From marcosresiste at hotmail.com  Wed Oct 21 17:03:24 2009
From: marcosresiste at hotmail.com (marcosresiste at hotmail.com)
Date: 21 Oct 2009 11:03:24 -0500
Subject: [Educationforall] Article from SocialistWorker.org
Message-ID: <20091021160324.10911.qmail@dww.pajunas.net>

Here is a good article with some concrete proposals/ ideas that would get us  
out of this "budget crises" mess.

View original article here:

http://socialistworker.org/2009/09/08/simple-as-tax-the-rich

Analysis: Andy Libson
======== IS IT AS SIMPLE AS "TAX THE RICH"? ==================================

Andy Libson, a teacher in San Francisco, proposes an alternative to the  
California budget crisis that doesn't involve massive cuts to programs that  
help working families.

September 8, 2009 | Issue 705

YES. IT is. It's that simple.

This last year brought billions of dollars in cuts to K-12, community  
colleges and four-year colleges, California public works projects, and the  
Medi-Cal state health care services program.

The budget axe even struck the Department of Corrections. Some might be  
tempted to celebrate cuts in a California prison system filled with  
non-violent drug offenders and victims of draconian three-strikes laws. But  
there is no silver lining here either, since most of the programs on the  
chopping block involve rehabilitative services like substance abuse  
counseling, vocational training and education programs.

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's Democratic legislators had to  
come up with a plan to overcome a projected $23.2 billion budget shortfall,  
their solution was to cut spending by $16 billion entirely in areas critical  
for working families: health care, education and jobs. Per pupil spending on  
K-12 students will drop from $8,257 to $6,918. The California Work  
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program will lose $528  
million in funding.

The message is clear: The California budget shortfall will be paid for by  
working people--in particular, the most desperate and most disadvantaged.

Socialists believe the rich have a fairly simple solution for solving the  
budget crisis: Make workers, the poor, children and the elderly pay. We  
reject that answer and propose our own simple solution: Tax the rich.

Our solution is predicated on some basic principles. First, the rich should  
pay because they can afford to. A person who makes $50,000 a year and pays  
one-third of their income in various forms of taxes may not be able to afford  
rent, and certainly won't be able to buy a home--whereas a person who makes  
$500,000 a year and pays one-third of their income in taxes will, at worst,  
have to save their pennies a few extra years to afford that boathouse they  
had their eye on, or to trade in their Lexus SUV for a Jaguar.

And let's not forget that there are 101 billionaires in California who could  
end this crisis tomorrow and still have money left over to buy the Sacramento  
politician of their choice.

Bottom line: the rich should pay because they spend their entire lives  
marinated in money and excess.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

BUT LOOKING at economic trends in California over the last two decades, there  
is a deeper reason that the rich should pay. Overwhelmingly, the rich are the  
ones who benefited from the tremendous economic engine that is the California  
economy--which ranks as one of the top 10 economies in the world as measured  
by gross domestic product.

Here is just a quick sketch of what the state's wealthy were able to do for  
themselves over the last decade alone. Between 2000 and 2007, total corporate  
profits tripled, while gross income for individuals, adjusted for inflation,  
went up by only about 28 percent. But even that lower individual income  
statistic is deceptive. Between 2000 and 2007, 60 percent of all income  
increases went to the top one-fifth of income earners. Income for the bottom  
80 percent of earners in California went up 10 percent.

There can be no clearer picture drawn of the rich getting richer and  
corporations getting stinking rich than these few statistics provided by that  
hotbed of California radicalism known as the California Franchise Tax Board.

Did these wealthy few pay their fair share over the last few decades? No.

According to the Franchise Tax Board, 73 percent of all California  
corporations reported no profits last year and paid a flat fee of $800 to the  
state. The corporate tax rate has dropped from a high in 1983 of 9.7 percent  
to just 5.5 percent today. Overall, the portion of the state budget paid for  
by taxes on corporations is only 10 percent, while 50 percent comes from  
personal income taxes.

Let's look closely at the California state income tax statistics to see  
whether they reflect the situation where income for the richest 20 percent of  
Californians skyrocketed relative to the other 80 percent. Amazingly, the  
poorest one-fifth of income earners pay almost 12 percent of their income in  
taxes, while the richest one-fifth pay only 7 percent of their income in  
taxes.

This is the opposite of a progressive tax structure. It's not even a flat  
tax. I'm not sure what word best describes this tax structure. Regressive?  
Criminal?

By laying out these basic facts, it's clear that the California budget deal  
worked out with bipartisan support in Sacramento and the unequal tax  
structure it maintains are not only attacks on workers but a vigorous defense  
of the interests of the rich and their priorities.

Taxing the rich is the only solution that's fair, humane, just and completely  
affordable.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

HOW AFFORDABLE? That's the fun part. Here are just a few ideas for getting  
the rich to begin to pay their fair share. Most of them can be found at  
excellent Web sites like the California Budget Project [1] and the California  
Federation of Teachers [2].

-- Idea No. 1: Raise corporate taxes to the level they were at in 1983 under  
"tax-and-spend" Gov. Ronald Reagan. Additional state budget revenues: $8.4  
billion.

-- Idea No. 2: Remove all tax breaks for California corporations from this  
past year and the previous one. Additional state budget revenues: $2.6  
Billion.

-- Idea No. 3: Remove tax exemptions from capital gains for inherited  
property. Additional state budget revenues: $3.2 billion.

-- Idea No. 4: Raise the top bracket on income tax. Currently, income earners  
between $100,000 and $999,999 are all in the same bracket. Additional state  
budget revenues: $3 to $5 billion.

-- Idea No. 5: A California oil severance fee on Big Oil giants that are  
lining the coastline with their ghastly oil derricks. Additional state budget  
revenues: $1 billion

-- Idea No. 6: Reform Proposition 13 by repealing all property laws that  
exempt businesses from paying property taxes, while preserving those that  
protect working families who have owned their homes for decades. Additional  
state budget revenues: $3 billion.

These are just a few of the possible ideas that could completely pay for the  
budget crisis and leave our schools, health care and job programs completely  
untouched. These ideas aren't just realistic. They are the only plan that  
makes sense in a world run by anyone other than crooks and sadists.

