Sacramento railyard 'shining light' for struggling developer Thomas - The Times-Herald

Sacramento railyard 'shining light' for struggling developer Thomas - The Times-Herald:

"Sacramento officials remain believers in Thomas and the project.

'A number of other projects in our city have been suspended, but this one keeps moving forward,' said Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Yet the partnership between Thomas and the city has been strained by a disagreement over a 2006 land transaction.

To help him buy the land from Union Pacific, the city agreed to pay Thomas a 'placeholder' sum of $55 million for a 33-acre chunk of the site, with the understanding the two sides would negotiate a final price later."

More School - Obama Would Curtail Summer Vacation - NYTimes.com

More School - Obama Would Curtail Summer Vacation - NYTimes.com:

"''Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today,'' Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Fifth-grader Nakany Camara is of two minds. She likes the four-week summer program at her school, Brookhaven Elementary School in Rockville, Md. Nakany enjoys seeing her friends there and thinks summer school helped boost her grades from two Cs to the honor roll."

OpEdNews - Article: IF MICHAEL MOORE WAS GERMAN, HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ELECTED CHANCELLOR this SEPTEMBER 2009

OpEdNews - Article: IF MICHAEL MOORE WAS GERMAN, HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ELECTED CHANCELLOR this SEPTEMBER 2009:

"As the title of this article suggests, Michael Moore of the USA is also a strategic thinker and critique of capitalism of 2009 and is seriously calling for change—not just in his homeland: the USA . For this reason, Germans who are tired of capitalism as usual, might invite Michael Moore to lead a coalition of the major three left parties in Germany . For an example of Moors rhetoric, the day his new film on Capitalism opened in New York , Moore stated unequivocally that CAPITALISM of 2009 (as it is now) needs to be suspect and forced to reform. Moore say it is simply a big Pansy or pyramid scheme for the elite (and the very lucky) or well-connected. Speaking on inequality and lack of access to good loan conditions and livelihood for the vast majority, Moore stated “There's the larger crime, though, of course, of how the pie is divided in this country. And the fact that one guy can come to the table and take nine slices of that pie and leave one slice for everyone else at the table to fight over, that is criminal."

More parents signing kids up for free tutoring - The Item - South Carolina

More parents signing kids up for free tutoring - The Item - South Carolina:

"As part of the No Child Left Behind Act, free private tutoring has been offered as a supplemental educational service since the 2002-03 school year for students living in poverty who attend schools that don't make the grade.

Sumter School District 17 Title 1 Coordinator Suzanne Wates said the number of parents opting for academic tutoring has increased in the district, with 240 students receiving tutoring in last school year.

Not all students are eligible.

They must receive free or reduced-price lunch and be enrolled in a Title 1 school that has failed to make 'adequate yearly progress' for three consecutive years and has been identified as being 'in need of improvement' under the federal education law.

Parents are the decision makers. They decide if they want the tutoring for the children, and they determine who provides it. School districts are required to provide a list of the state-approved service providers to qualifying children and their families."

SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICES (SES) FREE TUTORING PARENT FAIRS
For more information please contact (916) 643-9051 or visit:www.scusd.edu/federal_state_prgms

Federal K-12 Law Should Drive School Reforms That Prepare Students for Success

Federal K-12 Law Should Drive School Reforms That Prepare Students for Success:

"In his speech, Duncan said that the NCLB law has significant flaws and that he looks forward to working with Congress to address the law's problems. He said the law puts too much emphasis on standardized tests, unfairly labels many schools as failures, and doesn't account for students' academic growth in its accountability system.

'But the biggest problem with NCLB is that it doesn't encourage high learning standards,' Duncan said. 'In fact, it inadvertently encourages states to lower them. The net effect is that we are lying to children and parents by telling kids they are succeeding when they are not.'"

