Education Week: Broader Role Outlined for District Ed-Tech Leaders

Education Week: Broader Role Outlined for District Ed-Tech Leaders:

"Reflecting the expanding responsibilities of technology directors and heightened demand for schools to build students’ 21st-century skills, the Consortium for School Networking has updated its framework detailing how chief technology officers can become educational leaders in their districts.

The revised “Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 Chief Technology Officer,” to be released today, comes as education leaders are increasingly looking to digital tools to improve teaching and learning. The new document by the Washington-based consortium, known as CoSN, outlines recommendations for professional development for chief technology officers and could eventually provide the basis for certification for those in the field, consortium officials write in the introduction to the framework."

Teacher Magazine: Women Underrepresented in School Leadership Roles?

Teacher Magazine: Women Underrepresented in School Leadership Roles?:

"While women hold nearly eight out of 10 teaching positions in North Carolina, far fewer are found as principals or administrators.

The Asheville Citizen Times reports that slightly more than half of all principals and top district administrators in North Carolina last year were women. That's despite the fact that women hold almost 80 percent of all teaching jobs.

Of all school district superintendents, 84 percent are men. However, the state's top job belongs to a woman. June Atkinson was elected North Carolina's first female state superintendent of public instruction in 2004, although she recently went to court after Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Bill Harrison to the State Board of Education and made him her choice to run the schools"

Bookshare - Accessible Books for Individuals with Print Disabilities

Bookshare - Accessible Books for Individuals with Print Disabilities

Accessible Books and Periodicals for Readers with Print Disabilities

Bookshare™ is free for all U.S. students with qualifying disabilities. Student memberships are currently funded by an award from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

Bookshare dramatically increases the accessibility of books. Bookshare believes that people with disabilities deserve the same ease of access to books and periodicals that people without disabilities enjoy.

A searchable online library. Bookshare offers more than 60,000 digital books, textbooks, teacher-recommended reading, periodicals and assistive technology tools.
Readers of all ages. Bookshare offers affordable membership, unlimited library privileges and a community of Members, Volunteers, parents, publishers and authors.
Latest Bookshare News and Events:

U.S. Dept of Education Grants Funding to Bookshare to Convert Open Content Textbooks to Accessible Formats

Encyclopaedia Britannica Grants Digital Rights to Bookshare

K-12 Publications, Parent Magazines and Educational Organizations Talk About the Benefits of Bookshare

This project is supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (Cooperative Agreement #H325U040001). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education.

Betraying students - SignOnSanDiego Newsletter - SignOnSanDiego.com

Betraying students - SignOnSanDiego Newsletter - SignOnSanDiego.com:

"California is in an enormous financial bind. The deep recession has sent state revenue plunging.

Our leaders have addressed this fiscal migraine in two ways. In February, the Legislature adopted the largest single tax hike of any state in U.S. history, raising income and sales taxes and the annual vehicle registration fee and reducing the tax credit for dependents. It also forced cuts in virtually every area of government – including for public schools, which depend on state funding.

But in a May special election, state voters signaled loudly and clearly that they were against further tax hikes. Among the measures they decisively rejected was one guaranteeing billions of dollars would be sent to public schools in the future when state revenue rebounded.

The election results led to renewed wrangling over the budget – and an acceptance by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican lawmakers and a surprising number of their Democratic colleagues that spending cuts were how the public wanted to deal with red ink. In July, this understanding – along with a few of the usual gimmicks – led to a revised budget with a new round of cuts for schools."

Time Magazine Declares Yudof a Top University President | City on a Hill Press

Time Magazine Declares Yudof a Top University President City on a Hill Press:

"A week before the UC Regents voted to increase fees by 32.5 percent, the Nov. 23 issue of Time Magazine named UC President Mark Yudof as one of the 10 best college presidents in the United States. Yudof was acknowledged for repairing the nearly bankrupt UC system and was chosen because he “tools around dilapidated campuses and fixes them.”

