Koontz was early advocate for special ed kids | Clovis Independent

Koontz was early advocate for special ed kids | Clovis Independent:

"Before laws required schools to open classrooms to those with special needs, S. Kermit Koontz was lobbying for the children.

He was instrumental in starting the first special-education programs in Fresno County, including one that was held in a church in Biola.

Mr. Koontz, 94, died in his Fresno home Saturday after having a heart attack and a stroke last month.

His son, Dan Koontz of Clovis, said one of the happiest days of his dad’s life was in November, when Kermit Koontz Educational Complex opened on Mariposa Street. “He had more joy watching those kids who were there,” Dan Koontz said. “It was the completion of his career.”

Mr. Koontz was hired at the Fresno County Office of Education 60 years ago to be health coordinator. He was appointed special education director in 1963 and named administrator of special education in Central California in 1968."

Compromise bill good for schools - San Bernardino County Sun

Compromise bill good for schools - San Bernardino County Sun:

"Californians will be a big winner in the Race to the Top competition, regardless of whether the state wins a dime of the $4.3 billion that the Obama administration is encouraging states to compete for.
That's because the governor and Legislature have reached a new compromise on Race to the Top enabling legislation, which the Legislature appears on the verge of passing. It includes elements that school reformers viewed as next to impossible to enact even a few months ago, such as:

Demanding that districts take strong actions to turn around dozens of seemingly incorrigible schools.

Giving students in failing schools the right to attend a better school in another district.

Empowering parents in some of these schools to demand powerful reforms."

‘Race to the Top’ Moves Toward Compromise : Eastern Group Publications

‘Race to the Top’ Moves Toward Compromise : Eastern Group Publications:

"The State Senate’s “Race to the Top” legislation was revived last Thursday Dec. 17 in the form of a second education reform bill SB X5-4, a gutted and amended bill that now carries items from the previous bill that was killed in the Assembly Education committee and some compromises meant to address concerns from the Assembly.

“I am proud that my colleagues in the Senate have again chosen to make the right decisions for our children and keep California alive in the Race to the Top competition,” said State Senator Gloria Romero, Chair of the Senate Education Committee. “Continuing to reach compromise that will allow California to deliver a bold and comprehensive reform package is of utmost importance and our absolute obligation as elected officials.”

The new bill, which will go to the Assembly Education Committee next, tightens up allowances for open enrollment, with students coming only from the “worst of the worst” schools being allowed to change schools."

Math, Tech and the Women Who Don’t Love Them - Bay Area Blog - NYTimes.com

Math, Tech and the Women Who Don’t Love Them - Bay Area Blog - NYTimes.com:

"It’s no secret to anyone in Silicon Valley that math, science and technology fields remain dominated by men, despite some progress by women in recent years. Women make up 46 percent of the American workforce but hold just 25 percent of the jobs in engineering, technology and science, according to the National Science Foundation.

To Sally K. Ride, a former astronaut, that persistent gender gap is a national crisis that will prove to deeply detrimental to America’s global competitiveness.

In recent months, Dr. Ride has served as a visible emissary for President Obama’s broad push to improve science and math education, including the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” initiative announced in July. The program would identify and fund effective education programs with the aid of corporate partners."

California Science Center is sued for canceling a film promoting intelligent design -- latimes.com

California Science Center is sued for canceling a film promoting intelligent design -- latimes.com:

"California Science Center is sued for canceling a film promoting intelligent design

The American Freedom Alliance says the center bowed to pressure from the Smithsonian. The science center says a news release hadn't been submitted to the museum, violating the contract."

L.A.'s California Science Center will start the new year defending itself in court for canceling a documentary film attacking Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

A lawsuit alleges that the state-owned center improperly bowed to pressure from the Smithsonian Institution, as well as e-mailed complaints from USC professors and others. It contends that the center violated both the 1st Amendment and a contract to rent the museum's Imax Theater when it canceled the screening of "Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record."

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the American Freedom Alliance, an L.A.-based group described by senior fellow Avi Davis as a nonprofit, nonpartisan "think tank and activist network promoting Western values and ideals."

The AFA seeks punitive damages and compensation for financial losses, as well as a declaration from the court that the center violated the Constitution and cannot refuse the group the right to rent its facilities for future events.

Teachers hit the books to implement reform strategies | Recordnet.com

Teachers hit the books to implement reform strategies | Recordnet.com:

"STOCKTON - As many high schools work to reshape themselves into academies focused on educating students for careers in specific fields, an essential issue has surfaced.

Who will be the teachers? And will there be enough who combine training in education with expertise in the various career-oriented classes being developed by school districts?

