Youth Radio - Topic: budget

The Recession Hits Home

rgee — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:34:13 -0600

This story was originally published on L.A. Youth.

By Jennifer Gonzales-Romero

My mom, my brother and I used to go to the movies or eat out almost every weekend. We weren’t rich but I could tell my mom wasn’t struggling because she could always afford to take us out. Things changed in June 2009 when my mom was laid off from her job as an assistant property manager for a property management office.

I never thought she’d lose her job because she’d been working there for eight years. But since she didn’t look worried, I didn’t worry either. My mom had savings and the government gave her unemployment—money you get from the government every two weeks after you’ve been laid off. But she still made sure to budget her money.

We didn’t eat out or go to the movies as often. Out of habit, I’d ask my mom to buy me clothes when we were at the store but she said she couldn’t. So I would mostly ask my dad whenever I went over to his house because he had a job. Many times my junior year I’d come home after band practice and see my mom on her laptop looking for jobs, but she wasn’t having much luck. I didn’t think it would take two years for her to find a job and that she’d struggle to pay her bills.

The summer before senior year, I researched colleges. My dream school was the University of La Verne because I thought its small class sizes would be better for me. Tuition cost $31,300 a year but I thought financial aid would cover everything since my mom was unemployed. By the end of the summer I knew that I couldn’t depend on my parents to buy me new clothes and pay for my senior year expenses so I kept my summer job at Little Caesars.

In late September my mom started dating an old classmate from New Orleans. He and his daughter moved here and my mom and them moved into a three-bedroom home. My brother and I stayed in our apartment and my dad moved in with us so we could continue going to school in South Gate. My mom and her boyfriend got married in December.

My mom started to worry

At the beginning of 2011, I started to notice that my mom was struggling. Her mail was still sent to the apartment where I lived with my dad, so she would call almost every other day asking me whether her unemployment check had arrived. When I would say no she would say “OK” in a worried voice. She had been receiving unemployment for a year and a half and to keep getting it she had to prove she was still looking for a job. She told me she was worried that they wouldn’t believe she was having trouble finding one and that they would cut her off.Her husband wasn’t working either because he was having trouble finding a job in construction. I felt bad.

One day in March, I was doing homework in my mom’s room. She was sitting on her bed going through papers when she told me she was behind with her car payments. She started crying and said that she didn’t know how she was going to pay for her car and for rent. It hurt me to see her cry and I started tearing up too. I wanted to help her but I didn’t know how. I knew that if she couldn’t pay her car loan that they would take her car away, but she needed it. How else would she go to job interviews or pick my brother and me up so we could stay at her house?

In April, my mom scored a temporary job as an assistant property manager. I was hoping that they would keep her permanently. But after five weeks they didn’t need her anymore, so she went back to looking for a job. Around the same time I noticed that my mom’s husband was borrowing her car more often. I asked my mom what happened and she said he sold his car and they used the money to pay for rent. Still, I didn’t think their situation was so bad because they still had their home and money to buy food. But now that I look back, my mom had been worrying about a lot of bills.

In May I decided that I wanted to get my prom dress made so that it would be unique. I asked my mom if she could help pay for it since my dad had offered to pay $100. I think she knew how much it meant to me so without any hesitation she said she could pay $100 too. I was so excited. I didn’t feel bad for asking because if she had said no, I would have understood. I wanted prom to be perfect and I was just thinking about that.

A couple of weeks later my mom picked up my brother and me from my dad’s house, and I gave her three letters from the unemployment office. When she read them, she looked worried. I asked her what was wrong and she said that they were no longer going to give her unemployment. When she started driving she remained quiet and looked like she was thinking. Then she started crying and said that she had a lot of bills to pay and she didn’t know what she was going to do.

I thought about saying, “It will be OK, things will get better” but it didn’t seem right because I didn’t know whether things would get better. My brother and I kept quiet for the rest of the car ride. I wanted to offer her money but the only money I had I was going to use to buy my prom ticket. I didn’t want to be selfish but I didn’t want to miss out on one of my most memorable high school experiences. I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t find a job. She had a college degree, she was outgoing and hardworking, so why wouldn’t anyone hire her? She couldn’t help pay for my prom dress The next day she called and told me that she was having trouble paying rent and that they were going to move into a one-bedroom apartment. She told me she couldn’t give me the $100 anymore. I understood and told her it was OK. But now I didn’t have enough money either so I didn’t know what I was going to do.

