Race to the Top: Where the Money Might Go If It Were Purely Political - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Race to the Top: Where the Money Might Go If It Were Purely Political - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Let me say from the outset, that despite my headline, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has made it very clear, repeatedly, that he doesn't think politics are going to play any kind of role in deciding which states snag one of the highly coveted Race to the Top grants. He's lining up "disinterested superstars" and has a very detailed rubric determining how grants will be doled out, probably in part to avoid those sorts of accusations.

However, it's interesting to speculate on who would have an edge if Race to the Top were purely, or even partly, political. And, despite the department's best efforts, if certain states get grants, I'm sure some folks out there will wonder whether politics had any sort of role in that decision.

There's been speculation that purple states, particularly those with endangered Democrat incumbents like Ohio (Gov. Ted Strickland) and Colorado (Sen. Michael Bennet) might have an edge. And that's a great point.

Breakfast Program Grants Available - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Breakfast Program Grants Available - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Deadline fast approaching for food program start-up and expansion grants

HAWTHORNE — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today urged local educational agencies to apply for available School Breakfast Program and Summer Food Service Program Start-up or Expansion grants. The deadline to apply for the competitive grants is Friday, January 15, 2010.

"We have long known that it is harder for hungry children to learn in school, and that they are more often tardy or absent compared to well-nourished children," said O'Connell. "Thirteen million low-income people in California don't know where their next nutritious meal will come from. This is alarming and underscores the dire need for child nutrition programs to prevent hunger and help students to succeed in school."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released data reporting tragically high levels of food insecurity and hunger across the country. In California, almost three million low-income adults are food insecure and an additional 10 million people, including children, live in these food-insecure households.

Research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2005 found that students who routinely ate a nourishing breakfast performed better in school and have lower rates of absenteeism and less tardiness. Another study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine in 1998 found that students who ate school breakfast at least four days per week had math grades that averaged almost a whole letter grade higher than the grades of students who rarely ate school breakfast.

Because of this research, O'Connell is urging school districts, particularly those with schools in Program Improvement, to participate in the School Breakfast Program. Program Improvement is a federal intervention plan to improve student academic achievement in mathematics and English-language arts.

The School Breakfast Program is underused in California. Even though more than 9,800 public school sites participate in the National School Lunch Program, about 16 percent of them do not participate in the School Breakfast Program. Currently, 3.2 million students – that's more than half of the state's public school student population – are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Yet only about 908,000, or 28 percent of these students, participate in School Breakfast Programs.

Examples of how schools may use grant funding for a School Breakfast Program include:

• "Universal Classroom Breakfast:" Students eat breakfast in the classroom.
• "Grab-and-Go:" Students receive breakfast from mobile carts as they arrive at school.
• "Breakfast to Go:" Students pick up a bagged breakfast from the cafeteria and bring it to the classroom.
• "Second Chance Breakfast:" Breakfast is offered some time after first period, most often during recess or a passing period.

"We are strongly encouraging schools to find ways to provide breakfast outside of the cafeteria, such as in the classroom, because the evidence is clear that these innovate approaches dramatically increase the number of students who eat breakfast," added O'Connell.

Schools should note that if students eat breakfast in the classroom while educational activities occur, the time counts toward fulfilling the school's instructional minutes. Also, schools may under certain circumstances use federal Title I funding to expand breakfast programs, and use automated point-of-sale systems to eliminate the stigma children may feel when participating in school meal programs.

The School Breakfast Program and Summer Food Service Program Start-up and Expansion Grants may award up to $15,000 per site for nonrecurring expenses incurred in initiating or expanding such programs. Additional points will be awarded in the competitive grant process to districts with schools in Program Improvement where at least half of students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. For more information please visit Funding Profile (ID 1781): School Breakfast Program and Summer Food Service Program Start-up or Expansion.

Related Content

• School Breakfast - Information about applying for and administering the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

Schools Matter: LAUSD Charters Call "Foul" on Regulations: Why?

Schools Matter: LAUSD Charters Call "Foul" on Regulations: Why?

