Monday, June 28, 2010

Media Advisories | U.S. Department of Education

Media Advisories

JUNE 29, 2010

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to Hold Conference Call on the Use of Electronic Book Readers in College Courses

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali will hold a media conference call at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 29, to discuss the use of electronic book readers in higher education and their impact on students with disabilities.

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Media Advisories

JUNE 29, 2010

U.S. Education Secretary Kicks Off Let's Read. Let's Move. Summer Enrichment Series

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his wife Karen will launch the Department's Let's Read. Let's Move. summer enrichment series on Tuesday, June 29 from 12 – 1:30 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Education's Lyndon Baines Johnson headquarters building's outdoor plaza in Washington, D.C..

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Media Advisories

JUNE 29, 2010

Department Senior Official to Give Keynote Address at Conference on Preventing Bullying and Building Culture of Respect Among Students

Kevin Jennings, assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, will share the Department's plans for helping create safe school learning environments at the New England Center for School Climate & Learning's seminar "How Schools are Preventing Bullying, Building Respect & Engaging All Students" on Tuesday, June 29 in Meredith,

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Media Advisories

JUNE 29, 2010

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Address Institute of Education Sciences Annual Research Conference

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will give remarks at the Institute of Education Science's (IES) fifth annual research conference June 29 in National Harbor, Md. IES is the research, evaluation and statistics arm of the Department.

In Chicago it can take 25 years to get some measure of justice. Today, we did. � Fred Klonsky's blog

In Chicago it can take 25 years to get some measure of justice. Today, we did.

by preaprez

John Burge was a dirty Chicago cop who tortured people to get convictions. He got those convictions and innocent people when to prison.
He committed his crimes in the 80s. And those who knew about it, or could do something about it, did nothing. Richard Daley, the present pathetic Mayor of my city was State’s Attorney at the time and could have

Remainders: How summer vacation really came to be | GothamSchools

Remainders: How summer vacation really came to be

by Anna Phillips

We owe summer vacation to city dwellers, not to agrarian communities. (Core Knowledge)
Albany legislators passed an education budget but Governor Paterson vetoed it. (State of Politics)
Abandoned, P.S. 186 is caught between preservationists and a community organization. (City Limits)
A South Bronx Teach for America member gives advice to his graduating seniors. (Good)
In Mayor Bloomberg’s Department of Education, 80 percent of top officials are white. (NY Times)
New York State spent more per-student than any other state in 07-08. (Gannett)
Rochester’s mayor was in Albany today to lobby for “hybrid” mayoral control. (State of Politics)
Randi Weingarten: “Waiting for Superman” and its fans are naive about education. (HuffPo)
Sen. Byrd championed history and civics education. (Edweek)

'Save Portland PE' campaign makes a fast, well-funded splash | OregonLive.com

'Save Portland PE' campaign makes a fast, well-funded splash

Published: Monday, June 28, 2010, 6:32 PM Updated: Monday, June 28, 2010, 6:34 PM

Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
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Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian

A coalition of physical education-loving health and sports groups have put together a splashy "Save Portland PE" campaign complete with a professional poll, a full-page newspaper ad and a radio advertising blitz.

Just days after Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith recommended cutting elementary and middle school PE teachers as part of her plan to handle a $19 million cut in state funding for next school year, the coalition made a professionally designed, well-funded splash to quash that plan.

Made up of groups including the Oregon Medical Association, the Trail Blazers, Nike and Providence Health Services, the coalition is trumpeting the results of its weekend poll, conducted by the respected firm Davis, Hibbitts & Mighhall. The poll found 86 percent of Portland residents want the school board to spend money from reserves rather than cut PE.

Smith recommended cutting 66 full-time positions from elementary and middle schools to save $6 million. She said principals strongly favor cutting a uniform elective offering from all the schools -- and physical education is the only program offered in nearly every elementary and K-8 school and the only elective that involves more than about 25 teaching positions.