My next paycheck wasn’t until the day of prom. I didn’t want to ask my dad for money because he couldn’t afford it and I knew he would get mad that my mom couldn’t contribute since they always split the expenses for me and my brother. My mom suggested I use some of the money I had saved for college from selling pastelitos, a Central American meat pocket, at school. I didn’t want to but it was the only way I could get money fast. I promised myself I would pay back every cent after my next few paychecks. Then my mom asked me if she could borrow $120 from my pastelito money. I was shocked she was asking me for money, but I said yeah. It showed how badly she needed it if she was asking me.

Although it hurt to hear what my mom was going through, it felt nice to finally have a way to help her. I had fun at prom because I was hanging out with my boyfriend and my best friend and her date. I was excited prom was finally happening and graduation was approaching. Around the same time, I found out that the University of La Verne was going to give me about $24,000 in grants and scholarships, which left me with about $11,000 to pay myself or through loans for the rest of the tuition, books, food and personal expenses.

One of the loans had to be taken out by one of my parents, and it was the loan with the most money, $4,000. I asked my parents but they didn’t want to take out the loan because my dad had bad credit and my mom had no income. I understood but it meant that I would be able to take out only $7,000 in loans so I would have to work part-time while going to school. I hoped I would make enough money to pay for my phone, gas and other expenses.

In June my mom went for a second job interview as a payroll clerk. I knew how hard my mom was looking for a job and I was hoping that they would hire her. After the interview she picked me up so we could open a checking account. She said they would call her later in the day to tell her whether she got the job. When we were opening the account with a banker, they called her. She stepped outside the banker’s cubicle while I finished opening my account. When she was done she came in crying with a smile on her face. I knew it was good news. She said they gave her the job and she would start next week. I was happy so I gave her a hug.

Afterward, we picked up my little brother and celebrated her new job by going to a restaurant to eat tacos. Now that my mom has a job, things have gotten better for her. She and her husband moved into a three-bedroom apartment and she’s been paying her bills off. She also has extra money again so she and her husband go out to eat on weekends sometimes. When my mom lost her job I was busy with my own life—just worrying about school, being in band and college applications. But as I watched my mom struggle, I realized how hard it is to make money and how the economy could affect even those who are good at budgeting their money or have a college degree.

Seeing my mom struggle makes me worry about whether I will get a job after I graduate from college. I realize now that it’s hard for a lot of people to get jobs, especially young people because we’re inexperienced. I now know how expensive life is when you’re an adult I’m scared about one day living on my own because I will have to pay for rent, groceries, utilities, the Internet, cable and all this other stuff. My job at Little Caesars is minimum wage and I couldn’t support myself on that.

Looking back, I could have asked my mom if she had enough money to pay all her bills. If I knew that earlier, I could have understood that she was struggling. If I had saved my money from my job instead of spending it on clothes, I think I could have paid for my prom dress myself. Now, I’m more appreciative of what my parents are able to give me. My mom has agreed to pay for my car insurance. I appreciate her help because I know it’s hard for her since she is still trying to pay off her bills.

To thank my dad, I’m helping around the house more and contributing to some house expenses since he is letting me live with him for free while I go to college. I wish my mom didn’t have to go through that financial struggle, but I’m glad I’ve learned from it. Save money for emergencies. Make sure I don’t go into debt. This is the perfect time to realize that before I’m living on my own.

Will Measuring Creativity In Schools Help Youth Be Workforce Ready?

rgee — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:53:34 -0600

Last month, the California State Senate approved a bill to develop a Creativity and Innovation Education Index, designed to measure how schools are fostering creativity among their students. California is just one of several states to implement a law like this, Massachusetts being the first, according to Education Week.