The University Office of the President (UCOP) said it is very proud of the recognition.
“He is being recognized for his lifetime achievement of dedication to higher education,” said UC Spokesman Pete Kanes. “He has a way of making universities better places when he leaves than when he got there, like he did at Texas and Minnesota … he makes decisions based on what he thinks is right for the university, even if it makes him unpopular.”"

Black Voice News Online

Black Voice News Online:

"The Obama Administration has allocated $4.35 billion dollars in education grants for states to support innovative programs that will lift those districts with students at the bottom on par with our successful students.

States will have to alter the way they have tried to solve this problem by changing policies, allocating resources, measuring results, and involving staff, parents, community and private industry. They will also have to remove the cap on charter schools as well as challenge the well established traditional professional system of educating kids in urban schools as we seek “Race to the Top” funds. Here is the problem in California for African American students:

There are 454,780 or 7.3% Black students in California public schools. We only have 13,115 or 4.3% Black teachers in our classrooms. We have the highest drop-out rate of any group at 32.9%, which is 10% higher than the next group. Out of the 26,026 Black students that graduated in 2007/08 only 6,060 had the required courses to enter our UC/CSU campuses of higher learning. This is 23.3% of those that graduated. Our Academic Performance Index rating is at 659 which is far below the target score of 800 we would like for it to be. The sad thing about our failing or low performing schools is the longer Black students stay in school the worse things get for them. For example in our 2nd through 6th grades Black students scored at 705; in 7th through 8th grade they scored 649 and 612 in 9th through 12th grades."

Alameda Sun - Ed Board Mulls Over New Curriculum

Alameda Sun - Ed Board Mulls Over New Curriculum:

"Alameda Unified School District board of education members were presented with a recommendation for an anti-bullying and harassment curriculum to be taught in Alameda's schools at its Nov. 24 meeting. The new curriculum, if passed, would replace the controversial Lesson 9, the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) anti-bullying and harassment curriculum that the school board approved earlier this year.

Though board discussion on the possible new curriculum lasted for nearly two and a half hours, board members still seemed unsure of how exactly the curriculum, if approved, would be implemented. Last August, AUSD Superintendant Kristin Vital asked Interim Assistant Superintendant Ruben Zepeda to investigate a new curriculum. The new program would help teachers educate students on why they should not bully or harass people in the six protected classes mentioned in California's Education Code 200: disability, gender, nationality, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The new curriculum would have to explicitly address how not to bully or harass these six groups."

UC Education Programs Should Serve as a National Model | City on a Hill Press

UC Education Programs Should Serve as a National Model City on a Hill Press:

"While it’s common for the nation to engage in lengthy debates about the state of our nation’s schools, teacher preparation is rarely mentioned inside that discussion. Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, recently put a laser focus on teacher education in a speech in which he detailed a long history of attacks on the low quality of teacher education. Based on his assessment, teacher education must make comprehensive reforms so that student achievement is at the core of its work. There is no counter-argument to this proposal. The job of a teacher is to create opportunities for students to grow academically and teacher education must prepare teachers to be successful in achieving that goal.

We are pleased to report that the teacher education programs within the University of California have already put student achievement at the forefront and are now counted as among the best in the nation, providing research-based, proven practices combined with extensive experience in schools. In fact, we would recommend to Mr. Duncan that our model could serve to improve teacher education nationwide. Here are some of the reasons why:"

News: New Wave of Student Activism - Inside Higher Ed

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/12/03/activism:

"WASHINGTON -- Students at California public universities have been staging protests against budget cuts and fee hikes all fall, capturing local and national attention with administration building sit-ins, 24-hour library occupations and large outdoor rallies.

Though they’ve been the loudest this fall -- and in particular, over the last few weeks, as the University of California Board of Regents voted to raise tuition by 32 percent -- California’s students aren’t the only ones organizing to protect their financial and educational interests. As institutions and states take red ink to their budgets and green ink to their tuition bills, students in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York have begun speaking out. Students in Canada, Germany and Austria are also agitating against tuition hikes."

