Thursday, December 31, 2009

Local News | Online service to match students with scholarships | Seattle Times Newspaper

Online service to match students with scholarships

Touted as the eHarmony for scholarships, thewashboard.org, an online service set to launch this month will custom match state-based scholarship providers with student-scholarship seekers who either plan to attend college in the state or who are Washington residents planning to go to college elsewhere.

By Lornet Turnbull

Seattle Times staff reporter

There are scholarship funds across the Puget Sound that some years can't give money away.

Others struggle to get enough applications to make the competition worthwhile.

Take Soroptimist International of Seattle Metropolitan, a women's group that each year awards a number of small scholarships to single mothers who want to go back to college or attend for the first time.

Pat Griffith, the organization's award chair, tries to spread word about the modest grants through community colleges and women's centers — but each year is surprised by how few women end up applying.

"We have a hard time giving money away, sometimes," Griffith said.

Soroptimist recently joined a free scholarship clearinghouse — thewashboard.org — that should make it easier for the organization and others like it to reach a wider field of college-bound applicants. Touted as the eHarmony for scholarships, the online service is set to launch early in January, just as students begin what at times can be a frantic search for money to pay

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - The House’s improved ed bill

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - The House’s improved ed bill

Unions bristle when blamed for failed schools, and they are certainly right that parents and school administrators should share responsibility.

The House’s improved ed bill

The education reform bill unveiled by the state House of Representatives makes fewer concessions to teachers' unions than its Senate counterpart. Unfortunately, the House bill lacks one promising provision in the Senate's: the creation of in-district charter schools that do not require union approval.

Unions bristle when blamed for failed schools, and they are certainly right that parents and school administrators should share responsibility.But it is increasingly obvious that union contract provisions, especially regarding dismissal of ineffective teachers and length of school days, are limiting the chances of students in low-performing schools and districts. The Senate at first seemed to understand what was at stake and embraced the notion that school superintendents or the education commissioner could force changes in teachers’ contracts. But the Senate bowed to the unions’ insistence on imposing a lengthy labor arbitration

Schools census reveals surprise | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Enrollment news is usually grim for metro Detroit schools, and this year is no different -- with area districts losing nearly 15,000 students. But in this era of declining birth rates, increased competition and people abandoning Michigan, some districts are bucking the trend.

Unaudited enrollment figures posted on the state Center for Educational Performance and Information Web site highlight many of the declines, including the loss of nearly 9,000 students in Detroit Public Schools, which now has 84,607 students.

But it's a different story in Chippewa Valley Schools, the Macomb County district that has seen its enrollment surge in each of the last five years. The district gained 242 students in the last year, to a total of 15,896 students.

Chippewa Valley has been growing at a fast clip in its northern end, because that's where the space was to build new homes. But now some of the residents who had moved north are moving back to other parts of the district. Consequently, growth is happening across the district.

At a time when state aid is being cut, the growth helps, Chippewa Valley Superintendent Mark Deldin said.

"When we have modest enrollment increases, that helps to mitigate some of the funding

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Colorado's first all-girls public school coming to Denver

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Colorado's first all-girls public school coming to Denver:

"Following a growing nationwide trend toward single-gender classroom education, the first all-girls public school in Colorado will open next year in Denver.

Colorado's first all-girls public school coming to Denver
Following a growing nationwide trend toward single-gender classroom education, the first all-girls public school in Colorado will open next year in Denver.

In 2002, only 11 U.S. public schools offered single-gender classrooms. Today, at least 547 public schools offer single-sex classes, according to the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education. At least 91 of those schools are single-gender schools.

The surge comes three years after a federal rule said single-sex classrooms weren't discriminatory and as emerging research suggested that girls' and boys' brains develop differently."

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Junior ROTC 'more than a class' to teens

Junior ROTC 'more than a class' to teens

2009-12-31 05:27:00ednews

Junior ROTC 'more than a class' to teens

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Before enrolling in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at Asheville High School, William Michaels says he struggled to keep his anger under control.