It might seem like a shock that California is concerned with measuring creativity opportunities when the budget for arts classes and music programs has been cut in school districts all over the state in recent years. However, employers and business owners are saying that new applicants to the workforce are not equipped with the creativity and critical-thinking skills required to get hired.

The California Alliance for Arts Education describes the index:

A creativity and innovation index would provide a way for schools to rate their progress in teaching, encouraging and fostering creativity in students. Index scores would be voluntarily compiled by school and district staff from a survey of curricula and teacher reports. It would quantify the opportunities in each school as measured by the availability of classes and before and after-school programs offered by and through school districts that nurture creativity and innovation in students. Examples might include visual and performing arts education classes, debate clubs, science fairs, theatre and dance performances, music concerts, film-making, creative writing, and independent research.

We spoke with Mary Wright, Associate Director for The Conference Board, a business membership and research association, who specializes in the intersection of business and education. She was a leader on a report called, “Are They Really Ready To Work?” in 2006, which identified key skill sets that employers thought were important for their employees to have, and creativity / innovation were among the top five.

We spoke with Wright about the concept of a Creativity Index and how she thinks it could affect the workforce readiness of young people today.

Youth Radio: Explain in a nutshell, the findings of your workforce readiness research with regards to the need for non-academic skills.

Wright: We wanted to understand what business really meant by--new entrants are not workforce ready. We looked at both basic skills, which we took from No Child Left Behind-- the reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, and also asked about the applied skills, like 21st century skills. The applied skills are things around critical thinking, information technology application, teamwork and collaboration, and creativity and innovation. There are about 13 or 14 skill sets we looked at.

It was clear to us that the applied skills were the ones that were considered most important. Certainly, people would argue that math and science develop significantly critical thinking skills. They give you tools to figure out problems. But if you can’t communicate what you just learned or what you just did, you’re not as valuable in the workplace.

It was interesting given the emphasis that people have on STEM [science, mathematics, technology and engineering] skills, and yet, what employers were saying, it wasn’t the math skill that was important, it was the critical thinking skill. That would be true regardless of whether someone was in a STEM career or a retail career.

Youth Radio: How does this research reflect a changing trend in the workforce?

Wright: In my parent’s generation, you started working at the bank, and you were at the bank for 50 years and you retired with your gold watch, and that’s all you did. Today’s generation, you’re not only looking at six different jobs at the bank, but six different careers. You may start in a retail company, and take those skills and go to a manufacturing company, and take those skills and go to a bank, and take those skills and go somewhere else.

The ability to use your knowledge as a set of tools, to be ably to analyze, regardless of the industry or the role you find yourself playing - that seems to be a far more valuable skill set than whether you have the technical skills. There’s a stubbornly high unemployment rate, and people are saying that there’s a huge mismatch between the skills of the people available and the skills of the jobs that are there. That, I think, people are attributing to the decline of technical education, or the fact that people are saying everyone needs a four year degree, I think the data shows that that’s not necessarily true.

Youth Radio: Do businesses and schools deal with creativity in the same way?

Wright: We were curious to see, how is it that creativity is taught, and how is it enhanced. We asked both business executives and school administrators how they were thinking about creativity. Everybody said creativity was very important, but how it is defined was quite different. Businesses said that it was the ability to define the problem, whereas school administrators were saying it was the ability to find the answer.

A lot of businesses have gone out of business because they were solving the wrong problem. The auto industry has solved the wrong problem many times over - maybe they’re building bigger cars but the problem was fuel... We also saw that when we asked schools -- what are the programs that help develop creativity? They said creative writing and arts classes. Yet the majority of those classes are not required, not part of the strict core curriculum, they were an elective.

Now business had a very similar result. We asked, once you have these employees, how do you help develop creativity? They said yes, it’s important, but we don’t require them to take advantage of these things, they’re not required. Neither schools nor businesses are making creativity a requirement of either their employees or their students.

Youth Radio: Do you think creativity indices are a good way to increase the amount of creativity in schools?

Wright: What’s important gets measured. I think that therefore developing some metric by which you can determine - are you making a difference? - is a critical one. Massachusetts and California are two states with big high-tech industries and very interested in making sure there’s a creative nature. If we develop this measure and we think these schools are doing it really well - it allows for inter-state and inter-district sharing about what programs have really helped.