“A new era in student activism has … emerged out of California,” said Victor Sanchez, president of the University of California Student Association (USCA) and a senior at UC Santa Cruz, at the start of a panel discussion here Wednesday hosted by the Campus Progress branch of the left-leaning Center for American Progress. “It’s the beginning of a student movement. It’s a movement against the privatization of our public institutions here in the United States.”

Angus Johnston, a historian who completed his doctorate at the City University of New York earlier this year and studies American student activism, said he sees “a lot more going on beyond California than most people recognize.” When students go to a state capitol or to Congress to lobby for their interests “that’s not something that makes The New York Times, that’s not something you get on NPR for doing.” Smaller campus protests, he added, aren’t getting much coverage beyond campus and local media.

Stress soars in applying for California colleges | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA

Stress soars in applying for California colleges PressDemocrat.com The Press Democrat Santa Rosa, CA:

"With record-shattering numbers of applicants vying for a shrinking number of places at California universities, stress is the word of the day for area seniors."

More than 609,000 students submitted undergraduate applications to the California State University system between Oct. 1 and the Nov. 30 deadline, according to CSU officials. On the final day alone, more than 73,680 applications were received.

The deadline for students applying to the UC system was extended from Monday to 11:59 p.m. Wednesday after the online application system crashed in the final hours.

That breakdown — largely symbolic locally because only 1,500 students statewide were online when it crashed — summed up the worry felt by seniors facing one of the bleakest-ever college application seasons.

Capitol Weekly: Could California face a “brain drain” of college students?

Capitol Weekly: Could California face a “brain drain” of college students?:

"In the 2007-2008 academic year, California did something it had not done since the 1980s: sent more college students out of state than it received from elsewhere.

For years, the Golden State’s public universities were a draw, offering a low-cost, high-quality education to its high school graduates and drawing talented people from other states and countries. With fees rising and student slots shrinking in the midst of the state budget crisis, some worry that a process that has helped boost California’s economy will reverse itself -- and do so at a time when the state’s economy needs more educated workers than ever.

“Absolutely the state is moving in the wrong direction in terms of closing the education skills gap,” said Hans Johnson, a demographer with the Public Policy Institute of California."

Last month, the University of California (UC) regents voted to raise fees by 32 percent, to $10,302 a year for in-state students, in the wake of a $1.2 billion cut in state support to the system. The California State University system saw a $564 million cut, forcing widespread layoffs and reduction of 40,000 students for the coming year.

These changes, in turn, have caused a logjam in the California Community Colleges system — both in terms of new admissions, and students trying to transfer a two-year degree to a four-year school.

“As the other two segments also are stressed, people who would otherwise go to UC or CSU also turn to community colleges,” said Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City. On Monday, Ruskin is convening a joint panel that will review the master plan for California’s higher education systems.

Four-year schools have been making it harder to transfer, including recent changes to give preference to students from community colleges closer to their home campuses. The UC and CSU systems have been raising the GPA needed to get into certain programs and campuses--especially crowded CSUs like San Diego, Pomona, Long Beach and Fullerton--according to Rita Mize, director of state policy and research with Community College League.

Meanwhile, other higher education systems are pursuing California students.

UC dorm aids 'first gen' students | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

UC dorm aids 'first gen' students cincinnati.com Cincinnati.Com:

"If 18-year-old Demarcus Jones doesn't get up promptly for his 10 o'clock math class at the University of Cincinnati, he'll first get a text message from Judy Mause and then she'll arrive in person, banging on his dormitory door."

Mause calls it "intrusive advising."

Jones is one of 24 UC freshmen living in Gen-1 House, an off-campus residence designated for low-income, first-generation college students. Mause is the program's coordinator and she will do everything from wake-up calls to checking in with professors to make sure Gen-1 students keep their grades up and fit into campus life.

That's because if left to the odds, only three of the 24 Gen-1 House freshmen would graduate.

Nationally, 89 percent of low-income "first-gens" leave college within six years without a degree. More than a quarter leave after their first year - four times the dropout rate of higher income second-generation students.

