will enjoy frittata, link sausage, potatoes, mixed fruit, breakfast pastries and mimosas. All funds go to feed the hungry and house the homeless, as well as toward opening a facility for women and children in crisis. Tickets $30 at Readers' Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Brunch 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 252 W. Spain St., Sonoma. 939-6777.
Breakaway Café:
Additions to the regular brunch menu include a mango, banana and berry smoothie; Marcia's fabulous coffee cake, dungeness crab cakes, lemon sour cream pancakes, and brine cured pork tenderloin and eggs. ($4.95 to $13.50 Saturday and Sunday).
Bob Rice's Mother's Day Weekend Dinner runs Friday through Sunday, May 11, and includes artichoke bisque, seared day boat scallops with spring vegetable risotto and micro greens and Marcia's citrus pound cake with strawberries and cream. ($25) No reservations. Maxwell Village Shopping Center.
Centre du Vin (Ledson Hotel):
Opening at 9 a.m. with a mimosa for mom, Centre du Vin will have new à la carte treats, such as smashed fingerling potatoes, frisée aux lardon with pork belly and poached eggs, a farmer's market quiche, and a croque madame, meaning ham and Gruyère cheese on sweet sliced French bread topped with an egg. 480 First St. E., Sonoma. 996-9779 or ledsonhotel.com.
Depot Hotel:
The Ghilarducci family offers a Mother's Day Brunch that includes a glass of champagne, mimosa or fresh orange juice; a choice of angus New York steak with farm eggs, potatoes and Béarnaise sauce, dungeness crab cannelloni, poached filet of salmon, tortellini with pork and turkey, asparagus Milanese with local farm eggs, or slow-roasted pork with white beans and spinach. Dessert tempts with tiramisu, sour cream cheesecake, limoncello cake or bittersweet chocolate decadence with mango sauce. ($42 adults).
A special children's menu includes melons, French toast, scrambled eggs or tortellini and vanilla gelato with a cookie straw, or child-sized portions of main menu ($16). 241 First St. W., Sonoma. 938-2980 or depotsonoma.com.
Glen Ellen Fire Department:
Volunteers prepare one of the best pancake breakfasts around with guess what, plus eggs, sausage, fresh fruit, bacon, orange juice and coffee, with lots of friendly people at the fire station on Arnold Drive. $8 adults, $4 for kids 4 to 17, free 3 and under. Smoothies and fizzes $4. 8 a.m. to noon.
Ramekins Culinary School:
Enjoy Mothers Day Brunch in Ramekins' beautiful courtyard with waffle and omelet stations, artisan pastries and desserts, a live cook-station, face painting and crafts for kids, and wine and cocktails for adults. $55 adults, $25 kids 11 to 18, ages 10 and under free. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 450 W. Spain St., Sonoma. Reserve quickly at 933-0450.
Saddles Steakhouse:
Enjoy a brunch of complimentary sparkling wine for moms, an assortment of pastries and cheeses for starters, a seafood buffet with oysters on the half shell, green lip mussels, king crab legs with drawn butter; a cold buffet with angel hair pasta with bay shrimp, Caesar and other salads; a hot buffet featuring crêpes, roasted turkey, prime rib, red potatoes, chicken apple sausage and eggs Benedict, as well as a plethora of desserts. $58 adults, $27 children. 29 E. MacArthur, Sonoma. 933-3191.
Santé at Fairmont
Sonoma Mission Inn:
The ultimate buffet in Sonoma with appetizers ranging from jumbo shrimp cocktail, duck and chicken terrine wrapped in Hobbs Applewood smoked bacon, terrine of spring vegetables, Fra' Mani charcuterie and antipasti; salads such as Caesar, asparagus and hearts of palm, new potato, English cucumber, and Salade Niçoise; caviar selections; carving stations of Niman Ranch filet mignon and ham, English pea and ricotta ravioli, seared diver scallops, oeufs en cocotte with Yukon gold potatoes, eggs Benedict; lots of vegetables and breakfast meats, and never-ending desserts. $99, $49 children 5 to 12, free 4 and under. 939-2415.
Swiss Hotel:
A special Sunday brunch will include à la carte selections of lobster bisque, crab cakes with green salad, classic eggs Benedict, brioche French toast stuffed with strawberries and cream cheese with chicken apple sausage, vegetable quiche with salad, and lamb T-bones with scalloped potatoes and grilled asparagus. $8 on up. 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 18 W. Spain St., Sonoma. 938-2884.
Bring your favorite old serving dish or kitchen utensil, like those you may have seen in the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art's exhibition of the Kathleen Thompson Hill Culinary Collection, to SVMA for a Sonoma antiques road show on Thursday, May 15. Bonhams Antiques appraisers will value your treasures for $10 each, up to five pieces, including jewelry, furniture and decorative arts, Asian arts, fine books and manuscripts, and visual art of many kinds, all to benefit Sonoma Valley Fund, which gives to 22 nonprofits in our Valley. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 551 Broadway, Sonoma. Register by contacting Kimberly Blattner at firstname.lastname@example.com.
