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New MAT@USC Factsheets Are In
 Our MAT@USC Fact Sheet has been updated with the latest statistics and highlights about the program. The new fact sheet is available online and on the share drive. To request a hard copy, contact Thomas Jenkins at tjenkins@usc.edu Read the updated MAT@USC Fact Sheet.
And Game Changers and Newsmakers Webinar Today
MAT@USC is also hosting the second webinar in its "Game Changers and Newsmakers" series this afternoon, Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m. (PST).
Matt Miller, the nationally renowned political and education commentator, will be discussing the 2009 report that he co-authored for McKinsey and Company, "Closing the Talent Gap: Attracting and Retaining the Top-Third Graduates to Careers in Teaching."
Miller, the host of NPR's "Left, Right and Center" and frequent host of MSNBC Live, will discuss how countries with top performing education systems recruit, develop, and retain leading academic talent, and what it would take for the United States to employ similar strategies. He and Dr. Dominic Brewer will also weigh in on the latest big developments in the world of education, including this week's announcement that President Obama will be requesting a $4.5 billion increase for education funding in 2012.
Interested faculty members who have questions for Miller about the politics of education are encouraged to send them to Brewer at dominicb@usc.edu
"Game Changers and Newsmakers" is an MAT@USC series of webinars and special events highlighting the people and policies transforming education today and hosted by Brewer. The series offers MAT@USC students the opportunity to engage thought-leaders, decision-makers, investigators, commentators, and experts in the field of education.
Click here to read "Closing the Talent Gap"
To access the webinar, log in as a guest here.
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Cole and Ahmadi Blog on 21st Century Scholar
  This week, Dr. Darnell Cole and Shafiqa Ahmadi, J.D. are guest bloggers for CHEPA's 21st Century Scholar. Their series will focus on the issues surrounding the subject of their new book on Muslim student experiences on college campuses. Look for the following titles: Monday: Racialization of MuslimsTuesday: I Am a Woman, So What?Wednesday: Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Words Will (Never?) Hurt Me!Thursday: After all, Those Baby Mohammads Will grow Up to Be Adult MohammadsFriday: What's Religion Got to Do With It? Check out 21st Century Scholar. |
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Brewer Talks About Financial Impact of Better Teachers
 Dr. Dominic Brewer was quoted in a Daily Finance article about a recent National Bureau of Economic Research report that found better teachers could add $100 trillion to America's gross domestic product. The report's implication that officials need to find a better way to properly compensate the more-effective teachers while weeding out the worst ones may be valuable for a country looking to improve its own educational performance relative to its industrialized peers, Brewer said in the story. "This is a credible study, and it points to some of the trade-offs that are often ignored," says Brewer, who agrees with the report's hypothesis that investing in teacher quality would be far more effective than spending money on cutting average class sizes, according to the story. Read the article. |
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Upcoming Candidate Discussion
This Thursday, Feb. 17, please come out for a Candidate Discussion with Karen Hammerness, a teacher education tenure track candidate. Hammerness will give the talk, "Coherent Visions and Everyday Practices: Teacher Education in Context," from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. at a location to be determined. To RSVP, e-mail Lori Givens at lgivens@usc.edu |
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Tierney and Hentschke on Improving Capacity in CA
 
Dr. William G. Tierney and Dr. Guilbert Hentschke gave a presentation to the Board of Trustees at National University in Palm Springs over the weekend about how to remake the master Plan in California to improve access and attainment rates. Their lecture was based on the research they have done over the last six months dealing with the role of private institutions in improving capacity in California. Their research study is due for release this month. |
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Strunk Publishes Article & Attends Meeting in D.C.
Dr. Katharine Strunk recently published a new article in the Journal of Education Finance. The article is coauthored with 3rd year Ph.D. Student Dara Zeehandelaar, and is titled: "Differentiated Compensation: How California School Districts Use Economic Incentives to Target Teachers." Journal of Education Finance, 36(3), 268-293.
Strunk also just returned from Washington, D.C., where she was attending a meeting of junior faculty and researchers selected by The Fordham Institute and the American Enterprise Institute as "Emerging Education Policy Scholars."
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New Facilities Coordinator Joins School
Emily White has joined Rossier as Facilities Coordinator. She comes to the school from the USC Real Estate Office.
In her new role, White will be providing assistance for Rossier's facilities-related needs and functions involving its multiple sites -- Waite Phillips Hall, the downtown USC City Center (AT&T), University Village, our offices on Jefferson, and the CCT Research center in Redondo Beach. She will also be involved in the school's Business Continuity and Emergency Preparedness Plans, real estate, and leasing activities.
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Alumna Honored By USC APAA
Alumna Frances Hashimoto (BS '66) will be honored by the USC Asia Pacific Alumni Association as a 2010/2011 APAA Scholar.
Hashimoto, who is formerly a teacher, is President of Mikawaya, the manufacturer of traditional Japanese confections, pastries, and ice cream.
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Ed.D. Alumnus Hosts Webinar on Civic Engagement
 Dr. Scott Silverman (EdD '07) will be hosting a webinar on Civic Engagement on Wednesday, Feb 16, where he will explain how helping students develop skills and experience in service-learning and community-service opportunities does much more than build their future resumes. Silverman is the Coordinator of Orientation Programs in the office of Student Life at the University of California, Riverside. His doctoral research at Rossier focused on Facebook and other online social networks, and was chosen for the Outstanding Research Award by the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) in 2008. For more information, click here. |
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USC-PDK Leadership Summit
 USC Rossier Professional Development Programs and USC Phi Delta Kappa will host their 2nd annual USC-PDK Leadership Summit "Mirrors of Excellence - Windows of Opportunity" on Wednesday, June 1, from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the USC Davidson Conference Center. The Leadership Summit draws teachers and school leaders from the greater Los Angeles area to a one-day conference on best practices in teaching, leading, and learning and as such it's designed to be informative and hands-on, with role playing, participant interaction, and demonstrations. Presenters for this year's Summit include: Dr. William G. Tierney, Dr.Sandra Kaplan, Dr. Eugenia Mora-Flores, Dr. Laila-Angela Hasan, Dr. Brandon Martinez, Dr. Gabriela Maffi, Marge Hoctor, Wendy Marshall, Lisa M. Regan, and the 24th Street Theatre. Proposals for interactive presentations and workshops are welcome. Proposals are due on April 10, to Madeleine Mejia at madeleine.mejia@usc.edu. For info and registration details, visit the USC Rossier Professional Development website and click on K-12 Leadership. |
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State Board of Education Delays Parent Trigger
The State Board of Education, a majority of which were appointed recently by Governor Brown, made a contentious decision last week to delay implementation of the "parent trigger," which was adopted in last year's legislative session. The law allows parents to petition for changes at struggling schools, including closing the campus, overhauling staff, or converting to a charter school.
The Board will now decide on March 9th of whether to extend the emergency regulations, which are set to expire on March 15th. They also chose to not consider draft regulations submitted by the previous board because they felt they are too vague; instead they will start from scratch with more input from interest groups. At the hearing, a group of parent advocates from Compton urged the board to move forward.
Despite the state board delays, the Compton Unified School District said they would continue to use existing law and emergency regulations to process petitions from parents of students at McKinley Elementary School. Parents recently won a temporary restraining order barring the district from requiring them to verify their signatures in person with photo identification.
For more information or to speak with Veronica Villalobos, please call 916-442-6911 or email at Vvillalo@usc.edu |
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