Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Fairs, Classes and Walks in Future for Mayor’s Great Health Challenge — The Rancho Cordova Post

Fairs, Classes and Walks in Future for Mayor’s Great Health Challenge

by ANNE LOWE on APRIL 21, 2010 · 0 COMMENTS

Mayor Ken Cooley challenged all Rancho Cordovans in February to a community-wide effort to lose 20 tons in 2010, and he has planned numerous activities to spur residents into action.

Cooley has already completed two neighborhood walks, and ten more are on the way, scheduled throughout the year. The next neighborhood walk will be held on May 1 at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, located at 10434 Georgetown Drive in Sacramento, starting at 9 a.m.

Free nutrition classes are also being held at City Hall. On May 4 at 7 p.m., the nutrition class will focus on the role diet plays in the development of chronic diseases, and will also talk about the benefits of eating healthy. The nutrition classes will be taught by Health and Wellness Counselor Gwen Moore.

One of the biggest events to come will be the Family Health and Fitness Fair at Grocery Outlet on April 29, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Entertainment, vendor booths, free games and free

Patrick Kennedy, Sacramento City Council ACT Candidates Forum

Patrick Kennedy, Sacramento City Council 2010

Sacramento Building Healthy Cummunities and the Scramento Area Congregations Together
invited the candidates for Sacramento City Council Dist. 5 to a Candidates Forum Back to Patrick Kennedy facebook

North Clackamas School District may consider 4-day week to combat budget problems | OregonLive.com

North Clackamas School District may consider 4-day week to combat budget problems

By Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

April 21, 2010, 5:14PM

CLACKAMAS -- North Clackamas school officials may consider moving to a four-day week after the next school year to cope with budget constraints largely driven by a significant enrollment decline and increased costs in employee health insurance.

Superintendent Tim Mills said during a Tuesday night community budget meeting that a four-day week was just one of many options the budget committee must look at in a depressed economy. "We're running out of dollars in terms of our reserves to support us," he said.

District spokesman Joe Krumm said officials are not actively working to implement the abbreviated school week, and Mills noted that the district has not recommended the option.

"Things would have to substantially change to look at this option," Krumm said. "We don't want to alarm folks."

A move to a four-day school week would save approximately $1 million on transportation and operating costs for the district, according to Mills, and he mentioned that the district was aware of the "major impact" it would have on families.

"For us to do a move like this, we would want to involve our community and a lot more discussion," Mills said.

Oregon is one of fewer than 20 states that allow schools to have 4-day

Oregon University System research results mixed on benefits of dual credit

by Bill Graves, The Oregonian

Preliminary results of a new analysis by the Oregon University System shows that students who take college courses in high school do not benefit as much as an earlier study suggested.

Randi Weingarten speaks to crowd at education rally at CA State Capitol from tweet @alicemercer

March for California's Future

Randi Weingarten speaks to crowd at education rally at CA State Capitol via tweet @alicemercer

Wednesday, April 21
4-6 p.m.

The March for California's Future will be making its final stop on its 45-day march on the west steps of the Capitol. The organization will hold a rally, which will include music and speeches from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and California Federation of Teachers President Marty Hittelman.

The focus of the rally will be on restoring public services, including public education, public safety and public health. The rally marks the end of a march that started in Bakersfield on March 5. Thousands are expected to attend, and the event will continue as planned, rain or shine.

