-
Where Jill Will Talk Like She Writes
-
The White House Project
Print This Post
May
31
Yup. Check out the charter school spam blogs here. That is one serious life skill every high school student should learn.
Included in the post which, at each splog, is titled, “Cleveland Rally Backs School Choice,” are pictures of House Speaker Jon Husted and a quote from him, and a picture of my state Rep. Josh Mandel, addressing the charter school supporters.
I do not support charters as currently operating (or not operating, as the case may be) in Ohio.
I want the legislative oversight office re-instated.
I want the schools subject to the same standards and regulations as the public schools under the districts with which each charter is affiliated.
I want report cards, and tests and AYP and contracts and everything else to apply to the charters, except to the extent that, in order for the charter to fulfill its niche - which is supposed to be a niche not otherwise filled by the district and said niche supported by parents in the district - it needs waivers from certain public school requirements.
I want them to file detailed financial and narrative reports that provide accountability to the students and the district’s and this state’s taxpayers.
And I do not want a single charter run by a for-profit entity.
The original intent and vision for charter schools has been perverted in many cases. The Ohio DOE should find the ones that are functioning well and seek to use them, actively, as models. Shut down or overhaul all the others, terminate the contracts with the for-profits and get the kids who need alternatives that aren’t otherwise provided the setting and education they need.
What is the big deal?
NB: There is no doubt that Life Skills Center has a right to create as many blogs as it wants, each one dedicated to a different one of its locations. They may even argue with my reference to those blogs as splogs.
But given the fact that the primary link on each of these splogs is to a White Hat-managed entity, why not just post such news items on the school’s website, rather than create a rarely used, rarely linked to blog?
Because they are trying to game Google and Blogger and blog readers, just like they are trying to game Ohio taxpayers and those who want genuine charter opportunities, without the for-profit moniker.
P.S. Anyone want to guess as to how I discovered the existence of these splogs in the first place?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:58 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
May
31
Advice to Bancroft family: don’t cave! please don’t cave to Murdoch
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Don’t you hate it when you think someone fights the evil empire and then, not so much? I imagine the economist, business-types would differ, maybe.
Feh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:29 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
May
31
Is another school year really just a few days away from being over?
1. ORC 2305.51 Read the bill analysis here. Think about it. And then remember, it’s the law, since 1999. It’s what Ohioans said, through the election of their state legislators, they wanted. Still true?
2. RNC fires phone solicitors. The Seventh Seal?
3. It’s from the NY Post, so read it with a pound of salt. Still, throwing someone with hernia surgery dressings still on into a jail cell because he possessed Vicodin - for his hernia? I dunno…I can’t make phone calls on everything.
4. Political Wire has results from a survey about…who reads Political Wire. But it’s interesting and there are some neat graphics, but they took a while to load.
5. This one is for Medpundit.
6. Many blogs have linked to this NYT article about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Good. I hope more do. She deserves it.
7. Have I mentioned that people should read Bill Callahan on SB117? You won’t find what he has to tell you anywhere else.
8. Tim Griffin, he of the vote caging reference by Monica Goodling, is resigning, effective tomorrow. H/t Cliff Schecter.
9. William O’Neill is now former Judge William O’Neill. Let the games begin.
Wow. And I hardly read anything today. Must. lift. head. off. keyboard.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:44 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
May
31
Bill has a fantastic, 100% original content post about SB117′s hearing in the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee yesterday here. To catch up on this bill that will enrich AT&T but, Ohioans? not so much, read here.
Bill helpfully mentions which reps impressed him (positively). My state rep, Josh Mandel, is the vice-chair of the committee. I assume although haven’t confirmed that he was there; I don’t believe there are written journals or records of committee meetings, are there?
NB: From the Ohio House’s webpage called, Make Your Voice Heard:
State representatives need to know the opinions of constituents to serve his or her district effectively. Contacting your representative personally at the Statehouse or in the district is a meaningful way of communicating your concerns.
Another way that you can contact your representative is through the mail. It is always a good idea to refer to the subject directly or, if possible, provide the number of the bill in question. You need to state what your position is on the subject and also provide a reason for your opposition or support of the bill.
Your letter may be sent to your representative’s home or office. The home address is often listed in the phone book or local newspaper. Your legislator’s address at the State Capitol is:
The Honorable ___________
Ohio House of Representatives
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111
An even more effective form of communicating your concerns is by testifying before the committee considering the bill which affects you. Many of Ohio’s newspapers print weekly schedules of legislative committee hearings. If you wish to attend a committee hearing or to testify, information may be obtained by calling the committee chairman’s office, your representative’s office or the appropriate Legislative Information Hotline number. Be sure to prepare written testimony and make enough copies for all committee members. Before the hearing, you must fill out a witness slip indicating your desire to testify. You need not appear in order to testify. Written testimony is welcome, although your presence will add emphasis to your position.
I highly recommend all these actions.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:20 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
May
31
Yup. Check out the charter school spam blogs here. That is one serious life skill every high school student should learn.
Included in the post which, at each splog, is titled, “Cleveland Rally Backs School Choice,” are pictures of House Speaker Jon Husted and a quote from him, and a picture of my state Rep. Josh Mandel, addressing the charter school supporters.
I do not support charters as currently operating (or not operating, as the case may be) in Ohio.
I want the legislative oversight office re-instated.
I want the schools subject to the same standards and regulations as the public schools under the districts with which each charter is affiliated.
I want report cards, and tests and AYP and contracts and everything else to apply to the charters, except to the extent that, in order for the charter to fulfill its niche - which is supposed to be a niche not otherwise filled by the district and said niche supported by parents in the district - it needs waivers from certain public school requirements.
I want them to file detailed financial and narrative reports that provide accountability to the students and the district’s and this state’s taxpayers.
And I do not want a single charter run by a for-profit entity.
The original intent and vision for charter schools has been perverted in many cases. The Ohio DOE should find the ones that are functioning well and seek to use them, actively, as models. Shut down or overhaul all the others, terminate the contracts with the for-profits and get the kids who need alternatives that aren’t otherwise provided the setting and education they need.
What is the big deal?
NB: There is no doubt that Life Skills Center has a right to create as many blogs as it wants, each one dedicated to a different one of its locations. They may even argue with my reference to those blogs as splogs.
But given the fact that the primary link on each of these splogs is to a White Hat-managed entity, why not just post such news items on the school’s website, rather than create a rarely used, rarely linked to blog?
Because they are trying to game Google and Blogger and blog readers, just like they are trying to game Ohio taxpayers and those who want genuine charter opportunities, without the for-profit moniker.
P.S. Anyone want to guess as to how I discovered the existence of these splogs in the first place?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:58 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
May
31
Is another school year really just a few days away from being over?
1. ORC 2305.51 Read the bill analysis here. Think about it. And then remember, it’s the law, since 1999. It’s what Ohioans said, through the election of their state legislators, they wanted. Still true?
2. RNC fires phone solicitors. The Seventh Seal?
3. It’s from the NY Post, so read it with a pound of salt. Still, throwing someone with hernia surgery dressings still on into a jail cell because he possessed Vicodin - for his hernia? I dunno…I can’t make phone calls on everything.
4. Political Wire has results from a survey about…who reads Political Wire. But it’s interesting and there are some neat graphics, but they took a while to load.
5. This one is for Medpundit.
6. Many blogs have linked to this NYT article about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Good. I hope more do. She deserves it.
7. Have I mentioned that people should read Bill Callahan on SB117? You won’t find what he has to tell you anywhere else.
8. Tim Griffin, he of the vote caging reference by Monica Goodling, is resigning, effective tomorrow. H/t Cliff Schecter.
9. William O’Neill is now former Judge William O’Neill. Let the games begin.
Wow. And I hardly read anything today. Must. lift. head. off. keyboard.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:44 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
May
31
Advice to Bancroft family: don’t cave! please don’t cave to Murdoch
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Don’t you hate it when you think someone fights the evil empire and then, not so much? I imagine the economist, business-types would differ, maybe.
Feh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:29 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
May
31
Bill has a fantastic, 100% original content post about SB117′s hearing in the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee yesterday here. To catch up on this bill that will enrich AT&T but, Ohioans? not so much, read here.
Bill helpfully mentions which reps impressed him (positively). My state rep, Josh Mandel, is the vice-chair of the committee. I assume although haven’t confirmed that he was there; I don’t believe there are written journals or records of committee meetings, are there?
NB: From the Ohio House’s webpage called, Make Your Voice Heard:
State representatives need to know the opinions of constituents to serve his or her district effectively. Contacting your representative personally at the Statehouse or in the district is a meaningful way of communicating your concerns.
Another way that you can contact your representative is through the mail. It is always a good idea to refer to the subject directly or, if possible, provide the number of the bill in question. You need to state what your position is on the subject and also provide a reason for your opposition or support of the bill.
Your letter may be sent to your representative’s home or office. The home address is often listed in the phone book or local newspaper. Your legislator’s address at the State Capitol is:
The Honorable ___________
Ohio House of Representatives
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111
An even more effective form of communicating your concerns is by testifying before the committee considering the bill which affects you. Many of Ohio’s newspapers print weekly schedules of legislative committee hearings. If you wish to attend a committee hearing or to testify, information may be obtained by calling the committee chairman’s office, your representative’s office or the appropriate Legislative Information Hotline number. Be sure to prepare written testimony and make enough copies for all committee members. Before the hearing, you must fill out a witness slip indicating your desire to testify. You need not appear in order to testify. Written testimony is welcome, although your presence will add emphasis to your position.
I highly recommend all these actions.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:20 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
May
31
Yup. Check out the charter school spam blogs here. That is one serious life skill every high school student should learn.
Included in the post which, at each splog, is titled, “Cleveland Rally Backs School Choice,” are pictures of House Speaker Jon Husted and a quote from him, and a picture of my state Rep. Josh Mandel, addressing the charter school supporters.
I do not support charters as currently operating (or not operating, as the case may be) in Ohio.
I want the legislative oversight office re-instated.
I want the schools subject to the same standards and regulations as the public schools under the districts with which each charter is affiliated.
I want report cards, and tests and AYP and contracts and everything else to apply to the charters, except to the extent that, in order for the charter to fulfill its niche - which is supposed to be a niche not otherwise filled by the district and said niche supported by parents in the district - it needs waivers from certain public school requirements.
I want them to file detailed financial and narrative reports that provide accountability to the students and the district’s and this state’s taxpayers.
And I do not want a single charter run by a for-profit entity.
The original intent and vision for charter schools has been perverted in many cases. The Ohio DOE should find the ones that are functioning well and seek to use them, actively, as models. Shut down or overhaul all the others, terminate the contracts with the for-profits and get the kids who need alternatives that aren’t otherwise provided the setting and education they need.
What is the big deal?
NB: There is no doubt that Life Skills Center has a right to create as many blogs as it wants, each one dedicated to a different one of its locations. They may even argue with my reference to those blogs as splogs.
But given the fact that the primary link on each of these splogs is to a White Hat-managed entity, why not just post such news items on the school’s website, rather than create a rarely used, rarely linked to blog?
Because they are trying to game Google and Blogger and blog readers, just like they are trying to game Ohio taxpayers and those who want genuine charter opportunities, without the for-profit moniker.
P.S. Anyone want to guess as to how I discovered the existence of these splogs in the first place?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:58 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
May
31
Advice to Bancroft family: don’t cave! please don’t cave to Murdoch
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Don’t you hate it when you think someone fights the evil empire and then, not so much? I imagine the economist, business-types would differ, maybe.
Feh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:29 pm May 31st, 2007 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
May
31
Received word that the report is out, in html here, in pdf here.
Quick hits from the release:
Report on the State of American Education Shows High School Students Taking More Advanced Coursework
High school students in the United States are taking more courses in mathematics and science, as well as social studies, the arts, and foreign languages, according to The Condition of Education 2007 report released today by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The general increases in credits earned since the early 1980s are, in large part, a product of more graduates taking more advanced courses.
“The recent emphasis on mathematics and science in the high school curriculum has raised some concerns that growth in these and other high priority subject areas has squeezed out courses in other areas, such as the arts and history,” said Mark Schneider, NCES Commissioner. “We have not found this to be the case. In fact, credits earned in other subjects have increased at the same time.”
The Condition of Education is a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual statistical portrait of education in the United States. The 48 indicators included in the report cover all aspects of education, from student achievement to school environment and from early childhood through postsecondary education.
The report shows that enrollment in U.S. public schools is becoming increasingly diverse. In addition, more individuals are enrolling in postsecondary education, and more bachelor’s degrees have been awarded than in the past. Among the report’s other findings:
High School Coursetaking
* The average number of credits earned by high school graduates increased from 21.7 credits in 1982 to 25.8 credits in 2004.
* Comparing 1982 and 2004, graduates earned an average of 4.0 versus 4.3 credits in English, 2.7 versus 3.6 credits in mathematics, and 2.2 versus 3.2 credits in science.
* These increases in credits earned in English, mathematics, and science have not coincided with a decline in other coursework. Comparing 1982 and 2004, graduates earned an average of 3.2 versus 3.9 credits in history/social studies, 1.1 versus 2.0 credits in foreign languages, and 1.4 versus 2.1 in arts.
* Between 1997 and 2005, the number of students taking AP exams more than doubled to about 1.2 million, with the numbers of Blacks and Hispanics growing faster than those for other racial/ethnic groups.
* The percentage of exams resulting in a qualifying score of 3.0 or better decreased from 65 percent in 1997 to 59 percent in 2005.
* In 2004, Asian/Pacific Islander graduates were more likely than graduates of any other race/ethnicity to have completed advanced coursework in science, mathematics, English, and foreign language.
* Students who eventually dropped out of high school were behind their peers who graduated on time in the total number of credits they earned in their freshman and sophomore years, as well as the amount they earned in English, mathematics, and science courses. Year-to-year change shows that credit accrual declined for dropouts, putting them further behind.
America’s Students Today
* Minority students make up 42 percent of public sc