Sick Schools 2009: Congress Urged to Help Kids at Risk- Embargoed for Dec 3

Sick Schools 2009: Congress Urged to Help Kids at Risk:

"PR Log (Press Release) – Dec 03, 2009 – Releasing “Sick Schools 2009', national and state advocates for environment and children’s health thanked Senators Boxer, Lautenberg, and Klobuchar, and other members of the Environment Committee for advancing the EPA priorities on children and schools and urged more support for EPA. The report, with contributions from policy advocates in 20 states and the District, offers peer-reviewed studies and compelling evidence of how polluted air inside and outside schools escalate health care costs, increase absenteeism, and reduce test scores."

Vernice Miller-Travis, Vice-Chair, Maryland State Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities said, “The fact that the poorest, highest risk children have the schools in the worst condition has been a civil rights issue going back to Brown v. Education of Topeka in 1954. Today, we know even more: that the impacts from toxic school siting to lead in drinking water to mold infestations and to chemical spills are damaging millions of children every year, taking away their health and their chance for a productive future.” Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP said "Unhealthy conditions in our schools lead to failing grades and failing health." Benjamin is executive director of the American Public Health Association. He added, "Environmental concerns such as asbestos, mold, poor air quality and other hazards affect children's ability to learn and their health, and schools in low-income communities are often disproportionately affected. We must close this gap and ensure that all of our kids are given an opportunity to learn, grow and play in safe, healthy schools."

Healthy Schools Network, Inc. - Who We Are

Healthy Schools Network, Inc. - Who We Are:

"Healthy Schools Network, Inc.

About Us

Healthy Schools Network, Inc. is a 501 c3 national environmental health organization that does research, information, education, coalition-building, and advocacy to ensure that every child has a healthy learning environment that is clean and in good repair.

Founded in 1995,we have documented and publicized school environmental problems; shaped and won new education, health, and environmental policies; fostered dozens of local and state policy groups; won systemic federal and state reforms; and helped thousands of parents and schools make classrooms and buildings healthier through our EPA award-winning Healthy Schools/Healthy Kids Clearinghouse (Information and Referral Services).

Major efforts include: building the platform and the forum for school environments through the collaborative Coalition for Healthier Schools which we founded and convene with more than 400 local, state, and national partners; leading National Healthy Schools Day; offering steady assistance through the Clearinghouse's publications and referrals; and refining our model New York Program. Throughout, we are focused on: 1) High Performance School Design/Construction consistent with children's needs for healthy environments; 2) Greening Existing Schools; and 3) Environmental Public Health for Children who are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures.

Attorney General Holder, Secretary Duncan Meet With Youth Leaders, Parents

Attorney General Holder, Secretary Duncan Meet With Youth Leaders, Parents:

"WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of the Justice Department's year-long commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met today with teen leaders, their parents and program directors from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships (Start Strong). The discussion around teen dating violence was held in conjunction with nationwide events as part of the 6th It's Time to Talk Day, organized annually by Liz Claiborne Inc. to draw national attention to the importance of talking about domestic violence, teen dating violence and intimate partner abuse.

'We must engage the broadest spectrum of community partners in order to stem youth violence, and a cornerstone of that partnership is young people themselves,' said Attorney General Holder. 'The Department of Justice is committed to working with young people to develop innovative solutions to help prevent teen dating abuse.'"

A 'New Normal' for Higher Education in the 21st Century Announced at the

A 'New Normal' for Higher Education in the 21st Century Announced at the:

"NEW YORK, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- 'The most successful institutions will not be those that ride out the economic downturn by returning to the status quo,' said Madeleine d'Ambrosio, vice president and executive director of the TIAA-CREF Institute, in opening this year's TIAA-CREF Institute conference, 'Smart Leadership in Difficult Times.' More than 150 higher education leaders from around the country were gathered for this timely forum.

Colleges and universities will be forced to 'focus on enrollment, affordability and fund-raising' added d'Ambrosio, who also cited a Moody's report predicting the harshest effects of the economic downturn are likely still ahead for higher education."