Remainders:Mary J. Blige & others save Harlem School of the Arts | GothamSchools

Remainders:Mary J. Blige & others save Harlem School of the Arts

by Anna Phillips

Councilwoman Inez Dickens told students to skip school and attend Perkins’ charter school hearing.
The Harlem School of the Arts is getting a second chance, private donations, and a reorganization.
At least of that money is will come from Mary J. Blige.
New York State could get nearly $1.5 billion if Sen. Harkin’s education jobs bill passes.
Reporting a story on I.S. 237 students’ film, a NYTimes writer becomes part of the story.
Rather than dismissing problems with value-added, supporters need to address them, writes Rick Hess.
Charter Revision Commission should make the DOE a city agency, says Adrienne Kivelson.
Parents are having a hard time finding out whether their children made the gifted & talented cut.
Allowing alt cert. programs to create masters programs de-professsionalizes teaching, a blogger writes.
Corey Bunje Bower: giving alt cert performs this right could be a “troubling precedent.”
Norm Scott reads parents’ district-to-charter conversion stories as an indictment of Klein.
Unusually high attrition and a clerical error have complicated admissions at two high schools.
Columbia University will give Klein an honorary degree on commencement day.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is holding a forum on school overcrowding.
Looking at NAEP scores, Jay Mathews says teacher layoffs may not impact learning all that much.
Cleveland gave layoff notices to 800 school employees yesterday, 500 of them teachers.
A 26-year old Baltimore special education lawsuit finally came to an end on Monday.
And RttT reviewers offer some insight into what irritated them the first go around.

Unpaid internships remain thorny issue for students, employers | OregonLive.com

Unpaid internships remain thorny issue for students, employers

By Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian

April 21, 2010, 4:24PM

When you combine college students hungry for experience with employers too strapped to hire more workers, you've got potential trouble.

Over the past eight months, the state labor bureau has investigated and settled a handful of cases in which young workers didn't get paid for jobs that employers argued were unpaid internships.

The Law

Unpaid internships are a thorny thicket for employers and interns alike. The state has established a six-part test that determines if an internship is proper. Unless all of them apply, the "intern" is due wages:

1. The training must be similar to a vocational school.

2. The internship is offered for the benefit of the student or trainee; the position may actually hamper the business.

3. The intern may not displace a regular employee.

4. There's no automatic advancement from the internship, and paid workers who supervise interns may actually be less productive.

5. The intern is not entitled to a job at the end of the training period.

6. The intern is not entitled to wages at the end of the training period.

SOURCE: Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries

As students and graduates look for jobs this spring or seek to enhance their coursework with practical experience, the problems are a reminder that strict guidelines separate legitimate internships from unfair labor practices.

While some businesses are clearly taking advantage of free labor, others simply don't understand the rules, said Bob Estabrook, spokesman for the state Bureau of Labor and Industries. And students sometimes are reluctant to complain because they think it may hurt their chances of landing a paying job.

The bureau doesn't track internship cases as such -- they're lumped in with other wage claim filings -- but Estabrook said they are familiar ground for investigators.

"It comes up regularly at this time of year," Estabrook said. "With spring break and college students getting out of school, there's an influx of folks who want to get into the workforce anyway they can."

Under Oregon law, a for-profit business can't legally have a volunteer worker. Volunteers are allowed at non-profits and can do charitable, religious or educational jobs, but they can't work the counter at the burger joint.

Also under state law, you are an employee if you're "rendering service" to an employer and are not an independent contractor, a co-partner or engaged in a work-training program that falls under state or federal assistance laws.

Two men who worked at a Eugene solar energy company last summer said they answered Craigslist ads for internships and found themselves installing computers, driving a warehouse forklift, lining up potential customers and researching government energy subsidies. Neither got paid, and their "internships" abruptly ended when they complained.

"I believe I performed the duties of a paid professional under the guise of an internship, and performed tasks that the company has profited from, tasks that are beyond the scope of an unpaid internship," Edward W. Hart wrote in a wage claim he filed with the state Bureau of

Hillsboro School District hires from within to replace special education executive director

by Wendy Owen, The Oregonian

Scott Schinderle will replace outgoing Hillsboro School District Executive Director of Special Programs Kristi Sandvik

