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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

So I didn't pass National Boards....Lessons to continue

Well, 18 points to the finish line.....

I'm o.k. I'm going to resubmit my National Boards.  Its a deep lesson to learn.  In a way I'm glad I didn't pass as it will help me learn how to learn.

Teachers are asked all the time to change their teaching so its BETTER.  The self esteem pride issue needs to be addressed.  I agreed with National Board scoring, they gave me good feed back so I can go back into my classroom and deliver better literacy instruction.

As I move forward I also want to incorporate Common Core, the question is again though how to do all the goals teachers put on themselves or are given without being overwhelmed.  Taking it in stride but having that sense of urgency as well.

Learning and Teaching are a definite process that is personal and yet teachers personal process is under a public microscope.

Just today's 5 a.m. reflections as I realize a lot more work is coming....

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Yeah FX! and Mar! I worked hard on those campaigns too...


Incumbent Supervisor Eric Mar cruised to victory Tuesday despite almost $1 million spent to defeat him in one of three hard-fought contests for seats on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors.
"Richmond District voters have sent a strong message that our neighborhood is not for sale," said Mar, a progressive, who defeated challenger David Lee, a moderate who heads the Chinese American Voters Education Committee. Lee had what may have been unprecedented funds spent by business and real estate interests on his behalf.
That race in District One involved one of six seats on the 11-member Board of Supervisors on the ballot, but only three were seriously contested.
In District Five, appointed incumbent Supervisor Christina Olague faced a daunting task in attempting to win her first election in a race fraught with tension and acrimony - even by San Francisco political standards.
Challenger London Breed, the executive director of the African American Art and Culture Complex and the leading fundraiser in the race, opened up a surprising double-digit early lead that she maintained throughout the night.
Two preliminary calculations using the city's ranked-choice voting system also showed Breed defeating Olague, although final results may not be ready for several days.
Outside of Nickie's Bar and Restaurant, Breed's campaign declared victory.
"I'm pretty speechless right now," Breed said. "It's a new day in District Five. ... The races are behind us."
Olague's campaign spokeswoman, Stephanie Tucker, sent a text message cautioning: "It's not over yet."
That contest in District Five, a stronghold for the progressive faction on the city's political left that includes the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, was the most dramatic among the board races.
Olague had the advantage of incumbency after Mayor Ed Lee tapped the former Planning Commission president in January to fill the remainder of Ross Mirkarimi's term after he was elected sheriff.
She was often attacked by her seven opponents for being too close politically to the mayor, a business-friendly moderate, to represent the city's most liberal district.
That campaign narrative was upended in October when Olague voted against the mayor's effort to remove Mirkarimi for official misconduct after the sheriff bruised his wife in a domestic dispute.
The vote shored up Olague's credentials with some on the political left for defying Lee in voting to reinstate a fellow progressive, but it also alienated her from the mayor and brought outrage from domestic violence advocates and others. An independent expenditure committee linked to Lee backer and tech investor Ron Conway and others spent more than $104,000 in the final days of the campaign to defeat Olague.
"The dynamics of this race were unlike any race in district election history," said Alex Clemens, a lobbyist, consultant and veteran City Hall watcher. "It defies description."
Under the city's ranked-choice voting system, voters pick a first, second and third choice for office. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent outright, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated one by one. The second- and third-choice votes of their supporters are then reassigned to the remaining candidates until someone finishes with more than 50 percent.
The winner in District Seven also may not be known for days.
In that race, school board President Norman Yee held the lead in first-place votes, but the latest ranked-choice tabulation showed labor leader F.X. Crowley with a narrow edge to replace termed-out Supervisor Sean Elsbernd. Businessman Mike Garcia and journalist Joel Engardio were trailing the two front-runners.
For decades, the homeowner-heavy district stretching from West of Twin Peaks to the zoo has been the moderate to conservative center of the city.
Supervisor David Campos in District Nine and Supervisor John Avalos in District 11 faced no challengers on the ballot.
Board President David Chiu easily fended off three rivals in District Three.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/S-F-supervisors-Mar-wins-Breed-Yee-lead-4014661.php#ixzz2BXgv5mKU

SF Measures...Yes on A! Wins....


CCSF parcel tax, parks bond among San Francisco propositions that pass

Prop. F, which would have required San Francisco to spend $8 million examining how to drain the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and identify other water and power sources for The City, was the only proposition that didn't pass.
Prop. F, which would have required San Francisco to spend $8 million examining how to drain the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and identify other water and power sources for The City, was the only proposition that didn't pass.
A breakdown of what San Francisco propositions passed and failed in the 2012 election.