La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com - Education saves money

La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com - Education saves money:

"Dropping out of school does not automatically lead to a life of crime but data indicates that a large percent of violent crimes are committed by individuals who never finished high school.
The school dropout rate —estimated at 20% and even worse for Latinos— is a serious problem for the education system. The numbers aren’t precise because there isn't an accurate measure of the magnitude of the problem. Given this, we support State Senator Gloria Romero’s SB651, which requires pulling together the fragmented and inconsistent methods for measuring dropout rates into an annual report highlighting early warning indicators of students at high risk of dropping out of school. The bill isn’t a solution but at least it is a start."

Wallace Baine, Baine Street: Do we really value higher education? - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Wallace Baine, Baine Street: Do we really value higher education? - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"The really painful part of the current crisis is that a UC education used to be free, or at least nominally so. Fees weren't imposed on students until the mid-1950s and then the system was careful not to call such fees 'tuition.' In 1956, those fees were about $42 a semester. And this was for a world-class education, the envy of the world, a beacon to bright young people from all over the planet to come to California to study and eventually to work and live.

That sounds like some silly Disneyland fantasy now. Today, a college education has become a commodity like everything else. What's worse, it's become another wedge in the culture wars, a target for self-defeating class resentments and bogus beefs about elitism. The far right will argue campuses are cesspools of Marxist indoctrination. The far left says that colleges are only interested in producing armies of tame little consumers. And meanwhile, students are exploited for their revenue potential, saddled with crippling loans and pushed into high-paying fields like finance to pay off those loans. Our culture becomes the loser in that deal."

People's Weekly World - Univ. of California community protests cutbacks

People's Weekly World - Univ. of California community protests cutbacks:

"“The UC system is a public resource built over far more than a century with taxpayers’ money, private generosity and shrewdness, and the intellectual energy of generations of students, teachers and staff,” opening rally speaker and art history professor T.J. Clark told the crowd. “A state in its right mind does not destroy that resource when times get tough. But this is what is happening.”"

New Tax Structure? Worth considering since the present one isn't working - The Reporter

New Tax Structure? Worth considering since the present one isn't working - The Reporter:

"Government is a victim of the same economic woes that have felled the business world.

* The state revenue stream relies too heavily on capital gains taxes and, in turn, the fortunes of the stock market, leaving it vulnerable to unpredictably wild swings in revenue.

A year ago, the governor appointed a 14-member panel to study the state's tax structure and make recommendations on how to stabilize it. The Commission on the 21st Century Economy was supposed to make its report a week ago. As of Friday morning, it was still working on the final document. But draft reports had already drawn plenty of naysayers, including one commission member who was reported to have said that he would not sign off on the document."

Oakland campus caters to refugees, immigrants -- latimes.com

Oakland campus caters to refugees, immigrants -- latimes.com:

"Everyone was speaking English and it confused me,' said Kanwea, a lanky student with a wide smile. 'And I felt scared because I think that I was the only one who didn't know how to read.'

New immigrants and refugees have long posed challenges for educators in the United States, but Kanwea and others like him present unique problems because they are often strangers to traditional schools. Academic issues are only one facet of their adjustment. Not only must educators teach them English and move them toward graduation, but they also must counsel many students grappling with the trauma of wars, persecution or poverty."

Anti-bullying effort in Alameda under fire - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Anti-bullying effort in Alameda under fire - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Jensen, one of the targets of the recall, has subsequently appeared on the Fox News Channel to speak on the controversy. She says she has no misgivings about her vote supporting the lesson, adding that while no student with an LGBT background has yet to formally complain of being bullied, research indicates it's just a matter of time.

The curriculum was created to assist teachers in reacting to incidents of bullying of all students from all classes, protected or not, she said."

For More Information on Bullying : http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11567105/2007-National-School-Climate-Survey-GLSEN-the-Gay-Lesbian-and-Straight-Education-Network

Hands On Sacramento Day Renovates Non Profit's Urban Farm for Healthy Communities

Hands On Sacramento Day Renovates Non Profit's Urban Farm for Healthy Communities:

"'Unlike many places around the world, we still have the unique capacity to feed ourselves and create sustainability around good, locally grown food,' explains Shawn Harrison, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture Project. 'Preserving and nourishing this rare opportunity now may be the most important long term health decision we make as a community.'

