Thursday, July 15, 2010

San Gabriel Valley schools named on preliminary Open Enrollment list, law allows parents to transfer students out - SGVTribune.com

San Gabriel Valley schools named on preliminary Open Enrollment list, law allows parents to transfer students out

By Maritza Velazquez, Staff Writer

Posted: 07/15/2010 05:30:57 PM PDT

Schools on Open Enrollment

Azusa Unified
Center Middle, Valleydale Elementary

Baldwin Park Unified
Central Elementary, Charles D. Jones Junior High, Margaret Heath Elementary

Bassett Unified
Don Julian Elementary

Covina-Valley Unified
Lark Ellen Elementary, Manzanita Elementary

El Monte City
Potrero Elementary, Wilkerson Elementary

Garvey School District
Marshall Elementary, Emerson Elementary

Mountain View
Charles T. Kranz Intermediate, Willard F. Payne Elementary

West Covina Unified
Monte Vista Elementary, Wescove Elementary

Hacienda La Puente Unified
La Puente High, Workman High, California Elementary, Del Valle Elementary

Rowland Unified
Giano Intermediate, Hurley Elementary, La Seda Elementary

Parents can transfer their kids out of 23 low-performing San Gabriel Valley schools beginning in the 2010-11 year thanks to a set of regulations approved by the State Board of Education on Thursday.

At its Sacramento meeting, the board approved 7-0 a set of emergency regulations in order to implement the Open Enrollment Act the upcoming school year.

A preliminary list of the state's 1,000 "low achieving" schools, identified based on the lowest Academic Performance Index (API) scores, was released this week and is pending board approval after a five-day public comment period.

Under the Open Enrollment legislation passed in January, parents can opt to move their kids to higher-performing districts without consent

Schools Matter: Achievement Gap in Wake County Narrows on the Eve of Destroying the Reason Behind It

Achievement Gap in Wake County Narrows on the Eve of Destroying the Reason Behind It

by Jim Horn

So the Gang of Five are left with no rationale except their racist desire to "have the country back?" From Ed Week:

Widespread increases in Wake County's student test scores have become the latest issue in the school district's contentious school diversity fight.

Preliminary results released on Wednesday showed higher performance by Wake students in elementary, middle and high school on state exams this past school year, with the racial achievement gap narrowing. Backers of efforts to mandate diversity in the state's largest school district say the academic gains show that the Wake school board majority that swept into office

Useful Bloom’s Taxonomy “Pie” Chart | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“The Hmong and Laos: Old wars never die — The unhappy fate of the Hmong” “The Hmong and Laos: Old wars never die — The unhappy fate of the Hmong” is the title of a short article published by The Economist today. It would be a challenging for English Language Learners, but my Hmong students would certainly be motivated to ...

Useful Bloom’s Taxonomy “Pie” Chart The American Psychological Association has published a very useful quasi “pie” chart on Bloom’s Taxonomy divided by activities and products. It’s one of the better one page “tip sheets” that I’ve seen related to Bloom’s. I’ve printed one out to keep ...

Arne Duncan decrees parent involvement

Arne Duncan decrees parent involvement

July 15, 10:34 AM

Chicago K-12 Examiner

Julie Woestehoff

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According to Education Week, Arne Duncan announced yesterday that "we will revise our ESEA reauthorization proposal to require parent and community input," a response to recent challenges by PURE and others to his administration's failure to involve parents and the community in critical decisions about schools, starting with his own Race to the Top and ESEA revision

Remainders: Most districts have already spent stimulus dollars | GothamSchools

Remainders: Most districts have already spent stimulus dollars

by Elizabeth Green

Most school districts have already run out of stimulus dollars. (Ed Money Watch)
How a real first-grade teacher uses Facebook to enhance her class. (Innovative Educator)
Parents wading in to high school admissions, read this and start now! (Insideschools)
In a cover profile, Bill Gates says it’s “not fair” to say small schools failed. (Business Week)
Gates recently attacked “fraudulent” accounting for misreporting teacher pension costs. (WSJ)
Coming national are high but not as rigorous as Massachusetts’. (Boston Globe blog)
Many suburban Chicago-area teachers make six figure salaries. (Tribune)
New opportunities to nurture education entrepreneurs emerge. (Flypaper)
An arts education expert reminds us that “schooling is hard change.” (Dewey21C)

Florida Deepwater Horizon Response Media Advisory 7/15/2010 � Tangerine, Florida

FLORIDA DEEPWATER HORIZON RESPONSE JULY 15, 2010

TALLAHASSEE – Under the leadership of Governor Charlie Crist, the State Emergency Response Team and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are actively coordinating and responding to the Deepwater Horizon incident.

