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Friday, April 2, 2010

Oregon higher education officials weigh how to deal with grant shortage | OregonLive.com

Oregon higher education officials weigh how to deal with grant shortage | OregonLive.com

Oregon higher education officials weigh how to deal with grant shortage

By Bill Graves, The Oregonian

April 02, 2010, 7:11PM

SALEM – Higher education officials today reviewed options for dealing with a shortage of money for need-based state college scholarships next year, the results of miscalculations that led to too many grants this year.

The Oregon Student Assistance Commission reported last week that its overcommitment in the scholarships known as Oregon Opportunity Grants has swollen to as much as $19 million, nearly twice what it reported to the Legislature in February. The overcommitment will mean thousands of eligible students will not get the scholarships next year.

In a stern letter last week, an exasperated Gov. Ted Kulongoski asked the commission to rebalance its budget, review its management practices and prepare a report for his office.

The Shared Responsibility Model Steering Committee that advises the commission met today at Chemeketa Community College in Salem and delved into many features of the complex grant program, such as scholarship disbursement deadlines, awards for halftime students, timing on data reports, late awards and setting up a reserve.

The commission expects to have about $32 million to $37 million for the grants next year, about half what it is awarding this year. The steering committee discussed how the state agency might change the way it

Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say - NYTimes.com

Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say - NYTimes.com

Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say





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With job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships has climbed in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.
Matthew Cavanaugh for The New York Times
Brittany Berckes, a senior at Amherst, noted that some students could not afford to work free.
Tina Fineberg for The New York Times
Dana John, a senior at New York University, spent much of a summer internship doing clerical work for a company that books music acts.
Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.
Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer.
The Labor Department says it is cracking down on firms that fail to pay interns properly and expanding efforts to educate companies, colleges and students on the law








New Jersey Schools Brace for the Financial Worst

Gov. Christopher J. Christie’s plan to reduce aid has districts scrambling to find savings wherever possible.

Harlem Arts School Closes, Perhaps for Good

The revered institution, whose alumni have appeared on Broadway and in feature films, will be closed at least until April 10.

Say what? DeKalb task force tells board don’t close any schools. | Get Schooled

Say what? DeKalb task force tells board don’t close any schools. | Get Schooled

Say what? DeKalb task force tells board don’t close any schools.

In their defense, the 20 members of a DeKalb citizen task force charged with recommending schools for closure didn’t go behind closed doors to make their decision.
About 100 parents attended Thursday night's task force meeting where members decided to stay out of the fray and recommend no schools close.
About 100 parents attended Thursday night's task force meeting where members decided to stay out of the fray and recommend no schools close. (AJC Photo/Hyosub Shin)
No, the Citizen Planning Task Force was open and transparent in its detailed considerations and allowed dozens of parents to speak on behalf of their local schools at its seven public meetings, including tonight’s four-hour emotional session. The task force looked at hundreds of data sheets prepared by county school staff to find out which schools were losing enrollment and which had neighboring schools that could absorb the displaced students. They carefully studied how far kids lived from their possible new schools, poring over color-coded maps. They talked for hours and hours.
Then, after all that time, trouble and effort, they punted. Instead of making a decision, they made no decision. (See the AJC story.)
In a surreal series of discussions tonight, the task force went from trying to pare down a list of 10 schools to four to endorsing a motion that no schools in the county should be closed. That is an

Remainders: A spring break shortlist of the best education talk | GothamSchools

Remainders: A spring break shortlist of the best education talk | GothamSchools

Remainders: A spring break shortlist of the best education talk

This week in the GothamSchools community section:
  • C.W. Arp discusses one of his Greatest Problems as a teacher: the phrase “I don’t care.”
  • Alexander Hoffman continues his argument against counting charter schools as public schools.
  • Sadly, teachers occupy only the audience in education policy debates, writes Tracy Dunne-Derrell.
  • Parents Elizabeth Puccini and Anisa Romero advise the DOE on how to combat childhood obesity.
  • And attorney David Bloomfield breaks down what the school closure ruling really means.
And on the rest of the Web:
Enjoy the last weekend of this sunny spring break. We’ll be back to our regular posting schedule next week.