John Ash, founder and former owner of John Ash & Co. restaurant in Santa Rosa, won the coveted James Beard Award for single subject cookbooks with his new, "Culinary Birds: The Ultimate Poultry Cookbook."
Lucky us: Ash will be our next guest at the Last Wednesday Food Group at Readers' Books at 7 p.m. May 28. Get your book now so you can try some recipes. Remember: Readers' gives a 15 percent discount for our cookbook club books to keep your business local.
If you feel like it, cook something for us all to sample, but don't worry if you don't want to. Come anyway and enjoy the evening. Ash is one of the nicest people on earth. I have known him ever since I introduced him to M.F.K. Fisher at the Sonoma Community Center about 25 years ago.
As well, John Birdsall, whose mother, Barbara Birdsall, lives in Sonoma, also won a Beard Award in the Food & Culture category for his Lucky Peach magazine article called "America, Your Food Is So Gay."
An Oakland resident, Birdsall currently is online editor of chow.com and, as a chef, cooked previously at Greens and Ironwood and interned in the kitchen at Chez Panisse.
Sheana Davis' Epicurean Connection now offers a bottle of white, rosé or red wine to-go on Tuesday farmers market evenings, complete with cups and an opener for $10. And, the great Justine Filipello, who grew up in the food business with her parents' Wild Thyme catering, will staff Epicurean Connection's booth at the market.
Jean Arnold Sessions took the occasion of her seventh annual P.J. Party at EDK to announce her departure as president of Hanzell Vineyards. She will begin an advocacy group to mentor women in the wine business and stay on as a board director and brand consultant to Hanzell. Arnold Sessions succeeded her husband, Bob Sessions (now "winemaker emeritus"), in 2002. Bob Sessions is now in Hospice care. Let's send good thoughts, strength and prayers to both of them.
Nion McEvoy, president of the lovely McEvoy Ranch in Marin County, west of Petaluma, just announced that Deborah Rogers has become McEvoy's olive oil production manager.
Rogers, the multi-award winning master olive miller who co-founded The Olive Press in Sonoma in 1995, spent four years as its managing partner. And Nan Tucker McEvoy planted 1,000 olive trees from Italy on a former dairy farm in West Petaluma with the goal of creating California olive oil that could rival that from Italy.
Rogers serves on the UC Davis Olive Center Taste Panel, frequently judges olive oil competitions around the world and attended the first Culinary Diplomacy Initiative Partnership launch in 2012 at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State. McEvoy Ranch includes 80 acres of organic olive trees, 25 acres of vineyards, and huge flower and vegetable gardens and fruit orchards. mcevoyranch.com.
El Brinquito Market, best known for its weekend barbecued chickens in Agua Caliente, won both the Best Traditional and People's Choice awards for its tamales made of shredded chicken, olives, carrots and potatoes at the Cinco de Mayo celebration at Cornerstone Sonoma. Whole Foods' "Chef Lisa" won Most Creative, with a tamale using quinoa flour instead of corn masa, filled with kale, grilled chicken and corn.
The whole event was a spectacular success, attracting an estimated 1,500 guests, with fabulous dancing by local children and adults; great food; cupcakes and other sweets by Occasional Cakes; the plate lunch and a food booth by El Brinquito, with my favorite – an ear of corn with mayonnaise, crumbled Mexican cheese and citrus-chili powder. The gorgeous female dancers' costumes were all made by hand by Noemi Vazquez, who just received La Luz's first micro business loan to buy a new sewing machine. Good thing, because she did all this work with an old peddle sewer and broke her right foot.
Two events to benefit children's nature education next weekend:
Quarryhill Botanical Garden hosts its second annual "Wild Collections Expeditions for Education" fundraiser on Saturday, May 17, to accommodate ever-increasing student interest on Quarryhill's unique gardens and education programs.
Guests will receive a glass of champagne on arrival and will be escorted in a cart through flowering dogwoods, roses, irises and rhododendrons, past waterfalls, while enjoying nibbles by Bruce Riezenman of Park Avenue Catering along the way. At the center of the garden guests will enjoy cocktails and Asian-inspired cuisine celebrating the Asian origins of most of Quarryhill's plants. Sir Peter Crane, dean of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, will speak on educating children about nature, followed by a fund-a-need to help finance the programs. $125 members, $145 non-members. 5:30 to 8 p.m. 12841 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen. Reserve at 996-3166 or quarryhillbg.org.
Audubon Canyon Ranch, which includes the Bouverie Audubon Preserve in Glen Ellen where both owner David Pleydell-Bouverie and M.F.K. Fisher lived separately, will hold its annual "The Art of Eating" fundraiser as a Vintage Country Picnic on Sunday, May 18.
Members of Les Dames d'Escoffier's San Francisco Chapter will prepare most of the food, while Dames Leslie Sbrocco, host of KQED's "Check Please," will emcee and Dame Carolyn Wente and Martin Griffin, founder of Audubon Canyon Ranch, will be honored.Wente, fourth generation winegrower and CEO of Wente Winery, will also give her wines to accompany the meal.
