Sacramento Press / Google Wave Hit’s The River City (Sacramento)

Sacramento Press / Google Wave Hit’s The River City (Sacramento):

"What is a Google Wave? Why do I need a Google Wave Account? I’m just learning Facebook and Twitter, how does it compare to those social media sites? All of those are very good questions, let’s take them one at a time.

What is a Google Wave? A Google Wave is a great many things and in its simplest form, it is a (hosted) document as a conversation. Google Wave is a new online communications tool that enables groups of people to edit and discuss documents simultaneously on the web. The Google Wave team says Wave is 'what email would look like if it were invented today.' Google Wave is Google’s ambitious attempt to change the way we collaborate with each other."

85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media « emergent by design

85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media « emergent by design

85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media

Capistrano Unified teachers protest proposed 10% pay cut -- latimes.com

Capistrano Unified teachers protest proposed 10% pay cut -- latimes.com:


"Teachers angry at the Capistrano Unified School District's proposal to cut their pay by 10% held a rally Saturday to protest the move.

The demonstration, which took place near the Mission Viejo Mall, drew more than 300 people, according to organizers of the event. It marked the latest in a series of actions highlighting teachers' dissatisfaction with contract negotiations and the school board.

Capistrano Unified needs to slash about $25 million from its 2010-11 budget, board officials have said. They have suggested cutting teachers' pay by 10% and making the decrease retroactive to July by deducting it from upcoming paychecks."

Tea and education to solve Afghan crisis - Taiwan News Online

Tea and education to solve Afghan crisis - Taiwan News Online:

"Mortenson believes causes of religious extremism, such as ignorance, illiteracy, joblessness can be blunted by education"

Greg Mortenson doesn't need to rely on think tanks or arcane policy documents to find the road to a better Afghanistan. The mountaineer-turned-school builder from Montana - recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize - depends on what might be called his own show-of-hands index, based on his visits to speak with children in the United States and Afghanistan. In the past few months alone, he's spoken to tens of thousands of them.

"I always ask American schoolchildren how often they talk with their grandparents about the important events of history in the past. Invariably, maybe 10 percent at most will raise their hands," he says.

He poses the same question in the remotest corners of Afghanistan, where he has successfully erected 80 schools, many of them focusing on education for girls. There, the range of responses he receives seems to reflect the social health of a particular community.

In rural villages where the Taliban has not exerted its will on the community, Mr. Mortenson says perhaps 80 percent of kids respond affirmatively. But in areas where home-grown and foreign Taliban fighters have established brutal strongholds, sometimes with connections to Al Qaeda, almost no child raises a hand.

As President Obama pledged another 30,000 U.S. troops Dec. 1 to root out terrorists in Afghanistan, Mortenson is suggesting that effort must go hand in hand with another: grass-roots education.

California Comprehensive Center at WestEd

California Comprehensive Center at WestEd:

Parent Involvement

Involving parents in school decisions and activities is a key principle embedded in Title I of the NCLB Act. Schools must include parents in their school improvement planning process and are encouraged to develop strategies to reach out to parents.

Guidance, Regulations, Legislation, and Announcements

Guidance

Non-Regulatory Guidance, Title 1, Part A, Parental Involvement   
For specific information on parental involvement, refer to section A1-A14.

Regulations

Final Regulation, Title 1- Improving The Academic Achievement Of The Disadvantaged   
For specific information on parental involvement, refer to page 71732.

Legislation

Final Legislation, Public Law print of PL 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; Title I, Part A, Subpart 1, Sec. 1118. PARENTAL INVOLVMENT   

Announcements

Department to Provide More Educational Options for Parents (March 2004)   

For Information Specific to California:

Parent/Family/Community
Information resources for parents, family, and the community.

California State Action Plan for School, Family, and Community Partnerships (State APP) Draft revision dated November 17, 2009 (PDF; 1.7MB; 52pp.)

Title I Parental Involvement Information and Resources
Information and resources on parental involvement requirements under Title I for administrators, teachers, parent involvement liaisons and other stakeholders and partners.

Other Resources

Useful Links

Family Involvement in Children's Education: Successful Local Approaches   
Lists elements of successful local approaches for involving families in education, insights about establishing and sustaining parent-school partnerships, examples of successful partnerships, and general resources.

Guide to Tool Kit for Hispanic Families   
Informs all families of the roles schools and teachers will play in their child's education and provides them with resources to support their child's education. Developed by the US Department of Education.

