Wednesday, January 31, 2007

The YearlyKos Convention

YearlyKos Convention - n. yier-lee-KOS k&n-'ven(t)-sh&n An annual convention gathering people from all walks of life who belong to the Netroots community, the US-based (but globally focused and inclusive) non-partisan grassroots political action community that uses the Internet and blogs as primary tools for: expressing viewpoints, building consensus, acting to change the status quo, mobilizing huge numbers of people and informing each other and the world about current events, grassroots actions, networks, meetings, policy and more. The YearlyKos Convention is a project of bloggerpower.org with the generous support of YearlyKos Inc.

The first YearlyKos convention occurred in June 2006, a time when a tremendous and growing number of citizens who gathered in the virtual world every day came together in person and raised their collective voice to try to proactively influence their government. That group is broadly called the Netroots, and according to Wikipedia, "focuses on political activism organized through blogs and other online media. The word is a portmanteau of Internet and grassroots, reflecting the technological innovations that set Netroots techniques apart from other forms of political participation." But we'd add to that summation the fact that the Netroots is made up of individuals—not corporations, not lobbyist groups, not any large money-infused machine that (currently) influences all that occurs inside the beltway. The most-visited blog of this movement is Daily Kos, founded in 2002 by MarKOS Moulitsas.

In June of 2006, "Kossacks" and bloggers from all over the world got together at the first annual YearlyKos Convention and actually met each other at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Approximately 1200 conventioneers, speakers, panelists and members of the media attended this debut event from June 8-11, and discussed everything from balancing family life, political discourse and a career to education in the United States to the future of energy resources and energy policy, and so much more. Speakers included General Wesley Clark, Senators Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid, DNC Chair Dr. Howard Dean, Ambassador Joe Wilson and former VA Governor, Mark Warner. The convention was covered by high-profile media sources including C-Span, CNN, the major television networks, the The New York Times, national radio outlets and of course, the blogosphere. In keeping with its Netroots origins, the first YearlyKos Convention was self-funded via sponsorships, donors and support from the Netroots community and was organized by volunteers.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Mahdi

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - The leader of a messianic Muslim cult was killed with 200 or more followers during a day-long onslaught by U.S. and Iraqi forces on their camp near the holy city of Najaf, Iraqi officials said on Monday.

They accused him of making a claiming to be the Mahdi...


Cult leader and 200 others killed: Iraqi officials

Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will arise at some point before the day of judgement, institute a kingdom of justice, and will in the last days fight alongside the returned Islamic prophet Jesus against the Dajjal, or Antichrist.

"Before the appearance of the one who will rise, peace be upon him, the people will be reprimanded for their acts of disobedience by a fire that will appear in the sky and a redness that will cover the sky. It will swallow up Baghdad, and will swallow up Kufa. Their blood will be shed and houses destroyed. Death will occur amid their people and a fear will come over the people of Iraq from which they shall have no rest."


Shi'a Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq

A very dangerous turn for the worse in Iraq. Cultist hell bent on ending the world are flocking to Iraq from around the Islamic world.

This nutter is the first and he will not be the last.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Open letter to Richard Scherza, superintendent of schools

From the Cranston Herald Letters to the Editor...

I read with dismay some of the comments in the Cranston Herald article about the State of the Schools address that you delivered last week.

First of all, as a concerned and involved parent, I surely would have attended such an important event had I known about it. I am sure that the "scant audience" that evening was due to scant publicity about it. Perhaps notices should be sent to the schools prior to these meetings. I am a member of the Woodridge Elementary School PTO Board, and I send out frequent e-mails to approximately 80 percent of our parents. I would gladly send such information if it were provided to me. I'm sure that would help to increase attendance at these meetings.

Had I been at the meeting, I would have disputed your comments about the class sizes. The article stated, "Although there were 2,020 kindergarten students in 2006 – a significant jump from 2005 numbers – Scherza dismissed it as an “anomaly” tied to changes in minimum age requirements. This year, he pointed out, only 1,681 kindergarteners enrolled – a figure that reflects the overall downward trend."

I respectfully beg to differ. My daughter is currently enrolled in the morning kindergarten class at Woodridge – along with 25 other students. The afternoon class has 25 students. Let's face it, these classes are simply too large for kindergarten, especially.

Kindergarten students come to public school from all sorts of backgrounds – some have had a number of years of pre-school, others have had none. How is it possible for a teacher to challenge those students who are already reading and to meet the needs of those who still need help identifying their letters? It is impossible without leaving some of your students bored and disengaged.

And as large as those numbers are, they don't even tell the whole picture. In fact, I'm told that there are FIVE additional kindergarten students who have been clustered to other schools. And that's kindergarten! What's to happen next year, when those families who send their children to private school so that they can have a full-day kindergarten program (something which is long overdue in the public school sector) want to send their children to their local elementary school?

I'll tell you what will happen, as we know of at least one family in this situation. They will be shut out. They will be offered the option of having their child clustered to another school. And if that child happens to have a sibling already at Woodridge, the parents will be faced with a decision – to have their children at two different schools or to permit out their older child, who has friends and a comfort level at his home school. Not a decision I would want to make. Quite frankly, not a decision that any parent should have to make.

And the situation is no better in some of the other grades in our school. For instance, my son is in a third grade class with 27 students. And, I believe there are 27 in the other third grade class, with an additional eight students being clustered out. Again, way too many. I'm fortunate – thankful, in fact – that he is very involved in the EPIC program. Otherwise, I fear he may not be challenged enough.

I do know why this problem is so acute. It was the wrongful closing of Horton. I was at a number of the School Committee meetings prior to the "decision" to close Horton. And quite frankly, I supported it. But that was based on erroneous information that was given to us. We were led to believe that the classroom numbers would not be so outrageous (promised, in fact, that a third classroom would open in the third grade if the class size exceeded 25 – this obviously never panned out) and that Woodridge's future was in jeopardy if Horton remained open.

At this point, I am becoming very disenchanted with the school system in Cranston. I would appreciate a response.

Thank you.



Amy Blustein

Cranston

Saturday, January 20, 2007

BUDGET DEBATE TO START

UPDATE FROM STEVE STYCOS JANUARY 20, 2007

BUDGET DEBATE TO START

Monday night, a tough budget season will start for the Cranston schools. Assuming Superintendent Richard Scherza does not propose harmful cuts (an optimistic assumption) my top priority will be trying to add additional teachers at the high schools to lower class size.

Scherza will present his proposed school budget Monday January 22, 2007 at 7 PM at Western Hills Middle School. That meeting will be followed by budget hearings January 31 and if necessary, February 5. Then February 12, the school committee will vote on budget amendments and pass a final budget. All the meetings will begin at 7PM at Western Hills. The public will be invited to speak at the beginning of the January 31, February 5 and 12 meetings. According to school committee rules, public speakers are limited to three minutes, but may request an additional two minutes. Public speakers do not have to sign up in advance. After the public speaks, the school committee will ask questions about the budget.

Last year the school committee decided to close Horton Elementary School during this portion of the budget process. It also decided to add $10,000 for the high school bands and $20,000 for a girls hockey team.

Following school committee adoption February 12, the budget will be sent to the mayor who typically cuts the bottom line and sends his budget to the city council by April 1. The council then holds public hearings and passes a city budget, including a final bottom line for the schools, by May 15.

Perhaps the least scrutinized, and most important, portion of the budget process follows in late June. At that time, the school committee cuts line items to make its bottom line match the bottom line passed by the city council. Last year, during this final phase, the school committee voted (over my objections) to cut 7.5 positions from the two high schools to help balance the budget. Despite Superintendent Catherine Ciarlo's assurances to the contrary, that vote forced a surge in class size at both high schools. At the start of the school year 132 high school classes at East and West had 30 or more children.

There is plenty of blame for a poor school funding. This year should be even worse, however, because last year the state legislature, passed a law limiting this year's school budgets to a 5.25 percent increase. The current budget was 6.6 percent more than the previous year. Meanwhile, the federal government, pours billions into war and arms manufacturing, cuts taxes for rich people and provides anemic funding for education.

Neither the school committee, nor the voters who elected it, however, are blameless. The top spending priority of past school committees has been large pay increases to our employees. While we have a great staff, the committee has not balanced the need for raises with the need for a quality education in the class room. During the last the two years, we closed an elementary school, increased class sizes at both the elementary and high schools and agreed to an average of 16 percent pay increases over three years, in exchange for employees paying three to five percent of their health care premiums.

On the optimistic side, this school committee appears to be the best of the four I have served on. Nevertheless, parents need to attend budget meetings and speak for those things which are important to them. If you can only attend one meeting, I would recommend coming to the January 31 or February 5 meetings to express your opinions. If you can attend a second meeting I recommend coming to the February 12 meeting to watch how the school committee responds to parental concerns.

NEXT EAST PARENT MEETING

Friday morning's parent meeting at Cranston East was dominated by concerns about the possible merger of the comprehensive and college preparatory tracks. School Committee member Deb Greifer and I urged the some 20 parents in attendance to take their concerns to the school committee who will decide whether to approve this proposal.

Principal Sean Kelly also announced that the double lab period for honors science classes will be eliminated next year to make scheduling easier.

The next East parent meeting is Friday March 2 at 8:30 AM. Two parents have written me saying they cannot attend morning meetings due to work. I know that is a problem and it should be taken up with Principal Sean Kelly, but the morning meetings have consistently drawn more people than the discontinued night meetings.

Friday, January 12, 2007

The Power of a Single Blogger!

From Wikipedia...

Beginning in 2005, the blogger Spocko began a letter-writing campaign[2] to advertisers on KSFO, alerting them to examples of so-called "hate speech" on the station, and urging them to withdraw their sponsorship. Some advertisers, including Netflix, MasterCard, Bank of America, and Visa, did.[3]

On December 22, 2006, Spocko received a cease and desist letter from ABC lawyers, insisting that he remove audio clips of KSFO radio hosts claiming that he had violated copyright law.[4] Spocko refused, claiming he was within the legal definitions of the fair use doctrine.[5]

On January 2, 2007 his Internet service provider, 1&1 Internet, took down his website. This could potentially evolve into a legal precedent as the Electronic Frontier Foundation has agreed to defend Spocko against threats of a DMCA SLAPP suit. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a successful history in defending against legal assaults on fair use and the first amendment, as exemplified by the Barney case.

Spocko's statement on the controversy:

"Advertisers should be able to decide if they want to keep supporting this show based on complete information. We already know that management at ABC and Disney support these hosts, which means that the ABC/Disney Radio brand now apparently includes support for violent hate speech toward Muslims, democrats and liberals."

Mike Stark brought this to the attention of the mainstream via citizen internet journalism through postings such as this one at Daily Kos and the use of the Spotlight Project.

On January 12, 2007, KSFO openly responded to the criticism by dedicating three hours to discussing this controversy. [1]

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Communities Opposed to Escalation in the War

Dear Friend,

President Bush is about to unveil a plan to escalate the war in Iraq -- and he is flat out wrong. Instead of listening to the advice of his top military advisors and most importantly you, me and the overwhelming majority of Americans, our President is about to make his biggest mistake even bigger.

But we can stop him and we need to stop him.

We can pass resolutions against troop escalation in our local communities, city councils and state governments. With thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent, we simply cannot wait for change to come from Washington, DC.

It is up to us to send the message.

http://www.tomvilsack08.com/resolution

We can show President Bush and the United States House and Senate that we do not support a troop escalation in Iraq. And we can start in our own local governments by passing the “Communities Opposed to Escalation in the War” Resolution.