The result: a "new normal" for colleges and universities, said keynote speaker David Gergen, professor of public service at Harvard's JFK School of Government and a director of its Center for Public Leadership. Gergen is also editor at large for US News & World Report, and a senior political analyst for CNN.

"For universities the new normal means the budget crunch is not going away," Gergen said. Seventy percent of all U.S. college and university students go to public institutions using state funding from budgets so stressed that "more than half of the states anticipate deficits for fiscal year 2011," added Muriel Howard, president, AASCU. "We're not going to spend our way out of this budget crunch," Gergen said. "We're not going to tax our way out of it. We're going to have to innovate our way out of it as a country."

Creating opportunities for parent involvement | delmarvanow.com | The Daily Times

Creating opportunities for parent involvement delmarvanow.com The Daily Times:

"In Worcester County Public Schools, we understand the connection between parental involvement and student achievement. Research shows that children who receive educational encouragement and support from their parents and guardians are likely to achieve at their highest potential."

At Buckingham Elementary School, we celebrate parent involvement. In fact, one of our parents, Gary Williams, won the inaugural Comcast Parent Involvement Matters award for Worcester County. As a member of our School Improvement Advisory Committee, Williams saw a need; he wanted our students to have access to digital cameras. Using his expertise in the area of electronics, he purchased cameras on eBay, refurbished them and created a camera lab for us. Because of his caring and creativity, our students have been further enriched.

Parents, however, do not need a specific set of skills in order to be involved in their child's education. Indeed, a parent is their child's first teacher. Throughout a child's education, as the child moves from grade level to grade level and from teacher to teacher, parents are the one constant. Parents act as an advocate, coach, and source of inspiration for their child.

As a Title I school having 59 percent of our students coming from households of poverty, Buckingham Elementary has a plan for parent involvement. We establish our goals and identify our resources for achieving them. For example, we partner with the Berlin Head Start in order to ensure that each student has a great beginning to their education.

South Bend Tribune: Michigan mother camps out for more schools cash

South Bend Tribune: Michigan mother camps out for more schools cash:

"LANSING (AP) — Michigan parents, teachers and school officials have held rallies and even bake sales at the state Capitol in efforts to persuade lawmakers to raise more money for education.

Dee Lindeman is taking it to another level.

The mother of three Center Line schools students has set up a tent and is camping in front of the Capitol from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. She leaves at night only because security guards tell her she has to go.

Lindeman is planning her third day of camping at the Capitol on Thursday. She plans to camp out through Dec. 10 unless lawmakers restore recent funding cuts to schools before then."

Mayor's First Year Nets Mixed Record - Politics News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Mayor's First Year Nets Mixed Record - Politics News Story - KCRA Sacramento:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento's mayor, Kevin Johnson, is completing his first year as mayor with a mixed record.

In many ways, says communications expert and Sacramento State professor Barbara O'Connor, it's been a missed opportunity.

'It's always a trade-off of, you have all this enthusiasm and new ideas, and you don't know how to manage,' O'Connor said. 'And that's really what can be said of the mayor's first year.'
Johnson has been linked to investigations of alleged misconduct with girls, and money questions have surfaced about his nonprofit foundation, St. HOPE."

CPR: Feature News Story | Johnson's First Year: Struggle to Build Consensus Slows Agenda

CPR: Feature News Story Johnson's First Year: Struggle to Build Consensus Slows Agenda:

"This week marks one year since Kevin Johnson became mayor of Sacramento. It’s Johnson’s first elected office, so he’s had to learn on the job. Over the last year, Johnson has made progress on several fronts: He addressed Sacramento’s highly publicized homelessness problem and helped the city avoid police and fire layoffs. But Johnson’s struggle to build consensus at City Hall is slowing his agenda.

One Year Through the Lens of a Single Week

If you want to know what Kevin Johnson’s first year as mayor has been like, check out two starkly different events from the first week of November, 2009."