Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Quick Takes: UC San Diego Sees Increase in Black Freshmen - Inside Higher Ed

Quick Takes: UC San Diego Sees Increase in Black Freshmen - Inside Higher Ed

UC San Diego Sees Increase in Black Freshmen

The University of California at San Diego will enroll 68 black freshmen this year, up from 50 last fall, and new black transfer students will number 87, up from 46. While the Los Angeles Times noted that those figures are still relatively low, representing less than 2 percent of total enrollment, the increases are notable because of racial incidents and protests in the last year that many feared would discourage new black students from enrolling.

Budget Deal in North Carolina Minimizes Cuts

A final legislative budget deal for North Carolina minimized cuts to higher education, and also gave both the community college and university systems flexibility on where to make those cuts, the Associated Pressreported. Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina, issued a statement in which he said: "Legislators really stood up for our university and our 225,000 students in these hard times when money is scarce. On a relative basis and particularly considering the economic climate, the 2010-11 state budget we received from the General Assembly was nothing short of remarkable. We knew there were going to be significant cuts in every part of state government, and the university took its fair share. But the legislature really worked hard to help us protect the quality of education we can deliver to our students."

UC San Diego Sees Increase in Black Freshmen

The University of California at San Diego will enroll 68 black freshmen this year, up from 50 last fall, and new black transfer students will number 87, up from 46. While the Los Angeles Times noted that those figures are still relatively low, representing less than 2 percent of total enrollment, the increases are notable because of racial incidents and protests in the last year that many feared would discourage new black students from enrolling.

Visa Denied for Deported Student Admitted to SMU

The case of Saad Nabeel has attracted considerable attention in Dallas to the problems facing students without legal residency status -- and he has suffered another setback. Nabeel was brought to the United States as a young child by his family, and though he had been enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington, he was deported to Bangladesh. Faculty members at Southern Methodist University helped him gain admission there, with the hope he could return, but The Dallas Morning News reported that his visa was rejected, and he was told that he can apply again in a decade -- unless he can win a waiver.

Grambling Lost $1M on Illegally Purchased Stock

While many universities have suffered stock losses in the last two years, Louisiana auditors uncovered an unusual loss at Grambling State University. The News Star reported that the university lost more than $1 million on stocks that were purchased illegally because the funds were restricted to use on university facilities.

Did Jerry Brown damage the Oakland school district? | California Watch

Did Jerry Brown damage the Oakland school district? | California Watch

Did Jerry Brown damage the Oakland school district?

Flickr photo by HitchsterPiedmont Avenue Elementary School is one of Oakland Unified's 107 public schools.
“Failure seems to follow Jerry everywhere he goes."
Meg Whitman’s well-worn phrase is familiar to those following California's gubernatorial race.
During her primary night victory speech, Whitman claimed that “Oakland schools deteriorated to the point that the state had to intervene” while Brown was mayor.
Just last Thursday, Whitman’s campaignunrolled a website devoted to demonstrating Brown’s failures in jobs, spending, taxes and schools. Her key point on schools insists Brown drove Oakland’s schools to the brink of bankruptcy:
Brown used his political clout to gain control of the school board, but the outcome ended up being one of the biggest failures of his career.
He succeeded in convincing voters to give him the authority to appoint the majority of the school board, but within three years, Oakland schools faced a $100 million deficit.
Although few people would call Brown's attempts at school reform a success story,

Think tank offers route to a better California

The Public Policy Institute of California predicts worsening budget deficits, education shortfalls and lack of preparation for looming climate change in a report it recently released.
The "California 2025: Planning for a Better Future" report predicts the state budget will bottom out with a deficit of more than $20 billion in about 2013 before the deficit really starts to shrink.
California pulls in a lot of its revenue from "personal income taxes, corporate taxes, and sales and use taxes," according to the report. Income and sales and use taxes change as the economy changes, while the state leans less on property taxes, which can be a fairly stable source of income for the state, as compared to the rest of

Lawmakers face challenges over growing school 'watch list'

If creating budgets is like a battle, then the state's education department may have just used fiscal transparency to throw a solid left-right jab at the state Assembly.
On Tuesday, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell released the latest lists of schools whose financial woes are so severe that they are at risk of not paying their bills.
The results, which can be seen here, are jaw-dropping. Fourteen school districts, from Hayward Unified in Alameda County to Lynwood in Los Angeles, won't be able to meet their financial obligations this school year or