Now, the high school senior says, he doesn't get in trouble much anymore, thanks to leadership skills shaped by Junior ROTC. He spends much of the school day — plus hours after school, some weekends and part of summer vacation — in the building where program students work out, hit the books and shoot air rifles.

"It's more than a class. It's like a giant support group," says Michaels, 17.

An increasing number of teenagers are getting early exposure to military life through their high schools. Enrollment jumped 5% this year to 513,297 students in Junior ROTC programs, according to combined Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force statistics. That far outpaced the program's growth from 2005 to 2008, those statistics show.

The growth is driven in part by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, which directed the Pentagon to add high schools to the program. The goal was to have 3,700 programs by 2020. There are about 3,400, according to combined military statistics.

Students may soon be able to get involved even younger. A program modeled on the Army's Junior ROTC program is

Year in review: Obama's K-12 policy doesn't change much - USATODAY.com

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

For the nation's K-12 schools, 2009 may well go down as the year when everything changed but little happened.

A new president promised a fresh start but angered many in even his own party by polishing his predecessor's apple.

2009 IN HIGHER ED: Dollars disappear for colleges, students

TWITTER: Follow this reporter @gtoppo

Schools nationwide closed in fear of a pandemic that has proven mild. And even as recession-related budget cuts forced thousands of teacher layoffs, a modest federal grant with a catchy name consumed educators' attention nationwide.

Swine flu fears

After the federal Centers for Disease Control and Preventiontold schools last spring to be vigilant in the face of swine flu, or H1N1, more than 700 schools closed in April and May alone. Federal officials later said schools should close only if "high numbers" of students are absent with flu-like symptoms. At the pandemic's height in mid-October, 949 schools closed in one week, the U.S. Department of Education said.

No Child Left Behind

Obama administration officials promised a new, "forward-thinking" approach to education. Public opinion had slipped for No Child Left Behind, President Bush's signature education reform law, which requires schools to test most children in

National Board Certified Teachers could get bonuses | Get Schooled

National Board Certified Teachers could get bonuses | Get Schooled:

"This is good news for the state’s National Board Certified teachers: Some key folks in the General Assembly want to restore their bonuses.

Some states are debating whether a salary boost for National Board Certified teachers is a good investment, suggesting that bonuses might better go to teachers with proven track records of raising student achievement rather than to teachers who earn the certification. Sometimes, they are one and the same. Sometimes, they are not.

Georgia has been a leader in urging teachers to seek certification ever since ex Gov. Roy Barnes became impressed with the program. (He continues to be a national champion of it.)"

A civil discourse: Choice, charters and money | Get Schooled

A civil discourse: Choice, charters and money | Get Schooled:

"I received this e-mail from a reader named Nate and thought it was provocative on the issues of choice and charters. I am posting Nate’s original note to me, my response and his follow-up. (Pour a cup of coffee as this is long.) He gave me clearance to put it all up here for our discussion.

After reading an Op-Ed piece that you posted in a recent paper titled “School boards: Charter school law violates constitution” I thought to myself… It would be good if an organization like the GA Public Policy Foundation or some similar unbiased organization could publish a paper that details in something akin to layman’s terms, how education funding works within the context of Charter Schools, and other choice legislation in GA. They could highlight a few scenarios:"

Fairfax County may cut back full-day kindergarten - washingtonpost.com

Fairfax County may cut back full-day kindergarten - washingtonpost.com:

"More than a decade after the Fairfax School Board decided to bring full-day kindergarten to the county's 139 elementary schools, nearly a third of them are still waiting for the longer school day. Progress has sputtered and stalled in recent years as the economy soured, and now the board might reverse course.

Fairfax Superintendent Jack D. Dale will unveil a budget proposal for the region's largest school system Jan. 7. An early list of potential cuts compiled by school officials this fall shows that rolling back full-day kindergarten, from 101 schools to 32 that serve the county's poorest communities, could save $13 million and help bridge a $176 million shortfall."

