The Associated Press: More anti-gay, religious-motivated crimes reported

The Associated Press: More anti-gay, religious-motivated crimes reported:

"WASHINGTON — New FBI data show a sharp increase in hate crimes based on anti-gay or religious bias.

Overall, the number of reported hate crimes increased about 2 percent from last year. These same figures show a nearly 11 percent increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and a nearly 9 percent increase in hate crimes based on religion. The largest category, racially-motivated hate crimes, fell less than 1 percent.

The increases may be party due to more law enforcement agencies reporting hate crimes data to the FBI: 2,145 agencies in 2008, compared to 2,025 agencies the year before. In total, there were 7,783 hate crimes reported to the FBI last year, and seven murders were categorized as hate crimes."

"Think B4 You Speak"

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled...

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled...

Bright and Early EMILY ALPERT


The almighty dollar strikes again in your morning newsblitz! It ain't pretty out there:

We blog on two clashing views on what it takes to do "zero-based budgeting" -- one way that San Diego Unified wants to revamp its financial planning -- and how the school board is nudging labor unions to look at ways to save money on health and welfare benefits.

The Union-Tribune does a Q & A with embattled Southwestern College President Raj Chopra. "I am being penalized for doing what the public expects a good public officer to do," he tells Tanya Sierra. In more controversial college news, there's a swirl of speculation over who will fill the spot after San Diego State's athletic director resigned, the Union-Tribune reports.

The University of California just hiked tuition by 32 percent, despite a storm of protests statewide. Here's the deets from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, the Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

Google Apps for Education - Free email and apps for schools.

Google Apps for Education - Free email and apps for schools.:

"Free email and collaboration tools for your school

Get Apps for your school!

Ask questions and learn more in our online discussion group. Imagine how valuable it would be if your entire campus community — students, faculty, and staff — could share information and ideas more easily. With Google Apps Education Edition, you can start bringing that vision to life.

Google Apps Education Edition is a free suite of hosted communication & collaboration applications designed for schools and universities.

Top 10 reasons to use Google Apps

Get Apps for your school!

1. Students will love you for it

Schools tells us that when they ask their students what email they'd prefer, they overwhelmingly say Gmail.

"Our students approached us about a year ago, saying that we needed to improve our email and collaboration services. We actually had our student government tell us, 'we want you to implement Google Apps.'" - Wendy Woodward, Director of Technology Support Services, Northwestern University

2. Free up your IT

Focus your IT on activities that add value instead of worrying about the uptime of your email services.

"Google Apps has allowed us to get out of providing these commodity type services - such as maintaining an email and calendaring system - and focus on the things that we are uniquely equipped to do, like providing more resources to be able to better support teaching, learning and research." - Todd Sutton, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Application Services, UNC Greensboro

3. Easy to deploy

No software to install, no hardware to buy, just validate your MX records and create your accounts to get started. To integrate with what you already have, we work with open standards, have created a multitude of APIs, can point you to open source solutions for common integrations, and have approved partners with experience deploying Apps in schools.

"After struggling for several months to try to implement an alternative web hosted e-mail solution, we eventually turned to Google Apps which we were able to get up and running within a matter of hours" - Jhonny Oliveira, IT Manager, University of Lisbon

4. Save money

Outsourcing the maintenance of servers to Google frees up resources that would have been spent on additional licenses and upgrades.

"This helped our IT staff understand that their focus should be on strategic enterprise solutions to help us reach our educational objectives, not just overseeing commodities like email. Had we not gone with the Google solution, we'd be looking at proposing a significant increase in student fees. " - Eric Hawley, Utah State University Associate Vice President for Technology

5. You're not alone

Thousands of Universities are using Google Apps and are happy to talk about it. Talk to other customers on our Google Apps Education Edition community group or read and watch our customer case studies.

6. Google protects your privacy

We take privacy very seriously. Our business is built on our users' trust: trust in our ability to properly secure your data and our commitment to respect the privacy of the information you place in our systems by not giving that information to others or using it inappropriately. More specifically, read our FAQ on privacy, visit our Privacy Center, and review how we've handled challenges to users' privacy in the past.