Unfortunately, the world /is/ run by these sorts of people, and if you don't  
believe me, check out a recent quote by "philanthropist" Eli Broad, who is  
described as a business mogul and Democratic donor in a recent article in the  
/Wall Street Journal/:

>Mr. Broad [says] in no uncertain terms that it is time to get rid of  
>education schools--"they're the lowest-ranking students at a university."  
>And he is enthusiastic about all the change that is possible when urban  
>school districts go bankrupt--as Oakland, Calif., did a few years ago--"or  
>what happened in New Orleans, which is the equivalent of bankruptcy."
>
And this is from the liberal wing of the capitalist class. For these people,  
natural and manmade disasters are not to be feared or even avoided, but  
opportunities to be seized to use working people's fear and desperation to  
extract even more concessions.

This is why it is critical that our unions take a firm stand against any  
concessions around issues like layoffs, pay cuts, furlough days and benefit  
cuts. All these concessions are being justified with the language of "fiscal  
reality" and "shared sacrifice." Behind calls for these cuts lies the real  
project of the rich and powerful in California: the "shock doctrine" of  
union-busting, privatization and austerity.

Republican and Democrats are collaborating in Sacramento to hide this truth  
from us. It's the job of socialists, radicals and anyone else who is sick of  
giving in to the rich to put forward a clear path that says two things: "No  
more concessions, tax the rich."

It will take a fight by our unions to make the rich pay their fair share. But  
the starting point for waging this battle is for working people to understand  
that the money is there--and that we have to take it from them, or they will  
continue to take it from us.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Material on this Web site is licensed by SocialistWorker.org, under a  
Creative Commons (by-nc-nd 3.0) [3] license, except for articles that are  
republished with permission. Readers are welcome to share and use material  
belonging to this site for non-commercial purposes, as long as they are  
attributed to the author and SocialistWorker.org.


[1] http://www.cbp.org
[2] http://www.cft.org
[3] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0



From justinakers at cox.net  Thu Oct 22 06:47:30 2009
From: justinakers at cox.net (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Justin_Akers_Chac=F3n?=)
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:47:30 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] Obama Wins a Battle as a Teachers' Union Shows
	Flexibility
In-Reply-To: <20091021160324.10911.qmail@dww.pajunas.net>
References: <20091021160324.10911.qmail@dww.pajunas.net>
Message-ID: <3A9584CC573A408E972A0A0DEC376DA9@Justinscomputer>

Wall Street Journal

EDUCATION OCTOBER 17, 2009
Obama Wins a Battle as a Teachers' Union Shows Flexibility
By NEIL KING JR.

A showdown between the White House and the powerful
teachers' unions looks, for the moment, a little less likely.

This week in New Haven, Conn., the local teachers union
agreed, in a 21-1 vote, to changes widely resisted by unions elsewhere,
including tough performance evaluations and fewer job protections for bad
teachers.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, as well as the unions, said
the New Haven contract could be repeated in other school districts.

"I rarely say that something is a model or a template
for something else, but this is both," said Randi Weingarten, president of
the American Federation of Teachers, who helped broker the New Haven deal.

"This shows a willingness to go into areas that used to
be seen as untouchable," Mr. Duncan said.

His cause for optimism is this: If teachers' unions start
showing flexibility in other cities, the administration's high-stakes push 
to
boost graduation rates and improve test scores at public schools could get a
lot easier. That might even spare the administration an unwanted fight with 
a
labor force that gave Mr. Obama a big lift in his election.

Under pressure from the Education Department, the country's
two powerful teachers unions, Ms. Weingarten's AFT and the larger National
Education Association, are already budging in ways that were previously
unthinkable. The two unions have a combined membership of 3.6 million
employees.

The AFT recently issued a batch of innovation grants to
districts that are tying teacher pay to performance -- a practice usually
frowned upon by unions. The NEA is taking similar steps to encourage tougher
evaluations and to loosen seniority systems, moves that Mr. Duncan called
"monumental breakthroughs."

It is also noteworthy that the AFT seems almost as pleased
with New Haven as Mr. Duncan.

Public schools in many bigger cities, including New York,
Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., are seeing the usual tension between 
unions
and school administrators.

In Washington, Chancellor Michelle Rhee has collided with
both the national and local unions. The city moved ahead recently with the
firing of 388 school employees, nearly 6% of the work force.

In New Haven, by contrast, all sides agreed on the new
contract after months of closed-door negotiations. The deal allows the city 
to
close its worst schools and bring in new management, though any new teachers
would have to join the union. In exchange, the union got an average 3% raise
each year for four years.

"We now have unusual flexibility for a unionized
system," said New Haven Mayor John DeStefano.

A big question now is whether Mr. Duncan can proceed with
federal efforts to remake U.S. public schools without stirring up storms 
like
the one in Washington.

His one big advantage is financial. The administration plans
early next year to distribute $4.3 billion under its "Race to the
Top" program to help states set new testing standards, boost teacher
quality and help rescue -- or close -- thousands of the worst-performing
schools in the U.S. Beyond that, the department has another $5 billion for
various school-improvement and innovation grants.

The administration is using its pot of money to get states
to revamp rules that bar performance pay and charter schools, which rely on
public money but are run outside the public system. Nearly 10 states have 
taken
such steps to qualify for the funds. Select states will have to use the 
money
to reward and encourage the changes.

So far, the administration has avoided a fight with unions.
Mr. Duncan meets every few weeks with Ms. Weingarten and the NEA's 
president,
Dennis Von Roekel.

But there is still plenty of room for friction.

Mr. Duncan, the former superintendent of Chicago public
schools, got booed by teachers in July when he praised performance-based 
merit
pay at NEA's annual convention. "You can boo," he told the crowd,
"just don't throw shoes, please."

A few weeks later, the Education Department released
tentative guidelines for changes states have to undertake to qualify for the
federal grant money. Unions, school boards, city governments and outside 
groups
responded with more than 1,200 recommended changes.

With the final rules scheduled to be out in mid-November,
the unions are warning about limits on their flexibility. The groups are 
most
troubled by Mr. Duncan's quest to link teacher pay to student performance,
especially if it is measured only through standardized tests.

"To evaluate a teacher or a school on a single test
makes no sense," said Mr. Von Roekel, who used to teach high school math
in Arizona.

The unions also are wary of some of Mr. Duncan's other
prescriptions, including his proposals to shut down and reorganize many of 
the
country's most troubled schools.

For now, potential antagonists are holding fire. "I may
disagree with their tactics," Mr. Von Roekel said, referring to Mr. Duncan
and his team. "But I wouldn't question their intent or motivation."