Inspired by Fisher's book, "The Art of Eating," Dame Wendy Brucker, of Berkeley's Rivoli, will make a little gem salad with green goddess dressing, followed by the fried chicken and side dishes. Les Dames co-president Tanya Holland of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland will model her fried chicken to be prepared by Dame Janet Griggs' Taste Catering along with potato salad and marinated green beans.
Bonnie Tempesta, of Boncora Biscotti, will offer her crispy delicacies, along with Dame Eileen Spitlany's Fairytale mini brownies and bars with fresh strawberries. Julie Atwood serves as event producer.
All of this benefits the Audubon Canyon Ranch's effort to give more than 6,000 third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students an opportunity to experience nature-based educational experiences at no cost to schools. Tickets $150. 12:30 to 4:40 p.m. More info at (415) 868-9244 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Happy Birthday to our daughter Erin Hill Freschi, who just finished a week of being the same age as little brother Mack.

subset: commoncrawl


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COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. - "We try to stop all the activity but we dont allow anything bad around here at all."
A motel owner didn't want to go on camera, but said he was surprised to learn one of his guests allegedly tried to sell a newborn baby.
"We did not know about it. That was a isolated issue."
Collier County Sheriff's Deputies said on Tuesday morning someone approached a woman on Andrew Drive in East Naples and said she knew someone who was trying to sell a baby. Hours later, someone dropped the infant on that woman's doorstep, just feet away from the motel. The infant was in a carrier, next to the carrier was a baby bag that had papers with names written on them. The motel owner can't believe how close his business is to the incident.
"We dont know what theyre doing down the street, what not."
WINK News confirmed Thursday the newborn is in foster care and the Department of Children and Families is looking into this case.


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BY LINDSEY HOLDER Shawn Anderson courtesy of ElectricMustache.comLast night at the Rhythm Room, Dirty Projectors held our hands and led us on an auditory cross-country journey. Each song performed was like a different piece of scenery along the trip, with sometimes unpredictable tempo changes an ... More >>
It was early morning when I got the e-mail confirming my phone call with Dave Longstreth from Dirty Projectors. It was to be at 9a.m. my time, the following day. I went to work and went about my business as usual when it hit me. What does one ask the Dirty Projectors anyway? I went online to do s ... More >>
In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Joe Arpaio's Racist Rampage, and ICE Honcho John Morton's Hypocrisy Up on the Sun: Internati ... More >>
Brooklyn avant-garde rockers Dirty Projectors show their polish on their latest offering Bitte Orca Dave Longstreth is an antsy dude. The driving force behind experimental indie-rock band Dirty Projectors, Longstreth is always shifting his lineup to accomodate his ever-evolving sound. It often makes ... More >>


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I cannot earn enough people about this place. AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS! While the teachers all have the best intentions and really care for the children, the management does not. It's all about the money and they treat their staff just as poorly as the children. The "curriculum" even for INFANTS has unrealistic expectations for children so young. The teachers are not given much freedom in lesson planning or planning activities. The food is the usual government subsidizes soy loaded, GMO loaded canned foods and sugary juices full of artificial ingredients. And if you want to send your child's own lunch? Ha! Good luck with that! Everything is run military style with little to no freedom for kids to be kids. So, if you want to raise little "patriots" that do as their told without question and run as robots all day, this is the place to go. But, if you want your kids to be freethinking kids that can express their creativity, go elsewhere.
As a parent of three children who have all been "raised" by Alice McNulty and the entire Sears family throughout the academy system, I was shocked to read the most recent posts about Elite Academy. While I can't begin to imagine what caused this parent to become to so enraged, so unhappy...I have to share the age-old-adage of "you just can't please everyone" as a way of explaining his/her feedback. Elite Academy is simply beautiful. The grounds are warm and inviting...the staff competent and caring. While I never personally tasted the food, my three children absolutely loved going there and never once complained about anything. They learned about the importance of respecting one another, demonstrating good manners, treating others with kindness and so many other of life's great lessons. It is said that it takes a community to raise a child...I could not have asked for a more loving "community" in which to raise my beautiful children. Thank you, Mrs. McNulty. You will always be a person our family treasures.
Their recruiting practices are horrible. This man (I'm assuming he's the owners husband) in a blue van, drives around harassing people. I've told him time and time again to leave me alone I'm not interested in their school. He's walked up to my window on three different occasions. This 4th time he tried to follow me into my gated community but the guard wouldn't let him through. They later told me that this guy named Vince (in a blue van) wanted to give me more information about the school. I never requested any information about this place! He's creepy and needs to stop.
Do not send your child here. The food is disgusting, the children do the same boring thing everyday, not to mention the owner is never around. When she does show up she is not helpful. They do not provide hot child with a stable caring environment. Their ratios are off count and they have too many children and not enought staff. Some of the staff members are know to yell at children, force them to sing and dance and go outside in 90 degree weather with no water activities. The owner is mean and cruel. Do not send your children there I can not stress this enough.
