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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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• 

Leticia Juarez

More: Bio, E-mail, Recent Stories, News Team

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- They call it "Operation Student Recovery."

Volunteers from the San Bernardino City Unified School District went door to door Wednesday morning trying to find out why some 300 students missed the first week of school.

Three weeks ago, the school year started with several no-shows.

"Sometimes we find that there are some family situations that are making it difficult to go to school, and we'll brainstorm with the families to figure out some alternative possibilities," said Dr. Kennon Mitchell, assistant superintendent of student services.

Forty teams with the district hit the streets and went door-to-door armed with packets of information on alternative education programs.

A few years ago, Geovani Galeano learned the hard way just how easy it was to fall behind.

"You have friends that like to push the issue, like, 'Come on, let's go. Let's go. It's just one day,'" Galeano said. "One day accumulates, and by the time you know it, you don't know what anybody is learning in school no more."

School officials helped him enroll in a continuation program. He went on to earn his high school diploma in 2006.

There is also child care support for student-parents, which was the case for one student who had not yet returned to school.

"We find that sometimes kids don't know all the options available to them and all the alternative pathways to graduation," Mitchell said.

By the end of the day, volunteers visited more than 300 homes in an effort to get kids back in the classroom.

'Show Me' Your Facebook Friends, Internet Filters...

'Show Me' Your Facebook Friends, Internet Filters


EDUCATION WEEK

August 6, 2011 12:05 AM
By Ian Quillen

A recently passed Missouri law that restricts social networking relationships between teachers and students—even long after that student has left the classroom—is making local and national headlines.

The Huffington Post is reporting that the law, which was passed in mid July but has gained national attention this week, was created to ensure administrators and parents can monitor communication and prevent situations that may put students at risk, but not to prevent social networking between teachers and students on public sites like Facebook and Twitter. Yet some fear it will prevent just that, and our own Facebook research (meta much?) shows you all are divided on whether such interaction is appropriate.

The Kansas City Star says teachers are up in arms about a law they say over-reaches its intended purpose. And the Christian Science Monitor asks if it could prevent teachers from embracing the very tools that have been promoted as crucial to creating modern classrooms.

Despite the length of the document, formally named The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act after a woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a middle school teacher, the Huffington Post says its essence boils down to these two paragraphs:


No teacher shall establish, maintain, or use a work-related internet site unless such site is available to school administrators and the child's legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian.

No teacher shall establish, maintain, or use a nonwork-related internet site which allows exclusive access with a current or former student.
This isn't the first and won't be the last regulation restricting social networking use in an educational content, though it may be the first to do so on a statewide level. (If you know of others, we'd love to hear about them). But I can't recall one I've seen that goes so far as to prevent relationships into the indefinite future. According to my understanding, the law could so far as to outlaw a private virtual relationship between a teacher and a student who may have long since grown up and joined adulthood. (I'm proud to call old teachers like Mr. Bock, Mr. Mick, Mr. Himes, and Mr. Raygor Facebook friends, though Mr. Raygor's football rants need to stop.)

It's important to note that the law makes a differentiation between work- and nonwork-related sites. In other words, a teacher would presumably be allowed to run a class website, or even operate a class forum in a public website, so long as that site is accessible to anyone who wishes to use it, including administrators and parents.

That's actually less draconian than some recently passed restrictions, including one in the 130,000-student Prince George's County (Md.) school district that bans the posting of any school-related photos by students on public social networking sites. But the toughest part for educators to swallow may be that it takes control away from local districts, who are being pushed to take ownership of their own Web policy by ed-tech advocates.

Filtering Folley

Meanwhile, the Missouri Research & Education Network, or MOREnet, a statewide consortium that includes filtering software among the services it provides to about 100 districts, said it will deactivate a feature that had blocked non-sexual content geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) communities, according to a press release from the ACLU.

This is the first news in a while from the ACLU's national "Don't Filter Me" campaign, a letter-writing effort that threatens legal action against districts who block non-sexual LGBT content, based on the assertion that access to such content for should LGBT allies groups must be permitted based on the federal Equal Access Act.