7. Security as powerful as... well, Google

The security that is provided to Google Apps customers is the same security that we rely on to protect www.google.com. In addition, we run our company on Google Apps
"We're confident that Apps can meet the needs of the most demanding enterprises, because we're one ourselves. Google is a complex, global company in a fast-moving and competitive industry, and everything we do is powered by Apps. To get that kind of adoption here, it means Apps has passed a daunting bar for Enterprise suitability. If it can work for us, surely it can work for you, too." - Ben Fried, CIO and Vice President of Engineering, Google.
8. Innovation in real-time
What better way to prepare your students for the newest technology in the workplace, than by giving it to them as a part of their education?

"The response from the university community has been extremely positive because we are now partnering with cutting-edge technologists who understand that we're trying to provide the latest, most innovative technologies available today." - Roy B. Roberti, Director of Information Technology Planning, Hofstra University

9. Collaborate globally

Google Docs, our word processing application, doesn't just give you access to the same document, it actually allow students to work on the same document at the same time from anywhere in the world.

"Collaborative projects really make for an excellent education experience not only because students bounce ideas off each other and improve each other's writing skills, but also because the process itself teaches them how to work well with others - a valuable skill for everyone." - Richard Ellwood, Technology Coordinator and Digital Arts Teacher, Columbia Secondary School

10. We've got your back

Need help? We're here to help you when you need it either through our Help Center, our Education Edition customer group, or directly through the phone and email contact information provided in your administrator dashboard.

Law changes way teachers contract with districts

Law changes way teachers contract with districts:

"The Arizona Legislature made sweeping changes to state teacher contracts earlier this year, removing seniority, salary and contract guarantees.

Changes under House Bill 2011 mean that school districts will be prohibited from using tenure or seniority as a factor in determining which teachers can be laid off. Additionally, school districts no longer have to honor seniority when they rehire.

Gone is an April 15 deadline that required school districts to notify teachers of their contract status for the following school year. The changes were signed into law Sept. 4 by Gov. Jan Brewer and take effect Tuesday.

Lawmakers entered murky waters with the changes, setting limitations on how public-school districts can negotiate with teachers. The restrictions and changes, such as removing protections and prohibiting factors for hiring, make Arizona one of the more-restrictive states for teachers."

Autism treatment: Science hijacked to support alternative therapies -- chicagotribune.com

Autism treatment: Science hijacked to support alternative therapies -- chicagotribune.com:

"The Johns Hopkins neurologist and his colleagues had autopsied the brains of people with autism who died in accidents and found evidence of neuroinflammation. This rare look inside the autistic brain had the potential to increase understanding of the mysterious disorder.

It also, he knew, could inspire doctors aiming to help children recover from autism to develop new experimental treatments -- even though the research was so preliminary the scientists did not know whether the inflammation was good or bad, or even how it might relate to autism."

The Associated Press: Report finds wide disparities in gifted education

The Associated Press: Report finds wide disparities in gifted education:

"ATLANTA — When Liz Fitzgerald realized her son and daughter were forced to read books in math class while the other children caught up, she had them moved into gifted classes at their suburban Atlanta elementary school.

Just 100 miles down the road in Taliaferro County, that wouldn't have been an option. All the gifted classes were canceled because of budget cuts.

'If they didn't have it, they would get bored and distracted easily,' said Fitzgerald, whose children are 14 and 12. 'It just wouldn't be challenging.'"

R.I. education commissioner unveils sweeping reform plan | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

R.I. education commissioner unveils sweeping reform plan Rhode Island news projo.com The Providence Journal:

"PROVIDENCE — State education officials have unveiled an ambitious plan to increase student proficiency, revamp failing schools, improve teacher quality and shrink gaps between low-income and middle-income students, even as the state struggles to dedicate enough resources to public education.

State Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist shared a draft of her strategic plan with the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education on Thursday. The 20-page plan is the result of more than four months of work by Gist, who became the state’s top schools chief July 1, and her staff at the state Department of Education."

Shouldn't the evaluating get evaluated? - washingtonpost.com

Shouldn't the evaluating get evaluated? - washingtonpost.com:

"Dan Goldfarb, a 51-year-old history teacher at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, says his first encounter with an evaluator under the District's new IMPACT system for assessing teachers did not go well. Goldfarb does not claim to be an objective observer. He doesn't like the new system or how Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is implementing it.

