Friday, August 6, 2010

Education Research Report: New research: Children's vegetable intake linked to Popeye cartoons

New research: Children's vegetable intake linked to Popeye cartoons

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Popeye cartoons, tasting parties and junior cooking classes can help increase vegetable intake in kindergarten children, according to new research published in the journal Nutrition & Dietetics.

Researchers at Mahidol University in Bangkok found the type and amount of vegetables children ate improved after they took part in a program using multimedia and role models to promote healthy food.

Twenty six kindergarten children aged four to five participated in the eight week study. The researchers recorded

The Broken Accreditation System � The Quick and the Ed

The Broken Accreditation System

by Ben Miller

Michale McComis on the hot seat (HELP Committee)

No one emerged looking worse from Wednesday’’s Senate hearing on for-profits than Michale McComis, the executive director of the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges. That’s saying something given that the first two hours of the hearing were devoted to damning undercover video of admissions counselors encouraging prospective students to lie on aid applications; inflating career earnings potential; and admitting they

Michael Bennet and the Billionaire Boys Club. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Michael Bennet and the Billionaire Boys Club.

by preaprez

Thanks to DFER Watch.
The story broke in the NY Times this morning.
Democratic Party Senator Michael Bennet, who is up for election, was the superintendent of Denver’s public schools.
In 2008, at the time he was superintendent, the district owed the teachers $400 million in promised pension

Hiroshima Day.

by preaprez

An Indian student with painted face looks on as she participates in Hiroshima Day peace rally in Mumbai, India, Friday, Aug. 6, 2010.

65 years ago today the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Hiroshima was civilian target. 130,ooo were killed immediately. They were mainly women and children. Three

War, schools or food?

by preaprez

I can’t let this story go.
It is rotten in itself. And it is a metaphor for the state of the union.
Those who should be screaming bloody murder are silent.
By next week the House will vote on and pass a $28 billion dollar package of domestic spending that will include $10 billion for schools to hire back teachers who were pink slipped last Spring and Summer.
The teacher unions are pleased. But what neither the AFT or the NEA will mention in their press releases or on

The Brick Tower.

by preaprez

Justin Hudson’s graduation speech from Hunter College High School, a New York public school.

Thanks for the Break, Milwaukee! | Intercepts

Thanks for the Break, Milwaukee!

by Mike Antonucci

I’ve had a very busy week, so it’s nice to know I don’t have to generate any original reporting or insight on a beautiful Friday in northern California. I can just direct you

Philadelphia area nonprofits could receive millions in federal grants | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Aug. 6 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Aug. 6

by Erika Owens

Philadelphia area nonprofits could receive millions in federal grants The Inquirer
Four education nonprofits that work in Philly received millions in i3 innovation grants.
See also: Children's Literacy Initiative gets $21 million federal innovation grant The Notebook blog
Pennsylvania Education Organizations Awarded Funds in Highly Competitive Federal Innovation Competition PRNewswire

Contract doesn't prohibit Ackerman from releasing bonus evaluation WHYY
The District can't release the superintedent's performance evaluation, but she could make it public herself.
ACTION United says Race to the Top is misguided The Notebook blog
ACTION United (the new incarnation of ACORN) held a protest at 440 to call for more community involvement in RttT.
Phila. launches Back to School party 6 ABC
The event is at the School District building at 440 N. Broad till 6 p.m.
Teacher aid revived in US Senate The Notebook blog
A jobs bill that will save thousands of teacher jobs cleared the Senate and is expected to pass the House.
Netter Center gets federal funds for nutrition effort Voice of Philadelphia
The $900,000 grant will be used to fund nutrition programs at four West Philly high schools.
Youthful leaders recognized at Young Heroes Awards 6 ABC
PA Team to Present Case for 'Race to the Top' Funds in Nation's Capital PRNewswire

Summer program prepares innovative STEM students for grad school UDaily

Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.
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Interpreting i3 Scores: Good Luck - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Interpreting i3 Scores: Good Luck

by Michele McNeil

1 person liked this

After announcing the 49 winning applicants for the $650 Investing in Innovation competition, the U.S. Department of Education has now put online the scores, judges' comments, and more details about each project.
Trying to make sense of the numerical scores for the validation and development award winners is, at least for this blogger, an exercise in futility. And it's all because of a statistical process called "standardization."
For me, the quest to understand the i3 scoring system began with this question: Did Saint Vrain School District

Education jobs bill is motivated by politics

Friday, August 6, 2010

TO GOVERN is to choose, and nothing lays bare a government's true priorities like the choices it makes about spending taxpayers' money. In that regard, theSenate's decision to spend $10 billion on education jobs this week is revealing -- and deeply discouraging.

The crusade for an education jobs bill, led by the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress, has always struck us as more of an election-year favor for teachers unions than an optimal use of public resources. Billed as an effort to stimulate the economy, it's not clearly more effective than alternative uses of the cash. Yes, school budgets are tight across the country, but the teacher layoff "crisis"

42 Things to Get Your Kid Ready for School – Lily's Blackboard

42 Things to Get Your Kid Ready for School

Aug 6th, 2010

by Lily.

There are different rituals for different families at this season of the year. When I was little, I got a new pair of shoes and a new “outfit”. My brothers got new “clothes” because, as they explained to me with a sneer, boys don’t wear “outfits” after the age of two.