You can count on someone throwing a hissy-fit any time you mention "regulations." In this case, it's the charter school operators down in SoCal that cannot understand why LAUSD would impose such tyrannical mandates. From the Connie Llanos at the Contra Costa Times:

While charter school operators and advocates applaud LAUSD's recent embrace of their campuses, they criticized some of the new regulations, which they said create more bureaucracy for the alternative schools.

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

In Rare Move, Charter Teachers Unionize

Teachers at a charter school on the eastern edge of San Diego Unified now belong to a union, a rarity among such schools locally.

Board members at Harriet Tubman Village Charter School voted Wednesday to officially recognize the San Diego Education Association, which also represents San Diego Unified teachers, as Tubman teachers' representative. The vote followed more than a year of union organizing at the school.

Tubman teachers said they were concerned about not being able to air concerns without worrying about retribution.

Teachers at most charter schools are not unionized. In fact, proponents often tout their freedoms from usual school district rules, including union contracts.

There are exceptions. Darnall Charter School, for instance, has long been unionized. Critics argue that the lack of union rights has left charter teachers more vulnerable to arbitrary firing and driven higher turnover rates at charters, where teachers tend to be younger.

But the push to bring unions to more charter schools, especially those that have already been operating without unions, has been halting in San Diego. A spate of firings spurred another drive to unionize at the King/Chavez schools in Barrio Logan, which has yet to succeed.

Sacramento Press / Leverage Sacramento offers open mics, entertainment

Sacramento Press / Leverage Sacramento offers open mics, entertainment

What do a Sac State student, an entrepreneur, an emcee, a visual artist, a photographer and a sound technician have in common? They're all part of Leverage Sacramento, a new arts organization seeking to expose untapped local talent.

The group threw a launch party Monday night at Tré Nightclub with several local spoken word performers, comedians, and hip-hop, soul and R&B performers. Hosting the event was The CUF emcee Marc "Crush" Hayes, who also sits on the seven-member Leverage board of directors.

The party, which was only expected to draw 50 people, drew an estimated audience of 200.

The Educated Guess � Seven years later, teacher ordered to be fired

The Educated Guess � Seven years later, teacher ordered to be fired

In a notable break from the past, the president of the nation’s second largest teachers union has committed to changing laws that drag out procedures for firing teachers charged with incompetence or misconduct.


On Tuesday, the same day that American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten made that promise in a Washington, D.C., speech, a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles ordered the immediate firing of an LA Unified teacher whose case offers the most egregious example of  what needs fixing. 


In 2002, the district started moving to fire special education teacher Matthew Kim, whom it charged with making inappropriate comments and advances to students. For seven years, the district has paid Kim’s $68,000 pay while he’s been suspended, and spent $2 million in legal fees to oust him as the case crawled through the Commission on Professional Competence.

Georgia’s Charter School Law: A Tale of Two (conflicting) Reports � EducationCEO's Blog

Georgia’s Charter School Law: A Tale of Two (conflicting) Reports � EducationCEO's Blog



There is a saying invoked when a person is obviously in over his or her head in their professional role: It’s not what you know, but who you know. I thought about this when I read that Georgia was ranked #4 for its charter school law, by theNational Alliance for Public Charter Schools. This is especially interesting when you consider that the Center for Education Reform’s recent Charter School Report Cardassigned a grade of ‘C’ to Georgia. One of the explanations cited for Georgia’s ‘average’ grade was the fact that the newly-formed Charter School Commission is still, in large part, controlled by the Georgia Department of Education. For further explanation on Georgia’s grade, see ‘Georgia’s Charter School Law receives a ‘C.’


Out of curiosity, I visited the alliance’s site to see how Indiana ranked. According to this report, Indiana ranked 29th. I find that laughable considering the fact that the state has had two independent authorizers: The Mayor of Indianapolis and Ball State University. In fact, Indiana was 

Barrett offers a compromise on MPS control - JSOnline

Barrett offers a compromise on MPS control - JSOnline:

"In an effort to reach a compromise on the contentious proposal for mayoral control of Milwaukee Public Schools, Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday that the elected School Board should have the power to override the mayor's school budget and appointment for superintendent.