Write to Neil King Jr. at neil.king at wsj.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A3
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
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Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber 
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From marcosresiste at hotmail.com  Fri Oct 23 23:54:05 2009
From: marcosresiste at hotmail.com (marcosresiste at hotmail.com)
Date: 23 Oct 2009 17:54:05 -0500
Subject: [Educationforall] Article from SocialistWorker.org
Message-ID: <20091023225405.25284.qmail@dww.pajunas.net>

View original article here:

http://socialistworker.org/2009/10/23/fight-for-public-education

Comment
======== ORGANIZING THE FIGHT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION ===========================

October 23, 2009

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seven participants in this weekend's conference on defending public education  
in California--*Ian Steinman*, a student at UC Santa Cruz; *Alex Schmaus*, a  
student at San Francisco State University; *Adrienne Johnson*, a teacher at  
San Francisco Community School; *Nick Kardahji*, a student at UC Berkeley;  
*Brian Cruz*, a worker at City College of San Francisco; *Jessie Muldoon*, a  
teacher at Oakland High School; and *Kathryn Lybarger*, a worker at UC  
Berkeley--examine some of the issues and questions that activists are coming  
together to address.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SEVERAL HUNDRED college students, faculty, campus workers, and pre-K to grade  
12 teachers and students from across California will gather at the University  
of California at Berkeley on October 24 to chart a course of action to defend  
public education.

The UC Berkeley General Assembly issued the call at a mass meeting of  
hundreds the night of the September 24 statewide student and faculty walkout  
and strike by campus workers in the Union of Professional and Technical  
Employees. Thousands of people participated at the 10 UC campuses across the  
state.

That was the first large response to catastrophic budget cuts totaling more  
than $13 billion passed by the Democratic-controlled state legislature and  
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The cuts have led to hundreds of  
workers losing their jobs, faculty forced to take unpaid furlough days, the  
rejection of tens of thousands of students from college, and severely reduced  
classes and services for the remaining students.

Tuition has been raised by more than 25 percent on average in the past couple  
years, and steep increases are projected next fall--for instance, the UC  
administration is proposing a 34 percent increase for the fall 2010.

Meanwhile, in pre-K to grade 12 education, teachers and students have already  
suffered large-scale layoffs, overcrowded class rooms and a rapid-fire  
effort, centered in Los Angeles and Richmond, to turn hundreds of schools  
over to private charter school companies.

To top it off, everyone expects that next year's budget cuts will be even  
worse, with perhaps the largest-scale layoffs of public school teachers in  
California history.

Against this background, the October 24 conference in Berkeley is a welcome  
sign of opposition and will play a crucial role in organizing resistance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*State of the movement*

Like all movements in their first phases, there are many different ideas  
about how to go forward.

The multiplicity of ideas is complicated by the fact that the movement spans  
three separate public college systems (the University of California and  
California State University systems, and a complex web of community college  
systems), as well as pre-K to grade 12 public education.

All four of these sectors are facing different forms of attacks (although  
there is a lot of overlap), serve different types of students, and suffer  
from different levels of corporate penetration.

Within each of these systems, there is a wide variety of political players:  
high school, undergraduate and graduate students, tenured faculty and junior  
instructors, custodial staff and technical employees, humanities and science  
departments, teachers and classified staff. These groups are represented by a  
long list of unions, professional and departmental groups, and political and  
ethnic student organizations.

There are different political ideas among of these groups of people, running  
from moderate liberals to socialists and anarchists, and all points along the  
spectrum.

And there is no agreement on tactics. Some students and teachers believe that  
lobbying elected officials is essential, while others have taken direct  
action to occupy buildings or liberate libraries closed due to budget cuts.

Finally, the level of organization varies widely between schools and  
campuses.

All of this is a perfectly natural situation, given the huge influx of tens  
of thousands of people into a struggle to defend their education and  
livelihoods, and it should be welcomed as a positive sign of the birth of a  
genuine movement that has staying power.

However, it does mean that, despite the promise of October 24, there are also  
dangers that the divisions could overwhelm the conference and prevent the  
adoption of a relatively unified, concrete plan for the next stage in the  
fight.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*Building a united front*

Given this reality, how can October 24 chart a course forward? The key is  
understanding what can be agreed upon and what cannot.

First is the question of demands. On the one hand, there is a wide variety of  
demands within the movement overall. But at the same time, there are some  
radicals--including some who have led occupations--who don't believe in any  
demands at all.

While that is an extreme position, held only by a small minority, it is  
probably only possible (and necessary) at this stage to agree on very broad  
slogans: No cuts, no layoffs, no tuition hikes, or something similar to this.  
Of course, individual campuses, unions, students groups and others should be  
free to modify or supplement these demands as they see fit.

Second, the necessity of multi-sector and statewide action in order to  
maximize our impact means that the conference should concentrate on trying to  
develop unity around concrete actions.

At this point in the semester, there is probably time for one more unified  
set of actions, most likely to be timed around days of protest at the UC  
Regents meeting in LA on November 17 and 18.

For the spring, there is general agreement around the need for a united  
walkout, strike and day of action in the early part of the semester within  
some key groups--for example, the Student Worker Action Team at Berkeley, the  
General Assemblies at City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State  
University, and the Educators for a Democratic Union caucus of teachers in  
San Francisco.

There is a debate over the date. Student Unity and Power originally suggested  
the day be timed to coincide with the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq on  
March 18. However, on that date, nine of 11 UC schools will be on spring  
break, meaning that statewide unity would be severely weakened.

Also, thousands of public school teacher layoff notices will go out on March  
15, so it makes sense to take action before these are issued, in order to  
pressure authorities to reduce the number of layoffs as much as possible.

For these two reasons, the ISO will argue for moving the date up to March 11,  
and we hope unity can be achieved around this date, or another one close to  
it.

Among other proposals that may arise, the group Speak Out! is suggesting that  
instead of a statewide day of action, a march on Sacramento should be  
organized. But this would be better set for later in the spring, perhaps  
timed to coincide with May Day of the Teacher on May 4.

Delaying it will allow the earlier spring action to build up forces at  
campuses and schools across the state, and it will be better timed to come in  
the middle of the legislature's budget negotiations.

In addition to these basic actions, the conference should pick a date for a  
spring organizing conference (perhaps in early April) in order to assess the  
early spring action and make plans for the summer and fall.

No doubt, there will be many other great ideas put forward, from symbolic  
actions like wearing armbands, to direct actions like occupying or liberating  
buildings. However, it should be possible to incorporate most of these ideas  
into the basic framework of action described above.