If I could give no stars I would!! This is THE WORST "school" (if you could call it that) to ever bring a child too. If you want your child to be neglected, slammed down on the ground, fed poorly, and to NOT learn the proper materials for their age, then this is the school for you! The owner is cold hearted, and only in this for the money, her "teachers" are people with backgrounds in retail NOT teaching!! If you have a problem and need to contact the owner, GOOD LUCK! The wicked witch is always in a meeting, hmmm, if I owner a day care under CPS's close watch due to ALLL these complaints I'd be in "meetings" all the time too. Although I know she isn't!! It's hard to believe such a terrible torcher chamber still is up and running!! I do have faith this operation will be shut down in the near future! DONT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE!!!! Run for the hills!
I feel so blessed to have found the perfect place for my children while I am at work. They say there is no place like home, but it doesn't get any better than Elite Children's Academy. The teachers and the rest of the staff are so kind and caring. My children are learning so many new things everyday. They come home with their beautiful works of art and new songs that they love to sing. They are so excited to tell me about the new friends they have met and the fun that they have in school each day. The school has special days with pony rides, apple picking and special visits from the fire department. Elite Children's Academy is everything you could ever want or need in a school and more. I want to say thank you to all of the staff at Elite Children's Academy for taking such wonderful care of my children and giving me the peace of mind while I am at work knowing they are safe and happy while learning at school. - A truly blessed and grateful mom :)
I have heard so many great things about this school. I plan to enroll my daughters for the summer camp. It is fabulous and I encourage all parents to check it out! Rates are great as well.
My child has been going to Elite since she/he was 8 wks old. For the most part the teachers and staff there are great. My child is learning and developing well there. My child loves it there. If he/she didn't we would of looked for other child care some time ago. Like another viewer stated, Mrs. McNulty is never there and Mrs. G tells you what you want to hear. My biggest complaint is communication. I feel as a parent I have a right to know what my child's schedule is and what he/she is doing. I am trying to get him/her ready for school. I can't confirm if he/she has transpertation to her/his school and Mrs. McNulty is convientently not back till the day before school. Who leaves on vacation the 2 weeks before school starts and doesn't come back till the day before? She has no consideration for partents and their schedules. We entrust our children in her school's care. We deserve respect or at least communication. It is very frustrating.
Excellent staff. My grandson loves this place. there is a huge backyard. We had him in another school and was not happy. He seems to enjoys this place so much and now is learning so much stuff every day.
My son has attended Mary Sears in Manteno since he was three years old. He is now five, and not once have I ever had a complaint about this school. The staff is so professional and everyone is so nice! I decided on Mary Sears after a few friends told me they had their kids there and were very pleased with them. I had checked out a lot of other schools for my son but nothing compared to Mary Sears. They do so many fun things with the kids and my son loves the summer camp! From swimming, to pony rides, going apple picking, musicals, and much more, I would recommend this school to every parent. Thank you Mary Sears for everything you have done over the years for us! I love you guys!
As life-longer learners ourselves, we were initially drawn to Mary Sears reputation of maintaining a strong, comprehensive curriculum. We quickly came to recognize that the school had much more to offer: A focus on being and thinking positive, respecting each other, and learning responsibility. Each day, we were greeted with a smile from the school directors, Mrs. Keuter or Mr. Patrick, and our children would run into their classrooms to begin the day. The kindergarten program exceeded my expectations from the curriculum to the in-class projects, parties, and numerous field trips. The preschool program was equally impressive, and included audio, visual, and tactile learning elements for early language, math, and science. All of the teachers have been patient, polite, warm-hearted, and extremely accessible. Both of our children have grown intellectually and socially as students at the Manteno MSCA, and we are proud to be a part of the Mary Sears family.
My name is Catherine; my two children have been attending Mary Sears since they were infants. My son is now a kindergarten graduate and can read, write, and is also bilingual. He can speak Spanish and is very advanced in math also. He knows what the word respect means and has great manners due to the combined efforts of the staff at Mary Sears and myself. He is well rounded, advanced, and a respectful little boy! As for my daughter, she is 4 years old and is also very advanced for her age. She speaks Spanish, shows respect, and has good manners due to the efforts of the staff at Mary Sears and myself. The possibilities are endless. I am confident that I made the best decision sending them to Mary Sears for their early education. The school is filled with positive staff member and also very helpful. If I had to do this all over again, I would sign them up to attend Mary Sears all over again.
Mary Sears has been a very positive experience for my 3 year old. Being an only child he has learned to cultivate and nourish friendships, but, most importantly, he consistently shows improvement in early childhood development such as mental and physical capabilities. There are other daycare facilities in the area, however, I strongly believe the addition of the classroom setting is the difference that Mary Sears brings to the table. ----Mrs. Jordan
Both of our sons have been going to Mary Sears Children s Academy since they were babies and we could not ask for a better school. It s a place where you can drop your Child off, and literally not worry about them. The care is top notch and the respect they have for you and your children is outstanding. The program is structured very well and our boys love coming here. My 9 yr old met his Best friend here, and still keep in touch even though they now go to different schools. Both him & his best friend attend Summer Camp every year and really enjoy it. Our 5 year old looks forward to going to pre-school every day, and will also be attending Kindergarten at Mary Sears in the Fall, which by the way is an excellent program.