The Physical Education for All Kids, or PEAK, coalition has existed for several years to push for more physical education in all Oregon schools. It sprang into action as soon as it heard Smith's kill-PE proposal, with many of its leaders working long hours through the weekend to spur public input against the plan, said Drew Mahalic, executive director of the Oregon Sports Authority Foundation

Newhall named interim director of SMART reading program

by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

A leader in Portland during the 1970s and 80s, Sarah Newhall returns to Portland and temporarily takes the reins of the volunteer reading program

City replacing two Rikers schools with one smaller program | GothamSchools

City replacing two Rikers schools with one smaller program

by Maura Walz

Teachers at the only two schools on Rikers Island learned today that their schools will close next year. In their stead, new school will open — one with a smaller and possibly new set of teachers.
The change is part of a wider attempt to end programs under the city’s alternative schools office, known as District 79, that city officials believe are ineffective, Department of Education officials said today. Earlier this year, the city announced it was also closing its only school designed to transition students from detention back into mainstream high schools.
“Despite some of our best efforts, we’re not making the gains for the students in some of the specialized programs,” said Timothy Lisante, District 79’s deputy superintendent for corrections and detentions.
In an interview today, Lisante and District 79 Superintendent Cami Anderson said that consolidating the two programs would allow for smoother day-to-day operations of the school. Restarting the program will also give the

Democurmudgeon: I couldn't think of a better way to use the crap Steve Jobs Cranks out.

Along with classes, rubber rooms finished today, but for good | GothamSchools

Along with classes, rubber rooms finished today, but for good

by Philissa Cramer

When the school year came to a close at 11:30 a.m. today, so too did the city’s infamous “rubber rooms,” the reassignment centers for teachers the city says are unfit for the classroom.
Like all teachers, teachers awaiting trial on misconduct or incompetence charges don’t have to work over the summer. Because of a deal the city and teachers union struck in April, those whose cases are still pending at the end of the summer will report for duty Sept. 7 not to a rubber room but to a school or district office, where

Judge: Minimum Grade Ban Applies To Report Cards - cbs11tv.com

Judge: Minimum Grade Ban Applies To Report Cards

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ― Students in Texas must get the grades they earn and not an inflated score on report cards under a new state law that bans minimum grade policies, a judge decided Monday in a ruling that backed arguments from state education officials.

Eleven school districts sued Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott over his interpretation of the law, which he said should apply to class assignments and report cards. The districts, most of them in the Houston area, said it should only apply to classroom assignments.

Some districts have long had policies that establish minimum grades of 50, 60 or even 70. That means if a student failed and earned a zero, his or her grade would be automatically brought up to the minimum score.

The schools contend that not allowing students a grade below 50, for example, gives them room to improve and eventually receive course credit, since one low score could bring down

School Tech Connect: It's Official: Writing Instruction Just Got Better In Illinois

It's Official: Writing Instruction Just Got Better In Illinois

by Tim

While on the surface this looks like a re-capture of two instructional days, it is actually much more than that. English teachers have to invent what amounts to a genre study to prep kids for this most inauthentic experience: the standardized writing assessment.

The gender gap trickles into public schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

The gender gap trickles into public schools

by Jamie Raver on Jun 28 2010

As the school year comes to a close and anxiety mounts for the fall, administrators, educators, and politicians focus their attention on how to increase their percentages of students who make it to the next grade. What will those classrooms look like?

From incessant testing to rewarding effective teachers to grade inflation, we are exhausting every outlet to improve achievement for all students – but recent

Sen. Anthony Williams steps in at West, but still no clear resolution With no end in sight for the District's ongoing investigation into an alleged conflict of interest among parents on the School Advisory Council (SAC) at West Philadelphia High, State Senator Anthony H. Williams stepped into the breach last week to ...

This Week In Education: RIP: William Taylor

RIP: William Taylor

Here's George Miller's statement on the passing of civil rights veteran William Taylor:

“I am deeply saddened by the news of Bill Taylor’s passing. Today, we mourn the loss of a true pioneer in education. A friend, an ally, a trusted advocate and true hero, Bill’s steadfast commitment to helping all children shaped the way we educate children in this country. For more than half a century, Bill Taylor’s voice was synonymous with equality. He was not only a leading voice in the civil rights community, but also kept the drumbeat going to ensure a child’s plight never went unheard.

Media: Associated Press Hypes Chicago Charter School [image: Picture 12] Pretty disappointing to see the AP hype Chicago's Urban Prep after all that's been out there about kids dropping out of the school along the way from me and others (NPR Story Misses Charter Dropouts). It's great what's happening ...

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Monday, June 28, 2010