What Got the ED Dept. So Mad About American InterContinental University and its Accreditor? � The Quick and the Ed

What Got the ED Dept. So Mad About American InterContinental University and its Accreditor? � The Quick and the Ed

What Got the ED Dept. So Mad About American InterContinental University and its Accreditor?

Last December, the Department of Education’s Inspector General released a bizarre alert memorandum concerning American InterContinental University, a for-profit school with branches throughout the country, and its accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC). As Kevin noted at the time, the report certainly seemed like strong stuff, even questioning whether the accreditor should be trusted by the Department. Unfortunately, whole pages worth of redacted information made it impossible to tell exactly what had gotten the Department so incensed.
The Department’s response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by Education Sector helps shed some light on the issue. Though the Department refused to release additional documents related to this issue, it did un-redact more portions of the alert memo (PDF).
Based upon this new information, we now know that the accreditor’s concerns about AIU stemmed from the school’s offering of 9 credits for individual undergraduate and graduate courses, mostly in the business department—classes that the alert memo refers as being “inflated in credit.” According to Jeff Leshay, a

QUICK Hits

The Educated Reporter: The Escalante Conundrum: Possible versus Probable

The Educated Reporter: The Escalante Conundrum: Possible versus Probable
COMMENTARY ON EDUCATION COVERAGE, WRITING AND A FEW OTHER THINGS

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2010


The Escalante Conundrum: Possible versus Probable

The death of wonder teacher Jaime Escalante Tuesday at the age of 79 has provoked some thoughtful remembrances of his remarkable life and the even more remarkable math achievement he provoked among the many students he taught at Los Angeles' Garfield High.
It got me thinking, though, about the difference between the possible and the probable. What I mean is that Escalante showed that it's possible for students who are far behind in school to achieve at high levels if they work hard enough and have the right support. Plenty of other teachers, who don't get movies made about them, have had their own incredible success stories. Nevertheless, we know, with disheartening regularity that fe

Local News | State schools superintendent Randy Dorn pleads guilty to drunken-driving charge | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | State schools superintendent Randy Dorn pleads guilty to drunken-driving charge | Seattle Times Newspaper

State schools superintendent Randy Dorn pleads guilty to drunken-driving charge

State schools superintendent Randy Dorn has pleaded guilty to one count of drunk driving. Dorn entered his plea Friday in Orting Municipal Court in Pierce County
State Schools Superintendent Randy Dorn has pleaded guilty to one count of drunken driving.
Dorn entered his plea Friday in Orting Municipal Court in Pierce County.
He was arrested early on March 21 while driving home from a crab feed and dance in Bonney Lake in rural Pierce County, where he says he drank some beer.
The State Patrol says a breath test found Dorn's blood-alcohol content was 0.11 percent. The legal limit for driving in Washington

Mills Students Celebrate March Madness in Busy Week of Activities — The Rancho Cordova Post

Mills Students Celebrate March Madness in Busy Week of Activities — The Rancho Cordova Post

Mills Students Celebrate March Madness in Busy Week of Activities

by PETER MAROON on APRIL 2, 2010 · 0 COMMENTS
Mills Middle School recently finished up their March Madness week and it was an enormous success! It all started on March 19th when the 7th graders spent the day at CSU Sacramento. Students were able to discover how the field of engineering affects their everyday lives through hands on labs focusing on the various types of Engineering (civil, electrical and mechanical). Students were also taken on a campus tour where they learned that college has a lot more to offer besides a good education. Lastly, the Mills Middle School students visited the brand new student bookstore where they looked at the clothing, laptops, IPods, and even a coffee shop inside the building.
On Monday March 22nd, every Mills staff member creatively decorated their doors, using their school colors to represent their alma mater. Student council judged the doors and selected their favorite design at the end of the week. Teachers, admin, counselors, and clerical staff took on the challenge head on and nearly every staff member participated and