The mayor's compromise is a last-ditch effort to rescue a mayoral control measure in the Legislature, but it appears to be dead on arrival, with two Milwaukee lawmakers opposed to the idea registering swift resistance.

State Rep. Tamara Grigsby and state Sen. Spencer Coggs - Milwaukee Democrats who have proposed giving the mayor a role in running MPS, but not the direct authority Barrett says is essential for real change in the district - called the new proposal 'window dressing.'

'It does not address the crux of the issue - that issue is who appoints the superintendent and who the superintendent reports to,' Grigsby said."

State's schools get above-average grade - JSOnline

State's schools get above-average grade - JSOnline

Wisconsin received an above-average grade for overall educational quality, although it ranked toward the bottom of the nation in efforts to improve schools by establishing grade-level academic standards and holding schools accountable, according to a report released Thursday.

The annual "Quality Counts" report, by national trade publication Education Week, gave the Badger state a C-plus for the overall status of its schools and improvement efforts. That was slightly higher than the grade given to the nation - a C - and ranked the state 16th among all the states and the District of Columbia.

Wisconsin fared best in the annual report for its school finance system and in a category the publication calls "chance for success," which measures factors from employment rates to kindergarten enrollment in states. The state was ranked ninth and 11th, respectively, in those areas, drawing B grades in each.

The state's lowest ranking came in the area of standards, assessments and accountability, with a C grade placing it 42nd in a category where 20 other states received grades of A or A-minus.

"There's some good news and there's some bad news, and it's not unexpected," Patrick Gasper, spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, said of the report.

He pointed out the state is planning to change its standards and assessment systems. Wisconsin is among 48 states that have signed on to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, an effort to unify the benchmarks for what American students should know and when they should know it, with the intention of using that effort's recommendations to shape its math and E

Hundreds of students can't return to Beverly Hills schools - latimes.com

Hundreds of students can't return to Beverly Hills schools - latimes.com

Hundreds of students attending Beverly Hills schools will have to find new campuses in the fall after a unanimous school board vote late Tuesday ended special permits for many children who live outside the city.

Following more than four hours of debate that lasted until almost midnight, the board agreed to allow all current high school students to continue applying for permits each year, an action that won applause from a packed, emotional but civil crowd at Beverly Hills High.

Seventh graders will be allowed to graduate from middle school next year. But students in elementary school and eighth grade will not be allowed to return to district schools for the 2010-2011 academic year unless their families move into the city.

Governor's promise to 'protect education' rings hollow as schools look at fine print - ContraCostaTimes.com

Governor's promise to 'protect education' rings hollow as schools look at fine print - ContraCostaTimes.com

Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger crowed about protecting education when he released his budget, he failed to mention a $1.5 billion cut planned for next year along with a decreased cost of living adjustment.

"I question the statement he is protecting public education with his proposal," said Joe Ovick, superintendent of the Contra Costa County Office of Education.

A San Mateo County school leader was more succinct.

"It's clear at this point that it's completely untrue that the governor is protecting education," said Craig Baker, interim superintendent of the San Carlos School District. His district had braced for a $1.5 million loss but now anticipates losing at least $600,000 more.

Other education officials statewide echoed those sentiments as they realized the budget proposal would mean cuts of more than $200 per student in most districts. The Mt. Diablo school district saw its projected deficit balloon from $17 million by 2012 to $35.3 million, due to the governor's budget and declining enrollment.

"We're taking things away that should never have been taken away," trustee Paul Strange said Tuesday before voting to eliminate some librarians and music teachers and to look at school closures.

School overhaul bill ready for vote - The Boston Globe

School overhaul bill ready for vote - The Boston Globe:

"A legislative conference committee came to agreement last night on a much-anticipated bill that would give superintendents extraordinary powers to overhaul failing schools and would double the number of charter school seats in the state’s worst school districts."

Both the House and Senate are expected to vote today on the bill, considered to be the biggest change to public education since the 1993 Education Reform Act.

