Students, education officials take precautions | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota

Students, education officials take precautions Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks, North Dakota:

"“Awareness certainly is heightened,” Pace said. “We have Minnesota Health Department information on our Web site, and I’m looking at attendance figures earlier than ever, asking what are the reasons for people being out. We’re in our second week and we’re getting some students who are sick, but that’s normal.”

While nobody is panicking over H1N1, “They’re scared of the unknown,” Carlstrom said. “How bad is it going to get? We don’t know.”"

Money problems sowing discontent in Univerity of California system - San Jose Mercury News

Money problems sowing discontent in Univerity of California system - San Jose Mercury News:

"The expected showdown this week — on the first day of classes at eight of the 10 campuses — follows a raucous UC Board of Regents meeting last week where officials presented their tuition plan and 14 of about 100 demonstrators were arrested.

'It's going to explode pretty soon, if it hasn't already,' said Will Smelko, a senior political science major at UC-Berkeley and the student-body president.

The growing rumbles come after a rough year for the university, which has cut enrollment and raised student fees to make up for state budget cuts. In November, the Board of Regents is expected to vote to increase tuition by 32 percent over the next year, pushing it to more than $10,000 annually."

The Associated Press: Calif. panel set to recommend major tax overhaul

The Associated Press: Calif. panel set to recommend major tax overhaul:

"According to a draft of the plan, the state's personal income tax structure would be flattened and taxes on the wealthy would be reduced. The state sales and corporate taxes would be replaced with a new business levy that taxes net receipts.

The commission is recommending a simpler income tax to replace California's more progressive structure, in which people who make more, pay more — up to 10.55 percent for millionaires. The commission is recommending just two rates: 2.75 percent for individuals making up to $28,000 a year and couples making $56,000, and 6.5 percent for those making more."

Mayor Johnson persuades homeless campers to leave downtown property - E-mail Alerts -- Breaking News - sacbee.com

Mayor Johnson persuades homeless campers to leave downtown property - E-mail Alerts -- Breaking News - sacbee.com:

"In his blog, Johnson wrote: 'I was there last night, meeting with about 15 homeless campers. I listened as they told me of their strong desire to have a legal place to camp in Sacramento. They listened as I pledged to work on solutions to homelessness. As we shared a meal, I was impressed by the strong sense of community and mutual support among the campers. After discussions and dinner, they told me they are ready move on and leave the camp.'"

The White House - Blog Post - Eid Mubarak

The White House - Blog Post - Eid Mubarak:

"'As Muslims in the United States and around the world complete the month of Ramadan and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, Michelle and I would like to extend our personal greetings on this joyous occasion. Eid is a time to celebrate the completion of 30 days and nights of devotion. But even on this festive occasion, Muslims remember those less fortunate, including those impacted by poverty, hunger, conflict, and disease. Throughout the month, Muslim communities collect and distribute zakat-ul-fitr so that all Muslims are able to participate in this day of celebration. As I said in Cairo, my Administration is working to ensure that Muslims are able to fulfill their charitable obligations not just during Ramadan, but throughout the year. On behalf of the American people, we congratulate Muslims in the United States and around the world on this blessed day. Eid Mubarak.'"

Appointing vs. electing MPS leaders should be about real change - JSOnline

Appointing vs. electing MPS leaders should be about real change - JSOnline:

"There is a difference between an elected board and a non-elected board, experience elsewhere shows. Elected officials are likely to be more responsive to constituents, to organizations, to the people who call them and who do show up at the meetings. Non-elected members are likely to be less responsive to those seeking their attention, in the name of being more responsive to the general public and broad needs. Or, in the view of some, in the name of being part of an elite group that wants to shut the community out of decisions.

You want to keep your school from being closed? Your best bet is an elected board. You want more schools in the city to be closed? Your best bet is an appointed board. The same with a lot of other decisions."