And it illustrates that, just because filters can appear to be blocking material based on a political or social slant, it may not always be intentional. In this case, the Netsweeper filter provided by MOREnet had the option to filter for a category called "alternative lifestyles" that not only blocked sites supporting LGBT rights and education, but also those aimed at vegetarians and vegans.

Chicago Study Finds Mixed Results for AVID Program

Edweek.org.

May 6, 2011 

By Sarah D. Sparks

Individual interventions intended to improve academic skills, such as the

popular Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, program, may

not secure a student’s path to graduation and college without a schoolwide

structure to support it, according to a study from the Consortium on Chicago

School Research.

In a report set for release in the fall and previewed at the American

Educational Research Association convention in New Orleans in April,

researchers analyzed how AVID, a study-skills intervention for middle-

achieving students, played out in 14 Chicago high schools. They found AVID

participants in 9th grade gained little advantage that year over peers not

taking part in the program, and remained off track for graduation and college.

The study highlights a potential pitfall for the dozens of student-based

interventions aiming to scale up nationwide through private support and

programs like the federal Investing in Innovation, or i3, program: As

programs move out of the schools for which they were originally

developed, their success becomes increasingly dependent on

individual schools’ context and capacity.

“We’re not really trying to say, does AVID work or doesn’t it, but what has

been its impact in the Chicago context,” said Jenny Nagaoka, the Chicago

Consortium’s associate director and postsecondary-studies manager, and a

study co-author. “It’s not a transformative experience for the AVID student; it’s

not doing enough to change the trajectory of these students for graduation.”

After adjusting for academic and socioeconomic differences between Chicago

students who took part in the AVID program and those who had never had

access to it, researchers found AVID seemed to have little impact on

students' GPAs.

SOURCE: Consortium on Chicago School Research

Ms. Nagaoka and her CCSR colleagues Melissa R. Roderick, a senior

director, and Melanie LaForce, a research analyst, studied 14,031 students

who attended 9th grade from 2004-05 to 2007-08, including 2,521 AVID

students. The students came from 14 schools with stable 9th grade AVID

programs with student data from both before and after the programs’

implementation...

Unlike other studies of the program, the CCSR researchers tried to control for

the fact that AVID chooses students who are already highly motivated to

achieve.

Ms. Nagaoka used a method known as “propensity matching.” She paired

students who attended after AVID was implemented with 7,357 9th graders

who attended the same schools in 2002 and 2003, before AVID, and

compared the performance of students with access to the program with that

of nonparticipating students who had similar academic and socioeconomic

profiles.

Ms. Nagaoka found that students participating in AVID had average

weighted grade point averages of 2.32 in English and 1.9 in

mathematics on a 4-point scale. Those averages were slightly better

than nonparticipating students’ GPAs of 2.06 in English and 1.75 in

math, but not good enough for the participants to be considered on

track for graduation. No significant effects were seen on students’

gains on state tests in reading, math, or science.

Robert P. Gira, the executive vice president of the San Diego-based AVID,

said the Chicago study was too short-term to be conclusive, because student

academic gains from AVID build over a student’s high school career. “We

expect 9th graders to be making some progress, but the real payoffs start to

happen two to three years later,” Mr. Gira said.

Ms. Nagaoka said the research team is also conducting long-term studies of

AVID in Chicago schools.

Doug Rohrer, a psychology professor at the University of South Florida, in

Tampa, found the CCSR study more rigorous than prior AVID research.

In a September 2010 analysis, the U.S. Department of Education’s What

Works Clearinghouse found only one of 66 AVID studies met its quality

standards. Based on that study, the clearinghouse found AVID had “no

discernible effects on adolescent literacy.”

Mr. Rohrer said school leaders should consider their entire school

improvement approach in selecting an intervention for their own campus.

“The critical question in my mind,” Mr. Rohrer continued, “is whether AVID is

better than requiring students to go to another class, such as an extra dose

of math or writing. Learning how to take notes is a fine strategy, but it

might not help you in Algebra 2 if you haven’t learned Algebra 1.”...