The compromises, negotiated over the last few days and well into last night, represent a major setback for teachers unions that tried to block some of the anticipated changes through heavy lobbying.

Most notably, the final bill will enable superintendents to more easily dismiss teachers and impose some changes in workplace rules at failing schools, to the dismay of teachers unions. But it also calls for expedited arbitration-like processes for unions to contest some of those actions, which teacher unions have been strongly pushing for.

Cincinnati Public Schools admits $9M error | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

Cincinnati Public Schools admits $9M error | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com:

"Cincinnati Public Schools admitted on Wednesday it incorrectly counted nearly $9 million it had paid to a white-owned business as a minority contract, meaning the schools have been substantially overstating their success in steering work to minorities in its citywide school construction project."

District spokeswoman Janet Walsh blamed a clerical error and said the statistics will be corrected online by Thursday.

CPS acknowledged the mistake two days after being confronted by the NAACP and the Baptist Ministers Conference at a school board meeting for what the groups call a “shameful” failure to involve enough African-Americans in the $1.07 billion project.

• CPS warned: Hire minorities or else

Until Wednesday, CPS had claimed that $84 million out of $707 million spent through October, or 11.9 percent, had gone to minority-owned contractors.

But in researching the statistics, NAACP members discovered that within the $84 million figure was $8.9 million CPS paid to Shook Construction, of Dayton, to help build the new Riverview East Academy in the East End, completed in late 2005.

L.A. schools paid $200 million more in salaries than budgeted - latimes.com

L.A. schools paid $200 million more in salaries than budgeted - latimes.com:

"The Los Angeles school district paid $200 million more in salaries than it budgeted last year even as it laid off 2,000 teachers and hundreds of other employees, according to an internal audit.

Auditors so far have unearthed no wrongdoing, but officials are puzzled, concerned and perhaps even a little embarrassed.

'We've been in the process of cleaning it up,' said L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, who said his staff is verifying the size of the discrepancy and will, over time, determine how much relates to incomplete accounting and how much to something more serious."

States racing for education money

States racing for education money Stateline.org Staff Reports

States are facing a Jan. 19 deadline to apply for their share of $4.35 billion in federal education grants. Some — such as Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Tennessee — are cutting it awfully close. The grants, known as Race to the Top funds, are part of the federal stimulus plan and will be awarded to certain states that change their policies to advance the Obama administration’s education goals. Interested states must allow more charter schools, submit plans to improve their worst-performing schools and tie teacher evaluations to student test scores, among other changes. But the states’ assignment, as The New York Times outlined in a story last month, is complex — especially given that lawmakers in many states are just now getting back to business — and some states are pushing the deadline to the last minute. New York Gov. David Paterson (D) last week urged lawmakers to approve changes that would make the Empire State eligible for up to $700 million in federal education money. But the Legislature now seems unlikely to reach a deal until next Tuesday (Jan. 19) — the very day the state’s application is due, Elizabeth Benjamin reported for the New York Daily News. New York officials have inquired about an extension, Benjamin reported, “but were told in no uncertain terms by the Obama administration that would not be possible.”

Teachers, R.I. education chief still at loggerheads over reform | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Teachers, R.I. education chief still at loggerheads over reform | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

PROVIDENCE — Responding to complaints from teachers’ unions, Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist and her staff are making changes to the state’s application for millions of dollars in federal money awarded to states that embrace education reform.

Gist said Wednesday she is willing to compromise, but is unwilling to water down changes she considers crucial to boosting student achievement.

“We are working around the clock to make the changes,” Gist said. “We are adjusting language.”

Unions were given until Wednesday to decide if they would sign on to the state’s effort to get as much as $100 million under the competitive Race to the Top program. That deadline has been extended, Gist said. Now, education officials will fine-tune the document over the next several days and she will hand-deliver it to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19.

TN teachers, Bredesen reach deal | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

TN teachers, Bredesen reach deal | tennessean.com | The Tennessean:

"Teachers struck a compromise with Gov. Phil Bredesen over the use of student test scores in their evaluations, clearing away the biggest hurdle to the governor's education proposals."