Open for business: Cash-strapped schools looking for ways to make money -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Open for business: Cash-strapped schools looking for ways to make money -- OrlandoSentinel.com:

"Cash-strapped school districts across Central Florida are scrambling to find a new source of money by marketing everything from online websites to gymnasium naming rights -- and even Friday night football games.

They're hoping advertisers will line up for the ready-made audience of students, teachers and parents, as well as the general public."

Budget cuts push some classrooms way over capacity -- latimes.com

Budget cuts push some classrooms way over capacity -- latimes.com:

"The impact of California's budget cuts has varied from school to school. Because of the patchwork of federal and state funding for education, some campuses have felt the pinch far less than others. But at schools like Fairfax, hard hit by the $6 billion in education reductions enacted by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, this is shaping up to be one difficult year.

'I'm very frustrated,' Collier said. 'I mean, it's a good class -- it's an honors class, and the kids are really good. But it's unreasonable to ask me to teach a class of 48 kids and give attention to everybody.'"

Remembering 'Norma Rae' Crystal Lee Sutton

Remembering 'Norma Rae' Crystal Lee Sutton:

"She was a warrior to the end, Price said.

'I've never seen any woman fight cancer as hard as she did. She was in a wheelchair in the last few months, and she wanted me to push her to a protest about a school's teacher cuts.'

Last year, a Burlington Times News reporter asked Sutton how she'd like to be remembered. 'It is not necessary I be remembered as anything,' she said, 'but I would like to be remembered as a woman who deeply cared for the working poor and the poor people of the U.S. and the world. That my family and children and children like mine will have a fair share and equality.'"

NSBA and NEA Publish Undocumented Students Legal Issues Guide « Docuticker

NSBA and NEA Publish Undocumented Students Legal Issues Guide « Docuticker:

"The National School Boards Association (NSBA), with a generous grant from the National Education Association (NEA), released a publication designed to help school districts answer questions about the legal rights of undocumented students in public K-12 schools. Legal Issues for School Districts Related to the Education of Undocumented Children offers practical information for schools as they deal with this complicated issue.

Sixteen national education organizations have signed onto the guide, which will go to every school district in the United States and is available on NSBA and NEA’s websites. The guide provides answers to 13 questions that school districts face as they navigate the growing trend of undocumented student enrollment."

Full Document (PDF; 717 KB): http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11634376/NSBA-and-NEA-Undocumented-Students-Legal-Issues-Guide

Kids Celebrate Reading | Literacy News

Kids Celebrate Reading Literacy News:

"Originally created as a one-day event to celebrate the joy of reading on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss, NEA’s Read Across America has grown into a nationwide initiative that promotes reading every day with more than 45 million participating annually.

“As teachers and parents, we know that kids who read – and are read to – do better in school and in life,” said NEA President Reg Weaver."

Frisco, other Dallas-area districts are emphasizing preschool programs | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | News: Education

Frisco, other Dallas-area districts are emphasizing preschool programs News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News News: Education:

"'Fewer children who receive early childhood education are entering the juvenile justice or welfare system. They are going to college. When they start early, more succeed.'
And, she said, Americans are finally recognizing it.

'Economists, business leaders, Bill Gates, all the major folks are out there touting the benefits of early education,' Johnson said, including the current administration."

Bloomberg mailer attacks Thompson with fuzzy facts

Bloomberg mailer attacks Thompson with fuzzy facts:

"Education statistics are notoriously malleable, and Team Thompson has argued that Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have cooked the books.
Expect to be buried under an avalanche of education statistics for the next six weeks. Bloomberg will point to better performance, helped by money and control that Thompson never had.
Thompson will say the mayor has turned schools into testing mills that ignore arts and music - though in his first TV ad, he never mentions his time as board president.
Which argument wins the election?"