National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools   
Offers to parents and communities research-based information that can be put into practice to increase student achievement. The "Connection Collection" under the Resources tab is an easy-to-use searchable publication database.

Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRC)   
Provides parents, schools, and community organizations with information on NCLB and links them to their nearest PIRCs, which provide training, information, and technical assistance to strengthen partnerships that help all children achieve high academic standards. Sponsored by the US Department of Education.

What NCLB Means for Parents (in English)   
Explains to parents what high standards mean and do, what to look for in test scores, how to hold schools accountable for results, how to prepare children to be strong readers, how to help children with homework, and where to turn for help in specific academic subjects. Developed by the US Department of Education.

What NCLB Means for Parents (in Spanish)   
Explains to parents what high standards mean and do, what to look for in test scores, how to hold schools accountable for results, how to prepare children to be strong readers, how to help children with homework, and where to turn for help in specific academic subjects. Developed by the US Department of Education.

TEA set to intervene in S.A. charter school district

TEA set to intervene in S.A. charter school district:

"A state-appointed official soon could be calling the shots at the School of Excellence in Education charter district — unless officials can give the Texas Education Agency a compelling reason by next week not to name one.

Citing ongoing financial problems, the agency released its decision Friday to place a conservator at the district. It's Bexar County's largest charter system with eight campuses and about 2,100 students.

“As a result of School of Excellence in Education's continued deficiencies in the area of financial performance, I am compelled to exercise my authority and intervene,” Education Commissioner Robert Scott wrote in a letter dated Nov. 30."

Strongest voucher schools thrive - JSOnline

Strongest voucher schools thrive - JSOnline:

"Michelle Lukacs grew up in Mequon and worked as a teacher in Milwaukee. Then she was a teacher and guidance counselor in Jefferson. She got a school principal's license through a program at Edgewood College in Madison.

She moved back to Milwaukee and decided to open a school as part of the publicly funded private school voucher program. She called it Atlas Preparatory Academy because she liked the image of Atlas holding the whole world up and because it was the name of a refrigeration company her husband owns.

On the first day of classes in September 2001, Atlas had 23 students in leased space in an old school building at 2911 S. 32nd St."

This September, Atlas had 814 students, a growth of 3,439% over eight years. It now uses three buildings on the south side and has grown, grade by grade, to be a full kindergarten through 12th-grade program.

Atlas' growth is explosive, even within the continually growing, nationally significant voucher program. Voucher enrollment over the same period has roughly doubled from 10,882 in September 2001 to 21,062 this fall.

The Atlas story underscores an interesting trend: The number of voucher schools in recent years has leveled off, and this year, fell significantly. But the total number of students using vouchers to attend private schools in the city has gone up, and a few schools have become particular powerhouses, at least when it comes to enrollment.

Many Asian students fear return to S. Phila. classes | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/05/2009

Many Asian students fear return to S. Phila. classes Philadelphia Inquirer 12/05/2009:

"Chaofei Zheng hiked up his shirt to reveal an angry bruise, about four inches long, on his right side. He pointed to a matching yellow-and-purple mark above his left eyebrow.
'I'm scared to go to school,' Zheng, 19, a freshman at South Philadelphia High School, said through a translator yesterday.

Zheng is one of several - community organizers say 30 or more - students who were attacked at the school on Thursday, targeted, they said, because they're Asian.

Racial violence at the school is not new, but students and activists say this week's attacks are emblematic of a problem that's not going away."

State Considers Shifting Charter-School Tuition Costs To Local School Systems -- Courant.com

State Considers Shifting Charter-School Tuition Costs To Local School Systems -- Courant.com:

"HARTFORD — - The State Board of Education is considering four proposals that would overhaul the law governing charter schools, including one that would shift the cost of tuition to local school systems.

The changes, meant to expand the number of charter schools, also are designed to increase the state's chances to get as much as $150 million in school-reform grants from the federal Race to the Top competition. States across the country are competing for $5 billion in federal stimulus money set aside to encourage school reform by expanding charter schools and tying teacher pay to student performance."

The most controversial proposal essentially would require towns to pay tuition for students attending the state's 18 charter schools. Now, the state pays $9,300 for each child attending a charter school. Under the new plan, cities and towns would pay for each local student who goes to a charter school.

The theory is that the towns would use money from state education cost-sharing grants to help pay for charter school tuition. Rather than pay for the child to attend a local school, the money would "follow the child" to the charter school.

Advocates say that plan would put charter schools on equal financial footing with traditional schools because charters are now given less money, on average, per student.

More Texas students taking, failing Advanced Placement exams | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

More Texas students taking, failing Advanced Placement exams News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News:

"Robust Advanced Placement programs are often seen as a seal of quality for high schools. And in its quest for excellence, Texas has seen an explosion of the classes that offer the promise and prestige of college credit.

But the latest data show Texas high school students fail more than half of the college-level exams, and their performance trails national averages.

Some say Texas failure rates are higher because more students from an increasingly diverse pool take AP classes here. But high failure rates from some of the Dallas area's elite campuses raise questions about whether our most advantaged high school students are prepared for college work."

Internet addicts more likely to self harm - Herald Scotland | News | Health

Internet addicts more likely to self harm - Herald Scotland News Health:

"Teenagers who are addicted to the internet are more likely to self-harm than their peers, a new study has claimed.

Researchers from China and Australia surveyed 1,618 adolescents aged 13 to 18 from China’s Guangdong Province, asking them whether they pulled their own hair or hit, pinched or burned themselves. They then gave them a test to assess whether they were suffering internet addiction, a mental health problem that has been recognised since the 1990s.

The test found that about 10 percent of the students surveyed were moderately addicted to the Internet, while less than one percent were severely addicted."

With no limits in place, another college fee hike likely - ContraCostaTimes.com

With no limits in place, another college fee hike likely - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"With the state budget hole headed toward new depths next year, community college students likely will pay more than ever for their classes.

Although the 2010 state budget is still months away from adoption, college and state leaders have begun discussing the new fees. Many say there's little chance students will avoid paying more.

'We're definitely going to include it as an option for the Legislature,' said Paul Steenhausen of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. 'We've got some really tough years coming up, and the Legislature will have some difficult choices to make.'"

Members say school board shouldn't bicker - CharlotteObserver.com

Members say school board shouldn't bicker - CharlotteObserver.com:

"Facing its biggest leadership turnover in 14 years, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board will plunge quickly into decisions that can build or erode confidence in public education for years to come.
On the list:
Clean up a student-assignment process that has created months of anger and confusion. Make teacher performance-pay work. Figure out how to staff schools and honor construction promises in a lingering recession.
Before all that, though, members say they must forge a team that can dispel the board's reputation for sniping and grandstanding."

Qatar Tribune - Crisis in US Education

Qatar Tribune - Crisis in US Education :

"FOR me, the greatest national security crisis in the United States is the crisis in education.

We are turning out new generations of Americans who are whizzes at video games and may be capable of tweeting 24 hours a day but are nowhere near ready to cope with the great challenges of the 21st century.

An American kid drops out of high school at an average rate of one every 26 seconds.

In some large urban districts, only half of the students ever graduate.

Of the kids who manage to get through high school, only about a third are ready to move on to a fouryear college."

Budget cuts inspiring advocacy for schools

Budget cuts inspiring advocacy for schools:

"Frustration has simmered among school supporters this year since state lawmakers began slashing the K-12 budget, most recently cutting $144 million from a fund that pays for desks and other classroom needs to offset a state revenue shortfall that tops $2 billion.

The pre-Thanksgiving budget cut was one of several rounds this year that have inspired parents to attend the Arizona School Boards Association's new statewide workshops on grass-roots advocacy.

ASBA spokeswoman Tracey Benson said the organization, a non-profit representing school boards across the state, has held nine workshops on advocacy so far this year in all but a few Arizona counties."

Tackling truancy

Tackling truancy:

"Any way you cut it, skipping class has consequences.

Attendance at school correlates to higher academic achievement, and the more likely students will perform well on standardized tests that are required for federal education accountability measures.

'We can't educate a child who is not here,' said Mandan Superintendent Wilfred Volesky."

When students ditch class without permission, they are considered truant. It's an ongoing problem that is difficult to track because of inconsistencies in how truancy is reported to the state. The number of truant students in the state appears to have dropped 75 percent between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years, but even the Department of Public Instruction, which collects the data, doesn't believe it.

School administrators and school boards try to curb truancy through attendance policies, reward programs and partnerships with law enforcement. Now educators are looking to the state Legislature to make the truancy law more enforceable.

Chronic truancy can result in a student receiving a citation from police and losing academic credit. Parents also could receive citations for educational neglect.

Rancho Cordova Kiwanis Support Youth and Community — The Rancho Cordova Post

Rancho Cordova Kiwanis Support Youth and Community — The Rancho Cordova Post:

"The Rancho Cordova Kiwanis Chapter works behind the scenes in the community to better the lives of families and children in Rancho Cordova. From organizing and running the 4th of July Parade to serving up pancakes at the annual Community Easter Egg Hunt, the Air Show and Breakfast with Santa, the Rancho Cordova Kiwanians are serving the community one family at a time.

Like in so many communities, there will be more families than normal this year struggling to provide for the treasured holiday traditions. In a flurry of cans of cranberry sauce, bags of potatoes, and boxes of stuffing, the Rancho Cordova Kiwanians provided 170 Thanksgiving food boxes for Rancho Cordova families."

Shriver sees effects of her Tennis Challenge on families -- baltimoresun.com

Shriver sees effects of her Tennis Challenge on families -- baltimoresun.com:

"Tennis Hall of Fame member and Baltimore native Pam Shriver is busy these days with her three young children, George, 5, and twins Kate and Sam, 4.

'They are a total handful,' she said from her Los Angeles home. 'I'm trying to teach all of them that games are part of education - that the whole body is important. I'm trying to empower them to make the right decisions: the importance of eating well, dental hygiene. We're talking about the food pyramid.'"

Chattanooga Times Free Press | Two plus two

Chattanooga Times Free Press Two plus two:

"If Gov. Phil Bredesen has his way, many more Tennessee high school graduates will start their college education at two-year schools and then transfer to universities to earn their degrees.
If state leaders don't make the change now, Tennessee will pay later, he said.

'I think Tennessee has got to solve this problem in this new economy of how you get more people with higher levels of education,' he said.

Tennessee needs to 'settle down and figure out how to move the knowledge base of our workers up the ladder like other states are doing.'"

Audit: RB schools took too big a food bite - The Daily Breeze

Audit: RB schools took too big a food bite - The Daily Breeze:

"An investigation into Redondo Beach Unified School District's nutrition services department has revealed inflated meal counts and negligent record keeping, both of which could result in overpayment of taxpayer funds to the district.

An anonymous complaint filed in May tipped off investigators from the California Department of Education to potential violations, and a subsequent audit of campus food service programs validated the complaint, state education officials said.

Among the schools that investigators visited were Lincoln Elementary, Adams Middle School, Alta Vista Child Development Center and Redondo Union High School."

Students and workers strike, occupy, fight back

Students and workers strike, occupy, fight back:

"On Nov. 19, thousands of students, workers and faculty on campuses across the University of California system protested and blockaded a meeting of the U.C. Regents, where the regents approved 32 percent tuition and fee increases, furloughs of campus workers and continued budget cuts. Several days of huge protests, seen throughout the media, ended with nearly 60 arrests and showed the potential of opposition to the “business as usual” attacks on jobs and education by the U.C. administrators.

On Nov. 20, protests intensified as six buildings across the U.C. system were occupied by students. Students demanded the recall of fired housekeepers, more money from the state of California for education, and many more extensive demands based around their right to education, jobs and affordable housing."

Analysis: Many fed education reforms don't fit MI -- chicagotribune.com

Analysis: Many fed education reforms don't fit MI -- chicagotribune.com:

"LANSING, Mich. - Michigan lawmakers are in such a frenzy to qualify for up to $400 million in one-time money for schools from President Barack Obama's Race to the Top program that they're rushing through complex changes to the state's education structure in a matter of weeks.

Meanwhile, they haven't agreed on how to keep school districts from getting hit by cuts of roughly $300 to $600 per student that have administrators contemplating laying off teachers, closing schools and eliminating busing, among other cost-saving moves.

They could be debating the positives and negatives of a proposal suggested recently by state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, a Democratic gubernatorial hopeful, to trim some business tax exemptions and use the money to roll back a business tax surcharge and plug the $500 million hole in the state's education fund."

The school bell rings and students stay to study -- latimes.com

The school bell rings and students stay to study -- latimes.com:

"The bell signaling the end of the school day at De Anza Elementary in Baldwin Park rang more than an hour ago. But hundreds of students are still at school, studying vocabulary, practicing math and completing homework under the supervision of teachers.

With the help of state grants, federal funds and teacher volunteers, nearly half of De Anza's students spend extra hours every week learning at school -- hours well beyond the traditional school day.

'Until six o'clock at night, you would think we're still in session,' said Principal Christine Simmons. 'Seeing the campus so alive like that, and seeing the parents and students so excited, just makes me and all the teachers want to work harder.'"

Statehouse Insider: Nestande works on education reforms | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

Statehouse Insider: Nestande works on education reforms mydesert.com The Desert Sun:

"The governor's disappointment in the Assembly version of the Race to the Top legislation could bring increased importance to Assemblyman Brian Nestande's work on the education committee."

The Palm Desert Republican, vice chairman of the Education Committee, last week announced he's working with legislative colleagues and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on reforms that allow California to compete for its share of $4.35 billion in federal education funding.

Schwarzenegger issued a statement last week after Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, the Education Committee chairwoman, introduced the Assembly's legislative language.

But Schwarzenegger said the bill “doesn't completely embrace the reform culture that President Obama has charged states to adopt.”

Nestande expressed similar concerns.

Of specific concern, he told The Desert Sun, is language he fears would “slow the growth of good charter schools.”

The Assembly legislation is expected to be voted on in committee and on the floor this week.

Prison inmates need more education, rehabilitation -- not less - The Reporter

Prison inmates need more education, rehabilitation -- not less - The Reporter:

"The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation appears to be following the 'last in, first out' rule, putting rehabilitation and education programs on the chopping block as it strives to trim $1.2 billion from its overall budget.

That's a bit over a 10 percent cut. Yet the decision to slash $250 million from rehabilitation and education services will reduce those programs by more than one-third.

These are the programs the state beefed up two years ago, after a decade of studies showed that dealing with things like low literacy levels and substance abuse would save money in the long run by reducing recidivism rates."

California community college chief Scott gives tips for weathering `difficult times' - Pasadena Star-News

California community college chief Scott gives tips for weathering `difficult times' - Pasadena Star-News:

"Desperate times may call for desperate measures - but that's not necessarily the case at California community colleges, even in the face of the state's massive funding cutbacks to education.

At least that's the message California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott conveyed recently at the Community College League of California conference, where he gave a speech called, 'Living in Difficult Times.'

'There is no question that 2009-10 is an extremely challenging time for California community colleges,' he told the crowd at the San Francisco conference, which included San Gabriel Valley and Whittier area representatives."

Mitchell Colbert: Disruptive student protestors negate legitimate efforts to change the system - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Mitchell Colbert: Disruptive student protestors negate legitimate efforts to change the system - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"Dear UC/CSU radicals, please stop your radical action immediately. Your protest methods waste our tax dollars and are counterproductive; you have only created negative press.

Every police officer and firefighter called in is tax money wasted, instead of money that can be spent on teachers and student services. It is naive to believe that this money will come from anywhere but the coffers of the California State University and University of California systems."

Like the small minority of Muslims who engage in terrorism and ruin things for the vast majority of practitioners, your actions border on terror and risk losing the entire fight for higher education. What right do you have to risk the future of millions?

I am a CSU student, but I attended the UC Santa Cruz campus shutdown on Nov. 18 as an act of solidarity with the UC students. I feel that we must unite because this fight is bigger than all of our individual battles.

Sacramento Press / Prop. 1B money sought for tracks

Sacramento Press / Prop. 1B money sought for tracks:

"The city of Sacramento is about to ask the state of California to make good on its promise to award at least $20 million for railroad track relocation so work can start by May.

Unable to sell as many bonds as expected, the state has not disbursed $20 million in trade corridor funds that was awarded last year under state Proposition 1B. Next week, the city will ask the California Transportation Commission to borrow $25 million against the bond money, said Linda Tucker, spokesperson for the city's Department of Transportation.

'We've got to get this going,' she said Friday, when the city announced it had met a Dec. 1 deadline for another $20 million in federal stimulus funding."

Union wants UC official ousted over audit - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Union wants UC official ousted over audit - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"A University of California labor union is calling for the resignation of David J. Ernst, the executive a state audit found was improperly reimbursed more than $150,000 when he worked for the California State University system."

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents 20,000 UC custodians, food service workers and other support staff, sent a letter to UC President Mark Yudof on Friday saying Ernst's "jet-setting global junkets, lavish meals and opulent retreats at taxpayer expense is an insult to workers who have been asked to put less food on their tables and students who have been forced to forgo their dreams."

It's a three-way race to succeed Supervisor Roger Dickinson - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

It's a three-way race to succeed Supervisor Roger Dickinson - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

"Sacramento County voters will see something unfamiliar next June: real competition for the District 1 supervisor seat being vacated by Roger Dickinson.

Since 1994, Dickinson hasn't faced a contested election for supervisor, and now he's stepping aside to run for the state Assembly.

The departure of its most liberal supervisor could change the Board of Supervisors' political dynamics."