My 2 year old daughter has been attending Mary Sears in Mantino since she was 14 weeks old. I am amazed at how much she has learned and how social she is. She started counting in spanish one day out of the blue and she has so many little friends. The teachers are all wonderful with the children and give great feedback. I also like the fact that there is no television watching during the day. The children are always doing projects or reading stories or having "dance parties" according to my daughter. As a first time mom it was so hard leaving my baby and going back to work but knowing she is in a safe place where her needs are being met and she is having fun makes the process so much easier!
I find it telling that former Elite staff speak so poorly of Elite. As a former parent of a student of @ 3 weeks, I can affirm that these staff reviews are 100 percent correct. I found the owner cold, unapproachable and rude. It also seemed odd that her husband was aimlessly wandering around. Thankfully, my child was intelligent enough to verbalize how poorly she/he was being treated. That, needless to say, was her/his last day. Despite all of the awful things I can list about my child's unfortunate 3 week experience, I need to thank Elite. That horrible experience helped us find a fabulous new school. My child is being challenged academically daily. Each day I receive a detailed report and a folder of actual age appropriate work rather than a poorly copied teeny square of paper saying "what a great day she/he had" and a sloppy worksheet. Thank you Elite for leading my child to a better school with caring staff and a fabulous education!!
My daughter has been with Elite Academy for roughly 4 years. For the past 3 years I have to say I was fairly satisfied with it and my daughter was happy their for the most part. Ever since Mrs. L left, I believe that this place has gone down alot. Overall I think the teachers, there do a GREAT job, but the overall culture appears to have regressed alot lately. The director is a text book defintion of an "absentee landlord". She is never there and they talk about doing things, such as parent/teacher conferences. that is a joke. They may do it in the earlier years, but forget about it when they get older (3-5). The new lady up front (Mrs. P) I feel is nothing but a YES-man and does whatever the director wants (has the personal touch of jail warden). The school is run more like a business than a daycare or school setting. My recommendation as a caring parent is to look around and read the reviews especailly from past teachers (you will be surprised - I know I sure was). Cheapest is not always the best and you get what you pay for.
I have been a parent at Elite Children's Academy for the past 7 years. My 7 year old started as an infant and graduated from their kindergarten program. She is in first grade and is excelling in all subjects. She had an excellent nurturing and academic learning experience at Elite. She loves going to Elite on her days off and is looking forward to Summer Camp 2010. I also have an infant presently attending Elite. She loves all her infant friends, is engaged in all activities. The teachers at Elite are enthusiastic, very nurturing and loving to the children. Elite has many excellent learning programs and offers many extra activities for the children. Pony rides, apple-picking, Fire-Safety Events,and a huge playground. The school is on two acres. All the children can be outside at the same time. There is equipment for all the different ages. I would highly recommend this school.
My 2nd daughter went to this school for Pre-school and loved every minute of it (dispite some seperation anxiety at first (bad experience some where else)) as a mother of four I felt very comfortable with this school. My kids are very shy and the staff always made my daughter feel like she was important and happy that she was there. I highly recommend Elite Childrens Academy.
My child has continously been hit by other students. The Director is never there and I am not getting any answers as to what discpline is being taken to the children acting out. I think they have great teachers- I think the management is the problem
Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.
The Community Rating is the school's average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.
23253 West Renwick Road
Plainfield, IL 60544
Phone: (815) 254-4911
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The Moders steal some couple time in New York. Plus: Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, and more
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American Idol winner Fantasia takes daughter Zion for a spin on the teacup ride at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Monday. The R&B singer held a fourth-birthday party for her little princess at the theme park.
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Can you really lose fat from specific parts of the body? Can you really find training programs or specifically designed exercises that will help you to get rid of back fat?
The short answer is no simply because fat loss cannot be localized. There is no such thing as spot reduction and the best way to illustrate this is to simply think about all of the people who have got belly fat and who think that doing hundreds of crunches every single day will help them to get washboard abs. No matter how hard those people are working, no matter how many crunches or sit ups they end up doing they still fail to see their abs and the same rules apply to you if you want to get rid of back fat.
You see, there are no training programs or exercises that will help you to get rid of fat from specific parts of the body. The number one reason why you have got back fat is simply because of high levels of body fat. As a result of high levels of body fat not only do you have fat on your back, but I am guessing that there is also some fat on your belly that you want to be gone too.
To get rid of fat from your back you are going to have to learn how to drive your overall levels of body fat down and there are only two ways to do it: decrease your daily energy input and increase your daily energy output.
Let me explain.
The number one reason why you have got high levels of body fat is simply because of bad eating habits and as a result of bad eating habits you have been constantly over providing your body with excess energy which came in a form of calories. As a result of this excess energy your body gained all of this extra weight. Fat is simply converted energy that you got form the foods that you ate.
