Schools Matter: For Profit Diploma Mills Draining Federal Student Loan Kitty

Schools Matter: For Profit Diploma Mills Draining Federal Student Loan Kitty

For Profit Diploma Mills Draining Federal Student Loan Kitty

by Jim Horn

Some of the for-profit bottom feeders who prey on the poor and even the homeless to recruit bodies for their worthless degrees have been outed. We must wonder what it will take to cut these money sinks off from the federal student loans that are making for profit college CEOs deliriously wealthy.

From the Chronicle of Higher Ed:

These 20 institutions could be found in violation of a new federal rule on student-loan defaults if it took full effect today instead of in 2014, as planned. The colleges could escape risk by lowering their default rates before then. Colleges in violation can lose eligibility for federal student aid. For-profit institutions appear disproportionately affected by the new rule. Only three colleges named below are not for-profit: Benedict, Jarvis Christian, and Texas Colleges. An institution would violate

Does English Need an Academy to Protect It? | The Atlantic Wire

Does English Need an Academy to Protect It? | The Atlantic Wire

GOOD QUESTION! Does English Need an Academy to Protect It? More By BENJAMIN F. CARLSON on July 13, 2010 11:21am

bionicteaching/FlickrIn June, the Wire noted that the encroachment of such loathsome Yankeeisms as "Hey guys!" (referring to a mixed-sex crowd) and potato "chips" (not "crisps") left the U.K. Daily Mail no choice but todeclare war on American English. But such measures are short-lived. How, in the long run, can English speakers preserve the distinctive dialects of their shared language? One earnest proposal from the Queen's English Society is to establish an Academy of English, modeled on the French Académie Française, to enforce proper usage. Elizabeth Renzetti, a columnist for Canada's Globe and Mail, weighs that and other options:

Push to make tests harder finds a critic in Buffalo schools chief | GothamSchools

Push to make tests harder finds a critic in Buffalo schools chief | GothamSchools

Push to make tests harder finds a critic in Buffalo schools chief

by Maura Walz

State education officials are responding to widespread calls to make state tests more difficult. But they’re getting some harsh criticism from a surprising corner: the head of the Buffalo school system.
As Education Commissioner David Steiner and Deputy Commissioner John King travel around New York explaining their plans to overhaul the state exams, they’ve largely met with support. In New York City, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has called for tougher exams. But last week, Buffalo School Superintendent James Williams told The Buffalo News that he doubts Steiner and King’s approach will really improve the state’s schools.

“I think they’re two people who don’t know what they’re doing,” Williams said. “A more rigorous test

Principals and parents | THE EDUCATION FRONT Blog | dallasnews.com

Principals and parents | THE EDUCATION FRONT Blog | dallasnews.com

Principals and parents

by William McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist

This column in today's paper about parental engagement drew upon some research I've been doing into the subject, some of which we have discussed here in previous entries. A point I'd like to bring up today is the one mentioned in the column about linking a principal's performance review to how well his or her school engages parents.
Obviously, the entire review can't be based on the parental element.
But, as Harvard's Heather Weiss says in the column, there is now a large body of evidence that shows a child's success is directly linked to the involvement of his or her parents with his or her schoolwork. So, why shouldn't districts look into how well principals are engaging parents?
Principals can't force parents to sit around the kitchen table and work with their kids, so there is a limit to how much they can be held accountable. But districts can look into the creativity of their parental strategies, gauge

Many immigrate for employment, children - The Boston Globe

Many immigrate for employment, children - The Boston Globe

Many immigrate for employment, children

By Marissa Lang

Globe Correspondent / July 13, 2010

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MILFORD — Ashley, who was born in this town 16 miles southeast of Worcester, is in many ways a typical American 5-year-old: She loves Looney Tunes characters, Hello Kitty and Silly Bandz, the latest children’s fad in colorful rubber bracelets. She is shy around strangers and excited to enter kindergarten in the fall.

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But unlike most American girls her age, Ashley speaks little English. Her parents, originally from Chimborazo Province, a region of Ecuador tucked between mountains and active volcanoes, entered the United States illegally eight years ago.

Ashley’s parents are among the estimated 150,000 to 250,000 undocumented immigrants living in Massachusetts. They came to Milford, a working-class town of about 27,000, for a better life, said Ashley’s father, Manuel, 29, who asked that his last name not be used because he is not here legally. Like many of his neighbors, Manuel said he has no intention of returning to South America.