Presidential Proclamation -- Earth Day | The White House

Presidential Proclamation -- Earth Day

by The White House

A PROCLAMATION
In the fall of 1969, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson announced plans for a national "environmental teach-in" -- one day, each year, of action and advocacy for the environment. His words rallied our Nation, and the first Earth Day, as it became known, saw millions come together to meet one of the greatest challenges of our times: caring for our planet. What Senator Nelson and the other organizers believed then, and what we still believe today, is that our environment is a blessing we share. Our future is inextricably bound to our planet's future, and we must be good stewards of our home as well as one another.
On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we come together to reaffirm those beliefs. We have come far in these past four decades. One year before the first Earth Day, our Nation watched in horror as the polluted and debris-choked Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire. In response, a generation of Americans stepped forward to demand progress. What Americans achieved in the decades that followed has made our children healthier, our water and air cleaner, and our planet more livable.
We passed the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, established the Environmental Protection Agency, and safeguarded treasured American landscapes. Americans across our country have witnessed the impact of these measures, including the people of Cleveland, where the Cuyahoga River is cleaner than it has been in a century.
We continue to build on this progress today. My Administration has invested in clean energy and clean water infrastructure across the country. We are also committed to passing comprehensive energy and climate legislation that will create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and cut carbon pollution.
We have more work to do, however, and change will not come from Washington alone. The achievements of the past were possible because ordinary Americans demanded them, and meeting today's environmental challenges will require a new generation to carry on Earth Day's cause. From weatherizing our homes to planting trees in our communities, there are countless ways for every American, young and old, to get involved. I encourage all Americans to visit WhiteHouse.gov/EarthDay for information and resources to get started.
The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is an opportunity for us to reflect on the legacy we have inherited from previous generations, and the legacy that we will bestow upon generations to come. Their future depends on the action we take now, and we must not fail them. Forty years from today, when our children and grandchildren look back on what we did at this moment, let them say that we, too, met the challenges of our time and passed on a cleaner, healthier planet.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 22, 2010, as Earth Day. I encourage all Americans to participate in programs and activities that will protect our environment and contribute to a healthy, sustainable future.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA

Thousands of Orange County teachers threaten to strike Thursday | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

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Thousands of Orange County teachers threaten to strike Thursday

April 21, 2010 | 10:00 am

Thousands of Orange County teachers say they will strike Thursday to protest stalled salary negotiations with the Capistrano Unified School District.

The district on Wednesday said it is scurrying to assemble substitute teachers to fill in for the more than 2,200 teachers who plan to strike.

The 52,000-student district is the second largest in Orange County. The pay dispute has been simmering since June, when the district proposed a more than 10% pay cut on teachers to help offset budget problems.

The teachers' union has said it will accept the pay cuts only if the district agrees to make them temporary, according to Vicki Soderberg, president the Capistrano Unified Education Assn.

Soderberg said teachers also want the district to promise it will funnel to teachers' salaries any unforeseen state or federal funding that may come in. The union, a local chapter of the California Teachers Association, voted to call the strike last week, Soderberg said.

Environmental firm accused of 'egregious' overcharging of L.A. Unified School District

April 21, 2010 | 2:49 pm

Officials have abruptly halted work with the firm that managed environmental work in the $19.5-billion school construction program of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The move arises from a critical district audit alleging that Palm Desert-based Questa Environmental Consulting repeatedly overcharged and that L.A. Unified managers looked the other way, resulting in more than $2.5 million in questionable billing.

The negative report comes in the wake of an unrelated indictment of a regional construction director on conflict-of-interest charges, tarring the nation’s largest school construction and modernization effort. Officials continue to characterize the overall construction program as clean and successful. To date, 87 of 131 new schools have been completed as well as thousands of modernization projects.

The audit from the office of the inspector general, quietly posted online earlier this month, accused Questa of billing for time unrelated to its district contract, charging higher hourly rates than justified and exceeding maximum annual billings, among other things.

The conduct was “so egregious,” said district Inspector General Jerry Thornton, that his office took the unusual step of recommending Questa’s termination as well as the discipline of two supervising district employees.