Strategy - Faculty - The Case of the Vanishing Full-Time Professor - NYTimes.com

Strategy - Faculty - The Case of the Vanishing Full-Time Professor - NYTimes.com:

"If you’ve written a few five-figure tuition checks or taken on 10 years’ of debt, you probably think you’re paying to be taught by full-time professors. But it’s entirely possible that most of your teachers are freelancers.

In 1960, 75 percent of college instructors were full-time tenured or tenure-track professors; today only 27 percent are. The rest are graduate students or adjunct and contingent faculty — instructors employed on a per-course or yearly contract basis, usually without benefits and earning a third or less of what their tenured colleagues make. The recession means their numbers are growing."

A teaching model that would make Da Vinci proud - latimes.com

A teaching model that would make Da Vinci proud - latimes.com:

"The Annihilator is a death plunge of a roller coaster that begins by dropping the rider through a wide, fast funnel. It swooshes down a gut-wrenching series of S-curves, flies through a 360-degree loop, slides down a straightaway to another funnel and then -- this is the moment of greatest terror -- free-falls into a basket.

Alas, thrill seekers, you will never ride the Annihilator.

It stands about 4 feet tall and it's made entirely of paper. Only marbles ride the Annihilator, which is intertwined with another paper roller coaster, the Epic Fail, so named because high school teacher Mario Rodriguez seemed unable to test it without having the marble fly off the track"

USC offers America 101 for foreign students - latimes.com

USC offers America 101 for foreign students - latimes.com:

"The topic was baseball and the class members, foreign graduate students recently arrived in the United States to attend USC, were befuddled.

Not only were they struggling to follow the instructor's litany of batting and pitching rules, they were mystified by the title of the hallowed championship games. Why is it called the World Series, one Chinese student wondered aloud, if all the teams in it are from North America?

Instructor Edward Roth was both taken aback and pleased. The grandiose title might reflect America's arrogance about its national pastime, he acknowledged, but he also praised the question. It reflected the type of cross-cultural debate he encourages in a course aimed at helping these newcomers from overseas adjust to life in Los Angeles."

Legislation will take hard look at schools

Legislation will take hard look at schools:

"State Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola, R-Dauphin, yesterday said he'll introduce legislation to take a firmer line with low-performing school districts, warning that may involve closing some schools and dissolving some districts.

Mr. Piccola, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said other options include merit pay for teachers and administrators, converting struggling schools into charter schools and bringing in outside management groups.

Some of the language reflects the U.S. Department of Education's get-tough stance in inviting states to compete for $4 billion in Race to the Top funds."

School reforms — the beginning, not the end | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies

School reforms — the beginning, not the end | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies:

"Our state and our schools need to be reinvented. The governor and Legislature are to be commended for making progress on school reform by striking a deal on landmark legislative ideas that have been kicking around the state capitol for a decade. Clearly, the up to $400 million of “Race to the Top,” U.S. Department of Education dollars provided the right amount of inducement to help strike the deal. The legislation expands the number of high-quality charter schools — including two new e-learning “cyber schools” — raises the dropout age from 16 to 18, and gives the state stronger authority to take over 5 percent of the state's academically worst failing schools."

KHSD board says no to Obama charter school - Bakersfield.com

KHSD board says no to Obama charter school - Bakersfield.com:

"Kern High School District trustees on Wednesday unanimously shot down a petition for a proposed charter school named after our nation's president.

All five board members rejected the idea of Barack H. Obama Leadership Academy based on district input that it did not meet California Education Code standards for the establishment of a charter school.

During a special board meeting, trustees commented that the petition was 'inherently weak,' 'fiscally irresponsible,' 'ill conceived,' 'not feasible' and 'not thought through.' District staff outlined its findings and analysis in a 15-page report."