For instance, if teachers at a particular school want to do a sick-out on  
March 11 while teachers at another school want to do informational picketing,  
there's no conflict. If students at one campus want to liberate a library,  
while other want to hold a teach-in, or organize a mass rally and march to  
block traffic, there's no conflict. If workers in one union want to take  
action, while workers in another union want to hold a lunch-hour rally, all  
these tactics--which express both their political ideas and level of  
organization--can work together to make sure that March 11 has a truly  
powerful, statewide impact.

Finally, there will no doubt be many differences of opinion and clashes in  
organizational style on October 24. Keeping in mind that the agenda is only  
really six hours long, there is a tremendous danger that conference can get  
derailed. This will put a premium on good sense, patience and collaboration  
among hundreds of people who have not previously worked together.

There will certainly be some rough edges, but if activists keep their eyes on  
the prize, October 24 will prove to be an important step in pushing back  
against the attacks and providing inspiration to teachers, students, workers  
and faculty across the country.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

What you can do
The statewide mobilizing conference to defend public education will take  
place on October 24, at the University of California at Berkeley, in Pauley  
Ballroom, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are a teacher, student, staff or  
faculty in public education, you are welcome to attend the conference.

Look for more information at the CA Campaign to Save Public Education [1] Web  
site.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Material on this Web site is licensed by SocialistWorker.org, under a  
Creative Commons (by-nc-nd 3.0) [2] license, except for articles that are  
republished with permission. Readers are welcome to share and use material  
belonging to this site for non-commercial purposes, as long as they are  
attributed to the author and SocialistWorker.org.


[1] http://www.savecapubliceducation.org/
[2] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0



From wscherer420 at hotmail.com  Sat Oct 24 03:21:27 2009
From: wscherer420 at hotmail.com (Wayne Scherer)
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:21:27 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] Southwestern College Professors Suspended For
	Participating In Rally
In-Reply-To: <20091023225405.25284.qmail@dww.pajunas.net>
References: <20091023225405.25284.qmail@dww.pajunas.net>
Message-ID: <BAY141-W1336F887A9BEA9C4DB8EFDF6BC0@phx.gbl>


Looks like its our move next...

 

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/23/bn23college-instructors-suspended/

 

Southwestern College instructors suspended following rally
By Maureen Magee
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
12:40 p.m. October 23, 2009
 
CHULA VISTA ? At least four Southwestern College instructors have been suspended following a recent campus rally to protest plans to eliminate more than 400 course offerings and to demonstrate growing dissatisfaction with the administration. 

 

A crowd of about 300 assembled on the Chula Vista campus Thursday to demonstrate against the cuts. The group of mostly students walked across campus and circled the president's office before breaking up. 

 

It wasn't until 25 students showed up for their 9 a.m. creative writing class Friday that they realized instructors ? including their own ? had been suspended. When the students walked toward the president's office, they said campus police intervened and accused them of participating in an unlawful assembly. 

 

College president Raj Chopra is on vacation. His executive assistant, Mary Ganio, released a statement saying Southwestern is investigating a personnel matter that is unrelated to Thursday's protest. 

 

The College ?will not comment at this time about the substance of the investigation or any particular employee,? Ganio stated. 

The memo went on to say: ?I can share that the investigation is unrelated to the student rally. The College shares our students' concerns about reductions in State funding for the College. The College respects, values and is committed to freedom of expression.? 

 

Creative writing instructor Andrew Rempt is among the faculty members who have been suspended with pay following the incident. He said the campus human relations chief and a police officer showed up at his home Thursday night to give him notice of a paid suspension. 

 

The popular instructor declined to discuss details of the suspension letter, but said he didn't see how it couldn't be related to the rally. 

 

Maureen Magee: (619) 293-1369; 
 
 		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
Windows 7: It works the way you want. Learn more.
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/default.aspx?ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen2:102009
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From justinakers at cox.net  Mon Oct 26 14:56:18 2009
From: justinakers at cox.net (=?Windows-1252?Q?Justin_Akers_Chac=F3n?=)
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:56:18 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] Can Free Speech Be Furloughed? First Amendment
	fight at SWC
Message-ID: <30FF68CDC1DF43E491F56AC710F19DBB@Justinscomputer>


We (Education for All) should support the Southwestern College faculty 
who were victimized for practicing free speech against budget cuts. 
Jim, could we invite them to speak at the 10/29 rally? 
A solidarity campaign would not only help the teachers in their efforts,
but expose the impacts of the bugdet cuts on teachers, students, and
our rights. 

Justin


  http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/26/southwestern


Can Free Speech Be Furloughed? 
October 26, 2009 


On Thursday, several hundred students at Southwestern College, a community college outside of San Diego, held a peaceful protest over budget cuts that are leading to the cancellation of more than 400 additional course sections next semester. On Friday, the students got a sign that someone was paying attention to the protest, but they didn't get the response they wanted: Four faculty members were immediately suspended and barred from the campus or using the campus e-mail system.
The suspended professors include the current and former presidents of the faculty union, which supported the student protest.

With California's economy in a free fall, and the budgets of public colleges and universities in similar decline, student and faculty protests have been picking up across the state, and several campuses have seen building takeovers or other examples of civil disobedience. But the Southwestern situation -- with faculty members getting kicked off campus -- is notable for the extent of administration reaction to a protest that was relatively mild compared to some others.

The letters that the four faculty members received telling them that they had been suspended immediately did not say why. But the letters referenced (by number) a section of California's penal code that bars people from "willfully disrupting the orderly operation of the campus."

Southwestern officials could not be reached to explain why they took this action. The college's spokeswoman was recently laid off and she has not been replaced. The college's president, Raj Chopra, is reportedly on vacation and his e-mail reply says that he will be off campus until November 13. Chopra's executive assistant gave local reporters a statement that said that the reason for the suspensions could not be made public, and that "the college shares our students' concerns about reductions in state funding for the college. The college respects, values and is committed to freedom of expression.?

Philip Lopez, an English professor who is president of the faculty union, said that there is no other possible explanation for the suspensions except the rally. "Nothing else happened the day before," he said.

Lopez said that the union -- an affiliate of the National Education Association -- has consulted with union lawyers and is demanding a hearing, which the college must schedule within seven days. He said that the rally received widespread support because the students and faculty members were questioning how the college is responding to the budget crisis. While state cuts are severe, he said, the college has insisted on keeping a reserve fund that is twice as large as necessary, when cutting its size might save more courses. He noted that the cuts planned for next semester will be about one fourth of courses in many departments.

Regardless of one's views of the college's strategy, he said it was wrong for professors to be kicked off campus without any explanation and apparently because they criticized the administration. In his case, he said, he was forced to miss a meeting with administrators Friday at which he was to have represented faculty interests, because he was ordered off campus. 

