Sunday links.
Dave Comerford is unhappy with Scott Reeder and the Small Newspaper Group, a family-owned chain of Illinois newspapers. Comerford, media director for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, says he’s frustrated by what he sees as dishonest reporting and the twisting of quotes to fit a political agenda. Peter Downs
The shrill, desperate, anti-teacher chorus continues to be heard from neocon think tankers, Bush bureaucrats and even from some so-called Democrats for “reform.” Its target– teacher unions and teachers’ rights to collective bargaining. Small Talk
Families usually pack the gym at Elgin’s Harriet Gifford Elementary School to root for basketball players or applaud young thespians, but one night last week, they saved their cheers for standardized-test questions. Chicago Tribune
Only 37 percent of eligible high school students citywide take advantage of the subsidized meal program. But the stigma of accepting a government lunch, while others are paying for food from a different menu, is not unique to San Francisco. It is a problem many school districts across the country have been quietly confronting with mixed results, education and school nutrition officials said. NY Times
I’m not referring to the endless pursuit of rankings and grades. I’m meaning the fantastic things that can happen when competition is used as an instructional tool. I’m meaning having students race to solve puzzles, or sort number cards into Pythagorean triples. I’m meaning getting a wild energy in class, and having students speak up who never said a word before. Dangerously Irrelevant
State Senator Meeks tries for school funding. Again.
Senator Meeks gives it another shot.
Chicago State Senator James Meeks has been the leader in Springfield at making sense when it comes to funding schools. In stark contrast to Governor Blago’s gaming schemes, the senator keeps trying to get an income tax increase through the legislature.
The Proposal:
SB 2288 increases the personal income tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent and the corporate income tax rate from 4.8 percent to 8 percent. Revenues generated from these increases would be distributed to funding for elementary and secondary education and higher education, property tax relief, and statewide capitol projects. The bill increases the per pupil foundation level in the state school aid formula by $1,240, and over a four-year phase-in, reaches a total foundation level of $6,974. It also increases the special education personnel reimbursement amount to more than $19,000 by the 2012-2013 school year.
The following senators are sponsors of this bill: Meeks, Cullerton, Jones, Lightford, Collins, Crotty, Clayborne, Hendon, Hunter, Frerichs, Martinez, Delgado, Viverito, Noland, Steans, Demuzio, Trotter, Koehler and Raoul.