We're hoping to be able to ask, if these are the most creative people in the company, what is their training? What is similar in their background that would suggest that therefore if you did the following six things, you are going to be more successful as a creative person? If schools had some measure that begins to say-- it’s because they had a fabulous science teacher, or project-based learning, or a theater program -- because we don’t have a sense of what is the most significant driver.

Youth Radio: Do you have any concerns about the index?

Wright: There’s always an issue around equity -- if kids are coming from an upper-income area and parents can supplement what kids are exposed to, then you begin to worry about the bias. Is it just the school environment? Or what is happening before and after school that is going to make a difference? I haven’t seen the indices so I don’t know how they’re going to factor in that kind of thing.

There’s always the concern about how inclusive is the data and how are they used -- are they used to really benefit all the kids in the system?

Then there’s the issue of preference... If a kid chooses not to be involved in activities like theater, are they missing out on the opportunities?... If that project-based learning is not used in the traditional classroom, then that child will not be exposed. Then there’s the reverse - just because a kid was in a classroom with project-based learning, does that mean they’re inherently more creative? No.

Youth Radio: Do you see a common goal for businesses and education in terms of workforce readiness?

Wright: We continue to look at the issue around how businesses and schools talk to each other. Schools have always felt that their role is to make that person ready to be an important contributor to society, someone you want to have as a neighbor. We certainly feel that the skill sets involved in being workforce-ready are exactly the same as those of being a good citizen -- you can read, you can write, you can express yourself, you can understand, you can take knowledge from a variety of areas and turn it into something useful. We feel that the bridge between the business world and the education world is there - and it’s something we need to work on strengthening.

Will Switching Young People To Medi-Cal Help Or Hurt Them?

rgee — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:41:57 -0600

Governor Jerry Brown gave his State of the State address to Californians today. His proposed budget aims to fill the deficit of $9.2 billion dollars by cutting public programs and generating revenue from new tax initiatives. Among other cuts, Brown's budget suggests eliminating the Healthy Families Program, which currently provides health insurance to low-income teenagers and children, and switching them onto Medi-Cal insurance.

Janet Coffman, Professor at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, spoke with Youth Radio about the potential effects of this switch.

Youth Radio: Can you explain the magnitude of this proposed action? Is it just an organizational switch, or while it have ripple effects?

Coffman: This proposal would affect 875,000 children. In addition to transferring these children from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal, the Governor proposes to cut the capitation rate (the rate paid to provide care per member child per month) that Healthy Families pays to health plans that provide coverage to children enrolled in the program by 25.7%.

YR: What are the dangers and concerns in your mind of eliminating the HFP?

Coffman: I believe the proposed rate reduction is a bigger concern. If rates are reduced by 25.7%, some health plans may choose not to renew their contracts. In addition, health plans would probably pass the rate cut on to physicians and other health professionals, which may reduce the number of health professionals who are willing to care for children enrolled in Healthy Families. This could, in turn, make it more difficult for these children to obtain treatment when they are sick and to obtain vaccines and other preventive services.

It is important to acknowledge that there would be some benefits to transferring children from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal. Premiums would be eliminated for children from families with the lowest incomes. Eliminating premiums would reduce the cost of coverage, which might lead more eligible families to enroll their children in the program. In addition, Medi-Cal provides more generous coverage for mental health and long-term care services than Healthy Families.

YR: Is there any worry that children / families will end up not covered at all?

Coffman: I think the answer depends on how the state handles the transition. If children are automatically shifted from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal, gaps in coverage should be minimal. If, on the other hand, families were required to reapply for coverage, some children could lose coverage if their parents do not know or understand what they need to do.

YR: In the scope of CA’s health policy history, how does this change continue or discontinue any trends?

Coffman: The Governor’s proposal would be a major change in policy regarding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (the generic name for Healthy Families and similar programs in other states). When the State Children’s Health Insurance Program was created in the 1990s, states had a choice of either expanding eligibility for their Medicaid programs (Medi-Cal in California) or establishing a separate program. At that time California chose to establish a separate program and to have that program administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board instead of the Department of Health Services, the agency that administers Medi-Cal.