"Clearly the administration doesn't think there is such a thing as the First Amendment," he said.

Andrew Rempt, a writing instructor who was suspended, said that he was most upset about being pulled from his classes and not being able to help his students. "I feel terrible not being able to teach my courses," he said. "We?re are at a real key point in the semester, a real make-or-break point for many of my students, and I can?t be there to help them. This is very difficult for me to deal with because that?s the whole point to what we do."

Ron Norton Reel, president of the Community College Association, an affiliate of the California Teachers Association (the NEA's California unit), issued a statement Sunday denouncing the suspensions.

"In misguided actions by administrators who have no respect for the rights of faculty, reports that at least four instructors at Southwestern College have been suspended with pay after taking part in a campus rally against severe cuts are extremely disturbing," he said. "When a college president and governing board support cutting 25 percent of all course offerings and exclude faculty from important decisions, the right response is to challenge these cuts. State education cuts are threatening the future of this college and many others. Retaliating against faculty for standing up for their school and students is a reckless course of action."

? Scott Jaschik

. 

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From justinakers at cox.net  Mon Oct 26 15:04:17 2009
From: justinakers at cox.net (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Justin_Akers_Chac=F3n?=)
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:04:17 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] 10-29 @ 3pm: Rally Against Education Budget Cuts,
	Balboa Park
Message-ID: <DCB7977203BF4F7DBA727832C282D698@Justinscomputer>





fight 

for 

CalIFornIa's FuturE! 

no more budget cuts To Education! 

Thursday, October 29th 

3 pm 

Rally in balboa park 

(CornEr oF prEsIDEnt's way & park BlvD) 

& 

marCH to tHE GovErnor's oFFICE! 

For more information call: 619-640-1155 

This event is sponsored by: the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1931, San Diego Education Association, BEAT, City College ASG, Save Our Schools, the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, University of California AFT, UPTE, Southwestern College Education Association CCA/CTA/NEA, the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, Palomar Faculty Federation AFT Local 6161 
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From marcosresiste at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 27 01:14:47 2009
From: marcosresiste at hotmail.com (Marcos Perez)
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:14:47 -0600
Subject: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march
Message-ID: <SNT120-W4301A20548B816799CD826A1B90@phx.gbl>


Companeros/as,

 

Attached is a basic flyer for our next Education For All meeting on November 6th, please take the time to print and make some copies. I think we should get this flyer out to everybody at the rally/march this thursday 10/29 and invite everybody to participate in our next meeting. I also believe this is going to be a great opportunity to get students from City College involved but also perhaps get students and teachers and rank and file workers (such as janitors, tutors, groundskeepers, librarians, cafeteria workers, ect.) from other campuses involved as well. Lastly I think it would be a great idea if we marched on thursday as a contingent, the Education For All contingent. We could perhaps get together to make signs and we should also make one large EDUCATION FOR ALL sign and have us march behind. (if anybody has any extra large cardboard box, or sheet, or something similar for a large sign, please let me know). I am willing to get together on wednesday to make signs and posters, perhaps in the late afternoon/ evening. Please let me know if you would like to help out with this. My phone number is 619-292-5898.

 

Paz,

 

Marcos
 		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
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From marcosresiste at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 27 05:49:09 2009
From: marcosresiste at hotmail.com (Marcos Perez)
Date: 27 Oct 2009 00:49:09 -0500
Subject: [Educationforall] Article from SocialistWorker.org
Message-ID: <20091027054909.30154.qmail@dww.pajunas.net>

View original article here:

http://socialistworker.org/2009/10/27/conference-calls-spring-walkout

National
======== CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE CALLS SPRING WALKOUT ==========================

Nick Kardahji reports from the conference against budget cuts this weekend at  
UC Berkeley, called to organize the fight to defend public education.

October 27, 2009

MORE THAN 700 students, teachers, faculty and campus workers gathered at the  
University of California Berkeley on October 24 to discuss how to take the  
fight for public education in California to the next level.

The call for the a statewide conference--which represented not only student  
and faculty from California's several public university systems, but  
representatives of campus unions, as well as teachers and students from the  
pre-K to grade 12 public school system--was issued by a general assembly at  
UC Berkeley in the aftermath of protests on September 24 that accompanied a  
walkout of faculty, staff and students at the 10 campuses in the UC system.

After weeks of careful planning, representatives from all sectors of the  
state education system and from across the state came together to share their  
experiences of the devastating cuts imposed by the state government, and to  
form a united strategy of resistance. The overwhelming mood of the conference  
was to reject the failed strategy of legislative lobbying in favor of more  
radical direct action.

The conference began at 10 a.m. with opening speeches. Blanca Misse, a UCB  
graduate student in the French Department, acknowledged the huge significance  
of the conference while reminding the audience of the challenges ahead. "If  
we are unable to unite today in a democratic mass movement, we will not be  
able to win free public education," Misse said.

Similarly, Kathryn Lybarger, a groundskeeper at UC Berkeley and member of  
AFSCME Local 3299 member, emphasized the "historic" importance of a mass  
gathering of teachers, workers and students to unite and plan action. "They  
have a plan, and they've already started putting it into action," Lybarger  
said. "Now we have to organize ourselves as one united movement and show them  
that the era of 'business as usual' is over."

Following the morning plenary session, during which various proposals for  
action were put forward, breakout sessions were held for the various  
educational sectors in attendance. Debate about the best way forward was  
often heated, but remained comradely for the most part, and the sentiment  
that we can only achieve gains if we work together was strongly felt.

While plans for immediate direct action were proposed, the majority view was  
that proper planning and coordination would lead to more effective results.  
Andy Libson, a teacher at Mission High School in San Francisco and member of  
United Educators of San Francisco, spoke for many in the K-12 system when he  
argued that "a plan for radical, but achievable, action will allow us to put  
pressure on our unions to take a more combative stance."

By the time the conference reconvened to decide on a finalized plan, a number  
of proposals had emerged as popular options. While a vocal minority  
aggressively pushed for an indefinite general strike, the overwhelming  
majority voted to accept a proposal that called for a united strike and day  
of action on March 4 across public education, with specific tactics to be  
decided democratically by each school and college. This allows for maximum  
unity and coordination across the state while simultaneously allowing options  
for those on campuses and in school systems where the possibilities of action  
are more limited.