School districts reluctantly join Race to the Top: Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley sign up for federal education reform - ContraCostaTimes.com

School districts reluctantly join Race to the Top: Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley sign up for federal education reform - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"WATSONVILLE - In spite of uncertainty about mandates and funding, Santa Cruz County's two largest school districts are signing on to the latest education reform plan.
The County Office of Education also has signed up for Race to the Top, a $4.3 billion federal program aimed at improving student achievement.

Districts must signal their intention to participate by today and have until Jan. 8 to sign an agreement with the state. More than 700 of the state's approximately 1,000 public school districts had joined the effort by Wednesday.

If California wins a Race to the Top grant - and in the competition between states, there's no guarantee - school districts would get a cut of the money in exchange for implementing new academic standards and accountability measures, including controversial teacher evaluations."

Capitol Alert: California given high marks for charter schools

California given high marks for charter schools

California, Minnesota and the District of Columbia are the only school systems to receive "A" grades on their receptivity to charter schools from the Washington-based Center for Education Reform, a pro-charter school organization.

The state-by-state evaluation was released in response to Race to the Top, President Barack Obama's education reform initiative that includes more emphasis on charter schools, which are public schools that operate independently of school district administration. Its release also coincides with the stateAssembly's debate this week on how to qualify California for Race to the Top grants, in which expansion of charter schools plays a central role.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, favors lifting a state cap on charter schools but teacher unions are generally reluctant. But without loosening or lifting the cap, California may be ineligible for the new federal grants.

"Every state's education law has certain legal components that play key roles in deciding whether that state does what its law's title suggests

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

S C T A Annual Crab Feed

S C T A Annual Crab Feed

Do you like crab? Dancing? Wine?

Bidding on auction prizes? Winning “stuff” in raffles?

The SCTA Annual Crab Dinner is our big event that brings teachers and the community together to raise funds for scholarships.College tuition and fees are higher than ever and our scholarship program is a way that teachers and SCTA can help.

Well then…

S C T A

Sacramento City Teachers Association

Annual Crab Feed

Scholarship Fundraiser

Saturday, February 6 from 5-10pm

Elk's Lodge, 6446 Riverside Blvd in Sacramento, CA

View Google Map

sold out last year, so buy early and often

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

SCTA at 916-452-4591

Education Week: Two State Unions Balking at 'Race to Top' Plans

Education Week: Two State Unions Balking at 'Race to Top' Plans:

"Teachers’ unions in at least two states are threatening to withhold endorsements of their state’s Race to the Top applications, which could jeopardize the states’ chances of winning the coveted federal dollars.

In a letter printed as an advertisement in the Tallahassee Democrat , Florida Education Association President Andy J. Ford discouraged local union affiliates from signing an agreement to implement a state plan that, among other things, would require districts to base teacher evaluations and compensation bonuses heavily on student test scores.
“Any sense of collaboration is absent in your proposal,” Mr. Ford wrote in the Dec. 17 letter to Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith. “Your approach is prescriptive,..."

An Open Letter to Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith -

Finally, the Arne Duncan Chicago Schools reform myth is exposed

Finally, the Arne Duncan Chicago Schools reform myth is exposed:

"However, what I do find contemptuous is when guys who are lucky enough to get a chip in the big game without earning it look back at those who haven’t and say: Pull yourself up by your bootstraps like I did. Duncan has spent the better part of last year traveling the country and challenging ‘ate up’ urban educators to duplicate his Chicago Public Schools (CPS) success by doing as he did. The problem is, there was no success. And those of us, who call the People’s Republic of Chicago, home, know it. Finally, the cardboard school reform of the Duncan era, which followed the smoke-and-mirrors of the Paul Vallas regime, has been officially ‘outed.’"