It is an issue likely to continue, according to a report released earlier this month by a Santa Cruz-based nonprofit organization working to improve teacher training and practices.

It also is an issue with significant implications for Stockton Unified School District - which established its career-focused small"

EDITORIAL: California must renew its vision for higher ed - Opinion - Fresnobee.com

EDITORIAL: California must renew its vision for higher ed- Opinion- Fresnobee.com:

"Students protest higher fees. Faculty lament instructional cuts. Administrators complain the state is an unreliable funding partner to public colleges and universities. It's time to get beyond griping and move on to solutions.

Ironically, California is about to mark -- celebrate certainly is not the right word -- the 50th anniversary of the Master Plan for Higher Education. That 1960 plan made a commitment that 'all Californians should be afforded the opportunity to receive a college education.' It made California a national model. For a generation, the 1960 Master Plan delivered prosperity to the state and a higher standard of living for residents."

Newsmax - Illegals May Lose Tuition Breaks

Newsmax - Illegals May Lose Tuition Breaks:

"Nebraska lawmakers are set again to consider repealing a law that offers tuition breaks to some illegal immigrants, and the looming debate already is drawing support.

A majority of lawmakers participating in an Associated Press pre-session survey say they support rescinding the offer made after lawmakers fought to override Gov. Dave Heineman's veto to pass the law in 2006.

Of the 33 senators responding to the survey, 18 said they support repealing the measure, while six said they don't. Eight said they're unsure. One senator, Amanda McGill of Lincoln, didn't check an answer but offered a comment asking for more sanctions on businesses."

Education Secretary Arne Duncan's legacy as Chicago schools chief questioned - washingtonpost.com

Education Secretary Arne Duncan's legacy as Chicago schools chief questioned - washingtonpost.com:

"CHICAGO -- Soon after Arne Duncan left his job as schools chief here to become one of the most powerful U.S. education secretaries ever, his former students sat for federal achievement tests. This month, the mathematics report card was delivered: Chicago trailed several cities in performance and progress made over six years.

Miami, Houston and New York had higher scores than Chicago on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Boston, San Diego and Atlanta had bigger gains. Even fourth-graders in the much-maligned D.C. schools improved nearly twice as much since 2003."

The Answer Sheet - Willingham: No evidence exists for learning style theories

The Answer Sheet- Willingham: No evidence exists for learning style theories:

Willingham: No evidence exists for learning style theories

My guest today is University of Virginia cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, author of "Why Don’t Students Like School?"

By Daniel Willingham
This month another article was published reviewing the scientific literature on learning styles. It appeared in a journal calledPsychological Science in the Public Interest, published by theAssociation for Psychological Science.

This journal has an interesting premise. The editor recruits three or four top researchers to review the scientific literature on a complex topic of public import. The researchers must be knowledgeable, but not directly involved in prior research on the topic, so that they will be impartial.

The straightforward conclusion matched the one that I have drawn in the past—there is not evidence supporting any of the many learning style theories that have been proposed.

New gear, tutors give Hub school teams a chance - The Boston Globe

New gear, tutors give Hub school teams a chance - The Boston Globe:

"As a witness to one lost opportunity after another, Anne Marie De Barros has spent years in the Boston public schools wondering when one of the most glaring inequities in Massachusetts high school sports would end."

Now she knows.

Beginning next fall, eight Boston public high schools where girls never had a chance to play varsity soccer - an option available to nearly every other high school girl in Massachusetts - will field varsity teams for the first time. Five other Boston high schools where students had no access to any level of interscholastic girls soccer will launch their first junior varsity programs, with an eye to making them varsity teams in 2011.

The girls soccer teams are among the first beneficiaries of a sweeping overhaul intended to bring comprehensive sports opportunities and academic support to thousands of Boston’s student-athletes.

De Barros, the junior varsity girls soccer coach at Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester, said she no longer will struggle to explain to her players, some of the best in Boston schools, why they have been treated as second-class citizens. The Burke girls will play their first varsity schedule next fall, removing the junior varsity stigma that has discouraged college recruiters from considering them for athletic scholarships.

“I’ve heard too many girls say, ‘The city doesn’t care about

Deseret News | New help for autism

Deseret News | New help for autism: "Pretty soon, Dani Hartog won't have to worry.

She won't have to leave her car idling in the parking lot at Northridge High to drag her 15-year-old son, kicking and screaming, to his classroom. She won't get a tight feeling in her chest whenever the phone rings, wondering if the principal is calling to say the boy, who has autism, is missing again. She won't panic as she rushes from work to her home in South Weber, worried the teenager won't be safe in his usual hideout under the back porch.