To start burning body fat, to force your body to start using fats as a source of energy you first of all going to have to provide your body with less energy. Once you will do this your body will start to look for alternative sources of energy and this is when you are going to start burning bod fat.
To speed up this whole process it is recommended to become more active. Now I know that this probably does not sound sexy or ground breaking, but the main reason why you have got back fat is simply because you ate too much and because you weren't very active.
In addition to improving your eating habits you also going to have to become more active. I am not saying that you should start pumping iron seven days per week, although that would be a great thing to do, but I am recommending you to start from the basics.
Simply wake up thirty, forty minutes earlier than you usually do and go out for a run early in the morning. It's a great way to start the day and it's a great way to force your body to start burning body fat.
For more information about how to get rid of back fat check out my article http://fatlossprinciples.com/how-to-lose-back-fat-fast/
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9 Surprising Sources of Sugar Eliminate These Foods Now For a Flat, Sexy Stomach>> See All Articles On Fat Loss


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Found the same room at a different price? Tell us, and we'll offer to match it.
Hotel Prestige
Completely refurbished, Hotel Prestige features 25 spacious rooms. The rooms, decorated with modern and elegant furnishings, are individually designed and supremely comfortable. Most of the rooms have an enchanting panoramic sea view of the Sorrento Peninsula and Amalfi Coast.
White marble flooring, comfortable sofa and chairs illuminated by precious Murano glass chandeliers and appliqués and sober coloured frescos, give a touch of elegance to the lobby.
Situated on the hillside, just 8 kilometres from the centre of Sorrento, the hotel is within easy reach of captivating beaches such as, Marina del Cantone, the village of Marina di Puolo, Marina della Lobra, as well as important tourist attractions like Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Capri, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples.
Guests can relax by walking along the paths located behind the Hotel which lead to panoramic spots offering spectacular views. A beautiful fresh water swimming pool, surrounded by olive, oak and chestnut trees will soon be available.
Located in a setting of incomparable beauty, our solarium offers amazing sea views of both the Gulf of Naples and Salerno, a delightful place to relax or have an inviting cocktail in a unique setting. The area evolves from a garden setting in the morning, to a relaxing oasis in the afternoon.
Zest bar, a laid back den of glamour located on the hotel's main floor, exudes a relaxed atmosphere inviting guests to unwind over cocktails. The wood bar is accentuated with marble tops and is the ideal venue for a pre-dinner drink or a nightcap after a flight or a night on the town. Day or evening, there is always something to fit every mood and satisfy every impluse.
Room service is available from 10.30 to 22.00.
There is a large parking area, located in front of the Hotel, as well as a free shuttle bus service to the centre of Sorrento.
Rooms at the Hotel Prestige, are elegant and bright, and offer either a stunning view of the Gulf of Naples and Mount Vesuvius, or an internal view. The interiors are characterized by a refined elegance, both in colour and furnishings.
CLASSIC – Double/Twin-bedded Room with Terrace-Patio
The Classic rooms have Vietri ceramic tiled floors, a patio terrace with an internal view. These rooms are elegantly furnished and have brightly coloured bathrooms fitted with all comforts.
SUPERIOR - Double/Twin-bedded Room with Balcony with Sea View
Superior rooms have Vietri ceramic tiled floors, a balcony with a panoramic view of the Gulf of Naples and Mount Vesuvius and vivid coloured bathrooms with all comforts.
Services: air conditioning, mini-bar, direct dial telephone, free WIFI, electronic safe, flat screen satellite TV and radio.
Bathrooms, are equipped with a bathtub or shower, or both solutions, hair dryer and courtesy set.
Additional Services
• 24 hour Reception Service
• Air Conditioning
• Lounge with flat screen satellite TV in the hotel lobby.
• Free Parking Service.
• Transfer Service from/to Naples Airport/Central Train Station/tourist destinations etc.(with extra charge)
• Excursion Service, with English speaking guide to Amalfi, Capri and Anacapri, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius, Naples, Caserta and Cassino.
• Excursion Service, with private car, for any tourist destination.
• Car and scooter Rental Service
• Free Shuttle Bus Service, to Sorrento.
• Internet Point
• Room Service ( Bar ) from 10 a.m. to midnight
• Continental Buffet Breakfast
• Secretarial Services ( Fax, Photocopying etc. )
• Solarium/Sauna


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Spring 2012 Fashion Ad Campaigns
All the Spring 2012 Ad Campaigns
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All the Spring 2012 Ad Campaigns
>> Campaign season is here. So far, there have been Spring 2012 ad moments for Gisele Bundchen, Karlie Kloss, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Julia Stegner — and more. See those, plus all the Spring 2012 ad campaigns, in the slideshow — with more added as they arrive.