Race To The Top puts too much pressure on schools | Delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Race To The Top puts too much pressure on schools Delawareonline.com The News Journal:

"It’s precisely in the 5,000 chronically failing public schools targeted by the initiative that this particular mandate needs to be debated most openly. These schools are almost always located in inner cities and in rural areas. They are overwhelmingly populated by poor students who come from chaotic backgrounds."

When teachers inherit classroom after classroom of these students year after year, it’s extremely difficult to focus on instruction. That’s because of the powerful effect of out-of-school factors on learning. Too many poor students go to school each day without a nutritious breakfast, without sufficient sleep and without parents who are involved in their education. As a result, teachers are forced to perform triage rather than teach.
This bleak situation has long existed, but the recession has increased the number of students who are homeless and who have lost access to health care. About 1.6 million people, including 340,000 children, were homeless across the nation before the recession began, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. With unemployment on the rise, the situation will only get worse.

azdailysun.com Top Stories

azdailysun.com Top Stories:

"The private school tuition organizations take advantage of a different state tax credit than do mainstream public and charter schools. The latter allows tax credits for donations to extracurricular programs, and it has drawn criticism that it primarily benefits schools in more affluent areas where residents can afford to make donations."

Sun Gazette Newspapers - from Archives - Arlington > News

Sun Gazette Newspapers - from Archives - Arlington > News:

"“We need more parents trained to advocate for their kids, and we need volunteers,” said Dr. Talmadge Williams, a former president of the Arlington NAACP and chairman of Parent Allies for Student Success (PASS). The group on Sept. 10 held its second-annual graduation ceremony, honoring 42 parents who spent weeks learning to be a bigger part of their children’s academic lives."

Teachers say parental involvement makes a difference in how children do at school - The Morning Sun News: Serving Clare, Gratiot and Isabella counties

Teachers say parental involvement makes a difference in how children do at school - The Morning Sun News: Serving Clare, Gratiot and Isabella counties:

"And indeed, the terminology may be so new that few parents have even heard of it. How many, after all, know what the word 'regrouping' is as it relates to elementary school arithmetic?

'Regrouping is another word for old fashioned borrowing and carrying,' Philson said. '(Some of the terminology) may be new to us too. Parents need not be afraid to ask.'"

Suzanne Fields: Facts being diluted in name of diversity | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle

Suzanne Fields: Facts being diluted in name of diversity democratandchronicle.com Democrat and Chronicle:

"A new report by the American Textbook Council, an independent research organization that monitors the quality of textbooks, is a new wake-up call. In 'Textbook Troika: How publishers, activists and multiculturalists keep students in the dark about Islam,' Gilbert T. Sewall, the director of the council, documents the malign influence Muslim activists exert on social studies texts. Not only do texts distort historical fact, but 'disinterested scholarship' is in jeopardy, threatened by a gathering perfect storm of academic failure and fatuousness."

Scary California stories aren't true - The Denver Post

Scary California stories aren't true - The Denver Post:

"No self-respecting state would want that. The massive budget cuts, the IOUs, the celebrity governor autographing government-surplus sale items . . . yikes! Just the thought makes your blood curdle.

The 'change makes us California' story is intended to scare us, but like many good tales, it's blatantly untrue. Budget reforms will not transform us into the Golden State. Almost the opposite is true. In many ways, Colorado is already like California, and if we don't change, more California-type problems are likely."

Emily Young: Initiative overload ruining California » Redding Record Searchlight

Emily Young: Initiative overload ruining California » Redding Record Searchlight:

"Also contributing to our state government woes is a representative democracy that is not functioning properly. According to think tanks watching these things, California's election districts are frequently producing little two-party competition, and state legislators tend to come from the two parties' ideological poles.
Furthermore, California is the only state where passing a budget and passing a tax increase both require a two-thirds majority vote in each house. As a result, the minority party has more power than is true in other state legislatures. With one-third plus one votes, it can block programs since most legislation has budget implications. Hence, the California Legislature's lack of accomplishments and annual budget fights."