Fwd: [DW] FT: The world watches Reykjavik’s digital democracy experiment - Participatory Budgeting

Bill Peduto used to talk about value-based budgets. Not hearing much about that these days. 

But, water is a value so let's make new overloards for water authority.

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From: Steven Clift <clift@e-democracy.org>

Democracies Online

*Is your community exploring participatory budgeting? Let us know <http://po.st/CFrequestinfo>.*   The *Financial Times* just wrote an interesting *article on community idea generation and participatory budgeting* <http://po.st/FTworldwatches> in Reykjavik, Iceland.   The City of Reykjavik just finished their 6th yearly round which allocates about 6% of the city budget on community improvement projects - that's over $20M total over the years. Turnout was up 20 percent to a high of 11% of people voting via participatory budgeting (with over half completing the process via a mobile optimized experience). Reykjavik uses Your Priorities to gather and vet public ideas and then a more secure online voting system than you'll likely find with many other PB projects due to the scale of spending.   Both tools are open source, but in this case and with governments in other countries <http://po.st/cfportfolio>, the lead nonprofit Citizens Foundation <http://po.st/citizensfoundation> can do the hosting, manage a locally hosted server, or build out any desired customizations. A new AI tool is also mixed in to raise up useful content.   If you'd like to learn more, participate in a webinar on tools for PB or idea generation, *please fill out this form* <http://po.st/CFrequestinfo>.   And check out this dynamic discussion about participatory budgeting technology <https://www.facebook.com​/groups​/opengovgroup​/permalink​/2032877296943856​/> on the civic tech Facebook Group that I host.   I've been in the civic tech space for over twenty years and the humble, make it simple, make it work Citizens Foundation approach is such a winner that my nonprofit decided to partner with them on global outreach. So please share this with those you think would be interested.   Thanks, Steven Clift E-Democracy.org     P.S.* Civic digital advertising outreach case study <http://po.st/CFrequestinfo>* - The other week at the Council of Europe's Participatory Democracy Incubator for cities, Robert Bjarnason <http://po.st/rblinkedin> with the Citizens Foundation and I had a chance to catch up. In one of those "ah ha" moments (at the bar of course!), he mentioned that they invested heavily in online advertising via Facebook and some with Google Adwords. Spending about 13,000 Euros they reached just about everyone in Iceland recently. They tested and tracked different civic messaging and know what led to wasted paid visits and what led to actual deep participation. I pressed Robert to write a case study and he agreed! You can request the future case study and more information on their digital tools here <http://po.st/CFrequestinfo>.     Steven Clift - Executive Director, E-Democracy.org clift@e-democracy.org http://twitter.com/democracy   Join in: http://facebook.com​/groups​/opengovgroup Digital engagement for your org via E-Democracy: http://po.st/engageclift