Democrats add teacher money to war funding bill - Boston.com

Democrats add teacher money to war funding bill - Boston.com:

Democrats add teacher money to war funding bill

By Andrew Taylor
Associated Press Writer / June 30, 2010
Text size +
WASHINGTON—House Democrats who are trying to pass a long-stalled war funding bill are sweetening it with $10 billion to help local school districts avoid teacher layoffs when schools reopen.
The approximately $70 billion measure is anchored by President Barack Obama's $30 billion request for the troop surge in Afghanistan and contains money for disaster aid accounts, foreign aid and disability benefits for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange.
The bill's release was the surest signal yet that House leaders are committed to passing it this week, despite deepening anxiety over the Afghanistan war effort



GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

Boston takes charter school nonprofit as a partner

School Superintendent Carol R. Johnson will tap a charter school management organization to run one of the district’s low-achieving middle schools, a first for the state, under a plan she will present tonight to the Boston School Committee. (By James Vaznis, Globe Staff)

City youth gain 400 jobs for summer

Boston officials, hoping to stem a wave of early-summer violence, announced more than 400 new summer jobs and new summer school programs for at-risk youth. (By Meghan E. Irons and June Q. Wu, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent)

Gloucester critics of charter school sue

A group of parents filed a lawsuit yesterday against the top state education officials, alleging that they approved the opening of a charter school in Gloucester in “blatant violation’’ of the state Board of Education’s regulations governing the granting of school charters. (By David Abel, Globe Staff)

Taunton man warned his son before attack, police say

TAUNTON — The father of a 17-year-old who was stabbed to death near a convenience store Friday night warned his son not to fight, because the other man, who he had been feuding with since middle school, had a knife, according to court records. (By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff)

Student describes knife attack as he slept in MIT dorm room

WOBURN — Wolfe Styke and Anna Tang met at a social gathering for MIT students and quickly became friends and study partners. (By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press)

LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES

LATEST K-12 EDUCATION NEWS

Today’s World Cup Links | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Today’s World Cup Links | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

New Gifted Testing in New York May Begin at Age 3 - NYTimes.com

New Gifted Testing in New York May Begin at Age 3 - NYTimes.com

The current test is valid only for children 4 and older, but a new test could work for even younger children, allowing the city to speed up the admissions calendar.
Pete Malinowski, an aquaculture teacher at the New York Harbor School, unlocks Lima Pier on Governors Island.

At the New York Harbor School, Growing Oysters for Credit

On Governors Island, high school students form a relationship with the city’s marine environment.

Last Day of ‘Rubber Rooms’ for Teachers

The waiting places known as rubber rooms were a requirement for teachers accused of incompetence or wrongdoing, who would idle there on full salary.

Justices Rule Against Group That Excludes Gay Students

The majority said public institutions of higher learning were not required to recognize student groups that did not accept all comers.

University Chief Is Selling Tobacco Holdings

Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann of the University of California, San Francisco, is re-evaluating her portfolio after questions about her stock in Altria.

Many Sacramento-area school districts face money woes, California official says - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Many Sacramento-area school districts face money woes, California official says - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

More than 400 needy students at Sacramento middle schools have received free computers as part of a study that is testing the educational benefits of having a computer at home.
Jack O'Connell, the outgoing state superintendent of schools, declared Tuesday that a record 174 school districts have been placed on the state's list of financially troubled education systems.

3M30SCHOOLS
Nearly every Sacramento County school district and some in Placer, El Dorado and Yuba counties are in financial trouble, state officials announced Tuesday.
Sacramento City Unified School District Health Services is providing free whooping cough, H1N1 and other vaccinations to students, their parents and community members.
Sacramento City Unified School District Health Services is providing whooping cough, H1N1 and other vaccines to students, their parents and community members. The district will hold six clinics beginning today through July 15 to offer vaccines to preventable diseases.

1W28LUNCHES
Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? There is. But it's becoming more of a rarity.
Five students from California State University, Chico, are spending the summer on Alcatraz Island helping to preserve and repair deteriorated concrete structures, some dating from the 1850s.

7M27KINDER
Child development experts say parents should begin preparing their children as early as possible for kindergarten.


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/education/#ixzz0sL3PG8Q6