The Tennessee Education Association, the state's biggest teachers union, endorsed a deal that would give teachers the right to choose some of the data that would be used in their evaluations.

Their support puts Bredesen's bill for K-12 education on track for a vote as soon as Friday. Bredesen has asked that the legislature pass the bill no later than Jan. 19 so that its measures can be included in Tennessee's application for $485 million in federal money through the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top program.

"I would be less than honest with you if I said teachers were excited about this," said Earl Wiman, the association's president. "What we're going to be saying to our teachers is, 'We have to step up to the plate.' "

Class Struggle - Suburbs too good for charters?

Class Struggle- Suburbs too good for charters?:

"Why are there so few public charter schools in the Washington suburbs? It seems obvious. Both Virginia and Maryland let local school boards decide if somebody, or anybody, is going to get a charter to compete with their own schools. It is a conflict of interest as bad as it would be to let the Post overrule any new newspapers in the region.

Amazingly, the local school board members I have asked about this, all of them caring and intelligent people, don’t see the problem. They have a blindspot about their blindspot, which reduces the chances of creative solutions to our educational problems."

Saturday detention at Langley H.S.

“The Breakfast Club” it’s not.

Danielle Burger, executive editor of the Saxon Scope, the student newspaper at Langley High School in McLean, Va., makes that clear in a story about kids ordered into Saturday detention.

While the influential 1985 movie told a story about a bunch of kids who talk and bond during detention, Langley’s detention on Saturday’s is a quiet, solitary affair.

She wrote:

“Students don’t dance around to music and attempt to break out. No sleeping, no talking, no hall privileges, no tardiness--Saturday school is serious business.”

How does someone wind up doing detention on Saturday? Cutting class. Leaving the school grounds. Failing to show up for detentions after school.

The story notes that not all schools have Saturday school, in at least one case because there is no one to staff it.

Read the story to find out what happens if a student breaks a rule on Saturday school, and more.

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - America’s Most Prestigious Public Universities Are Decreasing Representation of Low-Income Students and Spending More Institutional Aid on Students From Wealthier Families

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - America’s Most Prestigious Public Universities Are Decreasing Representation of Low-Income Students and Spending More Institutional Aid on Students From Wealthier Families:

"WASHINGTON (January 13, 2010) – Right now, Congress is working to pass legislation that would increase the amount of federal financial aid awarded to low-income students to help them attend college. But efforts on Capitol Hill to make college more affordable are being undermined by a very different set of priorities at some of our nation’s most prestigious public universities.

America’s Most Prestigious Public Universities Are Decreasing Representation of Low-Income Students and Spending More Institutional Aid on Students From Wealthier Families

As more low-income and minority students turn to college, many top public universities are turning away from them.

WASHINGTON (January 13, 2010) – Right now, Congress is working to pass legislation that would increase the amount of federal financial aid awarded to low-income students to help them attend college. But efforts on Capitol Hill to make college more affordable are being undermined by a very different set of priorities at some of our nation’s most prestigious public universities."

Charter school funds, employee vanish

Charter school funds, employee vanish:

"Leaders of KIPP San Antonio, a branch of one of the most successful charter school programs in the country, are reeling after learning a former employee may have embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from the school district's accounts.

According to KIPP board member Michele Brown, a member of the district's financial operation's team who was working from home last Thursday stopped returning phone calls and e-mail after 12 p.m.

The next morning, one of KIPP's financial institutions contacted officials to alert them to suspicious activity on an account. The employee didn't show up to work Friday and has not been located since."

Trust | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Trust | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

"Randi Weingarten's recent policy speech is getting a lot of attention, and for good reason. The AFT president's plans for reform to teacher evaluation and due process get to the heart of the most incendiary debates in education reform. But it's her underlying message about trust that really caught my attention.

Distrust is corrosive. It can drive people apart, even if they share the best of intentions. When we turn school reform discussions into simple morality plays, we risk diverting attention from the toxic environments that turn good people of all stripes into tyrants or obstructionists.� Weingarten is right when she calls trust the 'common denominator among schools, districts and cities that have achieved success.'"