Because, pretty soon, Utah will have a public high school specifically designed to address the educational and social needs of children with autism and Asperger syndrome.

'I was so elated when I heard the news, I literally jumped up and down,' Hartog said. 'The difference between specialized and mainstream education is night and day for my kid.'

Spectrum Academy, a three-year-old charter school that"

Class Struggle - More required P.E.--a bad idea from good people

Class Struggle- More required P.E.--a bad idea from good people:

"More required P.E.--a bad idea from good people

Sometimes it is the smartest, most concerned policymakers who do the most harm to schools. My favorite recent example is the Healthy Schools Act, a bill introduced by D.C. council member Mary M. Cheh and Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray two weeks ago.

Cheh and Gray are good people trying to address a national epidemic of childhood obesity and insufficient physical activity. In Cheh’s press release she notes that 18 percent of D.C. high school students are obese, 70 percent fail to meet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommended levels of physical activity and 84 percent do not attend physical education classes daily. It is their solution that troubles me.

I am unqualified to comment on the food parts of the bill. I have never written about nutrition. I would be embarrassed to reveal the amount of crackers, cookies and ice cream I eat each day. I can only wonder how D.C. will pay for the required fresh produce from local growers in all schools, and how they will get students to eat it."

Undocumented Teen's School, Work Options Limited : NPR

Undocumented Teen's School, Work Options Limited : NPR:

"Sam was brought to the U.S. by his Mexican parents when he was 5. He stayed out of trouble, was drum major of his Elkhart, Ind., high school's marching band, fell in love with playing jazz on the tenor sax, and got his diploma with honors — only to find that for an undocumented immigrant, graduation marks a dead end.

The 18-year-old is a completely American kid who has little memory of Mexico. His spoken Spanish is poor; his written Spanish is worse. But without documents, Sam is unable to legally work, to drive, to get financial aid or even to attend some U.S. colleges."

Governor rescinds regional school transportation cuts | SouthCoastToday.com

Governor rescinds regional school transportation cuts | SouthCoastToday.com:

"After seeing the damage it was doing, Gov. Deval Patrick has reversed his October decision to cut $18 million from regional school district transportation budgets, state Secretary of Education Paul Reville told The Standard-Times Monday.

'In our view, the bottom line is that this is another example of this governor's extraordinary commitment to education,' Reville said.

Two months ago, the governor announced a list of so-called 9C cuts, named for the section of law that permits him to make line-item cuts without the approval of the Legislature."

Sacramento Press / Special Assistant to the Mayor R.E. Graswich interviews Mayor Johnson

Sacramento Press / Special Assistant to the Mayor R.E. Graswich interviews Mayor Johnson:

"Tonight, I watched the below Youtube clip and felt as though I was watching a Paid Public Service Announcement. Actually, I felt I was watching a Paid Strong Mayor Campaign Advertisement. Who pays Graswich salary? Hopefully it comes out of the mayor's pocket since it seems Graswich isn't working to get the exclusive for the people of the city of Sacramento.

I had high hopes for Graswich after reading the August 20, 2009 Sacramento Press article where he stated, 'I'm getting paid by the people. I'm working for the people.' "http://bit.ly/6Mvs62

Below is one of several questions Special Assistant to the Mayor R.E. Graswich asks Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. I wonder, can a 'Special Assistant" to the Mayor actually interview the mayor without bias, slanting or leaning questions to assist the mayor? How can a seasoned reporter who is now a special assistant to the mayor not provide rebuttal questions to some of the not-so-bright responses provided by the Mayor?

R.E. Graswich asks: "How can an executive Mayor create jobs when a weak mayor can't?" 

Oklahoma lenders leaving the college debt arena | NewsOK.com

Oklahoma lenders leaving the college debt arena | NewsOK.com

Oklahoma lenders leaving the college debt arena

BY SARA PLUMMER - Tulsa World Comments 0

Published: December 28, 2009

Big changes may be coming soon to the student loan industry, and those involved are preparing for the adjustments.

The Obama administration’s plan is to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan Program, which has provided education loans to students and parents through a public and private partnership with lenders since 1965, if Congress approves. Direct lending from the U.S. Department of Education will take its place.

A trend of lenders departing the student loan business has been happening over the past few years. The Oklahoma Student Loan Authority had 42 banks and credit unions in its lender network in 2007. Now that network number has dwindled to eight.

Why the drop?

The state authority, which was created as a public trust by the Legislature in 1972, processes loan applications and serves as a secondary market to provide funds to borrowers. The authority receives no state-appropriated funds.

One reason for the decrease in participating lenders is the enactment of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. It reduces the profitability for nonprofit lenders by 1 percent and as much as 2.5 percent for for-profit lenders, said Michael Davis, OSLA vice president.