With plans for a second mobilizing conference in early spring approved and a  
coordinating committee assembled, the conference drew to a close.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ONE OF the most important achievements of the conference was the renewed  
sense of confidence and clarity it provided to campus activists disoriented  
in the wake of the huge September 24 walkouts across the UC system.

In the month following this inspiring action, different viewpoints emerged,  
from both liberals and those on the far left, on how best to advance the  
struggle. On many campuses, this meant there was no unified lead or clear  
strategy.

The success of Saturday's conference should give a renewed sense of purpose  
to the majority of activists who see action as essential, but also recognize  
the need to build a mass democratic movement and coordinate action as widely  
as possible. It will be the job of socialists and other radicals in the  
movement to ensure that maximum advantage is taken of this opportunity to  
begin turning back the tide of savage cuts to education.

While only an initial step, if the success and spirit of Saturday's  
conference can be maintained going forward, the path to defending public  
education--in California and beyond--will be clearer.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

What you can do
Find out more about the statewide mobilizing conference at the CA Campaign to  
Save Public Education [1] Web site--and look for updates on how to get  
involved in actions and organizing for the struggle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Material on this Web site is licensed by SocialistWorker.org, under a  
Creative Commons (by-nc-nd 3.0) [2] license, except for articles that are  
republished with permission. Readers are welcome to share and use material  
belonging to this site for non-commercial purposes, as long as they are  
attributed to the author and SocialistWorker.org.


[1] http://www.savecapubliceducation.org/
[2] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0



From marcosresiste at hotmail.com  Tue Oct 27 14:15:13 2009
From: marcosresiste at hotmail.com (Marcos Perez)
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:15:13 -0600
Subject: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march
In-Reply-To: <BAY135-W21F3E7B1C197AD3F4A483BABB90@phx.gbl>
References: <SNT120-W4301A20548B816799CD826A1B90@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <SNT120-W447CBF5B912C5BC21320BFA1B90@phx.gbl>


ok Jose thats great. I will see you on Wednesday. 

 

 

Marcos
 


From: jrodwolverine at hotmail.com
To: marcosresiste at hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:47:06 -0700



Hey Marcos, 
BEAT is actually going to make posters and signs for the protest on Wednesday afternoon before our scheduled meeting. We'll be making them from 5:30-6 (or so) in B-104...If you can make it, that would be great, and if you can bring more people with you; that would be even better! 
Please try to bring materials as well. 
 
Jose 
 


From: marcosresiste at hotmail.com
To: educationforall at lists.aktivix.org
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:14:47 -0600
Subject: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march



Companeros/as,
 
Attached is a basic flyer for our next Education For All meeting on November 6th, please take the time to print and make some copies. I think we should get this flyer out to everybody at the rally/march this thursday 10/29 and invite everybody to participate in our next meeting. I also believe this is going to be a great opportunity to get students from City College involved but also perhaps get students and teachers and rank and file workers (such as janitors, tutors, groundskeepers, librarians, cafeteria workers, ect.) from other campuses involved as well. Lastly I think it would be a great idea if we marched on thursday as a contingent, the Education For All contingent. We could perhaps get together to make signs and we should also make one large EDUCATION FOR ALL sign and have us march behind. (if anybody has any extra large cardboard box, or sheet, or something similar for a large sign, please let me know). I am willing to get together on wednesday to make signs and posters, perhaps in the late afternoon/ evening. Please let me know if you would like to help out with this. My phone number is 619-292-5898.
 
Paz,
 
Marcos



New Windows 7: Find the right PC for you. Learn more. 


Windows 7: Simplify your PC. Learn more. 		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
Windows 7: It works the way you want. Learn more.
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From justinakers at cox.net  Tue Oct 27 15:32:10 2009
From: justinakers at cox.net (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Justin_Akers_Chac=F3n?=)
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:32:10 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] More Anger After College Statement on Suspension
	of 4 Profs
Message-ID: <013AAF12548943CE9FF023A5B3B9B437@Justinscomputer>





  
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/27/qt#211714


More Anger After College Statement on Suspension of 4 Profs

Southwestern College, a community college outside San Diego, has been under fire since last week's suspension of four faculty members, following a protest that criticized the administration. With professors saying that they are being punished for expressing their views, the college late Monday issued a new statement -- but that statement (while noting that one suspension has been lifted) only further angered the professors. The statement says: "Four faculty members were placed on paid administrative leave on Thursday, October 22, 2009, and three faculty members remain on paid administrative leave at this time, pending the outcome of the investigation. Please understand that no formal charges or allegations have been made against any College faculty member or employee at this time. The student rally held between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on October 22, 2009, is not the focus of the investigation. The college is investigating safety and security issues that arose after the approved organized student rally. The college respects, values and is committed to lawful free expression and the student rally provided an opportunity for our students to voice their concerns and to underscore the challenges that all community college students, and community colleges, are experiencing. The college is committed to maintaining a safe environment for our students and staff, which is the focus of the investigation."

College officials did not respond to requests for clarifications on the statement. But Philip Lopez, an English professor who is president of the faculty union, said that the statement only added to the questions about the incident. If the college is now on record as saying that there are no charges or allegations, why is it appropriate to remove faculty members from their classes and ban them from campus, he asked. Lopez said this action violates basic due process rights. "If there are no charges, why were we placed on leave?," he asked. "Rumor? Reputation? Union-busting? Poor personal hygiene?"




  
. 

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From jmiller at sdccd.edu  Tue Oct 27 16:28:54 2009
From: jmiller at sdccd.edu (Jim Miller)
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:28:54 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march
In-Reply-To: <SNT120-W447CBF5B912C5BC21320BFA1B90@phx.gbl>
References: <SNT120-W4301A20548B816799CD826A1B90@phx.gbl>
	<SNT120-W447CBF5B912C5BC21320BFA1B90@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <7B246165CF838B41BFEC58C47A665997D5F4AC@CIX.sdccd.loc>

Hi Everyone, 

AFT will be buying supplies for signs and cardboard boxes for the guerilla
theatre on the back end.  Kelly Mayhew will bring them to the sign making gig
on Wednesday.   Thanks everyone for your help and activism.  All best, Jim
Miller AFT

 

From: Marcos Perez [mailto:marcosresiste at hotmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 7:15 AM
To: jrodwolverine at hotmail.com; educationforall at lists.aktivix.org
Subject: Re: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march

 

ok Jose thats great. I will see you on Wednesday. 
 