Albany seeks trade: more charters, but change in who grants them | GothamSchools

Albany seeks trade: more charters, but change in who grants them | GothamSchools:

"Assembly Democrats are ready to approve a lift to the state’s charter school cap — but only if they get a substantial change to the way charter schools are launched and approved in return.

Under the plan being developed by members of the state Assembly, the power to approve charters would be consolidated under the state Board of Regents, who currently share that authority with the State University of New York and local school districts. (Schools authorized by a school district are also granted final approval by the Regents.) The SUNY office has the strongest reputation and has been praised by the Obama administration as a model for developing charter schools around the country.

The plan would also change who decides when and where a new charter school is needed."

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Education | School Lunches Have High Sodium Levels, Review Finds

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Education | School Lunches Have High Sodium Levels, Review Finds:

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg may want to start with school lunches if he wants to reduce New Yorkers’ sodium intake.

Some items on the city's public school lunch menu pack a heavy salt punch, according to a review of nutrition information on the Department of Education's website."


Among the items of note is a reduced-fat cheese sandwich, which contains a whopping 1,160 milligrams of sodium.

A pizza burger contains 951 milligrams, a ham and cheese sandwich comes in at almost 850, and a piece of chicken parmesan has 839 milligrams. Even a plain bagel registers at 700 milligrams.

The problem is magnified by the fact that kids can now eat up to three meals a day at school.

Health guidelines recommend Americans consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of salt a day.

Texas Shuts Door on Millions in Race to the Top Education Grants - NYTimes.com

Texas Shuts Door on Millions in Race to the Top Education Grants - NYTimes.com

Texas will not compete for up to $700 million in federal education money, Gov. Rick Perry said on Wednesday, calling the Obama administration’s main school improvement grant program an unacceptable intrusion on states’ control over education.
Mr. Perry’s decision, days before a Jan. 19 deadline, interrupted months of work by Texas officials and a consulting company financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to prepare the application for the federal grant competition, known as Race to the Top. Texas had been eligible to win up to $700 million of a total of $4 billion the department will award for encouraging charter schools, improving teacher instruction, overhauling schools and joining an effort to adopt common academic standards.

To Lead Schools, Christie Picks Voucher Advocate - NYTimes.com

To Lead Schools, Christie Picks Voucher Advocate - NYTimes.com:

"TRENTON — The man once described by teachers’ union leaders as “the antithesis of everything we hold sacred about public education” was chosen to serve as state education commissioner by Governor-elect Christopher J. Christie on Wednesday."



The nomination of Bret D. Schundlerto the post underscored the governor’s determination to press ahead with his push for school vouchers, more charter schools and merit pay for teachers.
It was the first selection by Mr. Christie to suggest even the possibility of a confirmation battle with Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature. Thus far, the governor-elect has chosen nominees heavy on managerial experience, if lacking in drama or outsized personalities, and drawn bipartisan praise for his selections.
Mr. Schundler, 50, was a favorite of the conservative wing of the Republican Party and a leading voice for school-choice advocates during his nine years as mayor of Jersey City, but he failed in two runs for governor, in 2001 and 2005.
“We agree on the type of significant reform that needs to happen in our educational system here in New Jersey,” Mr. Christie said in making the announcement at the State House. “I want a strong, reasonable, bold leader who’s going to help me implement those policies.”

Texas Braces for Fight Over Social-Studies Lessons - WSJ.com

Texas Braces for Fight Over Social-Studies Lessons - WSJ.com:

"AUSTIN, Texas — Parents, teachers and activists lined up Wednesday for the chance to help shape the way history will be taught to millions of Texas children for the next decade.

The State Board of Education began taking testimony ahead of a tentative vote later this week on new social studies curriculum standards that will serve as the framework in Texas classrooms. But, as usual in votes before the conservative-led board, the wide-reaching guidelines are full of potential ideological flashpoints.

Early quibbles over how much prominence to give civil rights leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall, and the inclusion of Christmas seem to have been smoothed over. Board Chairman Gail Lowe said at the start of the hearing that Chavez and Christmas will not be removed from the standards."