Fwd: The Eagle

The Eagle

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Students' Takes on the Teacher Shortages Posted: 27 Nov 2017 01:50 PM PST Below are the thoughts of three students on the recent teacher shortages both in Pennsylvania and nationwide.   Terrell Harrison Pennsylvania schools are struggling with trying to keep teachers teaching in public schools. The number of teachers shortages are higher than ever before, and it's not beneficial to the students. Harrisburg is among the top public school districts statewide in teaching shortages according to pennlive.com and washingtonpost.com. Some cities in particular are really struggling. For example, the city of Philadelphia has the greatest amount of teacher shortages, sadly with 255 positions that need to be filled. Parents everywhere are both furious and curious of what their children's futures hold. If there is not enough teachers, they wonder, then how are students going to get the proper education that they need in order to have the right amount of knowledge to use to their advantage. As much as students would rather to stay at home and play games or be on social media all day, they need the proper education in order to be able to walk on their own to feet in the real world. I interviewed two students to see what their take on the shortage of teachers was. The first one was sophomore Tasaun Harvey. I asked him, "What do you think about the shortages in teachers and will it affect you or anyone around you?" He then said, "No, I think that I have learned all the basic stuff that I need to learn, but for my siblings and if so my future children, they need the education because I won't be able to teach it to them while I'm working." I asked another sophomore by the name of Amir Crownie, "If you could, would you help the amount of teacher shortages decrease?" He says, "Yes, if I was able to be at a thousand places at once I definitely would be helpful to the youth and future students." The number of teacher shortages is truly horrific and isn't good but I believe that we can turn it around for the future. I'm sure that the districts will get it together and get to the bottom of this problem sooner rather than later by hiring more young teachers fresh out of college.   Silas Maxwell Switzer Certain school districts in Pennsylvania, such as the Philadelphia City School District, have as many as 225 unfilled teaching positions (pennlive.com). However, Philadelphia is not the only city having teacher shortage problems. This is an issue that is happening statewide and even nationwide. Teachers that used to be in fine supply, such as math and special education teachers, now seem to be nowhere to be found. Districts are being forced to hire underqualified teachers in order to simply keep adults in their classrooms. One of the many ways that schools are able to do this is by issuing something called an emergency permit. An emergency permit essentially allows anyone who has a bachelor's degree and at least five years of experience in the subject to teach it, without any kind of training in education. Even substitutes are in short supply at this point. "Some days we don't have an adult in the classroom at all," says an anonymous student at Obama Academy. There are many possible reasons as to why there are a lack of qualified teachers. One of these reasons is that many teachers feel that they are being underpaid. Because of this, fewer students are entering into college to be trained in education, especially in Pennsylvania where the standards for teachers are extremely high. Not many students want to go through an extremely intensive educational program only to be paid less than they could for less education in a different profession. Another possible reason that the amount of qualified teachers is decreasing is because of the harsh emphasis on standardized testing in today's schools. Because of this pressure, teachers have less of a willingness to go into the profession. They feel as if they do not get to teach for the sake of learning but instead just to prepare their students for standardized testing. "I don't get through half of the curriculum that I'd like to in a year simply because I have to spend most of my time preparing my students for standardized tests," says an anonymous teacher within the Pittsburgh Public School District. These are some of the many reasons why there are teacher shortages both in Pennsylvania and nationwide. The teacher shortage issue has only been getting worse over the last ten years. Most signs indicate that it is only going to get worse until our education system changes. Until then, students will be educated in any way possible.   John Wesesky Education majors are disappearing like the lost colony of Roanoke. Teacher numbers are incredibly decreasing in Pennsylvania along with the amount of substitute teachers. The schools are in desperate need of these essential staff members. According to the article "These Pa. school districts have the greatest teacher shortages" on PennLive, there are at least 20 positions available in every school. These numbers are only getting higher, with the largest number of positions needed to be filled being in Philadelphia with 255. In Pittsburgh, we have 72 positions available for teachers. Based on these statistics, people can infer that the students within these districts are not receiving the education that they need to make it through life. Without an education, these students will not be able to make it into colleges and will be hired to basic jobs such as a cashier or a janitor. Jacqueline Palochko wrote the article "Pennsylvania state colleges try to stave off teacher shortage as fewer decide to major in education", where she goes into detail about the statistics and reasoning behind this shortage. Her statistics show there has been a 36% decrease in education enrollment in Pennsylvania. That is an alarming drop in students becoming teachers. That is just in the state; nationally, there is a 35% decrease in enrollment. Due to this decrease in teachers in school districts, the school officials have to lower their standards and turn to emergency permits. These permits allow the schools to hire teachers for one year who would normally be considered unqualified to teach. This means that the students will receive a teacher, but that teacher does not meet the requirements to teach the class. The students will get a lesser education than they would have with a qualified teacher. Jamie Martinez wrote the article "Substitute teacher shortage an ongoing problem for Western Pennsylvania schools" to further inform the public on the effects of this decrease. She stated that in some schools a few teacher absences go unfulfilled. This means that students do not receive even a substitute teacher. Some classes get cancelled and some have to be subbed by other teachers. There have been a few times where I have experienced a class with no teacher or a delayed substitute. Palochko also stated a few reasons for this shortage in teachers, the first being the decline in education majors. There is obviously a major decrease in students becoming teachers since there are hundreds of positions available in Pennsylvania. The second is that there is a major increase in K-12 enrollment. Some people do not want to teach classes with a huge amount of students. They do not want to be in charge of dozens of kids in multiple classes. The third reason is that there is a surge in teacher requirements. The work needed to become a teacher has become too tough to handle for many people. Students don't want to go through these processes that are too difficult to do. The fourth and final reason is that schools desire low teacher-to-student ratios. She also stated some small reasons: frozen salaries and the emphasis on standardized teaching. Teachers do not want to be blamed if a student fails a test due to their incompetence. When the schools realized that they need more education majors, they started to offer some deals to the students. In Debra Erdley's article "Fewer college students opt to pursue career as teachers" she states a couple of offers colleges are giving out. She said that some are reducing the tuition fees and some are reducing the certifications to get a teaching certificate. When interviewed, two out of four students at Obama stated they would consider becoming a teacher and the others said they wouldn't. When asked what could a college do to make her become a teacher, Chazzlyn Burke said that it would have to give her a discount on tuition and give her "no room and board plans." Talib Smith said that they would have to guarantee him a good position in order for him to major in education. The numbers are still decreasing and we still need more teachers. We need to get more students to major in education to ensure that all students get the education they signed up for. If these statistics keep going down, soon enough we won't have enough teachers for the nation. Schools can't just keep using emergency permits. How can we help with this issue? Become a teacher, tell others of the issue, or tell colleges to lower their standards to become a teacher.