Thornton described the findings at Wednesday’s meeting of the district’s Bond Oversight Committee.

Questa had no immediate reaction to the public airing of allegations, but already had submitted a lengthy written defense to the auditors' original draft report. The company denied any wrongdoing.

This Week In Education Districts: Former Duncan Colleague To Head Tiny IN Distric

This Week In Education

Districts: Former Duncan Colleague To Head Tiny IN District

by Alexander Russo

Barbara Eason-Watkins, the longtime chief academic officer who Arne Duncan wanted to be his replacement, has announced her long- anticipated departure. Where is BEW going? Once the top academic official for the nation's third-largest district, she's going to head the tiny Michigan City Indiana school system. She is among the last of the Duncan-era team to leave. Several (Cunningham, Whalen, Easton, Lach) joined Duncan in

Stand up to the Texas Taliban

If you thought that decisions made by the Texas State Board of Education don't affect you, think again.

Led by far-right ideologues, the Texas SBOE recently gave preliminary approval to a plan that would radically change what children across the country learn in history class.

The ultra-conservative majority on the board (none of whom are experts in any academic discipline and many of whom are explicitly anti-science) took the curricula proposed by teachers and made more than 100 changes to "correct" the perceived left-wing bias.

But it gets worse. Since Texas is one of the largest textbook markets in the country, material written to cater to the Texas curricula will find its way into textbooks across the country unless textbook publishers take a stand.

We can't allow a small group of extreme ideologues on the Texas State Board of Education to re-write history. Tell textbook publishers to stand up to the Texas Taliban.

Children who use textbooks conforming to the new standards will not learn anything about Thomas Jefferson's political philosophy or his thoughts on the separation of church and state. When they learn about the Civil War, they'll have to study Jefferson Davis' inaugural address alongside Abraham Lincoln's. And when they study the civil rights movement they'll have to learn about the "unintended consequences" of Great Society programs, affirmative action and Title IX. Oh -- and Joe McCarthy was right all along no matter what historians actually say about it.

It's outrageous. Education will fail if we can't teach our children history. We can't let these far-right ideologues co-opt our educational system.

Tell the textbook publishers: Don't let the Texas Taliban rewrite history.

For more information, read these two New York Times articles:How Christian Were the Founders? and Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change

Classes resume at Horizon Charter School | News10.net | Sacramento, California | Education

Classes resume at Horizon Charter School

Karen Massie

Last updated 1 hr ago

MORE EDUCATION NEWS:

PHOTOS & INTERVIEWS:

SACRAMENTO, CA - There was a lot of hugging and cheering at Horizon Charter School when word came that classes would resume at the agency's Sacramento site.

Last week parents learned formal classes were shutting down because of a state law that said classes couldn't be held outside Placer County where Horizon charter schools are headquartered.

"There really was no explanation," said Maria Hummel, a sophomore at the Sacramento site.

In a tension-filled meeting, administrators tried to explain the need for putting students in a home study learning program. But parents and students weren't buying it.

Hummel said, "All we got was a bunch of I'm sorry, I understand and we were going to try to figure this out, We have somewhat of a plan."

Hummel and a classmate organized a study hall at the south Sacramento site. "I really don't understand my math. Here I have someone who can help me," said Hummel. Things were going