Read More On The Campaign TrailSpring 2012 Ad CampaignsValentinoVersaceNina RicciGivenchyJean Paul GaultierYves Saint LaurentGucciBalenciagaChanelPradaLouis VuittonBurberry
Louis Vuitton
Link Love
- Sophia Amoruso outlines the basics of being a boss — Who What Wear
- Shopping for luxe gifts for your girlfriends? Try looking here — Style.com
- How to master monochrome and maintain your style — InStyle
- The best dressed star of the week is 4 years old — HuffPost Style
- The wear-everywhere crop top that belongs in your closet — The Cut
- So, how do all those superhot male models get discovered? — Fashionista
- There's a serious problem with Anna Wintour's new office . . . — Racked
- If District 12 wore couture, it'd be courtesy of this designer — Lucky
- Rumi Neely lets you into her stylish home — StyleList
Latest Fashion


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There's a day that caters to just about everything these days. Talk Like A Pirate Day, National Hugging Day, National Barefoot Day -- we could go on and on. So why not dedicate a day to trains? National Train Day invites history enthusiasts to check out train displays including the Dallas Museum of the American Railroad's 1931 Doodlebug and Union Pacific's Boy Scouts of America Locomotive. Attendees will also be eligible for Amtrak's raffle for free tickets on its Texas Eagle Service, admission to Trinity Railway Express's open house and informative displays from BNSF Railway, DART Light Rail and DCTA. National Train Day will open its tracks from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday at Dallas Union Station, 400 S. Houston St. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit texasrailadvocates.org.
Sat., May 8, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 2010


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November 23, 2014
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - A prominent Chilean priest who was ordered by the Vatican to never again celebrate a public Mass as punishment for sexually abusing altar boys has been photographed defying the order.
Chile's top church leaders confirmed the Rev. Fernando Karadima's act of insubordination Friday and sent the case to the Vatican for investigation.
The photos were taken Dec. 4, but they were only released this week by Juan Carlos Cruz, one of Karadima's victims. Cruz says it's "a slap in the face" to Karadima's victims.
The timing of the photos' release appeared aimed at embarrassing both the current and former archbishops of Santiago, who are in Rome for Saturday's ceremony to name Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello a cardinal.
Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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November 25, 2014
VENICE, Italy (AP) - Director Errol Morris spent 33 hours interviewing Donald Rumsfeld for his new documentary "The Unknown Known." But Morris says the former U.S. defense secretary proved hard to fathom.
The director said Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival that he cannot tell if Rumsfeld, who narrates the film, was putting on a "performance" or being himself.
"The Unknown Known" is competing for the top Golden Lion award. Morris' "The Fog of War" won an Oscar in 2003 for its look at Robert McNamara, secretary of defense during the escalation of the Vietnam War.
His latest documentary analyzes the U.S. decision to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. It includes clips from Pentagon news conferences as it offers an unflinching look at Rumsfeld's career through his own words.
Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia:
1. Patrick Henry
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. James Monroe
4. Bob McDonnell
Q: Which one was convicted of felony corruption?
Robert Francis McDonnell was the first Virginia Governor with degrees from Christian Broadcasting Network University. He's also the first one convicted of multiple felonies committed while in office. We cannot confirm if his spouse, Maureen, is the first former NFL Cheerleader to be convicted of felony corruption.
Mr. McDonnell's misstep was thinking too small, like disgraced former Maryland governor Spiro T. Agnew, who took kickback envelopes full of cash. In America you're got to steal much bigger stuff, enough of it so you're Too Big to Jail.
"McDonnell guilty of corruption," Washington Post
"Former Virginia Gov. McDonnell and Wife Found Guilty," Valerie Bauerlein and Dawn Chase, Wall Street Journal
"Former Governor in Virginia Guilty in Bribery Case," Trip Gabriel, New York Times


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Posted: May 18, 2014 7:52 AM
Updated: May 18, 2014 7:52 AM
|May 19
1910 Cy Young, the career leader in major league victories, wins No. 500 as the Cleveland Indians defeat Washington 5-4 in 11 innings.
1923 Zev, a 19-1 shot ridden by Earl Sande, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 lengths over Martingale.
1973 Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, rallies from last with a powerful move on the clubhouse turn to win the Preakness Stakes by 2 lengths over Sham. The original time of 1:55 for the 1 3/16-mile race is amended to 1:54 2/5 by Pimlico two days later.
1974 The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 to win the Stanley Cup in six games.
1979 Spectacular Bid, ridden by Ron Franklin, wins the Preakness Stakes by an easy 5 lengths over Golden Act.
1990 Hobart wins its 11th straight NCAA Division III lacrosse championship, beating Washington College of Maryland 18-6. The Statesmen, winners of every final since the tournament's inception in 1980, are 100-3 in Division III in that time.
1991 Willy T. Ribbs becomes the first black driver to make the lineup for the Indianapolis 500.
2000 Patrick Roy ties an NHL record with his 15th career playoff shutout, leading Colorado past Dallas 2-0. Roy matches the shutout mark set by Clint Benedict of Ottawa and the Montreal Maroons in the 1920s, and extends his league record for playoff victories to 120.
2007 Curlin, ridden by Robby Albarado, nips Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense by putting his head in front on the final stride, to capture the Preakness Stakes. The winning time was 1:53.46, equaling the stakes record of 1:53 2/5.