He was willing to reveal what the evaluator said to him, give me a copy of his evaluation and expose himself to what I expect will be an unhappy reaction from his principal and other D.C. school officials. So here goes. Goldfarb hit some bumps that deserve attention."

White House Pushes Science and Math Education - NYTimes.com

White House Pushes Science and Math Education - NYTimes.com:

"President Obama will announce a campaign Monday to enlist companies and nonprofit groups to spend money, time and volunteer effort to encourage students, especially in middle and high school, to pursue science, technology, engineering and math, officials say.

The campaign, called Educate to Innovate, will focus mainly on activities outside the classroom. For example, Discovery Communications has promised to use two hours of the afternoon schedule on its Science Channel cable network for commercial-free programming geared toward middle school students."

Hate speech takes focus : The Collegian Online

Hate speech takes focus : The Collegian Online:

"This past weekend students and members from the Fresno community united for a similar cause, only this time they did not walk out, they stayed in. The group staged a study-in Friday at California State University, Fresno’s Henry Madden Library to extend the library’s hours, wanting more availability to services funded by increasing student tuition fees.As with the walkout, critics were fast to denounce the movement as news of the event became the top story on local news stations. The Collegian’s Web site provided breaking news updates and photographs to provide readers with inside coverage as the overnight event progressed. And what seems to be a continuing trend with the online comments this semester, The Collegian became a bulletin board for hate speech."

UC Budget Reform Is in Students' Hands - Daily Nexus

UC Budget Reform Is in Students' Hands - Daily Nexus:

"Recently, there’s been a lot of talk on campus about budget cuts and student fees, especially now that the 32 percent increase has been approved by the Regents board. However, let’s back up a little bit and talk about the truth of the matter so that we can learn the best way to move forward, hold the correct people accountable and enact a positive change.

The UCs put themselves into this predicament. They cut a deal back in 2004 with Gov. Schwarzenegger to give him UC money in exchange for the promise of no budget cuts, no cutting back on student enrollment and no unpredictable student fee increases. Schwarzenegger kept up his end of the deal for a few years but eventually let the UC system down. Because the deal did not include California’s legislature, it is hard for offices in Sacramento to create policies that would change the situation to give us more aid."

Protesters Occupy Wheeler Hall - The Daily Californian

Protesters Occupy Wheeler Hall - The Daily Californian:

"In an act of civil disobedience that escalated into a mass demonstration, 40 activists occupied Wheeler Hall, a major UC Berkeley building, for more than 12 hours last Friday to protest one of the largest University of California student fee increases in recent history.

The protesters drew national media attention and support from at least 1,000 students after locking themselves in a section of the second floor of Wheeler Hall. They did so a day after the UC Board of Regents passed a 32 percent student fee hike to take effect throughout 2010, bringing resident undergraduate fees to total more than $10,000 per year for the first time.

The fees were approved to help offset the university's $813 million deficit for the fiscal year. UC Berkeley alone faces a budget gap of $150 million."

California's spendy initiatives are legislators' - Daily Democrat Online

California's spendy initiatives are legislators' - Daily Democrat Online:

"Legislators love to gripe about how California's wildly popular ballot initiative process ties their hands on the state budget.

But a preliminary analysis from the nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies shows that the legislators -- not the public -- put on the ballot most of the measures requiring additional funding.

'Most of the ballot-box budgeting has come from you,' Bob Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based think tank, told the Senate and Assembly Select Committees on Improving State Government during a recent hearing in Oakland.

The new data come as legislators and reform activists explore changes in how California governs itself.

The center found that of the 68 ballot measures requiring additional money that voters approved between 1988 and 2009, 51 originated with the Legislature versus 17 with citizens and groups other than lawmakers.

Ballot measures originate with state and elected officials, but nonlawmakers sponsor ballot initiatives."

Bay Area ties to India a strategic asset

Bay Area ties to India a strategic asset:

"India has become a top-tier player in the world economy, and like China, its economic trajectory will influence global markets for the rest of this century. The good news for the Bay Area is that our ties to India are uniquely strong and deep. Indian immigrants have founded many of Silicon Valley's iconic firms; many are serial entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The Bay Area's Indian community broadly mirrors their success: Median income is more than $107,000, 75 percent of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and 70 percent are in management or professional positions. Roughly half are homeowners."