Girl sexually assaulted at Moreno Valley Mall

Girl sexually assaulted at Moreno Valley Mall

Does School Culture (and school lawyer culture) contribute to bullying in schools?

Sept 6 2001 San Diego Union Tribune article Grossmont School District failed its students is the lead in to the Santana High (Orange County, CA) tragedy says attorney Kenneth Hoyt." Shooter, Andy Williams exhibited signs and symptoms of a very troubled person... When you have a student who is missing excessive days and whose grades have dropped remarkably, these are red flags and there needs to be some intervention (I.E. A SCHOOL COUNSELOR. to take action) We believe that the school should have had procedures in place (Like the recommended number of ASCA MODEL TRAINED SCHOOL COUNSELORS, 5-6 FOR SANTA ANA HS)" "Based on the district's own review last year and information from the District Attorney's Office.

When parents of the two students shot to death at Santana High School in 

2001 offered to drop their lawsuit against the district in exchange for the district's holding a conference on school violence, the district refused! The district would rather continue spending mind numbing amounts of the taxpayers money on litigation rather than accept the parents offer to settle for no money, said attorney Kenneth Hoyt. (Associated Press report on September 9, 2005) Theses conferences should have been held anyway. Daniel Shinoff called the shooting "unforeseeable" and said the district WAS NOT CULPABLE.  (School attorneys encourage districts to follow a policy of "no investigation, no paper trail." Shinoff would rather show felonious and life threatening disregard for the safety of his student via non-action. Better to pretend that the problem doesn't exist than risk associated culpability for the single tragic incident.  Nothing is forseeable when you keep your eyes closed and turn away from the obvious problem all around you.) 

What reason could there be for harming and shooting Others?" said Grossmont High School District's Superintendent William Shinoff in a glazed-over idiotic looking stupor. (this was, as has happened so many times in Moreno Valley USD that few people on the inside know about all the skeletons and coverups,)  Shinoff's was a preplanned statement to divert from answering incriminating questions and a poorly vailed lead into complete denial) Denying the grieving parents closure or even the common respect of knowing measures would be discussed and implemented as the highest priority so this  won't happen again to another child.


"There is no excuse for that," added. Of course not you idiot. Nor is there any excuse for tolerance of bullies and covering up the multiple wrongdoings.  This moron thought that disassociation would gain the district some advantage with the legal system. He could not have been more wrong. His reoccurring ethic of Money before humanity would cost the Taxpayers  millions of dollars a year on lawyers who specialize in helping to cover or excuse administrators like Shinoff and hundreds of others who seek to avoid responsibility, not to solve problems. And they are the system that you leave your children with not understanding the actual risk.  The money would be better spent if administrators showed their caring by completely dealing with bullying and student safety before curriculum or asinine mandates like "W's" No Child Left Behind (in reality a thinly valed ongoing attempt at systematically destroying the hard fought importance of all children receiving an education equal and free.) but more than not our schools are run by bureaucratics who gave up on teaching but had too much money and education invested so they became petty, fear driven and cravenlly pervayors of disception and coverup - that is to say maintain business as usual. 


These types of administrators are driven by a Board of Education who collectively have little education, almost no experience within education and absolutely no other requirements. Felons - OK, Child Molesters - No ask, No tell and ability to care about kids - not hardly. The board is a stepping stone for small time politicians. Yes, they choose and reign over superintendents like Shinoff.