 
Marcos
 

________________________________

From: jrodwolverine at hotmail.com
To: marcosresiste at hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:47:06 -0700

Hey Marcos, 
BEAT is actually going to make posters and signs for the protest on Wednesday
afternoon before our scheduled meeting. We'll be making them from 5:30-6 (or
so) in B-104...If you can make it, that would be great, and if you can bring
more people with you; that would be even better! 
Please try to bring materials as well. 
 
Jose 
 

________________________________

From: marcosresiste at hotmail.com
To: educationforall at lists.aktivix.org
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:14:47 -0600
Subject: [Educationforall] preparations for thursdays 10/29 march

Companeros/as,
 
Attached is a basic flyer for our next Education For All meeting on November
6th, please take the time to print and make some copies. I think we should
get this flyer out to everybody at the rally/march this thursday 10/29 and
invite everybody to participate in our next meeting. I also believe this is
going to be a great opportunity to get students from City College involved
but also perhaps get students and teachers and rank and file workers (such as
janitors, tutors, groundskeepers, librarians, cafeteria workers, ect.) from
other campuses involved as well. Lastly I think it would be a great idea if
we marched on thursday as a contingent, the Education For All contingent. We
could perhaps get together to make signs and we should also make one large
EDUCATION FOR ALL sign and have us march behind. (if anybody has any extra
large cardboard box, or sheet, or something similar for a large sign, please
let me know). I am willing to get together on wednesday to make signs and
posters, perhaps in the late afternoon/ evening. Please let me know if you
would like to help out with this. My phone number is 619-292-5898.
 
Paz,
 
Marcos

________________________________

New Windows 7: Find the right PC for you. Learn more. 

________________________________

Windows 7: Simplify your PC. Learn more.
<http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/default.aspx?ocid=PID24727::T:WLM
TAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen1:102009>  

________________________________

Windows 7: It works the way you want. Learn more.
<http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/default.aspx?ocid=PID24727::T:WLM
TAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen2:102009> 

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From justinakers at cox.net  Wed Oct 28 15:23:54 2009
From: justinakers at cox.net (=?utf-8?Q?Justin_Akers_Chac=C3=B3n?=)
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:23:54 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] New Meaning for Night Class at 2-Year Colleges
Message-ID: <41BED0998567477BB18794F66738122D@Justinscomputer>

The unhinging of the community colleges continues...


New York Times
October 28, 2009
New Meaning for Night Class at 2-Year Colleges

By ABBY GOODNOUGH
BOSTON ? Winston Chin hustles on Tuesdays from his eight-hour shift as a lab 
technician to his writing class at Bunker Hill Community College, a 
requirement for the associate?s degree he is seeking in hopes of a better 
job.

He is a typical part-time student, with one exception. His class runs from 
11:45 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., the consequence of an unprecedented enrollment 
spike that has Bunker Hill scrambling to accommodate hundreds of newcomers. 
In the dead of night, he and his classmates dissect Walt Whitman poems and 
learn the finer points of essay writing, fueled by unlimited coffee, cookies 
and an instructor who does push-ups beforehand to stay lively.

Similar booms have forced many of the nation?s 1,200 community colleges to 
add makeshift parking lots, rent extra space and keep thousands of students 
on waiting lists this fall. While Bunker Hill offers two midnight classes ? 
the other is Psychology 101 ? and Clackamas Community College in Oregon 
holds welding classes until 2 a.m., others have added classes as early as 6 
a.m. to make room for the jobless and others whom the recession has nudged 
back to school.

The deluge also includes an unusually large number of recent high school 
graduates, diverted from more expensive four-year colleges by the economic 
downturn.

?I liken myself to the old woman who lives in a shoe,? said Mary L. Fifield, 
the president of Bunker Hill, where enrollment is up 16 percent over last 
fall. ?The seams are tearing, and people are just popping out all over.?

Virtually every state is dealing with enrollment booms at community 
colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges says, with some in 
California reporting increases of 35 percent. The demand comes amid deep 
cuts to higher-education budgets, but also at a hopeful time for community 
colleges: President Obama recently announced a $12 billion plan to increase 
the number of community college graduates by five million by 2020.

?It shines a spotlight on a sector of higher education that by and large has 
been viewed as the lowest rung on the ladder,? Dr. Fifield said. ?Now we 
have the president of the United States talking about community colleges as 
an engine that will drive and sustain economic success in this country.?

Most of the students in Mr. Chin?s writing class, who range in age from 18 
to 59, are employed but hoping a degree will lead to more stable, 
higher-paying jobs. Some start work as early as 4 a.m. or finish as late as 
11 p.m., making the class time more appealing. They include a taxi 
dispatcher who dreams of going to medical school, a Dunkin? Donuts cashier 
who wants to be a homicide detective and a landscaper who wants to be a 
state trooper.

The group cracked jokes and gently mocked one another for mispronouncing the 
word ?blithe? or not reading aloud passionately enough. When the instructor 
asked around 2 a.m., ?Who?s ready to answer the question?? one student 
wearily answered, ?Who?s confused??

Mr. Chin, who took the midnight class because other writing classes were 
full, wants to become a surgical nurse. At 57, he has three small children 
and has not been a student since graduating from high school.

?I probably would have taken something early in the morning if I?d had my 
pick of classes,? he said. ?But this is working out. I never really need 
more than about four hours of sleep anyway.?

Mr. Chin and his classmates get plenty of parking ? a rarity at community 
colleges these days. Holyoke Community College, in Holyoke, Mass., where 
enrollment is up 13 percent over last fall, turned its tennis courts into 
parking lots; it also sent postcards to all 7,500 students urging them to 
take public transportation to class.

At Northern Virginia Community College, more than 20 classes start before 7 
a.m. this fall; many other colleges have classes running as late as 11 p.m.

But with state allocations down sharply this year because of the economy, 
many community colleges have not been able to keep up with the demand. At 
Miami Dade College, whose 170,000 students make it the nation?s largest 
community college, about 30,000 could not get every class they wanted this 
fall; about 5,000 others were shut out completely.

At De Anza College in Cupertino, Calif., about 8,000 students found 
themselves on wait lists last month, as did 7,500 students at Central Oregon 
Community College. And in New York City, where the six community colleges 
that are part of the City University of New York experienced a record 9 
percent enrollment increase this fall, most closed enrollment early for the 
first time.

Because of budget cuts, Miami Dade College could not add a single new class 
this fall despite an influx of more than 33,000 new students. Instead, it 
has eliminated 1,200 class sections over the last two years, said Eduardo J. 
Padr?n, the college president.

?It?s an almost desperate situation,? Dr. Padr?n said. ?My heart breaks for 
these students, because I know many are the ones who really need us the 
most.?