Teacher tenure a thorny issue, but some say it improves teaching - DailyBulletin.com

Teacher tenure a thorny issue, but some say it improves teaching - DailyBulletin.com:

"A recent report card on California's ability to fire poorly performing teachers won't end up on anyone's refrigerator.

A report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress, 'Leaders and Laggards,' examined the 50 states in eight categories, including school management, finance, technology and staffing.

California acquired a passing mark in many categories, but was given a F when it comes to firing poorly performing teachers.

According to the report, more than 85 percent of principals polled said that tenures are a barrier to removal of ineffective teachers.

'It's not a good thing for the students,' said James Kidwell, deputy superintendent of human resources for the Ontario/Montclair School District. 'It impacts the quality of their education. Students deserve high-quality teachers.'

Without the ability to fire ineffective teachers, school leaders cannot build a cohesive school culture, create an environment of accountability, and ensure that all students will learn, the report stated."

Errors riddle accounts of stimulus spending

Errors riddle accounts of stimulus spending: "Nine months after President Obama promised that his $789 billion stimulus package would be the most transparent spending bill in history, much of the information available to the public for the Bay Area and the rest of the nation is incomplete or inaccurate."

The White House's Recovery Act Web site - www.recovery.gov - shows that $660 million has been awarded to Bay Area transportation projects to create 997 jobs, which amounts to a staggering $661,986 per job.

Last week, the site showed that California Congressional Districts 00 and 99 received millions of dollars in stimulus funding even though neither district exists.

The Bay Area's total also included $1.8 million to purchase buses in Duluth, Minn., which the federal Web site pinpointed with a dot just below San Leandro, and $4.8 million for road work in Laredo - which is in Texas.

Glitches in reporting
The White House said the mistakes are simply reporting glitches and do not reflect widespread accounting problems or take away from the overall success of the stimulus plan, which they assert has already created more than 1 million jobs nationwide.

"The jobs and related projects listed are legitimate - they were just coded in the wrong congressional district," White House spokeswoman Liz Oxhorn said.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/11/23/MN2A1ANSVT.DTL#ixzz0XgiKSeLH

Final chapter looms for textbooks in Texas | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Final chapter looms for textbooks in Texas AP Texas News Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"FORT WORTH, Texas — Textbooks could be going the way of slide rules and Big Chief tablets within a few years in Texas classrooms.

State legislation passed in the spring could put up-to-the-minute instructional content at students' fingertips — either online or in customized printed form — eliminating the mass-market hardback textbook.

The sea change could happen sooner rather than later, beginning as early as the 2010-11 school year.

'This is one of the few times we can do things cheaper, faster and better all at the same time,' said the measure's author, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston.

The legislation is one of two bills passed this year that allow the Texas Education Agency to create its own repository of digital textbook content."

Regents! We Do Need Some Education! >>

Regents! We Do Need Some Education! >>:

"UC students everywhere are feeling the pressure after the UC Board of Regents approved a 32 percent fee increase on student fees last Thursday. This vote will make it even more difficult for students currently struggling to make ends meet to get the quality education they expect from the University of California, quality that has been called into question.

The protest that ensued after the vote showed just how upsetting the news was. A group of around 300 students gathered outside of Covel Commons at UCLA, chanting loud enough for the Regents inside to hear the resounding cries of “Chop from the Top!” and “We’re fired up, we can’t take it no more!”"

Haves vs. Have-Nots at Public Universities - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com

Haves vs. Have-Nots at Public Universities - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com:

"The University of California, which has already received $716 million in federal stimulus funds to offset a $1 billion budget gap, announced on Friday that it is raising student fees by 32 percent. That works out to about $2,500 per student a year.

Student protesters said that the higher costs will make it even harder for middle class and poor students to go to college, and will widen the education gap between the haves and the have-nots. But the students at the 10-campus California system are, on average, from far wealthier backgrounds than the average household in the state. This gap is pronounced at other prominent public universities, like Michigan and Virginia."

Earning College Credits by Taking Classes via YouTube | GOOD

Earning College Credits by Taking Classes via YouTube GOOD:

"Check it: A University of New South Wales science lecturer who goes by the name of Richard Buckland is broadcasting his classes on YouTube. But before you get all “this sort of thing isn’t new you blog-writing dolt” on me, read on. He’s using the videos as the basis for a class that advanced high schoolers can take to earn college credits."