2009 Local News in Review, Part 1 — The Rancho Cordova Post

2009 Local News in Review, Part 1 — The Rancho Cordova Post:

"Rancho Cordova community members have experienced their fair share of joy and struggles during the past year. Over the next few days we will be re-capping the biggest news stories of the year. From a series of attempted kidnappings near Rancho Cordova schools in January to the release of the NTSB investigation of the Christmas Eve explosion that rocked a Rancho neighborhood just last week, we’ll be covering the stories that are the most relevant and important to you.

In January, a Rancho Cordova man shot a female neighbor then shot himself. The apartment complex in which the man lived was evacuated and it was later learned that the woman who was shot had threatened to report the man to Child Protective Services. January also saw the permanent appointment of Kathleen E. Redd, as the Chief Financial Officer of GenCorp Inc. Two Rancho Cordova teen mothers with their infant children went missing at the end of January, but were found days later."

9 California mayors press for Race to the Top bill

9 California mayors press for Race to the Top bill:

"The mayors of California's biggest cities are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to meet a fast-approaching deadline to compete for federal education funds."

The mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento released a joint letter on the issue Tuesday. They were joined by the mayors of San Jose, Fresno, Long Beach, Santa Ana and Anaheim.
The mayors are asking state leaders to pass a bill that would allow California to compete for a share of $4.3 billion in education reform funding. The competition — known as "Race to the Top" — was set up by the Obama administration to improve schools.
California has three weeks left to qualify for the competition. Lawmakers have indicated they plan to take up the measure in the new year.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/29/state/n185153S79.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0bBVYGuNm

Class Struggle - Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish

Class Struggle- Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish:

"Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish

Stuck at the bottom of the bag of reports I promised to read over the holidays is a survey by Nancy C. Rhodes and Ingrid Pufahl of the Center for Applied Linguistics, entitled 'Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools.' It has a clear message, part good, part bad.

The good news: Spanish language instruction is growing, something to cheer because we share this hemisphere mostly with people who speak that language. Two of my children are fluent in Spanish and use it in their jobs, which makes me proud and hopeful for the future.

The bad news: all the other languages important to the future of the planet are either losing popularity in our schools, or making only tiny gains from very low levels. The only language in which I have any facility is Mandarin Chinese, certainly a biggie in international affairs but a pygmy in American education. It is taught in only 3 percent of elementary schools and 4 percent of high schools with foreign language programs."

Superintendent to regents: Providence can’t afford Hope High School reforms | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Superintendent to regents: Providence can’t afford Hope High School reforms | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal:

"PROVIDENCE — While acknowledging that Hope High School has made dramatic gains, Schools Supt. Tom Brady says the district can no longer afford to devote so many resources to one of the city’s many high schools.

In a letter to the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, Brady recognized that Hope’s teachers and leaders have made significant strides in improving the school’s climate and culture but said that the academic model adopted five years ago is too costly to maintain.

The regents asked for an update on Hope after more than 50 teachers, students and staff implored them to prevent the high school’s academic model from being dismantled."

Cleveland schools CEO Sanders and union leader need to talk, right away -- editorial | Opinion, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - - Opinions, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com

Cleveland schools CEO Sanders and union leader need to talk, right away -- editorial | Opinion, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - -Opinions, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com:

"One of the first things we learn as children is how to play nice.

We learn to share. We learn to listen.

That kind of respect means fewer meltdowns on the playground -- and, later, on the job.

It is a lesson that high-ranking adults in the Cleveland schools need to review. Immediately.

CEO Eugene Sanders' long-awaited strategy for transforming the schools hasn't yet been revealed, but the work leading up to it didn't go as well as anyone would have hoped. The district's information sessions with parents fell short of expectations -- on both sides -- and the Cleveland Teachers Union has become increasingly restless about what it calls a lack of involvement in the planning and designing."

CMS hopes to use no-interest loans to build schools, save millions - CharlotteObserver.com

CMS hopes to use no-interest loans to build schools, save millions - CharlotteObserver.com:

"Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders hope no-interest school construction loans from federal stimulus money could help build two new schools and renovate or expand four others.