Colleen Roach, Bunker Hill?s spokeswoman, said higher student fees and an 
influx of federal stimulus money helped the college offer dozens more 
classes this fall. It is planning to add a third midnight course, Sociology 
101, next spring, along with five business and science courses that will run 
to 11:45 p.m.

Dr. Fifield said putting dynamic instructors in charge of the late-night 
classes was crucial.

?Not everyone is going to be able to keep people awake until 2:45 in the 
morning,? she said.

Wick Sloane, who teaches the midnight writing class at Bunker Hill, tried to 
transport Mr. Chin and the other students from the windowless, 
concrete-walled classroom one recent night with an essay by Edward Abbey, 
the nature writer, about encountering a mountain lion in the New Mexican 
desert. When one student answered a question with a giant yawn around 2:15, 
Mr. Sloane asked, ?Can everyone make it about 15 more minutes??

For homework, he assigned an essay analyzing Calpurnia?s rhetoric in 
Shakespeare?s ?Julius Caesar,? leading one student to ask whether 
Shakespeare used an alias. The room started buzzing with opinions.

?Do you want to stay and debate who Shakespeare was?? Mr. Sloane asked.

They did not, but not for lack of enthusiasm. ?He?s got me engaged,? Mr. 
Chin said, ?which is not easy at this time of night.?

Lisa W. Foderaro contributed reporting from New York.


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From justinakers at cox.net  Fri Oct 30 16:49:58 2009
From: justinakers at cox.net (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Justin_Akers_Chac=F3n?=)
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:49:58 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] College Enrollment Set Record in 2008
Message-ID: <B0AF41809AF04413B523E0082787CF10@Justinscomputer>

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/education/30college.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
New York Times
October 30, 2009
College Enrollment Set Record in 2008
By TAMAR LEWIN
Almost 40 percent of the nation's 18- to 24-year-olds in 2008 were enrolled in college, a record number, according to a Pew Research Center report released on Thursday.

The rise was driven almost entirely by a surge in students attending community colleges.

"We have anecdotally got this sense that there's been this college enrollment boom," said Richard Fry, a senior research associate at the Pew center who wrote the report, "but now we've got confirmation, and we know that at least among young adults, the increase seems to be a two-year college phenomenon."

"What's behind this," Mr. Fry added, "is that we have the biggest pool of young adults we've ever had who've finished high school."

The previous record for college enrollment among 18- to 24-year-olds was 38.9 percent in 2005.

The new report, using data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, found that a record 84.9 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds had completed high school as of October 2008, up a full percentage point from the previous year.

The percentage of high school dropouts, meanwhile, has been declining. In October 2008, 9.3 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds had dropped out of school, compared with 10.2 percent in 2007.

"The high school completion numbers are somewhat startling, since they fly in the face of the very negative impression people have gotten about dropouts," Mr. Fry said.

Although solid numbers for this year's college enrollment are not yet available, the Pew report said that early estimates in the Census Bureau's September 2009 Current Population Survey hinted that the record 2008 number might be surpassed.

The census data on which the report is based has, however, an optimistic skew. Because it includes only the noninstitutionalized civilian population, and since prisoners are especially likely to be high school dropouts, the overall dropout rates among Americans 18 to 24 are probably higher than reported, and college enrollment rates somewhat lower.

The Census Bureau is expected to release its own analysis of the October 2008 college enrollment data next week.

With the recession, which officially began in December 2007, the young adults' steepest drop was in employment. Only 50.4 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds were employed in October 2008, compared with 52.7 percent in 2007.

While the year-to-year changes are not huge, the longer-term trends show significant shifts. In 1973, only 24 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in college, only 80.7 had completed high school, and 15.7 had dropped out of high school.

Enrollment has been rising at two- and four-year colleges alike for decades. And most young adults still prefer four-year colleges, even though they are more expensive.

But the increase in the rate of students going to college reflected in the Pew report was attributable almost entirely to increased community-college enrollment. About 3.4 million, or 11.8 percent, of young adults were enrolled at community colleges, up from 3.1 million, or 10.9 percent, in 2007.

Enrollment at four-year colleges was essentially flat, at about eight million, or 27.8 percent of young adults, the Pew report said.

College enrollment varies by race and ethnicity. Nearly 41 percent of white 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in college in 2008, compared with about 32 percent of black young adults and 26 percent of Hispanics in that age group.
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From justinakers at cox.net  Fri Oct 30 17:11:06 2009
From: justinakers at cox.net (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Justin_Akers_Chac=F3n?=)
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:11:06 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] Next meeting of Education for All Group: 11/6
	11am R115
Message-ID: <F51A0F1B85AA462A8DC142572D157C5D@Justinscomputer>


Next meeting: Friday, November 6th at 11 am in room R115


Greetings Education for All group,

In anticipation of next week's meeting of the group, and as the chair of the last meeting, I would like to start a discussion
of an agenda and what we'd like to see come out of the next meeting. 

Some things to consider...

1) Assessment of the 10/20 forum and 10/29 march and rally
2) Discussion of the 10/24 state-wide budget cuts conference at Berkeley and the call for a state-wide day of action on
March 4th, 2010
3) The suspension of faculty at Southwestern College relating to the budget cuts protest held on campus
4) Recently released report on the projected figures for the SDCCD budget for 2010-2011 and the implication for more budget cuts at City College and in the district
5) Continuing the discussion of group structure, strategy, and broadening student/staff involvement 
6) Next steps for EFA 

other thoughts/ideas?

Justin

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From wscherer420 at hotmail.com  Sat Oct 31 01:33:48 2009
From: wscherer420 at hotmail.com (Wayne Scherer)
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:33:48 -0700
Subject: [Educationforall] Meetng on Nov. 6th 11am
In-Reply-To: <013AAF12548943CE9FF023A5B3B9B437@Justinscomputer>
References: <013AAF12548943CE9FF023A5B3B9B437@Justinscomputer>
Message-ID: <BAY141-W6AA34F55AE2E7379353ABF6B50@phx.gbl>


Personally, I'd like to learn more about what happen on October 24th in Berkeley.  Such as, how did March 4th end up being the day?  Seems awfully far away.  Perhaps someone can give me some insight I haven't yet considered.  

 

Also, back onto strategy.  Perhaps we could develop some manner of communication between the schools statewide.  Sounds like a huge task, but I don't see it be done by anyone else and it would be an essential effective tool in our struggle.  Thoughts? 
 

 		 	   		  
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