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The National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness: Report on Interim Findings Center on Reinventing Public Education

Center on Reinventing Public Education

The National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness: Report on Interim Findings

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June 2010
Robin Lake, Brianna Dusseault, Melissa Bowen, Allison Demeritt, Paul Hill

Download Full Report (PDF: 2985 K)

Charter management organizations (CMOs), nonprofit entities that directly manage public charter schools, are a significant force in today’s public K–12 charter school landscape.

CMOs were developed to solve serious problems limiting the numbers and quality of charter schools. The CMO model is meant to meld the benefits of school districts—including economies of scale, collaboration among similar schools, and support structures—with the autonomies and entrepreneurial drive of the charter sector.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the major philanthropies funding charter schools invested heavily in CMOs and similar organizations, spending an estimated total of $500 million between 1999 and 2009. Ultimately, those who invest in CMOs want to achieve a significantly higher number of high-quality schools in the charter school sector. Their investments in CMO growth have been targeted to specific urban school districts that have been considered difficult, if not impossible, to reform.

In recent years, the strong reputations of CMOs in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles have led many policy leaders, including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, to call for greater replication of high-performing charter schools via CMOs, especially as a strategy for turning around or replacing chronically low-performing public schools.

Despite the amount of investment and policy attention on CMOs, there has been limited research to assess their impact and their potential for improving public schools at scale.

The National Study of Charter Management Organization Effectiveness was

When My Husband Became A Hero

When My Husband Became A Hero

When My Husband Became A Hero

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07/12/10 | Lorrie Sullenberger | 0 Comments

Lorrie Sullenberger

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As the wife of Captain Sullenberger, the pilot who landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River and saved the lives of 155 people, my life has, since that day, ricocheted from one emotion to another. The nation seemed to be celebrating in the aftermath of the events, but we were in shock.

The personal letters and well wishes that started to pour into our house helped us start processing our emotions. We have personally received over 20,000 emails, as well as thousands of personal cards, letters and packages. I joked with Sully that he has achieved Santa Claus status as many of the letters come without our personal address. They simply state Captain Sullenberger, or “Sully” hero pilot USA. And like Santa at the North Pole they show up at our door. One of my favorites was from Europe and was addressed to “Hero Pilot USA.” Then in a side note it said, “Dear Postmaster, I don’t know his address but I think you can find him. Please help me and forward to him.”

The letters are funny, sad and profound, but mostly they express an overwhelming gratitude -- that just when our country needed it most we had a collective feel good moment. And not just for the United States, but the world. We even received a recent letter from a young woman in

RF|Binder Partners NATIONAL Expert Available to Discuss how to reform and improve failing schools, provide intervention in the classroom #edu

RF|Binder Partners

NATIONAL Expert Available to DiscusS how to reform and improve failing schools, provide intervention in the classroom

Arthur Griffin, longtime educator and head of McGraw-Hill School Education Group’s

Urban Advisory Resource, available for print and broadcast interviews

TOPIC: With the Obama Administration’s fiscal stimulus package poised to provide the largest number of dollars ever allocated to public education, many school districts are adopting measures to help turn around failing or underperforming schools and help students with special learning needs realize their full academic potential.

Educators, school administrators, policymakers and parents are wondering what can be done to ensure intervention programs are developed and implemented in ways that provide effective and measurable results.

SOURCE: With more than 20 years in public education administration, Arthur Griffin leads McGraw-Hill’s Urban Advisory Resource team, which develops intervention-style teaching and learning materials for Pre-K through 12th grade and higher education. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Dropout Prevention Network. Specifically, Arthur can discuss these and other issues:

· How to transform failing or underperforming school districts

· Trends in and the unique needs of urban school districts

· How to identify struggling students and when and how to intervene

· How to monitor student performance and screen for academic and behavioral problems

· How teachers, schools and parents can work collaboratively to ensure student success

BIO: Arthur Griffin is senior vice president of Urban Advisory Resource for McGraw-Hill School Education Group’s Urban Advisory Resource. In this role, Arthur works closely with sales teams, school administrators and school board members in identifying solutions and strategies to achieve their number one priority: student achievement.

Arthur has more than 21 years experience in public education administration. Prior to joining McGraw-Hill Education, he served 17 years on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education in North Carolina. Arthur distinguished himself as chair of the school board from 1997 to 2002. He recently received the Richard R. Green award as National Educator of the Year, sponsored by the Council of the Great City Schools. He earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from the University of the State of New York at Albany. He served as an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army.

Arthur is also the author of the policy paper “Response to Intervention: High Standards for a New Level of Achievement,”which can be found here: http://www.mheducation.com/uar/RtI_White_Paperfinal.pdf.

Today's Big Education Ape Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools #education #edu

Parents 4 democratic Schools

Today's Big Education Ape Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools

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