New rule: city can expel too-”aggressive” parents from PTAs | GothamSchools

New rule: city can expel too-”aggressive” parents from PTAs

by Anna Phillips

New York City is full of parents unafraid to say exactly what they think of their childrens’ schools, but the Department of Education is finding that all too often, that passion is getting out of control.
The DOE currently mediates parent-on-parent disputes two to three times a week, according to Chief Family Engagement Officer Martine Guerrier. She revealed the statistic at a Tuesday meeting of the citywide school board, which approved a regulation giving the department the right to boot parents from parent associations if they verbally abuse or physically threaten other members.
Guerrier said the regulation is needed because the department has little recourse against bullying that has caused intimidated and frightened parents to quit the parent associations at their schools.
But members of the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council, which represents parent associations across the city, said the regulation’s language is so vague that it could be used to curb parents’ speech.
“This vague and extremely broad language easily lends itself to abuse and inappropriately patronizes hard-working PA officers by treating them like squabbling kindergartners,” CPAC members wrote in an e-mail to Chancellor Joel Klein. ”To the extent there are actual threats to the safety of others, they can be dealt with under existing law.” Reiterating their arguments yesterday, CPAC members asked the panel to delay its vote.
Reminding the assembled parents that he used to be a First Amendment lawyer, Klein said the regulation would

Executive Order -- President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology | The White House

Executive Order -- President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

by The White House

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish an advisory council on science,
technology, and innovation, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Establishment. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is hereby established. The PCAST shall be composed of not more than 21 members, one of whom shall be the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (the "Science Advisor"), and 20 of whom shall include distinguished individuals and representatives from sectors outside of the Federal Government appointed by the President. These nonfederal members shall have diverse perspectives and expertise in science, technology, and innovation. The Science Advisor shall serve as a Co-Chair of the PCAST. The President shall also designate at least one, but not more than two, of the nonfederal members to serve as a Co-Chair of the PCAST with the Science Advisor.
Sec. 2. Functions. (a) The PCAST shall advise the President, directly at its meetings with the President and also through the Science Advisor, on matters involving science, technology, and innovation policy. This advice shall include, but not be limited to, policy that affects science, technology, and innovation, as well as scientific and technical information that is needed to inform public policy relating to the economy, energy, environment, public health, national and homeland security, and other topics. The PCAST shall meet regularly and shall:
(i) respond to requests from the President or the Science Advisor for information, analysis, evaluation, or advice;
(ii) solicit information and ideas from the broad range of stakeholders, including but not limited to the research community, the private sector, universities, national laboratories, State and local governments, foundations, and nonprofit organizations;
(iii) serve as the advisory committee identified in subsections 101(b) and 103(b) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-194), as amended (15 U.S.C. 5511(b) and 5513(b)). In performing the functions of such advisory committee, the PCAST shall be known as the President's Innovation and Technology Advisory Committee; and
(iv) serve as the advisory panel identified in section 4 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7503) (21st Century
Act). In performing the functions of such advisory committee, the PCAST shall be known as the National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel. Nothing in this
order shall be construed to require the National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel to comply with any requirement from which it is exempted by section 4(f)
of the 21st Century Act.
(b) The PCAST shall provide advice from the nonfederal sector to the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in response to requests from the NSTC.
Sec. 3. Administration. (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the PCAST with information concerning scientific and technological matters when requested by the PCAST Co-Chairs and as required for the purpose of carrying out the PCAST's functions.
(b) In consultation with the Science Advisor, the PCAST is authorized to create standing subcommittees and ad hoc groups, including, but not limited to, technical advisory groups to assist the PCAST and provide preliminary information directly to the PCAST.
(c) So that the PCAST may provide advice and analysis regarding classified matters, the Science Advisor may request that members of the PCAST, its standing subcommittees, or ad hoc groups who do not hold a current clearance for access to classified information, receive security clearance and access determinations pursuant to Executive Order 12968 of August 2, 1995, as amended, or any successor order.
(d) The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) shall provide such funding and administrative and technical support as the PCAST may require.
(e) Members of the PCAST shall serve without any compensation for their work on the PCAST, but may receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).
Sec. 4. Termination. The PCAST shall terminate 2 years from the date of this order unless extended by the President.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (FACA) may apply to the PCAST, any functions of the President under the FACA, except that of reporting to the Congress, shall be performed by the Director of the OSTP in accordance with the guidelines and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Sec. 6. Revocation. Executive Order 13226 of September 30, 2001, as amended, is hereby revoked.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 21, 2010.