Marci Resnick Teacher Fund: Paying it forward | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Marci Resnick Teacher Fund: Paying it forward | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Marci Resnick Teacher Fund: Paying it forward

by Samuel Reed III on Apr 02 2010
Marci taught at Mitchell in Southwest Philadelphia and at Emlen in Northwest Philadelphia. She joined the Philadelphia Writing Project in 1990 and became the director in 1995. In 2001 she went to work as associate director of the National Writing Project.In life Marci Resnick was a dedicated educator who continuously gave of herself without expecting big fanfare.
I was personally inspired by Marci’s advocacy for making connections with families and schools. She mentored and encouraged many teachers to be reflective about in-school and out-of-school literacy practices.
Marci passed away in May, 2007, and as a tribute to her life work as an educator, the Marci Resnick Teacher Fund was established in collaboration with the National Writing Project (NWP) and Philadelphia Writing Project
Marci’s work with teachers in Philadelphia and around the country exemplified humor, warmth, spirit, and incredible passion. To honor those qualities, the fund raises and distributes resources to support the work teachers do in their classrooms. In particular, the Marci Resnick Teacher Fund established a library of

Senator pushes power plant, threatens college district with audit | California Watch

Senator pushes power plant, threatens college district with audit | California Watch

Senator pushes power plant, threatens college district with audit

A state senator from Los Angeles – and candidate for superintendent of public Instruction – is demanding that a Bay Area community college stop fighting the planned construction of a natural gas power plant near campus.

Sen. Gloria RomeroPhoto by Mark WarnerSen. Gloria Romero

Using her position as chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, Democratic Sen. Gloria Romero has threatened to audit the district's finances and hold oversight hearings if officials refuse to back down, despite concerns from students and faculty about pollution drifting into the school.

Houston-based Calpine Corp. in February won an air permitfrom the Bay Area Air Quality Management District – the final approval needed to start building the Russell City Energy Center, a 600-megawatt natural gas power plant.

The company expects to begin construction this fall on the plant at the corner of Depot Road and Cabot Boulevard in Hayward. The plant will use twin combined-cycle generators located on 19 acres, the Contra Costa Times has reported. It would sell its output to PG&E, creating power for use throughout the Bay Area.

Chabot College is located about two miles downwind.

A group of faculty and staff members, the community college district's board of trustees and the district chancellor have joined several other groups to fight the power plant. The district's board of trustees in March approved a resolution to appeal the air permit with the Environmental Appeals Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In a March 18 letter to Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Chancellor Joel Kinnamon, Romero urged the board to drop its appeal. She threatened to hold an oversight

voiceofsandiego.org | Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz
Thanks to everyone who came to the forum on science education last night! It was an interesting discussion and as moderator, I managed to keep chaos from erupting. Now for your newsblitz:
  • We report that summer school doesn't reach many of the kids who need it and leaves some students unchanged. But if San Diego Unified trims the program, that could justworsen those problems.
  • KPBS reports that some Del Mar parents are blaming their school board for micromanaging the superintendent. Sounds eerily familiar.
  • San Diego Unified school board member John de Beck has an interesting new column on SDNN. With the feds pushing schools to show results, he asks: What if we held Congress accountable for providing healthcare, housing and a minimum income for the families those kids come from?
  • We blog that a private group is polling the public about whether to add four appointed members to the school board. Who would appoint them? That's part of the poll.
  • Also on KPBS: Could a parcel tax help save San Diego schools from budget cuts?

Schools Matter: Parents Upset by Imagine's "Shenanigans"

Schools Matter: Parents Upset by Imagine's "Shenanigans"

Parents Upset by Imagine's "Shenanigans"

The Imagine Schools are in the news again, this time for their behavior in Las Vegas. At Imagine in the Valle, parents are becoming more and more aware of how little power they have over their charter school management company - and they're hardly the only group of parents with similar concerns. The Kennesaw Charter School in GA recently divorced themselves from Imagine; additionally, the Marietta Charter School will be meeting today to