San Diego Education Report

STOP THE PRESS! SADLY, OUR WORST SUSPICIONS AND ALLEGATIONS ARE ONCE AGAIN PROVING TRUE! THIS TIME IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY. IT SEEMS THOUGH THAT THE EMERGING PATTERN OF ADMINISTRATIVE CORRUPTION IS MUCH LARGER AND POSSIBLY THE EARLY SIGNS OF A SOCIOLOGICAL PHENOMENON  ENDEMIC AND MAY BE DESTINED TO DESTROY THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM FROM WITHIN. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE IN EDUCATION. NO MATTER YOUR  BELIEFS. NO MATTER YOUR TENURE. ONCE AGAIN. THE SECOND YOU BECOME A VISIBLE nuisance OR THREAT, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF BEING PUBLICLY MALIGNED, OFTEN BROUGHT UP ON CHARGES THAT ARE UTTER AND COMPLETE FALSEHOODS. THE MERIT OF WHICH ARE ENTIRELY WITHOUT A RATIONAL PREMISE. THE WHOLE SCENARIO REEKING OF ARROGANCE AND RETALIATION. ONLY, AT THE LOWEST COURT LEVELS, (ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS) WE ARE SEEING A SPIKE IN DECISIONS AGAINST THE HARD WORKING EDUCATOR. OFTEN DECIDED BY ATTORNEYS ASSIGNED AS ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGES AS POLITICAL FAVORS, WHO MAY NOT HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE IN LABOR OR EDUCATION LAW.


AS WITH MY CASE, CTA WILL QUITE PROBABLY SAY THAT  (1.)  WITH YOUR SITUATION BECAUSE THE MATTER IS BEING INVESTIGATED AS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE BY HR AND BOARD (TO SKIRT DISTRICT RESPOSIBILITIES TO TIMELINES AND THE EXPENSE OF MASTER TEACHERS AND RETRAINING,) YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO CTA LEGAL HELP (2.) UPON CLOSER INVESTIGATION MOST OF THESE PERSONAL ASSUALTS ON EDUCATORS ARE NOT TRUE. TWO THINGS I FOUND BUT ONLY AFTER I HAD BROUGHT ON A VERY GOOD PRIVATE CRIMINAL ATTORNEY:


(1.) THEY CAN'T HELP IF A POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR CRIMINAL CHARGES, FILED IN CRIMINAL COURT. THAT IS A COMMON MIS-CONCEPTION. IN TRUTH ACCORDING TO MY CTA DEFENSE ATTORNEY; EACH MEMBER CAN BE REPRESENTED BY a CTA ATTORNEY INCLUDING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION UP TO A $5,OOO FEE LIMIT. 


(2.) BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, THE BEST THING FOR THE DISTRICT IS JUST HAVE YOU GO AWAY, AS HAPPENS SO OFTEN WITH ADMINISTRATORS THAT BECOME VICTIMS. SOMETIMES EVEN THE LOCAL DOESN'T WANT TO SPEND THE MONEY EITHER. EITHER OR BOTH, SCARING  THE VICTIM WITH  HALF-ASSED STATEMENTS ALWAYS ACCUSING THE VICTIM OF A FELONY (NO MATER HOW FAR FETCHED) AND AN ETHICS VIOLATION SO AS TO SEEM LIKE THEY HAVE GROUNDS TO FIRE YOU AND RUIN YOUR CAREER! NEXT, IF THEY'RE CALLED ON THEIR BLUFF, THEY MAY LIE OR EXAGGERATE TO POLICE HOPING TO GET THEM TO INVESTIGATE IN A FURTHER ATTEMPT TO ILLEGALLY COERCE  THE VICTIM INTO LEAVING BY FEAR.


THIS IS A SYSTEMATIC PROCESS THAT COMES FROM THEIR INSURANCE COMPANIES ACTUARY MODELS TO SAVE MONEY FOR BOTH! THEY ARE GAMBLING 100'S OF THOUSANDS OF TAXPAYERS' DOLLARS ON THE ESTABLISHED PATTERN THAT MOST VICTIMS WILL GIVE UP AND LEAVE.


THEY WILL CUT OFF YOUR PAY WITHOUT DUE PROCESS AND NEVER TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO PURCHASE A BOND (PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT) INSURING YOUR WILLINGNESS TO REPAY THE DISTRICT, IF CONVICTED. YOU WOULD THEREBY CONTINUE TO GET A PAYCHECK AND BENEFITS REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG THE THE DISTRICT CAN DRAG OUT THE PROCESS. OFTEN THE UNION LOCALS ARE UNAWARE OF THIS AND HR JUST WONT TELL YOU. ** AN IMPORTANT CAVEAT: I'VE BEEN SINCE TOLD THAT FINDING AN INSURER TO WRITE THE BOND IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. HOWEVER IT IS IN CALIFORNIA EDUCATION CODE! I WILL TRY FOR MYSELF AND REPORT BACK ON THE RESULTS. 