Proposition A: Pass

CCSF PARCEL TAX: Voters have approved Proposition A, a tax of $79 per parcel to generate about $16 million annually during the next eight years for City College of San Francisco. The funds will be used to offset state budget cuts, keep libraries open, provide workforce training and continue offering core academic courses such as English, math and science. The school system has suffered from a reduction of state funding totaling more than $53 million in the past three years. There are nine CCSF campuses in The City serving about 100,000 students each year.

Proposition B: Pass

PARKS BOND: The Recreation and Park Department will borrow $195 million after voters approved Proposition B, authorizing the issuance of bonds funded by an increase of property taxes. About $100 million will go toward improving 15 parks and $34 million will go toward public spaces along the waterfront. Other funding will include $12 million for community-nominated Rec and Park projects and $4 million for trail reconstruction in Golden Gate Park and John McLaren Park.

Proposition C: Pass

HOUSING TRUST FUND: The City’s plan to invest $1.5 billion in affordable-housing development and related programs during the next three decades appears to have been approved by voters. The bulk of the funding will be used to help develop up to 30,000 units of housing affordable for households earning up to 120 percent of the area’s median income. Beginning with $20 million next year, it will grow by $2.8 million a year until reaching $50.8 million.

Proposition D: Pass

ELECTION CONSOLIDATION: San Francisco voters want to vote for the city attorney and treasurer at the same time they vote for the mayor, sheriff and district attorney. The consolidation under Proposition D will limit the city attorney and treasurer elected in 2013 to two-year terms, and then subject the offices to another election in November 2015, putting these posts on the same four-year term schedule as San Francisco’s other elected offices. 

Proposition E: Pass

GROSS-RECEIPTS TAX: San Francisco’s business tax will change from a levy on what businesses pay their employees to what they earn in gross receipts, voters decided. Proposition D will eliminate the existing 1.5 percent tax on business payrolls in excess of $250,000. Instead, it will tax businesses’ gross receipts with rates ranging from .075 percent to .65 percent. Businesses with less than $1 million in gross receipts would not pay the tax.

Proposition F: Fail

HETCH HETCHY STUDY: Voters appear to have rejected a study on draining the reservoir in Yosemite National Park’s Hetch Hetchy Valley. Proposition F would have required The City to spend $8 million examining how to drain the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and to identify other water and power sources with the aim of ultimately restoring the valley to its natural state.

Proposition G: Pass

CORPORATE PERSONHOOD: Voters appear to believe that corporations should not have the same constitutional rights as people and should have political spending limits. Proposition G will create a city policy opposing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission that said corporations have a First Amendment right to spend money for or against political candidates.


Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/11/ccsf-parcel-tax-parks-bond-among-san-francisco-propositions-pass#ixzz2BXgXQTS8

Victory!! For Yes on 30


Proposition TitleCountyState
Yes
Votes
%No
Votes
%Yes
Votes
%No
Votes
%
Yes30Temporary Taxes to Fund Education192,72776.8%58,24723.2%4,869,64554.0%4,141,20246.0%
No31State Budget, State and Local Government78,70634.4%149,91565.6%3,299,27039.2%5,109,91360.8%
No32Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction68,02827.8%176,69372.2%3,881,37243.8%4,989,32856.2%
No33Auto Insurance Prices Based on Driver History67,44928.2%171,67371.8%3,951,98545.3%4,779,55054.7%
No34Death Penalty172,77570.1%73,63829.9%4,198,41147.4%4,658,93252.6%
Yes35Human Trafficking172,43372.0%66,92328.0%7,154,26581.1%1,665,75518.9%
Yes36Three Strikes Law203,26684.5%37,24815.5%6,063,96668.8%2,752,01531.2%
No37Genetically Engineered Foods Labeling165,10067.6%79,10832.4%4,194,79347.0%4,723,68153.0%
No38Tax for Education. Early Childhood Programs83,76435.1%154,80064.9%2,437,93627.7%6,355,12572.3%
Yes39Business Tax for Energy Funding175,51475.1%58,10424.9%5,193,88960.2%3,436,82539.8%
Yes40Redistricting State Senate180,73080.8%42,95319.2%5,947,44671.5%2,366,72228.5%