Will you join me in this effort? Read the Resolution and find a way to get involved in your local community.

http://www.tomvilsack08.com/resolution


Thank You

Parent Meeting

I talked with principal Sean Kelly today and he is calling a Cranston East parents meeting for Friday January 19 at 8:30 AM. The meetings are open to everyone. --Steve Stycos


Dear Parents:

There will be a parent group meeting on Friday, January, 19, 2007 at 8:30 am in my office. All are welcome to attend. I look forward to seeing you then.

Sincerely,

Sean Kelly

Principal

Cranston High School East

Monday, January 08, 2007

Tell President Bush: Stop the Surge

I urge you to join Wes Clark's effort to stop President Bush's plan for a troop surge in Iraq. Instead, we need a completely new strategy.

What the surge would do is put more American troops in harm's way, further undercut the morale of U.S. forces and risk further alienating elements of the Iraqi populace. American casualties would probably rise, at least temporarily, as more troops appear on the streets -- as happened in the summer when a brigade from Alaska was extended and sent into Baghdad. And even if the increased troop presence initially frustrated the militias, it wouldn't be long before they found ways to work around the neighborhood searches and other obstacles -- if they chose to continue the conflict.

The truth is that the underlying problems in Iraq are political, not military.

That is why I urge you to join me in signing Wes Clark's petition urging President Bush to stop the surge!

Link

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Bush's 'surge' will backfire

Retired General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Commander of NATO, is a senior fellow at UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations wrote in the British publication The Independent...

The odds are that President George Bush will announce a "surge" of up to 20,000 additional US troops in Iraq. But why? Will this deliver a "win"? The answers: a combination of misunderstanding and desperation; and, probably not.

link

Friday, January 05, 2007

Rightwing Bloggers, defined.

From Editor and Publisher...

Brian Whitaker, Middle East editor at The Guardian of London since 2000, concludes his summary of the latest twist today this way: "Because of the number of reporters quoting Jamil Hussein, the bloggers were in effect alleging a generalised conspiracy by AP's Baghdad staff to deceive the news-reading public - an idea so unlikely as to be almost incredible.

"Interestingly, something similar happened with the hoax allegations relating to the Lebanese ambulances. As the bloggers pursued their claims, the only way they could support their claims was by implicating more and more Red Cross workers in a conspiracy to deceive - a conspiracy that, in the end, existed only in their imaginations.

Link...

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Traficante elected school board chairman

Traficante was nominated by newly elected at-large member Frank Lombardi and the motion received a second from Ward 2 member Deborah Greiffer.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Cranston Educational Advisory Board

Cranston Educational Advisory Board

December 4, 2006

7:00 PM Cranston East Room 301

REPRESENTED:

Arlington, Cranston West, Dutemple, Eden Park, Edgewood Highland, Garden City, Glen Hills, Rhodes, Stone Hill, Orchard Farms, Woodridge, NEL/CPS, Park View, Peters, SEPAB, Central Administration, School Committee

AGENDA:

The CEAB was called to order by Laura Gabiger at 7:05 PM.

Minutes:

Several changes were recommended to November’s minutes. For the Treasurer’s report….minutes should reflect the names of schools that have given money (Barrows for November). For Old Business, the discussion of the PTO University should reflect interest in having one in the spring; however that is not locked in at this point.

The minutes were approved as amended.

Treasurer’s Report:

Ken McDaniel gave the Treasurer’s report (attached).

Beginning Balance (Nov): $77.87

No expenses since last report

Income: $100 school assessments from Edgewood, Highlands, Dutemple, Hope Highlands, Park View.

Closing Balance: $177.87

Old Business:

Discussion focused on the models delegates will be bringing to the January meeting to show best practices for encouraging parent participation. It was encouraged that delegates include information to the extent available on publicity, level of participation, returns and how much is profit, level of parent participation. National model for parent involvement was discussed; delegate from Administration will collaborate with the delegate from Edgewood Highland to prepare a presentation on this model for the January meeting. From the schools, each delegate will have up to 3 minutes to present best practices.