CMS wants to sell $52 million of the special bonds this summer. No-interest loans could save Mecklenburg taxpayers $12 million to $15 million in the long run.

But uncertainties about the federal plan remain. Nearly a year after the school construction bonds were approved as part of the federal stimulus package, few school districts in the state or across the country have found institutional investors willing to buy them."

House bill gives superintendents more power to fire teachers - The Boston Globe

House bill gives superintendents more power to fire teachers - The Boston Globe:

"The Massachusetts House of Representatives appears poised to consider an overhaul of the state’s most troubled schools next week, as members take up a bill that could represent a major setback for teachers unions."

The proposed bill would give superintendents extraordinary powers to ignore teacher contract provisions in firing teachers for good cause at underperforming schools.

It would also allow superintendents to impose changes in workplace rules, such as extending the school day, at those schools if negotiations break down, key House leaders said in a telephone briefing yesterday.

Unlike a Senate version approved last month, the House bill does not establish an arbitration process for teachers to appeal those changes by superintendents.

Rising property values fuel Dallas ISD's first 'Robin Hood' payment | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Rising property values fuel Dallas ISD's first 'Robin Hood' payment | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News| Latest News:

"For the first time, Dallas taxpayers had to give some of their money to less-affluent school districts in 2008-09, part of Texas' share-the-wealth school finance system that critics and proponents say is out of whack.

Some say the fact that Dallas schools had to pay the 'Robin Hood' payment last school year is proof that the formula doesn't make sense. Nearly 90 percent of DISD schoolchildren are poor, and the school district has been struggling with deficits.

For 2009-10, projections show that Dallas taxpayers will not have to send their money away."

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Do schools need more male teachers?

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Do schools need more male teachers?:

"Do schools need more male teachers?

Only one in four school teachers are men, according to a 2008 report.

Ronald Maggiano is somewhat unusual in the teaching profession. That is because he is male.

Maggiano is an award-winning teacher in the Social Studies Department at West Springfield High School in Virginia. He has taught in public and private schools for 25 years.

In a piece on his blog called “The Classroom Post,” he calls for more males to enter the profession.

Here's why:"

Berkeley High May Cut Out Science Labs | News | East Bay Express

Berkeley High May Cut Out Science Labs | News | East Bay Express:

"Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.

The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High's School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley's dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse."

Public Sector Unions Are Killing California � The Foundry

Public Sector Unions Are Killing California � The Foundry:

"Before 1990, [California and Texas] grew much faster than the rest of the country. Since then, only Texas has continued to do so. While its share of the nation’s population has steadily increased, from 6.8 percent in 1990 to 7.9 percent in 2007, California’s has barely budged, from 12 percent to 12.1 percent.

Unpacking the numbers is even more revealing—and, for California, disturbing. The biggest contrast between the two states shows up in “net internal migration,” the demographer’s term for the difference between the number of Americans who move into a state from another and the number who move out of it to another. Between April 1, 2000, and June 30, 2007, an average of 3,247 more Americans moved out of California than into it every week, according to the Census Bureau. Over the same period, Texas saw a net gain, in an average week, of 1,544 people."

Community college juggles reduced state budget and student demands | TahoeDailyTribune.com

Community college juggles reduced state budget and student demands | TahoeDailyTribune.com:

"Enrollment is increasing at Lake Tahoe Community College but the schedule is shrinking, presenting a challenge to school officials who are juggling the demands of a dwindling state budget and students vying for classes they need.

In the fall, enrollment was up for full-time students by almost 20 percent compared to 2008, with those students competing for fewer classes after 410 sections were eliminated to accommodate state budget cuts.

California's community colleges sustained $840 million in state funding cuts for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years combined, while the state legislature raised tuition $13 to $17 per unit."

Santa Rosa teen earns spot in elite U.S. Senate program | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA

Santa Rosa teen earns spot in elite U.S. Senate program | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA:

"When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Montgomery High School student Rena Wang to whistle during an official function, she didn’t wonder why, she wondered, “How loud?”