2008 Boston's Jon Lester shuts down Kansas City 7-0 with a no-hitter. The 24-year-old lefty, who survived cancer to pitch the World Series clincher for the Red Sox last fall, allows two baserunners on walks.
2012 I'll Have Another overtakes Bodemeister down the stretch to win the Preakness and keeps alive his hopes of winning the Triple Crown. Like the Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another races from behind to beat pacesetter Bodemeister, who also finished second in the Derby. I'll Have Another, ridden by Mario Gutierrez, covers the 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.94.
2012 Tim Duncan scores 19 points, helping engineer a 24-0 run in the third quarter after the Spurs trailed by 24 points earlier, and San Antonio defeats the Los Angeles Clippers 96-86 to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.


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Shaimaa Al-Banna, project manager in our Cairo office, heads to the football pitch to meet the children in our Premier Skills programme who are building stronger communities and brighter futures for themselves through sport. Premier Skills returned to Egypt last week to train 50 new football coaches.
On a Friday morning, I visited Al Warak, a neighborhood south of Cairo, to watch a young football team practise.
I was invited by Bahloul Abdel Monem Khalil, a coach who participated in a Premier Skills training session in Februrary, organised by the British Council in collaboration with the Premier League. He spent one week of training with some of the Premier League's UK coaches not only to develop his technical skills as a football coach, but also to learn how to foster community development through his coaching.
Coach Bahloul returned to his neighbourhood filled with enthusiasm to build on the children's love for football in order to give them hope in life. The Al Warak neighbourhood is a 17-square-kilometer district located in Giza Governorate, Egypt, with a population of one million. It is a slum plagued by garbage piles and swamps with all sorts of insects and diseases. The only means of transportation is the three-wheeler tok-tok (a motor-powered rickshaw).
Suddenly, in this grim setting, we came upon a beautiful green pitch. I went in to find 75 children ranging in age from four to 12 years old dressed in sports outfits, ready to train with Coach Bahloul. I sat down to talk with the children's parents while watching the training. Om Yassine said that the absence of her six-year-old's father, who is in Saudi Arabia to earn his living, made it difficult to control her child's behaviour. But since he joined Coach Bahloul's team, his behaviour has improved and he has learned to act more respectfully towards his elders.
Another player, Nour, is nine years old. His father is a milk seller who cannot afford to pay for his son's sports, so he let him join Coach Bahloul's team which is free. After attending Coach Bahloul's practices regularly, Nour passed the tests to join the young football team of the Wadi Degla Club, in Egypt's Premier League. Who knows what he might become in the future? And Abdel Gawad's father affirmed that his son, also nine, has become committed to studying and is keen to get high grades to ensure he can continue with the team.
Other parents also said that joining the football team has had a great impact on their children in terms of their studies or moral commitment. It has been a very positive shift in their lives. Every child now has an ambition to join one of the big football teams or be at the top of his or her class.
Coach Bahloul himself stressed that he is keen to teach children the meaning of teamwork and collaboration and how being skilled in football alone is not enough to win. He also teaches them that the real fun is in playing the game and not only in scoring goals. He even visits his players in their schools to ensure that they excel in their studies and they are regularly attending their classes. All the children expressed their deep love for their coach.
In return, the players take on their own responsibilities to support their team. In the beginning of the training, they get out the footballs and training equipment, and after the training, they clean the pitch and collect the tools. They encourage each other with a strong sense of team spirit, and they honour one another in front of their parents when one of their teammates excels in their academic studies, religious studies or sport.
What Coach Bahloul does in Warak is not mere football. He creates new opportunities for children. He tells them that they should see not only the piles of garbage in their neighbourhood, but also the bright futures that lie ahead of them. Marawan dreams of becoming an international footballer like Lionel Messi. Yahia aspires to buy a shop where his mother can sell vegetables, instead of selling them from the pavement as she does now. From Coach Bahloul, they are learning the teamwork and commitment it takes to turn these dreams into realities.
Learn more about the British Council's work in Egypt.
Find out how the British Council is strengthening communities through sport.
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Why MediaCityUK has to be more than 'TV City'
For Broadcast's week in Salford, we gathered together the leading players who are looking to MediaCityUK's future beyond the BBC, with digital high on the agenda.
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25th Anniversary Congratulations
Kim Thiboldeaux Cancer Support Community Congratulations on your 25th Anniversary! The Cancer Support Community has been privileged to partner with the Foundation on a number of prevention campaigns. We applaud you on all of your accomplishments in the past 25 years. See the YouTube video! Editor's Note: This post is part of the 25th Anniversary Testimonials Initiative.


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Loopt Adds Fresh Twist on Q&A to Improve Local Reviews
Location-based social network Loopt introduced Qs, its play at real-time, local micro-reviews, at Wednesday's Where 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. Think of Loopt Qs as Quora meets location-based networking meets Yelp. The idea behind Loopt Qs is to allow users to get useful information about a place in real time. We talked to Loopt's co-founder and CEO Sam Altman about the Qs and why this is part of Loopt's future direction.