When lenders began dropping student loan services, emergency legislation — the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 — was enacted. It allowed banks to sell existing student loans to the U.S. Department of Education, freeing up funds so that lenders could continue originating student loans.

"There was a concern that students wouldn’t have access to money for college,” Davis said.

The reduction of lenders was the primary reason Tulsa Community College switched to direct lending in July 2008. TCC and Oklahoma State University are the only colleges in Oklahoma— so far — using direct

Read more: http://newsok.com/state-lenders-leaving-the-college-debt-arena/article/3427884#ixzz0b2BjLTL7

BlackYouthLeadershipProject.org -- LEGISLATIVE OPEN HOUSE FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN YOUTH

BlackYouthLeadershipProject.org -- Welcome:

"Welcome: The Black Youth Leadership Project (BYLP) encourages African American students to increase their interaction with California’s political and community leaders through educational public policy experiences."

Black Youth Leadership Project, Inc.

presents

LEGISLATIVE OPEN HOUSE

FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN YOUTH

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, 2010

8:30 AM TO 5:00 PM

STATE CAPITOL

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

The Black Youth Leadership Project, Inc. is hosting a one-day Open House geared

toward African-American high school students interested in California politics,

public policy, civics, governmental service, and/or community service. Students

will participate with Capitol staff in mock committee hearings and a legislative

floor session, passing laws that are important to them. The purpose of the Open

House is to encourage African-American students in grades 9-12 to regularly

interact with their state's political and community leaders and to use this

opportunity to discuss the legislative process, timely policy concerns, and the role

of democracy and advocacy within our communities.

Contact Lorreen Pryor at (916)319-3822 or LORREEN.PRYOR@ASM.CA.GOV or

Christian Jacobs at (916) 256-4286 or CHRISTIAN.JACOBS@ASM.CA.GOV

for an application.

Get your  2010 Packet here!

Obama's Smart Sex Education Funding - The Gaggle Blog - Newsweek.com

Obama's Smart Sex Education Funding - The Gaggle Blog - Newsweek.com:

"Although health care has dominated the policy sphere as of late, I wanted to call attention to the sex-education funding in the 2010 Appropriations Bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies. The 146-page bill is, to be fair, not a Twilight-caliber page turner, but it does tackle sex education, a hugely contentious issue during the Bush administration, when $1.8 billion was appropriated for abstinence-only education.

Here’s the Obama approach to the issue:

$100,000,000 shall be for making contracts and competitive grants to public and private entities to fund medically accurate and age-appropriate programs that reduce teen pregnancy; and for the federal costs associated with administering and evaluating such contracts and grants, of which not less than $"

Sacramento Press / Celebrate New Year's Eve 2010 in the Central City

Sacramento Press / Celebrate New Year's Eve 2010 in the Central City

So, you survived Christmas. Now the big question isn’t whether or not you’ve finished your holiday shopping, it’s all about what to do this New Year’s Eve. This four-part series aims to take the mystery and anxiety out of what to do in Sacrmento to ring in the New Year. Each day, we’ll feature very different downtown ways to celebrate 2010. Whether your idea of a perfect New Year’s Eve involves funky beats, bottles of bubbly, a caravan of kids, or haute cuisine, the Central City is the place to be!

Part One: Family style
Got kids? Start your evening early with a visit to the California Museum’s Out of this World exhibit, an exhibition of famous television and movie costumes sure to delight movie buffs from ages 8 to 80. View iconic movie garb like Darth Vader’s cape, helmet and lightsaber or Indiana Jones’ whip from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The museum is open daily until 5 p.m. Admission is $8.50 for adults, with discounted admission for children. Visit californiamuseum.org for details.

Afterward, head down to Old Sacramento to catch the 6:30 or 8:00 p.m. showing of Theatre of Lights, a symphony of lights, sounds and visual effects that accompanies a narrative reading of the beloved poem, The Night Before Christmas, first introduced in Sacramento in 1857.

Take a break from the winter chill with a visit to Old Sacramento’s newest restaurant, Ten 22. Brought to you by the owners of landmark establishment, The Firehouse, Ten 22 offers unique, family friendly fare like Corn Flake Chicken Wings, Dungeness Crab Tater Tots or hand dipped Mini Corn Dogs. Call Ten 22 at 441-2211 to make reservations.

Cap off your evening with a post-dinner stroll around this historic district and enjoy free family entertainment at Waterfront Park courtesy of Radio Disney’s Rockin’ Road Crew. If you can, be sure to stick around long enough to catch the 9:00 p.m. New Year’s Eve Sky Spectacular, a free