Mom took her six kids to K-Mart and we each picked out a notebook and pencils and crayons and a ruler and a pencil box to keep it all in. That was pretty much it.

We were pretty much ready to go back to school. Twenty years later, it was pretty much the same when I got my sons ready to go back to school. But now, twenty years past that, I wonder if “pretty much ready” is enough.

State's Big 5 school districts fail fed standards | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

State's Big 5 school districts fail fed standards | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

State's Big 5 school districts fail fed standards

By SARAH PORTLOCK Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press

Aug. 5, 2010, 6:53PM

HOUSTON — School districts in the state's five largest cities failed to meet federal education standards because of discrepancies in how the state and federal government count tests taken by special education students, Texas education officials announced Thursday.

Preliminary records released in Austin by the Texas Education Agency showed for the third consecutive year Dallas, Houston and San Antonio fell short of the standards. Austin failed last year, and this was the first year for El Paso.

Failure next year by Dallas, Houston and San Antonio means any student from those districts could transfer to a school in a higher-performing district and receive free transportation, according to agency spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson.

Overall, 78 percent of Texas school districts met federal standards this year. To pass, 73 percent of a district's students must pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS test, reading test and 67 percent must pass the math test. Last year, 81 percent of districts passed, but the standards were stricter this year, the agency said.

The Daily Churn: Friday | EdNewsColorado

The Daily Churn: Friday

by EdNews staff

What’s churning:

Expect the New York Times article posted about 8:30 last night to continue creating a buzz among DPS watchers. The critical look at the district’s 2008 pension deal headlined “Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt” was quickly tweeted by DPS board member Andrea Merida and commented upon atwww.coloradopols.com. DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg wasn’t happy when EdNews hired a financial journalist to delve into that deal last April, resulting in the analysis “Both Sides Right in the DPS Pension Debate,” so we doubt he’s happy with the harsh national spotlight. It will be interesting to see if he defends the

This Week In Education: AM News: Bad Investments, Test Audits

AM News: Bad Investments, Test Audits

by Alexander Russo

Education" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">For Denver Schools, a Financing Deal Takes a Bad Turn NYT: Since it struck the deal, the school system has paid $115 million in interest and other fees, at least $25 million more than it originally anticipated... State testing mishap in Adams Five Star CO Ed News: Adams Five Star went to the state Department of Education, which ultimately tossed out 6,126 tests over COVA’s objections... New Audits Determine That FCAT Scores Are Valid EdWeek: Two independent audits released Wednesday by the state Department of Education show there were no problems with this year's FCAT scores—despite a growing chorus of concern from school superintendents across the state... Controversial College Professor Ayers To Retire NPR: William Ayers' past became a political issue during the 2008 presidential campaign because President Obama served with Ayers on the board of a Chicago charity. There's no evidence they were ever close friends.

Eduwonk � Blog Archive � Education Reform in D.C.: Going Back is Not an Option

Education Reform in D.C.: Going Back is Not an Option

by smead

Guest post courtesy of Victor Reinoso, Deputy Mayor for Education, Washington, D.C.
There’s a lot of debate here in DC right now about education reform and the root causes of recent progress. As a former member of the Board of Education and the current Deputy Mayor for Education, I have been fortunate to have two front row seats for this debate.
As I see it, the recent progress in student achievement has not happened by accident, or because of some

Followup: Regular Track Firing / Hiring Calls - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Followup: Regular Track Firing / Hiring Calls

by Alexander Russo

Conference calls for regular track schools were scheduled Monday (CAOs) and Wednesday (Principals). The calls were supposed to lay out the layoff process that was supposed to follow the process already implemented

AFT restarts clock for union el D.C. Schools Insider - Bill Turque

D.C. Schools Insider - Bill Turque chronicles Chancellor Michelle Rhee's effort to transform District public schools.

Posted at 2:28 PM ET, 08/ 5/2010

AFT restarts clock for union election

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has intervened to end the internal scuffling that has left its local affiliate, the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) without a timely election. WTU members, who were supposed to vote on officers, executive board members and other officials in May, will now receive ballots by mid-September. A final tally will be announced Oct. 4 and the winners offically seated the following day.

The election matters bcause the outcome will have a significant bearing the union's level of cooperation in implementing the controversial new labor agreement, negotiated with the District by Weingarten and WTU

2010 DC CAS Scores Now Up

The test score fairy visited last night and left school-by-school data on the OSSE site. You can see it here.

Quick Takes: Companies, Lawmakers, Gifts to Colleges - Inside Higher Ed

Companies, Lawmakers, Gifts to Colleges Rep. Charles B. Rangel is not the only lawmaker with a university program financed in part by gifts from companies with business before Congress, *The New York Times *reported. It said that nearly a dozen current or former lawmakers have such ...

Protest Sets Off Larger Debate Over Outsourced Cafeteria A student's protest at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, in British Columbia, has escalated into a larger debate over outsourcing and free speech. As part of a class project on "criminal criminology," the students handed out leaflets criticizing the ...

Are your bookmarks Delicious? Eric Stoller

Help for State Higher Ed

August 6, 2010

Agreement to provide $23 billion in federal Medicaid funds would shield colleges in states whose budgets counted on the money -- and mean increases for institutions elsewhere.