Coffman recommends the opinion article by Lucien Wulsin for more information, who works for the Insure the Uninsured Project.

California Gets C- On Educational Report Card

rgee — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:51:22 -0600

Youth Radio recently wrote an article about Education Week's Quality Counts 2012 report, that gives a detailed analysis of how the U.S. compares to other countries in terms of education. Also included in this report is an evaluation, or report card, of each individual state's education system. Overall, California received a C-.

The report card is broken down into six areas: Chance for Success, K-12 Achievement, Standards, Assessments, and Accountability, the Teaching Profession, School Finance, and Transitions and Alignment.

California received its lowest grade--D--in the area of K-12 Achievement. This area measures things like 4-8th graders’ scores on national math and reading exams, achievement gains in math and reading, the change in the size of the poverty gap between 4-8th grade students, high school graduation rates, and advanced placement scores.

California’s highest grade--A--was in Standards, Assessments, and Accountability, which examines whether assessments are aligned to state standards, the types of test items, the amount of assistance to low performing schools, and rewards for high performing and improving schools.

In the category of School Finance, California's overall grade was a C-, but that grade is an average of two subcategories: Equity= B+ and Spending= F.

Californians can only wonder how our School Finance grade will change in upcoming years, with Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget. If taxpayers do not approve a tax increase, billions of dollars could be cut from education.

Teen Plots His Own Course Away From College For Now

denise — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:51:49 -0600

The following originally aired on KQED-FM.

By: Sayre Quevedo

Around this time last year I was busy applying to college. Clicking that ‘submit’ button on my online applications, I imagined myself in New York City, going to poetry readings and cramming for various exams. I listened to Patti Smith and Lou Reed over and over in anticipation of receiving acceptance letters. But my acceptance letters were followed by even more important pieces of mail, my federal financial aid statements, or FAFSA.

The minute I saw the amount of financial aid I qualified for, I knew that the price tag of my dream was way out of my budget. My mom is still paying off her college loans, and I had already spent more than I could afford paying for official transcripts, applications, and the ACT test. Tuition at my top school was 30,000 dollars a year and I was going to be on the hook for 2/3 of it.

I think I went through the seven stages of grief after that. I was sad, I was angry, I blamed myself and then the college system. I even blamed my mother. It was short lived but the resentment I felt about deferring my dreams was powerful. After months of telling people my college plans, I was going to have to re-explain everything. I felt phony, like I had lied to everyone I knew.

So when my friends left for college, it was bittersweet. Sure, I was going to miss them, but I wasn’t going to miss the question “So, what are you doing now?” Honestly, I didn’t have an answer.

A lot of things have changed for me since then. I’ve realized that while my friends may be learning in university classrooms, I’m gaining knowledge as well. I’m enrolled in community college, I have a great job, and I’ve moved out of my mother’s house, to give myself the sort of independence I had hoped to get by moving away to college.

I’m not walking the same path as my friends nor the one my teachers prepared me for, but I’ve come to realize that my path is my own. I haven’t given up on my dreams of going away to school. It’s just going to be a longer journey than expected.

Informed And Opinionated: Young People Reflect On Debt Celing Vote

rgee — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:44:17 -0500

By William Nelligan

I’m an intern on Capitol Hill this summer for a member of the Senate who voted against the debt ceiling deal today and who spoke for nearly an hour yesterday about how much he disliked it.

As I watched the vote in the Senate Gallery, I found myself feeling some very mixed emotions. I asked myself, is this what compromise is supposed to look like?

The whole debate has been a major topic of conversation among my friends in DC. Trust me when I say that this town has no shortage of informed and opinionated young people willing to offer their two cents on what has been going on in recent weeks.

Ryan Sellinger is a recent college graduate who works for another Senator only a few steps away from my office. Ryan and I argue, in the best sense of the word, almost daily about whether the President is a skilled negotiator or a flawed political leader. I tend to think closer to the former, he the latter. Accordingly, I can almost always count on him to push back on my logic. He didn’t today. “I still believe in the President,” Ryan said to me over lunch. Before I even had a chance to cut him off and tell him to get to the point, he continued, “I just believe in him a little less.” I was genuinely shocked. Ryan, who was always apt to blame the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, hadn’t been able to keep the faith? “I’m not sure anyone could deal with some of these House members,” he said, “at the same time, I can’t get away from the thought that he could have done a lot differently.” Ryan is fortunate enough that he doesn’t have to worry about student loans. That said, the end of his internship will likely not mark the end of his political career. “I am starting to really worry about what kind of mess this generation of leaders is leaving for the next,” he said.

Andrew Chesley is interning at a consulting firm off of Capitol Hill (tisk, tisk.) If Andrew were a West Wing character, he would be an amalgamation of Toby and Josh: fast-talking and quick on his feet, but sometimes a little sobering in his criticism. His first text to me this morning was “I’m going to jump off of a cliff today.” As Toby might say, suicide is painless. “The way some people have behaved this week seems like a worrying sign to me," Andrew told me later. "And makes me doubt the ability of our political system to grapple with future problems. The lesson I’ve learned from this fiasco is there are quite a few Republican Senators and Congressmen who are willing to risk a default in order to cut spending and prevent tax increases." But Andrew also thinks some of the good that will come out of this deal is largely being overlooked. “This deal increases funding for Pell grants, which has gotten next to no coverage, even though it is of vital importance to people our age.”

Adam Kelly, who worked in Vice President Biden’s office when he was a Senator, but lives outside the beltway these days offered this analysis of the day: “After rereading Atlas Shrugged recently, which basically calls for the destruction of society so the rich can be free to do whatever they want, this thirst for default among some conservatives makes a lot of sense.” Maybe I should reread it too.

Peter Shapiro, who is spending the summer at a marketing firm in New York City, is left dazed and confused by the entire debate. “I honestly still don’t 100 percent understand this process, all I know is that there was a lot of political theater that didn’t seem to leave very many people satisfied.” Sounds about right to me.

In the end, I’m left feeling about the same. I’m not a beneficiary of Pell Grants, but know secondhand the good that they can do and am glad we were able to save them. On the other hand, I’m almost positive I could benefit from loans or grants for graduate school; are those gone for good? I’m hoping to have a car in the next year or two, but will I even want to drive and kick the can further down the congested and dilapidated road on infrastructure spending? This doesn’t seem like an ideal time to be cutting government programs and reducing the ways government works to improve our lives. I’m seriously starting to think the Republicans have won the argument – for now – about whether government is a force for good or just a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, as I look out from Capitol Hill down Pennsylvania Avenue, I don’t see a strong advocate standing up for the working, the young, or the disabled on the other end of town.

California Teachers Bring Education Crisis To Light - Two Ideas Worth Considering

rgee — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:52:43 -0500

This week in California, teachers are claiming a “State of Emergency.” Their goal is to get Governor Jerry Brown to bump up taxes to keep the education budget steady. According to SFGate, hundreds of teachers marched in Sacramento yesterday to protest. Other events planned for this week include “grade-ins” at local malls intended to demonstrate the amount of time teachers spend working outside of the school day.

How to spend money on education is a national hot topic as well. President Barack Obama has pledged to boost the graduation rate and "out-educate" global competitors by meeting and exceeding international standards. So what’s the strategy?

Dave Eggers, author and founder of writing program 826 National, points out in an op-ed for the New York Times that our response to an education crisis is drastically different than our response to a defense crisis. “When we don’t get the results we want in our military endeavors, we don’t blame the soldiers. We don’t say, ‘It’s these lazy soldiers and their bloated benefits plans! That’s why we haven’t done better in Afghanistan!’” he writes.

Instead, we blame the planners, strategists, and the secretary of defense. However, the trend in education is to blame the teachers for poor test scores and cut more money from the education budget.

In Eggers’ opinion, recruitment and fair treatment of teachers is key. Other countries with higher teacher salaries have better results - and are able to recruit their top college graduates into the field of teaching. (Check out an awesome infographic about teacher pay around the world.) BUT - most of all, these other countries trust their teachers. “They are rightly seen as the solution, not the problem,” he writes.