Guest: Dr. Richard Scherza, Superintendent

Literacy: Primary concern (includes numeracy)
Problems: We are slipping backwards. Received notice that Cranston West has slipped to “In Need of Improvement” and Cranston East to “Not Improving.” Positions are being cut while expectations are increasing. Literacy in math statewide is not what it should be. Cranston is not making the investment that it needs in math. We know which areas we are weak in but practices are not changing. Need to put more resources into math and maintain literacy investment. Concerned that we are at the beginning of a slide. There has been concern about math Investigations program. We haven’t given it time to work (in 3rd year). Very seldom has this district stayed with anything long enough to really see those results. Massachusetts has made the greatest gains in math nationally, using largely math Investigations.

Math & Science important focus.
Vision for District: Address some of the emerging issues regarding student performance/achievement. Feels strongly that we should serve Cranston students in Cranston. We have the resources to serve special needs students. Starting this year to serve some of the special needs students that are currently being bussed out of the community. Believes strongly in full inclusion of special needs students. Edgewood Highlands piloted ESL full inclusion program last year. As a result ESL students out-performed non-ESL students. Purpose of ESL & Special Education program is to make students as independent as possible. Would like to focus on early intervention. Have embarked on public pre-school for special needs students. Supports all-day kindergarten, possibly starting with pilot at schools with a high number of ESL or special needs students. Have seen results from this approach in other schools.

Best case scenario is level funding this year. May be a year away from legislature establishing a funding formula for the state for school funding. Last session the legislature also placed a declining cap on the omnibus tax which supports school funding.

Questions:

Honors Classes, why do we have such a low representation of boys and ESL students?

One reason, emphasis has not been placed on it on the academic end. We are moving toward de-tracking. Under No Child Left Behind cannot have multiple levels…rigor should be there for all students.

Cranston graduates in college are reporting back that they feel very prepared for college but don’t have as many of the AP classes as other college students have. How can we encourage students to take AP classes?

There has not been demand for AP courses. Disagrees that colleges use number of AP courses to gauge high schools. Look at what is sacred…may need to cut out some electives to focus on academic courses.

Could you offer your views on proposals to encourage parent participation?

What do we mean by parent involvement? Need to get parents meaningfully involved. Need to create culture that values education across the board. Children need to be well fed and well dressed. Have more training programs for parents so they can understand what their children are learning. Let elected officials know what your priorities are so they will be reflected in the budget.

$1.2 million deficit….what kind of shape are we in?

Open session workshop, this week agenda item is looking at current budget gap. Looks like we’ve gotten that deficit down. Math coaches have been put on hold, reducing substitute costs. Health care costs through the first 4 months of the year have been down over what was budgeted. Made changes in all health care plans to realize cost savings. Utility costs for heat and snow removal costs have been down due to weather.

Math Investigations. A tool should be sent home to parents about how kids are being taught math.
There have been workshops on math Investigations for parents in the schools. Family newsletter should be going out at the beginning of each math Investigations unit explaining how it works.

How much longer before we do an assessment of math Investigations to determine if we should keep it?
At Western Hills, kids who entered 8th grade had highest grades ever—first group of kids that got math Investigations. Early results only are beginning to come in.

How does our per student funding compare to other schools?

Cranston Dept of Education website, go to Insight link. Warwick spends $1,400 more per student per year. Generally we stack up well to schools that invest more in students.

What is Cranston going to do about the large class sizes?

Ten more teachers cost roughly $1 million. Students do better in smaller classes, but particularly in younger grades. Students that are not in lower socio-economic groups, class size is less important. Dilemma at East this year…doesn’t have the space to house additional classrooms. Only about 9 elementary classes are operating above recommended cap, don’t believe that any are more than 2 students over the cap. Most important for K, 1, 2 level.

What is happening with regard to security?

Meeting regularly with state and federal emergency and security organizations. Don’t publicize protocol for things like bomb scares – don’t want to educate those who would perpetrate these crimes how to get around safeguards. The school district opens the school on weekends to test run protocols. When we have an incident, debrief immediately with security and emergency response agencies. People focus on what is least likely to happen. Biggest problem is actually students bringing in weapons.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:40 PM