CEG Names Top 10 CA Charter Schools

The Center on Educational Governance (CEG) released its 2011 USC School Performance Dashboard (formerly CSI-USC) last week, which for the first time ranked the top ten California charter schools. The report surveyed the academic performance and financial health of California's 800-plus charters.

"We were really struck by the diversity of the schools in the top 10," said Dr. Priscilla Wohlstetter. "There's not one model of schooling that is dominant: they are large and small, urban and suburban, high schools and elementary schools."

The Dashboard also includes an interactive web site for parents and others interested to find information on specific charters.

  

The Sacramento Bee, The Orange County Register, and KPCC-FM featured the report.  The report was also covered by The San Diego Union-Tribune, LAist, North County Times, Marin Independent Journal and Sacramento Business Journal.

Read the report or go to the interactive site here.

CUE Offers Equity Lens to AAC&U Institute

Dr. Estela Mara Bensimon (right) keynoted a plenary session last week at the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) 2011 Summer Institute on High-Impact Practices and Student Success at the University of Vermont. Her presentation addressed how social science research methods could be used to link equity to high impact practices.

The Institute brought together practitioners from colleges and universities nationwide to strategize ways to incorporate educational practices in their campus action plans that research suggests increase student retention and engagement rates. CUE project specialist Debbie Hanson (left) also participated as an instructor in one of four tracks.  Focusing on high impact practices, she offered interactive activities and other methods to assess the cultural inclusiveness of such practices for faculty and staff.

Inside Higher Ed Cites Kezar on Part-Time Faculty

Inside Higher Ed cited Dr. Adrianna Kezar regarding part-time higher education faculty.

Kezar's newsletter for the American Association of Colleges and Universities stated that administrators typically offer little in the way of orientation and mentoring to part-time faculty, or opportunities for input on curriculum and reading lists, or such basics as office space and clerical support -- all of which have an impact on student learning, the article notes.

"I need to emphasize that this is not because part-time faculty are not quality instructors, but instead because of inferior working conditions and lack of institutional expectations around student engagement," Kezar wrote.

Read the article.

Polikoff Publishes Article in AERJ

Dr. Morgan Polikoff has an article in the latest issue of the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ).

His article is titled "How Well Aligned Are State Assessments of Student Achievement With State Content Standards?" and examines how content standards correspond with the content being tested and vice versa.

 Read it here.

Prof Picus and Alum Meszaros on Parcel Tax

Dr. Larry Picus (right) told the San Bernardino Sun that large school districts statewide are looking at a parcel tax election due to state budget crises.

"Clearly districts are looking for ways to find additional revenues," he said. "Under Proposition 13, this is the only option they have."

The article also noted that Rossier alumnus Dr. Imre Meszaros (EdD '10) (left) wrote his dissertation on the topic and won the top doctoral dissertation award in Rossier for his research on "The Political Economy of California School District Parcel Tax Elections."

Meszaros said he found certain factors indicated whether or not a parcel tax would fail. One ingredient for success is to have a community of highly educated people, a factor that works independently of income levels. That's one of the reasons parcel tax measures have been successful in Berkeley, Meszaros said.


Read the article.

Rossier Faculty Advise Incoming USC Freshmen

Several Rossier faculty members will be leading three "micro-seminars" on August 18-19 for incoming USC freshmen during the University's traditional Welcome Week.

The sessions, which are hosted by the USC Provost's Office, connect faculty who do not normally teach freshmen to the new incoming cohort of undergraduates. The sessions are designed to reinforce the academic and intellectual nature of the college experience for these new students.  Possible micro-seminar topics are submitted by faculty across the University. Rossier's topics are:

Dr. Darnell Cole and Dr. Melora Sundt on "Diversity on Today's College Campus",

Dr. Melora Sundt and Dr. Kristan Venegas on "Identity and Social Media",

Dr. Tracy Poon Tambascia on "How Do You Lead? Why Leadership and Involvement Matter in College".

Alumna on Importance of Muslim and Arab Courses

Dr. Diane Shammas (PhD '09) was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education's letters column last week about the need for American Ethnic Studies programs to establish Arab American and Muslim American courses within their curricula.

Shammas has spent both 2010 and 2011 spring semesters living in the Gaza Strip and teaching at the American Corner at the Al Azhar University. She also served as a research analyst for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, researching data and preparing manuscripts for publication in community mental health journals.

Read the letter.

This Week on CHEPA's 21st Century Scholar...

Monday:  Bill Tierney recalls his father's influence in his life.

Tuesday: Randy Clemens discusses the traditional summer break and the achievement gap.

Wednesday: Bill Tierney blogs about how he and his mother bonded over books.

Thursday: Kristan Venegas talks about Facebook, adult students, and financial aid.

Friday: Bill Tierney describes two fond memories of his older brothers.

Go to 21st Century Scholar.