Trusting our teachers, and getting them fair pay, is a mindset shift that Eggers advocates we make. Now for the nitty gritty details of measuring teacher quality. R. Barker Bausell, author of Too Simple To Fail: A Case For Education Change, in a related op-ed says test scores are too unpredictable for judging teachers. “Often, more than half of those teachers identified as the poorest performers one year will be judged average or above average the next,” he writes.

Instead, he suggests we record all instruction, and measure the amount of time that a teacher spends on curriculum and engaging students. Bausell writes that studies have proven the positive correlation between time spent on curriculum and higher test scores. He writes, “The studies found that some teachers were able to deliver as much as 14 more weeks a year of relevant instruction than their less efficient peers.” By recording all instruction, an administrator would not have to wait for test scores to be released to evaluate their teachers’ effectiveness, but could watch the videos of instruction and examine the time spent on curriculum.

Teachers are clamoring for money and attention this week in California. According to these writers, the government has choices to make: 1) whether to put money towards teachers or not, and 2) whether to use traditional measures or come up with new ones.Meanwhile the debate continues - whether teachers are part of the solution or the problem.

Obama's Budget: Breaking It Down For Youth

rgee — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:47:30 -0600

President Barack Obama released a federal budget proposal this week. Here are some items relevant to young people.

Education:
Despite a proposed freeze on non-defense discretionary spending, President Obama's budget continues to fund programs like Race to the Top, and asks for $77.4 billion for education. Race to the Top is a fund for innovative educational reform. For FY 2012, the proposed funds will be awarded to individual school districts with the best plans for school reform, as opposed to states. This way, even if the state decides not to apply for the money, an individual district could still be eligible.

In addition, Obama would like to increase spending for public schools and maintain the Pell Grant fund at $5,550 per college student. But as a cost savings, the president's proposal limits the grants a student can receive in a year, making many students unable to get summer school aid if they receive a Pell Grant during the school year. The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduates and students applying to higher education programs.

Title X:
President Obama plans to allot $327 million to maintain funding for Title X, the Family Planning program. According to the department of Health and Human Services, Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related health services. The more controversial aspect of Title X provides access to contraceptive services, supplies and information, and especially to low-income families.

Planned Parenthood is an organization that provides family planning to low-income women, and currently receives $75 million from Title X. Opponents don’t want that money funding abortions. According to the New York Times, the House of Representatives has proposed cutting the entire Title X budget which would eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Incarceration:
This year Obama is asking for $606 million for the Federal Prison budget, which among other things will allow for a new prison to be built in Alabama to fight over-crowding, according to KALW News. Within the $606 million,Obama proposes a $57 million increase to “diversion for non-violent offenders,” including prevention and rehabilitation programs. Obama proposes a $50 million cut to juvenile justice programs, directing funds instead to a competitive fund that would be awarded to states that are improving their system for young offenders.

Other bullet points from the prison section of the budget are below:

    * A $38 million cut to the Drug Enforcement Administration;
    * A $588 million cut to the offices of Justice Programs, Community Oriented Policing, and Violence Against Women;
    * A $100 million increase to Second Chance Act programs designed to help inmates re-enter society

Immigration / Deportation
President Obama supported the DREAM Act that would have granted American citizenship to selected undocumented students who met certain criteria. It failed to pass Congress and President Obama's budget doesn't revive the issue. In the budget, Obama is increasing the Customs and Border Protection funding by $263 million and adding $55 million to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget, according to the Huffington Post.

For other comprehensive coverage of Obama's Budget proposal check out Youth Today.

Last Minute Politics: Party Leaders Debate Youth Hot Topics

rgee — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 09:07:58 -0500

Midterm elections are here! Still don’t know who or what to vote for? The Midterm Youth Debate took place yesterday, which featured Democratic and Republican party leaders answering questions posed by youth. The debate airs tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on youthdebate.org.

Anthony Tedesco of Portable Heroes is founder and producer of the Presidential Youth Debates, and has put together a debate every year since 1996. Since then, he’s had every presidential candidate participate. The questions for these debates are submitted by people ages 13 - 30. “In every debate we’ve included future voters. If you get them engaged at an early age, they are more likely to become lifelong voters,” said Tedesco.