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Ta.


Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com
Swimming and Water Polo Coach, Schenley High School, Pittsburgh, PA
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell

Fwd: The Eagle covering PFT

The Eagle

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A Look at the PFT-School Board Contract Dispute Posted: 21 Nov 2017 05:49 PM PST In July of 2016, Pittsburgh Public Schools welcomed Anthony Hamlet to serve as superintendent of schools for the city of Pittsburgh. Since July of 2017, the Pittsburgh Board of Directors and Dr. Hamlet have been negotiating with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT 400), the local teachers' union, concerning the terms of the new teacher contract, which was extended instead of being renegotiated two years ago. Mr. Denlinger, the 12th grade English teacher at Obama, says, "Two years ago, all we got was another extension on our current contract, so I think we're feeling like there has not been a new contract in over eight years. There's been nothing added to the contract to address increased cost of living or anything else for over eight years." Tension has been building on both sides over the course of the negotiations, especially as fall has arrived. There are several reasons for this. Prior to the start of contract negotiations, teachers are asked by their union to answer questions about what they would like to see altered in their current contract and to offer suggestions about the new incarnation. After this feedback is acknowledged, the Board and the teachers' union enter into closed negotiations until an agreement is reached, meaning teachers can hear nothing more about the progress of the contract nor offer additional ideas for the new accord. This is an accepted process, and it is eased along by the fact that the school board and the union will usually agree to preserve agreements under the old contract during negotiations. However, as Obama's Mr. Collinger explains, "Last year, we still used the old contract even though it was expired, and they moved us up the pay scale even though we didn't have a new contract. Now we're in still in status quo but they're no longer moving us up the ladder. We won't be able to move up the ladder until we get a new contract. This affects really new teachers even more than me, teachers who should be getting five or six thousand dollars more a month, whereas I'm losing, say, a thousand per month that I would be getting if they were still moving us up the steps. The hope is that once we settle a new contract, they'll pay us retroactively. Teachers that have only been here for a year or two are the most upset, since they're the ones losing the most." Some students may have observed their teachers wearing blue PFT t-shirts on Fridays in support of the cause, and there has even been talk of a potential walk-out. As negotiations continue to drag on, an air of disgruntlement has begun t0 spread throughout the school. We decided to investigate the matter. Our first move was to reach out to Regina Holley, the President of the Board of Directors, for a statement, but she said she was "not permitted to talk about the contract" at that time. We do know that, for its part, the Board is attempting to increase its authority over teacher schedules and limit the length of this contract to only three years. A major bone of contention between the Board and the PFT has been how salaries will be decided and the structure of raises that will be implemented for the duration of this new contract. The Board is proposing lower increases to a teacher's salary each year than the union, and it is also continuing to advocate for a single pay scale for all teachers hired after 2010 as well as a change in the number of steps in the pay scale, so that teachers take longer to reach the maximum salary for their position. The Board is also resisting any efforts to pay early-age teachers on the same plane as their grade-level counterparts due to the expense of such a move. Recently, Lewis Amis, a state arbitrator, was invited by the Board to develop a fact-finding report—an analysis of the claims of both sides and a proposed resolution to their disagreements. Amis found mostly in favor of the Board on issues of dispute between the district and the union. This was most important in regards to the salary issue, where he largely agreed with the district's position, aims, and arguments for its actions. We also contacted Nina Esposito-Visgitis, the president of the PFT 400. While echoing the evaluation of the situation that many of the teachers we spoke to had expressed, she further stressed that the affair was not limited to concerns regarding compensation, but that grievances were far more widespread, encompassing scheduling preference, term length, and class size. As she put it, "If everything went right teacher voice would be upheld and celebrated, as it should be." Moreover, she pointed out that the conflict does not only affect high school teachers like those we interviewed, but truly is district-wide: "Our early childhood teachers…are paid far below what school-age teachers are paid. We find this offensive, we find this to be unfair treatment because they're doing the same job and it's just as important, and we think this a practice that should be discontinued, and they should be paid comparable payment with the school-age teachers." "But what was really cool was, our teachers stood together to say we stand. I mean, [the fact-finding report] was voted down 97.5% from teachers….Even people that it didn't have much of an effect on or was a pretty good deal for voted no because they saw it was not equitable to their union brothers and sisters, and that was a really strong message they sent that I'm extraordinarily proud of." Ms. Esposito-Visgitis also voiced a positive outlook on the state of negotiations moving forward, telling us that she was "very excited to be working now with Dr. Hamlet and the deputy superintendent and educators who know a lot about teaching" and to have "reached an agreement on some items", and that there was "absolutely an end in sight". That being said, when asked about the possibility of a walk-out or other form of public demonstration on the part of the teachers, she had this to say: "We are working on escalation techniques. We have been testifying at Board hearings. Teachers have been going in, going to visit school board members. So we are talking about things including rallies and petitions. We have not gotten there yet, but that may be a piece to bring recognition of what we're fighting for. We truly are fighting for our schools." Finally, we asked Ms. Esposito-Visgitis to send one message to the students of PPS. Her response: "The PFT is always on the forefront of innovation and fighting for teacher and students rights. We want our school district to be the best urban school district in Pennsylvania and the country, and I think we've demonstrated repeatedly through our work with teacher evaluation, our work on career and technical education, our work in early childhood. I certainly hope we have. For example, the 75,000 free books we've given away in the last three years to our kids. I hope we have demonstrated our commitment and love for the students of Pittsburgh." Now that the union has resoundingly rejected the state arbitrator's report, it seems that negotiations are in many ways back to square one, a fact that will undoubtedly exacerbate teacher dissatisfaction and may lead to the escalation tactics Ms. Esposito-Visgitis mentioned. For now, discussions will continue and teachers will have to live under the terms of the current contract indefinitely.