NEITHER WILL ANYONE TELL THE VICTIM THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO PETITION THE COURT FOR A RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST THE H.R. MANAGER AS TO PREVENT FURTHER HARASSMENT.


WHY AM I GOING ON ABOUT THIS? IF THIS UNFOLDING TREND OF FIRING POLITICALLY ACTIVE EDUCATORS SO AS TO SILENCE THEM, USING LIES AND FEAR TO ACCOMPLISH PERSONAL VINDETTAS, RETAILIATION ESPECIALLY FOR WHISTLEBLOWING AND THE GENERAL IGNORANCE OF THE AVERAGE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER; CONTINUES, THERES A GOOD CHANCE YOU COULD FALL VICTIM AS WELL.


(More on this subject later. please click here for insight on the San Diego situation...)

Just My Opinion but...

Originally Podcast
07/20/2011
by I, Praetorian

I got up this morning, or rather this afternoon as it turns out, thinking about my experiences with district level management or administration is they prefer. It does take a unique personality to want to take on a job like that especially in these lean and education unfriendly times.


So I started to think about the personalities of the district level administrators that I have had any kind of lengthy involvement with. And some of them I've known personally some only in a professional setting, but all seem to have a uniquely similar facet to their personalities. And unfortunately in my experience although that facet varies from person to person there is a completely discernible link. This link becomes more pronounced at the higher levels of middle management. Simply put each of those personalities in my experience have a qualitative dysfunction. For many they lack a sense of humor in any commonly held sense of the term. Some of that is dictated by the wear and tear of the job itself. But in easy-going easy laughing kind of person would not probably last long. Here's why I think that:


First off, in this the year 2011 on the downhill side of public support for public education in general. With the exception of the great philosophical battles that incurred at public education's inception, there has never been a time when educating all children was of less importance. That is less importance to the voter and the talking heads that feed the common voter back the lowest common elements of his or her own dysfunctions in society and as a person. I believe there is no coincidental correlation between the collective rise of our sense of entitlement,  narcissism, and individual greed; and the rise in our unwillingness to fund the very institution that brought us and taught us how to use our democratic rights. For those of you who would argue that last statement, either comment or shut up. (I am so weary and sick and extraordinarily angry with those people who have a half-baked, ill thought out philosophy on anything if they are willing to stand up for what they believe no matter how informed or not informed they are on the subject.)


Okay. This is where I get off on another tangent in the very smallest percentage in
of the ranks of educators, there exist one or two individuals per say everyone thousand employed educators that are willing to stand and fight philosophically, emotionally, and mostly at risk of their own jobs, to fight for educators who taught the great talk but cower in the presence of district level and sometimes even site level administration. Although those of us in education know that there is no truth to the old tiredness that you can't fire a teacher, it is amazing how quickly our resolve dissipates at even the slightest hint of having to stand up like human beings and adults. I personally am going through the greatest most unjust most unfair fight of my 15 years in education. And it all started because I chose to stand up not just for my rights but for the rights of a handful of other teachers who for reasons of their own could not or would not stand up for themselves.


Further, I chose to get involved in the fight against what is now the mostly corrupt Board of Trustees (sorry CJ, you are not one of those) and a wholly corrupt and self-serving fear driven Department of human resources. At the directive of the strongest and probably the most narcissistic of the trustees personalities, I have been targeted by a series of extremely poorly evidenced lies. These liars were perpetrated and further resuscitated by the head of our human resources department. The following is simply my opinion: but this man ranks among the most cowardly and self-important men I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. He has all the potential of being a great director but instead he like so many others has chosen to cower and acquiesce to the assumed power of "life or death" of our very very dysfunctional Board of Trustees, School Board. For the last 20 years maybe more, the various board members have served as the quintessential bully boys at this low level of political power. They have interfered with, dictated to, and coerced many good administrators including two very good superintendents who were forced out by the insanity. And this insanity driven by local politics has continued and is still present today. Even though the board members no longer have fistfights and drunken rages as they had in the past. Yep that's right folks, in past years our board members have come to meetings drunk and getting into physical altercations amongst themselves in public session. That's the kind of quality that small to medium-sized districts often attract. Lastly, I am fighting this campaign not just to retain my avocation, but to show everyone in the district that you don't have to cower before those personalities of the lowest common denominator. Especially a retired yes-man from our otherwise esteemed Sheriff's Department. Mine I had's own deputies stormed their union hall in protest of the union backing him for a higher position. It was so outrageous and so blatant that his own street officers are deputies wouldn't stand for him in a position of power they made the newspaper and forced this trustee to withdraw his candidacy. And now I understand exactly why and probably more than I should. Corrupt and cowardly often go hand-in-hand.


Perhaps I will stop here for today I'm fed up just thinking about those trustees that I thought I knew and trusted. And those that I know had criminal pasts.


Until the next time, I wish you brazen foolishness, intelligent insight and the courage to laugh at it all....
I, Praetorian

We should all strive to be even 1/10 the True Spirit that she is!

Alice's Bucket List

"I'm 15 and I have terminal cancer. I've created a bucket list because there are
so many things I still want to do in my life ... some are possible, some will remain
a dream. My blog is to document this precious time with my family and friends,
doing the things I want to do. You only have one life ... live it!"

This little lady has the strength of character that is rare even for most adults.
Her stories will forever strength my resolve to fight my good fight and I will
never forget the kindness that radiates from this 15-year-old who seldom
knows a day without pain.

We should all strive to be even 1/10 the True Spirit that she is!

Alice's Bucket List

"I'm 15 and I have terminal cancer. I've created a bucket list because there are
so many things I still want to do in my life ... some are possible, some will remain
a dream. My blog is to document this precious time with my family and friends,
doing the things I want to do. You only have one life ... live it!"

This little lady has the strength of character that is rare even for most adults.
Her stories will forever strength my resolve to fight my good fight and I will
never forget the kindness that radiates from this 15-year-old who seldom
knows a day without pain.

This isn't "No Tolerance." It's More Like " Mo Ignorance!"

Half of Texas' Students Suspended, Study Finds

By Nirvi Shah

 Edited by I, Praetorian; MA, PPS, PVC, ATM

Using discipline records of nearly 1 million Texas middle and high school students that cover much of the last decade, researchers found that more than half of them were suspended or expelled at least once between 7th and 12th grades, that the punishments were applied unevenly among students of different races, abilities, and schools, and that students disciplined with these methods were more likely to repeat a grade or drop out of school than students who were not punished in the same way.

The study, unveiled Tuesday by the Council of State Governments Justice Center in Bethesda, Md., and the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University, involved the discipline and criminal records of all Texas students who were 7th graders in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and tracked all of them through one year past the date when they would have graduated with their original class.

In the study, “Breaking Schools’ Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement,” researchers found that of the half a million times students were suspended or expelled, only 3 percent of those suspensions or expulsions were for behavior Texas law requires be punished that way. The rest were at the discretion of school officials.

A newly released report casts doubt on whether increased suspensions and expulsions are getting the right results in Texas public schools.

Although the study involved just one state, the authors argue that it has implications for the rest of the country because Texas has the second-largest public school system in the country and one where almost two-thirds of students are nonwhite.

The goal of the study was to prompt policymakers everywhere to look closely at school discipline.

“We hope other states will follow Texas’ lead and put their systems under similar scrutiny,” said Michael D. Thompson, director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Justice Center. He raised a key question he said state education leaders should ask themselves: “Is our state’s school discipline system getting the desired results?”

The study found that the average number of days on which students missed at least some class time due to a disciplinary incident was two days for out-of-school suspension, 27 days for a placement at an alternative school, and 73 days if they were placed in a juvenile justice program.

While the numbers gleaned from analyzing student discipline in Texas may be shocking, the state’s rate of expulsions and out-of-school suspensions, at 6.9 percent, is lower than that of some other states, including California, at about 13 percent, and Florida, at about 9 percent.

Repeat Offenders

One statistic uncovered by the analysis of Texas discipline and juvenile justice records was that 15 percent of students were punished by suspension or expulsion 11 or more times. Those repeat actions make the effectiveness of those types of punishments questionable, Mr. Thompson said.

“Seeing how common it is for students to be suspended or expelled ... we probably can do better,” Mr. Thompson said. Also, the study raises concerns about how nearly half the students disciplined 11 or more times also were in contact with the Texas juvenile justice system, raising the specter of the so-called “school-to-prison” pipeline.

In addition, at schools within Texas with similar demographics, the use of the punishments varied widely, “indicating, I think, that it’s possible by relying less on suspensions and expulsions to reduce juvenile justice involvement and improve academic performance,” he said.

The Texas Education Agency, which helped the researchers match students’ school discipline and juvenile justice records, said the report highlighted some important weaknesses in Texas schools.

“It can be painful to look at numbers that aren’t flattering,” said Suzanne Marchman, a spokeswoman for the agency. But whether the report triggers individual schools to look at their discipline systems or drive policy at the legislative level is an open question. “No one wants a drop out,” Ms. Marchman said. “It brings up that dialogue: How can we address this issue at hand?”

In particular, if students’ punishment entails being sent to an alternative setting or juvenile justice setting, school districts need to be sure the teaching at those schools is high quality, she said.

“School districts need to take a closer look at the level of instruction that’s taking place at these alternative settings when [students are] punished so when [students] are released back to districts they’re not behind academically and they’re not frustrated,” she said, triggering a cycle of misbehavior that sends a student back to one of those alternate settings.

However, the agency also wanted to offer one cautionary note about interpreting the study.

“It gives the impression that 60 percent of the students in Texas are criminals or badly behaved,” Ms. Marchman said. But because of discrepancies in how punishment is administered between schools and districts, some students might be suspended for an infraction such as wearing flip flops or tank tops on the first offense while another school might give students several chances first.

In recent years, Texas has taken steps to address the way students are disciplined, and the report’s authors said lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry were supportive of their work. The Texas Legislative Budget Board recently examined six school districts’ disciplinary practices, and the Texas legislature has changed some state laws pertaining to punishing students. For example, “persistent misbehavior” is no longer a reason for expulsion; school districts are now required to consider mitigating factors such as self-defense and a student’s disability before making a disciplinary decision; and the state education department had to create minimum standards for the disciplinary alternative education programs students are required to attend.

At the same time, other behavior violations have been added to the list of things for which school districts must or can punish students, including sexting and bullying.

Also recently, the state has begun offering training to districts interested in learning about positive discipline methods, and a pilot program this year is using statewide data to document student achievement and measure the effectiveness of specific professional development programs and activities.

Discipline Disparities Some groups of students were more vulnerable to suspension or expulsion than others, the study found. For example, 75 percent of African-American students were expelled or suspended, compared to 50 percent of white students. Also, 75 percent of students with disabilities were suspended or expelled, compared with 55 percent of students without a disability. Students classified as having an emotional disturbance were more likely to be suspended or expelled, while students with autism or mental retardation were less likely than students without disabilities to be punished the same way.

The report didn’t make specific policy recommendations, but noted the gradual toughening of school discipline policies nationwide, triggered in part by a spate of school shootings in the 1990s. The 1994 Gun-Free Schools Act requires schools that accept federal money to expel students for one year if they bring a weapon to school. A few years later, many school districts started adopting zero-tolerance discipline policies toward drugs, alcohol, and violent behavior. Some 79 percent of schools had these policies in place by 1997. While expulsion for some students means attending an alternative school, as it does in Texas, in some states, students are simply out of school altogether as they serve their punishment term.

An American Psychological Association study in 2006 found that zero-tolerance policies may negatively affect academic outcomes and increase the chances of a student dropping out. While Mr. Thompson said the Texas study isn’t strictly focused on the zero-tolerance discipline, that practice is part of a larger discussion about student discipline policy. “We look forward to launching a national project to identify policy strategies ... to get better outcomes for these kids,” he said.

Vol. 30, Issue 37

Since elections are only about 3 and one-half months away...

Failed Developer, Property Manager, and Consultant to the Rich and Infamous, the wallet behind the 2008 Moreno Valley Syndicate (AKA the M.V.T.A.)

Did Lies and Defamation succeed in unseating two city councilmen? Was the Moreno Valley City Election, supplanted via fraud, diversion and convicted felons? Who needs Carl Rove when we have Former Isreali Intelligence Officer: Iddo Benzeevi !

An ugly stroll down the memory lane of the Fall of 2008. What chicanery should we expect this year?

The following is an Excerpt from The Press-Enterprise,
Monday, October 27, 2008




By DAN LEE

The Press-Enterprise
Highland Fairview Properties, the developer behind the proposal to build a shoe company distribution center in Moreno Valley, (Iddo Benzeevi) has contributed another $100,000 to the campaign committee that is seeking to oust two Moreno Valley city councilmen in the Nov. 4 election.
Highland Fairview donated $50,000 to the Moreno Valley Taxpayers Association and loaned another $50,000 to the committee, according to the association's campaign finance report for the period of Oct. 1-18. The development company has contributed a total of $263,000 this year to the association.
In addition to the Skechers proposal, which is being reviewed by the city, the company has discussed building several additional centers in the same area.
The taxpayers association has raised $383,524 this year, according to the report. The other major donor to the association is local real estate agent Jerry Stephens, who has contributed $100,000.
The association has spent $354,150 of its funds to date, which is believed to be the most spent on a City Council election in Moreno Valley's history.
The committee paid $20,180 for print ads against Councilman Frank West this month. The committee also has spent $11,798 this month on print ads against Councilman Charles White.
The association reported spending $22,932 for print ads and phone banks in support of Robin Hastings, who is running against West for the 3rd Council District seat in eastern Moreno Valley.
The committee paid $10,962 for ads and phone banks for Jesse Molina, one of White's opponents in the 1st Council District race in central Moreno Valley.
The taxpayers association had previously spent $3,200 to support Hastings and Molina in slate mailers recommending the two candidates to prospective voters.
At a candidates forum earlier this month, Hastings denied receiving any contributions from warehousing supporters, only to be surprised when an opponent, Mike Rios, displayed the taxpayers association's campaign finance report, listing the expenditures on her behalf.
Hastings said the taxpayers association made the contribution without her knowledge and consent.
Experts said campaign committees like the taxpayers association can make such expenditures independently and without consulting the candidate.
Molina also reported receiving $3,500 from Stephens' firm, Diversified Real Estate Services, earlier this month, according to his campaign finance report. In addition, the Moreno Valley Taxpayers Association and its campaign consulting firm, Floyd & Luckso, contributed nearly $4,300 of in-kind services to Molina's campaign.
Local attorney and city Planning Commissioner Michael Geller, who heads the taxpayers association, claims that West and White have failed to deal with growing crime and traffic in Moreno Valley.
But West said the association is targeting him because of concerns he has expressed about Highland Fairview's plans to build distribution centers in eastern Moreno Valley. White has said he is being attacked because he opposed the council's decision to allow eastern Moreno Valley to be called "Rancho Belago" -- a plan that Highland Fairview had backed.
West and White have called their opponents "puppets" of Highland Fairview developer Iddo Benzeevi, Geller and Stephens. But Hastings and Molina disputed that notion, saying they would act independently. (Almost Tree Years later and we're still waiting... )

CAMPAIGN SPENDING
Here's a look at some of what the Moreno Valley Taxpayers Association has spent money on in the past month:
$20,180 in print ads against Councilman Frank West
$11,798 in print ads against Councilman Charles White
$8,808 in print ads for Jesse Molina
$2,154 to pay for phone banks for Jesse Molina
$21,278 in print ads for Robin Hastings
$1,654 to pay for phone banks for Robin Hastings
Source: Moreno Valley City Clerk's Office