Wang was at a constituent breakfast with Reid and John Ensign, the two U.S. senators from Nevada, when they told her they needed to get the attention of the crowd and wondered if she could whistle.

Wang, at 17, just might have more political connections, and savvy, than weathered old pros who have spent years wandering Capitol corridors.

So she stepped up and let fly, sharing a good laugh with some of the most powerful politicians in the country."

Congressperson Tom McClintock (CA-04) Called Out For The Tendency To Be Untruthful - Roseville Press-Tribune

Congressperson Tom McClintock (CA-04) Called Out For The Tendency To Be Untruthful - Roseville Press-Tribune:

"Mendacity: The tendency to be untruthful (WordReference.com English Dictionary)

Congressman Tom McClintock’s recent constituent newsletter praises the “conservative” philosophy. But what is it conserving, really? Certainly not historical accuracy.

In it, McClintock (R-Granite Bay) complains the current administration is taxing and regulating us too much. In contrast, he says, “Ronald Reagan responded [to high unemployment] by cutting taxes and reducing regulatory burdens…producing the biggest peacetime economic expansion in the nation’s history.”

Virtually none of that is accurate.

Reagan’s “regulatory burden” reduction led to the Savings & Loan bailout–until recently, the most expensive financial scandal in U.S. history, far more expensive than Teapot"

News: 'The Cultural Capital of Asian American Studies' - Inside Higher Ed

News: 'The Cultural Capital of Asian American Studies' - Inside Higher Ed:

"The Cultural Capital of Asian American Studies (New York University Press) explores the state of the discipline more than 40 years after its founding amid the student protests of the 60s. Mark Chiang, associate professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, writes about how the field has grown and also changed since its early days. In an e-mail interview, he discussed the themes of the book.

Q: What are the key ways Asian American studies as a field is different today from the era when it was created?"

A: The first Asian American studies program at San Francisco State University was distinguished by its community orientation and founded on two main slogans regarding the relation of the university to the community: community autonomy and relevant education. The institutional structure of Asian American studies marked a radical break from the typical model of the American university in that it gave community members who were not academics a voice in program governance over such matters as hiring and curriculum. In this regard, the program threatened the principle of faculty autonomy and self-governance that were essential to the modern research university. The necessity of institutional survival, however, meant that the program soon was forced to conform more or less to the rest of the university and thus to exclude non-faculty members from any participation in program operations.

Christie Channels Schwarzenegger as New Jersey Braces for Cuts - BusinessWeek

Christie Channels Schwarzenegger as New Jersey Braces for Cuts - BusinessWeek:

"Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Montclair, New Jersey, where the median family income is almost twice the U.S. average, may have to shut one of its two libraries. The Newark suburb of Irvington is considering firing police officers.

The towns are bracing for the impact of state aid cuts, after Governor-elect Christopher Christie said he may slash spending by as much as 25 percent next year amid declining tax revenue that the Washington-based Pew Center for the States said rivals California. If the proposal for New Jersey pushes costs down to local governments and schools, mayors and educators may have to choose between raising taxes and eliminating park maintenance and trash collection."

20 O.C. school districts get behind Obama education reforms | school, districts, california - News - The Orange County Register

20 O.C. school districts get behind Obama education reforms | school, districts, california - News - The Orange County Register:

"At least 20 of Orange County's 28 school districts have tentatively committed to implementing a series of controversial education reforms outlined under President Obama's competitive Race to the Top grant program for schools.

The reforms, which include evaluating teachers based on their students' academic performance, are necessary for school districts to apply for a slice of a $4.35 billion federal stimulus pie. At least 663 school districts and other educational institutions across California have already signed letters of intent to apply for the Race to the Top funds, according to state education officials. The deadline is Thursday."

Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Online service to match students with scholarships

Junior ROTC 'more than a class' to teens

Wednesday, December 30, 2009