The following is a summary of state and BP response actions to date, as well as tips for residents and visitors to take precautions both pre and post-landfall.

On Site Actions:

• • •

Current projections estimate Deepwater Horizon’s discharge at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day. The “capping stack,” designed to

Gregory Cendana: Anti-Youth Agenda? Try Again. #education

Gregory Cendana: Anti-Youth Agenda? Try Again.

Anti-Youth Agenda? Try Again.

By Sarah Audelo and Gregory Cendana

We were surprised to learn from Gary Bauer ("Obama's Anti-Youth Agenda," Politico, July 9) that Obama's agenda has thus far failed young people in America. We were more surprised that Mr. Bauer, at age 63, considers himself a viable spokesperson for the millennial generation.

Obama's record on youth issues certainly worthy of examination, but it's hardly the disaster portrayed by Mr. Bauer, who seems intent on cramming every conceivable right wing talking point into his critique.

So, as millennial voters who actually cast ballots for President Obama, we would like to offer a different perspective on the topics Mr. Bauer put forth: jobs, health care, abortion and youthful (though he would likely say naïve) idealism.

Jobs

We don't know anyone who isn't concerned about the economy and what that means for prospective employment. But we also understand that this recession started long before President Obama took office. Last year's stimulus bill directly funded tens of thousands of summer jobs for

Generation Next, Or Homelanders? Parents, Marketers Search For Generational Name For Kids

CHICAGO -- They aren't even out of grade school. But already, people are trying to name the youngest up-and-coming generation, and figure out who they...

Is Social Media Just A Fad? (STATS, VIDEO)

"Is Social Media a fad or the biggest shift since the industrial revolution?" asks this new video based on Erik Qualman's book Socialnomics. Although the...

Boomer Parents Optimistic About Kids' Prospects, Despite Continued Financial Dependence

Baby Boomer parents may have succumbed to a bout of cognitive dissonance. According to a new Charles Schwab survey, they overwhelmingly expect their young adult...

Coleman: Cultivate "Grass E-Roots" To Win Youth Vote (VIDEO)

"Ethernet" expert and former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman has some advice for the Republican party: Cultivate grass e-roots. Coleman was in St. Louis last week...

Franklin High School team powers way to engineering prize | OregonLive.com

Franklin High School team powers way to engineering prize

Published: Thursday, July 15, 2010, 4:13 PM Updated: Thursday, July 15, 2010, 5:18 PM

Carolina Hidalgo, The Oregonian
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Arkasha Stevenson/The OregonianFranklin High School students Nick Roberts and Zoe Chrisman- Miller worked with teammate Conor Black (not shown) to build an award-winning windmill for a national engineering competition. The team won third place in the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement competition- the first Oregon high school team to place in the top three.

Franklin High School's state engineering design champions walked into a national competition in Denver last month, scoped out the competition and instantly felt intimidated.

Their quickly built wooden model windmill looked as though it wouldn't stand a chance against the complex metal structures competing in this year's Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement design contest. The national competition on wind-energy design brought together seven groups of students who had won their state contests.

The contraptions' task: Harness wind energy from a box fan to lift as much weight, as fast as possible; quickly drag a weighted car; and effectively respond to changes in wind direction.

The students' task: Fashion an efficient windmill with no outside help.

"Our school is not a tech school," said Nick Roberts, 17, one of three Franklin students who competed, "so we felt a little ..."

"Out of place," finished teammate Zoë Chrisman-Miller, 16.

Along with friend Conor Black, 17, the group fashioned a windmill out of balsa wood, scrap wood, nails and duct tape.

They tested and perfected the blades, finding that oval blades were more aerodynamic than rectangular ones. And they put together a research paper and a cardboard display. They earned a spot in the national competition in mid-May by besting about 15 other groups from Portland-area schools.

Out of eight mostly Western states that participate in Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement, Oregon has the fewest chapters,