Community leaders including Mayor Kevin Johnson, Karen Baker with CaliforniaVolunteers, corporate leaders and employees across the Sacramento region came together for this important cause to help support healthy communities and low-cost food sources in our local area."

Sacramento Press / Johnson talks to residents about strong mayor issue

Sacramento Press / Johnson talks to residents about strong mayor issue:

"Kathi Windheim of the Greenhaven / Pocket neighborhood asked the mayor to address controversial legal issues with the strong mayor initiative. The initiative, which will go on the ballot in June 2010, proposes to change the city’s current system of government to a strong mayor system. “It’s alarming -- the problems with the initiative,” Windheim said."

Sacramento Press / Charter Review Committee hold Town Hall Meeting

Sacramento Press / Charter Review Committee hold Town Hall Meeting:

"Sacramento residents voiced their opinions to Charter Review Committee members about the strong-mayor proposal during a Town Hall Meeting in Ben Ali Shrine Temple Thursday evening.

Committee members attentively listened to the responses of the community regarding the possible changes to the mayor position in Sacramento."

Will iMayor be a boon or a bust? | Joe Sacramento

Will iMayor be a boon or a bust? Joe Sacramento:

"After months of delays, cryptic press releases, teaser ads and endless speculation, CH7 Inc.’s wildly anticipated iMayor product launched in November of 2008 in the city of Omastenarc (pronounced: Oh-mass-ten-ark). Since that time the robotics community and investors have monitored its progress with great skepticism in the face of several setbacks, OS updates, and even a few reboots that took it out of commission for weeks at a time. Now the tide might finally be turning."

Education News & Comment

Education News & Comment:

"Revenues for Schools
Limits and Options in California

Throughout the chaos that has characterized California’s budget
process in recent years, education funding has been a central
issue. K–12 schools represent the single largest expenditure in the
state budget. As a result, they are seen by some as a major drain
on state coffers and by others as the hardest hit victims of the
state’s fiscal meltdown."

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Fiorina’s new Web site bashed by Democrats, Republicans « - Blogs from CNN.com

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Fiorina’s new Web site bashed by Democrats, Republicans « - Blogs from CNN.com:

"The left leaning Huffington Post called the site 'really the most insufferable thing she's ever done in her life.' Democrats on Twitter bashed the site as 'embarrassingly awful' and told Fiorina to scale back her use of exclamation points. And a YouTube video mocking the site has so far eclipsed 15,000 views.
But several Web-savvy Republicans are also taking aim."

Reader's View: Tenure necessary and functional in schools - The Saratogian Opinion: Serving the Saratoga Springs, N.Y. region (Saratogian.com)

Reader's View: Tenure necessary and functional in schools - The Saratogian Opinion: Serving the Saratoga Springs, N.Y. region (Saratogian.com):

"This then begs the question: If after an administrator, over a period of nearly three years of supervision, has declared a teacher competent, why should another administrator not have to prove incompetence? Granted, proving incompetence results in chasing a moving target. So does granting tenure."

America's Teacher

America's Teacher: "

400 years from now: 'Look at these people back then. They thought they were free. They called themselves a democracy, but they spent ten hours of every day in a totalitarian situation and they allowed the richest 1 percent to have more financial wealth than the bottom 95 percent combined.'"

17 Pinellas principals run pilot program on decentralized decisionmaking - St. Petersburg Times

17 Pinellas principals run pilot program on decentralized decisionmaking - St. Petersburg Times:

"Teacher participation is crucial to school-based decisionmaking, Nelson said. The trick will be to get everyone involved in the new plan without putting more on anyone's already crowded plate.
Research indicates that achievement improves when those closest to the students — principals, teachers, parents — are making the decisions.
It's a philosophy the Pinellas Education Foundation embraces, along with the idea that the business community can teach educators a thing or two about how to run schools."