These are the issues that the party leaders responded to:
·      The two budget items they wouldn't cut
·      Three issues they would work in cooperation with their opposing party to resolve
·      What they will do to ensure equality and civil rights are taken seriously
·      When young Americans can expect to retire
·      What went wrong with the Gulf oil spill and how we can make sure it never happens again
·      When each party thinks we will move out of Iraq and Afghanistan
·      How both parties will work together to solve the health care crisis

You can view a written transcription of Democratic National Committee Chair Tim Kaine’s response to the question of civil rights and the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy here.

Tedesco said, “We reached out in non-partisan ways to solicit the questions - through Rock the Vote, youth media organizations, and student associations. It’s important to tie politics to something that youth care about, and give them the information they need to make a decision.”

Oakland/Alameda Morning Wrap

noah — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:34:09 -0600

Sadly this is not a breakfast burrito of news, just a wrap-up of the week so far in Oakland and Alameda County as a whole.

There's been a lot of news this week, and not all of it good. Starting with the downbeat (and moving on to the relatively brighter):

Alameda County Leaders Say "The Worst is Yet to Come".

No one can accuse politicians in Alameda County of being possessed of brainless optimism. Not when they host economic forums with the title "The Worst is Yet to Come". County Supervisor Keith Carson's office issued a press release on the forum to share the gloom and doom:

[Carson], who chairs the Budget Workgroup, said Alameda County has been proactive over the last several years in streamlining its operations – and therefore has been able to avoid some of the drastic cuts seen in other counties. This year, he said, Alameda County may be forced into making cuts that will be nothing short of devastating to County residents, including families and children.

“Board members, Administration, Management and Labor have all made major sacrifices to keep our budget in balance, but those cuts are now beginning to have a visible impact upon the safety net and upon those who have nowhere else to turn for help,’’ Carson said.

Ticket The Poor!

Meanwhile, in Oakland, the hunt for revenue seems to have led the bureaucracy* down some dark, narrow streets: to ticket the cars forced to park halfway on the sidewalk that is. Yet it turns out parking officers (who are called Traffic Wardens in England, which is much cooler, I wish I was British sometimes) ACTUALLY HAVE SOULS. Well some of them at any rate, since they have begun speaking out on the unfairness of the practice. It seems that the Parking Enforcement brass sent them out to ticket in poor neighborhoods but left the richer parts of town unscathed. Which makes absolutely no sense when you stop to think about it. As the old proverb goes: you can't get blood from a stone, but you can totally get $60 from anyone living in Piedmont just for asking.

Safety Zone Dance

And it's not like the poor parts of town have it easy. City Attorney John Russo filed a civil lawsuit seeking an injunction against the North Side Oakland gang. Injunctions are a popular tactic in cities with big gang problems like Los Angeles. The injunction would create a safety zone that borders the up and coming hipster mecca Temescal. Not to be cynical about it. (Looking at the map I see that the Cold Gunnaz gang apparently runs my old neighborhood- just two blocks away from Children's Hospital. Classy.)

By now you're wondering where that "brighter news" I promised is.

Fighting Immigration Fraud

John Russo's been a busy bee this week, as his office is hosting an Immigration Workshop this Saturday at Oakland's City Hall. Free private consultations with immigration attorneys will be available to the first 200 people who show up starting at 10 AM. It seems that a company called American Legal Sevices has been ripping off immigrant families, and while the City Attorney has filed suit his office is also taking steps to make sure the immigrant community has the information it needs to fight the fraud.

Dance Party Safety

Finally, Berkeley went and had itself a riot last night. (You: "Hey! I thought you said we we're gonna end on an up note!" Me: "It's Berkeley, different rules.") Apparently an on-campus dance party turned into an occupation of Durant Hall which then turned into a riot on Telegraph involving more than 200 people and six law enforcement agencies. With the tensions on campus getting higher as the budget cuts are felt more deeply, we might be seeing more of this. Maybe someone should fix the state or something.