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Ta.


Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com
Swimming and Water Polo Coach, Schenley High School, Pittsburgh, PA
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell

Fwd: 🦃 Badge News - Issue #22

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: We Are Open Co-op <badgenews@weareopen.coop>
Date: Fri, Nov 24, 2017 at 10:04 AM
Subject: 🦃 Badge News - Issue #22
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>

Your regular dose of badge goodness.

This is quite a long newsletter that may be truncated by your email client, so you may want to view this email in your browser Forward Like Tweet +1 Share Pin Badge News is made possible thanks to our foundational sponsors:     Issue #22 Friday 24th November 2017 Welcome to Badge News from We Are Open Co-op! Our regular newsletter keeps the Open Badges community informed of what's going on, in-and-around the ecosystem. Thank you for subscribing! Share something for the next issue This week's featured article has been chosen by Credly, who recently released a new guide for practitioners. They say it "offers actionable strategies to bring serious speed to your work with industry partners as you develop meaningful credentials to recognize your learners' skills and competencies".    Partnering with Employers to Create Workforce-Relevant Credentials: A Field Guide An extract: "In Colorado, we found that employer-driven digital credentials helped our graduates to better articulate their skills -- and allowed regional employers to identify untapped talent," said Brenda Perea, the Director of Education and Workforce Solutions at Credly. "Digital credentials and badges cannot be designed or delivered in a vacuum. This guide is rooted in a belief that employer engagement matters, and shares the experiences of institutions that have flipped the credentialing model through collaboration with employers up front." Latest news Pearson, WTF? Badges, patents, and the world's 'least popular' education company Doug Belshaw reports on news that Pearson is attempting to patent digital credentials at the same time as chairing the IMS Global Learning Consortium's working group on Open Badges. Competency-Based Micro-credentials are Transforming Professional Learning This article from 'Getting Smart' explains what microcredentials are (and are not) as well as linking out to some useful videos and blog posts for further reading. Open Badges Summit 2017: Modern Employment and Digital Credentials The first IMS Global Learning Consortium and Digitalme European Open Badges Summit will bring together high-profile employers, members of civil service, education and commercial product leaders to share, learn and discuss the technology, people and climate that make Open Badges work. Special tracks have been designed for technical and non-technical attendees. (1st December, London) Open Badges from RNIB Scotland We've featured the work of the Scottish Social Services Council before in Badge News. Recently, they've helped the Royal National Institute for the Blind to develop badges for those caring with people with sight loss. OpenWorm badge system We're always on the lookout for interesting examples of badges, and this one is great. The OpenWorm badge system "gives biologists and computationalists unfamiliar with Caenorhabditis elegans developmental biology a chance to get their feet wet by taking a multidisciplinary approach to the topic". Fascinating! Have you read a great article about badges you'd like us to include in an upcoming issue? Get in touch with a link! Badge Wiki This new knowledge base for the Open Badges community will be launched at the European Badge Summit on December 1st! It is being built by We Are Open Co-op with help from volunteers, and made possible by Participate. We held our last barn raising this last week. Be sure to join the Loomio group to receive updates and to get involved! Innovative uses of badges Google Local Guides badges Althought not (yet!) open badges, Google has introduced four digital badges as part of their local guide programe through Google Maps. These badges encourage particular behaviours on the platform, such as "being the first to add, review, or take a photo of a place".

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Ta.


Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com
Swimming and Water Polo Coach, Schenley High School, Pittsburgh, PA
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell