Find a Flu Shot Near You

Find a Flu Shot Near You:

"Flu Shot Locator
Seasonal flu vaccine is widely available. H1N1 vaccine is being shipped now. States are posting new information every day about availability, distribution to priority groups and where to get vaccinated. There is also information on State planning and preparation efforts, as well as general flu information here.

Click your state or use the drop-down box to learn more.

HHS is working with the states and interested partners to build a zip code-based flu clinic locator covering both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines. This new locator will be available here and on most state Websites in the near future."

H1N1 (Swine) Flu Virus: Facts for Parents (& Expecting)

Pregnant and recently pregnant women are a priority group for the H1N1 flu vaccine. More…

Vaccinating children is a priority. Flu is more dangerous than the common cold for children. More…

Antiviral Drugs to Treat H1N1. More…

Clinicians should consider these facts before prescribing antivirals. More…

Do not stop breastfeeding if you are sick. Your breast milk is good for the baby. More…

The symptoms for all flu, including H1N1 flu, are similar. However, be on the lookout for signs of serious illness. More…

Don’t wait; call your doctor immediately if your child gets sick with flu-like symptoms. More…

Relieve the symptoms of H1N1 flu with certain over-the-counter medications. More…

Emergency medical care may become necessary. Know the signs. More…

Talk to children about H1N1 flu. More…

Flu during the school year. More…

Vaccinating Children

All people from 6 months through 24 years of age are a priority group for the H1N1 flu vaccine. Getting your child vaccinated as soon as possible is the best method for protecting him or her from the flu. Use our Flu Shot Locator to get vaccinated where you live.

There are separate vaccines for seasonal flu and H1N1.

Children should get both vaccinations as soon as possible.

Flu vaccine will be available in different settings, such as vaccination clinics organized by local health departments, healthcare provider offices, schools, and other private settings, such as pharmacies and workplaces.

The 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine is expected to have a similar safety profile as seasonal flu vaccines, which have a very good safety track record. Over the years, hundreds of millions of Americans have received seasonal flu vaccines. More information on vaccine safety

The H1N1 vaccine is provided at no cost by the government. Some, but not all, clinics may charge to administer the vaccine.

More information on vaccine cost

For more information on priority vaccinations see CDC Advisors Make Recommendations for Use of Vaccine Against Novel H1N1.

Sacramento Press / Top Johnson Advisor Resigns To Work For Nestle

Sacramento Press / Top Johnson Advisor Resigns To Work For Nestle:

"Michelle Smira, a Republican strategist and consultant to mayor Kevin Johnson, resigned from her position on October 22. Below is her letter of resignation:

Dear Mayor Johnson,

It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve as a volunteer in your office, the Office of the

Mayor. The opportunity to serve as your liaison to various organizations and to meet with constituents on your behalf has been very rewarding. Thank you for this opportunity.

I believe strongly that the people of Sacramento voted overwhelmingly for you to represent us as Mayor because we wanted change. What has become apparent is that we desperately need change. I will be stepping away as a volunteer in your official office to further help promote these goals in the community. I believe that the only way to ensure that Sacramento is truly “a City that Works for Everyone” is if you are in fact leading our City. We need to change our antiquated structure and I will be there to help educate our community on the issue.

It has been a wonderful experience working with you at City Hall and I look forward to again helping in this capacity at a later date.

Thank you,
Michelle Smira"

CAVALA: Legalizing ‘Tommy Guns’ For Street Gang Members? - California Progress Report

CAVALA: Legalizing ‘Tommy Guns’ For Street Gang Members? - California Progress Report

CAVALA: Legalizing ‘Tommy Guns’ For Street Gang Members?

By Bill CavalaA veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento


Well, he didn’t really say that. But he wrote a law review article that concluded that if you can carry it, you can bear it (Constitutionally). Which means the decades old ban on automatic weapons should be repealed (we shouldn’t have Unconstitutional laws on the books), which means that street gang members – as long as they have no criminal convictions – should be able to buy and carry “Tommy Guns.”

If I were to mail such a charge, however, Harmer would surely run to the press to claim his position had been slanted, mischaracterized, and distorted.
And he’d be right.

But it’s John Garamendi, Harmer’s Democratic opponent, who has the right to cry ‘foul’.

The Republicans took a quote made in the context of the State’s budget - long before Garamendi became a candidate for Congress – to the effect that it would take a mix of tax increases and spending cuts to solve the budget problem. Ultimately, the Republican Governor and the two Republican Legislative leaders agreed with Garamendi.

Somehow that statement morphed into a demand that we “gut” Prop 13 and “tax people out of their homes” – the characterization of an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal cited in a hit piece against Garamendi (as evidence).

Not that it matters, but Garamendi has never advocated raising the property tax on residential property.

PCL INSIDER: Assemblymember Nava Calls On Big Oil To Pay Its Fair Share - California Progress Report

PCL INSIDER: Assemblymember Nava Calls On Big Oil To Pay Its Fair Share - California Progress Report

PCL INSIDER: Assemblymember Nava Calls On Big Oil To Pay Its Fair Share

By Traci SheehanExecutive DirectorPlanning and Conservation League

On Monday, the Planning and Conservation League (League) joined Assemblymember Pedro Nava as he announced the introduction of new legislation designed to ensure that big oil companies that operate in California compensate the state for extracting oil. The bill, known as the Oil Industry Fair Share Act, ABX6 1 (Nava), brings California in line with other oil producing states by requiring oil companies to pay a severance tax of ten percent. Every other major oil producing state, including Alaska and Texas, have this tax.

The revenue generated by the proposed tax would go into the state's general fund and help balance the budget. Along with the League, Mr. Nava was joined by representatives from Environment California, senior groups, school workers and nurses. These groups all asked the legislature to pass the Oil Industry Fair Share Act to help prevent more severe cuts to vital state services, noting that big oil currently gets a free ride while residents throughout the state are asked to sacrifice to help balance the budget. The measure is estimated to contribute $1.5 billion to the general fund annually.

THE WATER SPECIAL SESSION IS ON!

P/PV Program Areas | Crime Reduction and Reentry | Publications | Publication Detail

P/PV Program Areas Crime Reduction and Reentry Publications Publication Detail:

"In 1999, seeking to reduce Philadelphia's homicide rate and put youthful offenders on the path to a productive adulthood, various Philadelphia agencies and organizations, including Public/Private Ventures, partnered to form the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP). The project's goal is to steer youth, ages 14 to 24 and at greatest risk of killing or being killed, toward productive lives through increased support and supervision. This report describes YVRP and presents early evidence the initiative may be reducing homicides."

Catch Emily Alpert @ voiceofsandiego.org. for the Best in Ed News

Bright and Early


Stop raiding the leftover Halloween candy for a minute and catch up on all the education news you missed while you were trick-or-treating:

The Union-Tribune writes about the dreamed-of high school in Alpine.

Schools could begin inoculating children against swine flu as early as next week, KPBS reports.
San Diego News Network fields more questions from parents about how their kids can meet the standards to apply for the University of California and California State University systems.

A Julian parent created a "green party kit" to replace disposable plates and cups used for classroom parties and got profiled in National Geographic for her work, the North County Times reports.

Also in the North County Times: Escondido high schools are preparing for more construction.
A San Jose-area school district has ousted their superintendent after questions cropped up about his spending, the Mercury News reports. The problem is that it cost them another $120,000 to do it -- plus his health benefits.

Parcel taxes and school construction bonds will be popping up on ballots for voters to approve or deny across Southern California as school districts try to gather more funds, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Merc zeroes in on two such school districts with parcel taxes going before voters in their area.

The LAT also profiles a Pasadena high school that is trying to turn itself around.
The San Francisco Chronicle tells the appalling story of the gang rape of a teenage girl in Richmond and her classmates who did it. I'd like to think that the headline -- which says that the attack is seen as "nearly inevitable" -- isn't true.

The Educated Guess, a blog on school policy, writes about a hearing today on another bill aimed at helping California snap up a second batch of school stimulus funds. This one would give researchers access to state data systems.

States and school districts are beginning to worry about what happens when the stimulus money runs dry, Education Week reports. It's called the funding cliff. San Diego Unified, for instance, has used some stimulus money to pay salaries for teachers in a program to reduce class sizes. But when the federal money disappears, it must figure out how to cover those costs.

The Washington Post writes that tumult over education reform in the nation's capitol is nothing new.

The Chicago Tribune reports that schools there found an interesting way to get around No Child Left Behind requirements: Don't count struggling students as juniors so their scores don't count against them under the federal law.

-- EMILY ALPERT

Crib some notes on all things educational in San Diego, from the latest and greatest classroom innovations to scuffles on the school board, from school lunches to the teachers union.Reporter Emily Alpert hits the books, dials the decision makers and navigates the bureaucracy so you don't have to, keeping you posted throughout each day on the education beat.

Contact her at

emily.alpert@voiceofsandiego.org

twitter.com/emilyschoolsyou

Monday, November 2, 2009 6:45 AM PST

East Side school board ousts embattled Superintendent Nunez - San Jose Mercury News

East Side school board ousts embattled Superintendent Nunez - San Jose Mercury News:

"It took three special sessions and nearly 12 hours of wrangling behind closed doors, but trustees of the East Side Union High School District finally decided the fate of embattled Superintendent Bob Nunez: He was ousted from his $225,000-a-year job.

The ax officially fell at midnight on Halloween, although Nunez's pink slip was showing by noon Saturday, when the board announced its decision.

After an audit of Nunez's expenses by a San Francisco law firm that likely cost East Side Union — the largest high school district in Northern California — tens of thousands of dollars, Nunez was awarded a severance package that includes payment of $120,800 and health care benefits for four years."

School Clinics Could Open As Early As Next Week | KPBS.org

School Clinics Could Open As Early As Next Week KPBS.org:

"SAN DIEGO — San Diego County education officials say H1N1 school clinics might open sooner than later. That's because the county received an unexpected shipment of the swine flu vaccinations last week.

Almost 30 San Diego County school districts have agreed to provide campus space for county-operated vaccination clinics.

Those clinics will start inoculating kids beginning next week thanks to an unexpected shipment of 78,000 doses of the swine flu vaccination.

Jim Esterbrooks is with the San Diego County Office of Education. He says these clinics will cater to students and school staffers. He says the general public should not rely on them. Instead, they should call on their own doctors or community clinics."

Op-Ed Contributor - Teach Your Teachers Well - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributor - Teach Your Teachers Well - NYTimes.com:

"ARNE DUNCAN, the secretary of education, recently called for sweeping changes to the way we select and train teachers. He’s right. If we really want good schools, we need to create a critical mass of great teachers. And if we want smart, passionate people to become these great educators, we have to attract them with excellent programs and train them properly in the substance and practice of teaching.

Our best universities have, paradoxically, typically looked down their noses at education, as if it were intellectually inferior. The result is that the strongest students are often in colleges that have no interest in education, while the most inspiring professors aren’t working with students who want to teach. This means that comparatively weaker students in less intellectually rigorous programs are the ones preparing to become teachers."

Perils of rating teachers--Part one, the District - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

Perils of rating teachers--Part one, the District - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"In the last half of the 19th century, many inventors pursued the dream of building an airplane. Duds and crashes were frequent and skeptics numerous. Only a decade before the Wright brothers’ 1903 flight, British physicist and engineer Lord Kelvin had declared that “heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” American educators are similarly scrambling to create a teacher evaluation system that will raise the level of instruction and student achievement in the same reliable way that modern jetliners take us home for Thanksgiving. They have not been very successful.

Many smart teachers have concluded the idea is a loser. They are artists, they say, whose work cannot be reduced to numbers for placement, pay and promotion."

Still, many people are trying to be teacher assessment’s answer to Wilbur and Orville Wright. Take, for instance, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and a team of educators led by Jason Kamras, the 2005 national teacher of the year. You can find their IMPACT plan, the result of input from more than 500 D.C. educators, by clicking on the “Teaching and Learning” tabhttp://dcps.dc.gov.

Will it crash and burn? Many think so. George Parker, president of the Washington Teachers’ Union, said “it takes the art of teaching and turns it into bean counting.” I have been sending the plan to experts around the country, however, and they are more optimistic than I expected.

My Teacher, My Hero True Stories of Great Teachers

Texas tells teachers' trainers they must make the grade, too | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Texas tells teachers' trainers they must make the grade, too Houston & Texas News Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"Texas is among the first states to toughen its standards for colleges of education and other teacher-training programs amid criticism that too many are “cash cows” that produce weak instructors.

Under a proposed new rating system, the programs would be held accountable for their graduates' effectiveness on the job — especially regarding student achievement. Teacher programs that repeatedly fall short of the standards could lose their state accreditation.

“Those programs that are doing poorly — and the result is poor teachers — ought to get sanctioned,” said state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, who authored the bill this year requiring the more rigorous accreditation system.

The State Board for Educator Certification gave initial approval to the rules last month and is expected to finalize them in February."

Schools' zero-tolerance policies tested - USATODAY.com

Schools' zero-tolerance policies tested - USATODAY.com:

"Parents and elected officials across the USA are demanding that schools slacken zero-tolerance policies that are meant to reduce violence because strict adherence has lead to some students being forced out of school for bringing items such as eyebrow trimmers and a Cub Scout's camping tool to campus.

The most recent high-profile case involved Zachary Christie, a 6-year-old who was suspended for five days on Sept. 29 after he brought a camping utensil that was part knife, fork and spoon to Downes Elementary in Newark, Del. School officials considered it a dangerous instrument and suspended the boy, adding that he couldn't return to Downes until he completed at least 45 days at an alternative school."

The Thinkers: Teachers offered a lesson in urban vernacular

The Thinkers: Teachers offered a lesson in urban vernacular:

"Arnetha Ball recalls a time when a teacher in a mostly African-American classroom was taking roll and asked if a particular student was absent.

'No, he's not here,' a girl in the class said. 'He be missing the bus.'

The teacher corrected her. 'You mean, he missed the bus.'

'Well,' the girl replied, 'he missed the bus, but that's not what I was saying.'"

By using that particular piece of African-American vernacular, the girl actually meant "he misses the bus all the time," said Dr. Ball, a Stanford University expert in educational linguistics and the inaugural Dr. Barbara A. Sizemore distinguished professor at Duquesne University's School of Education.

Dr. Ball said teachers, especially those in urban schools across the nation, need to start understanding that African-American speech is its own language, with specialized words, grammar and ways of communicating.

"People may think it's all about slang," she said, "but it goes much deeper."

In the case of the roll-call anecdote, when the student said "he be missing the bus, she meant it's a habitual pattern, so when she was corrected by the teacher, she was aware that was not what she had meant to say."

As with any language, she said, "there's a much richer meaning if you can understand the intended colloquial meanings that go with the expressions."
Her years of research on the subject have not been aimed at promoting African-American vernacular at the expense of standard, academic English, but to show how understanding its patterns can enhance communication and teaching.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09306/1010095-53.stm#ixzz0ViYPYmSo

More districts use income, not race, as basis for busing - USATODAY.com

More districts use income, not race, as basis for busing - USATODAY.com:

"Struggling to improve schools that have large populations of poor and minority students and under legal pressure to avoid racial busing, a small but growing group of school districts are integrating schools by income.

More than 60 school systems now use socioeconomic status as a factor in school assignments, says Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, which studies income inequality. Students in Champaign, Ill.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Louisville have returned this year to income-based assignments."

Dorothy Rich; educator advocated for parents - The Boston Globe

Dorothy Rich; educator advocated for parents - The Boston Globe:

"WASHINGTON - Dorothy Rich, an educator, author, and lecturer who became one of the nation’s best known and most persistent advocates for mobilizing parents’ interest in their children’s education, died of cancer Oct. 25 at her home in Washington. She was 77.

Parental involvement in the education of school-age children is largely taken for granted. But it was not so when Dr. Rich was a teacher working in New York and Arlington, Va., in the late 1950s and early 1960s. During her teacher training, the word parent was not even mentioned, she once said.

Besides attending PTA meetings, making brownies for bake sales, offering clerical help, and pushing children to do homework, parents were told to keep out of their children’s schooling, she said."

Parent groups focus on funding schools | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun

Parent groups focus on funding schools MyDesert.com The Desert Sun:

"Even though many parents at Ronald Reagan Elementary school in Palm Desert have lost jobs and fallen on hard times, families have joined together to raise enough money to bring back art and music programs this year."

“Our school has a lot of heart,” Parent Teach Organization president Pamela Wise said. “We just dig in and we always deliver.”

As schools across the state and the nation struggle with crippling budget cuts, parent-teacher organizations and their fundraising power are increasingly called on to help pay for everything from staff to books to technology.

“I don't know of a school district that hasn't been impacted and hasn't turned to their parents and community to assist,” said California State Parent Teacher Association President Jo Loss.

This year, Cahuilla Elementary School's PTO decided to shift its focus from field trips and other regular classroom expenses to technology, said PJ Davis-Lewallen, PTO president for the Palm Springs school.

The group still wants to provide those educational trips, but decided with input from teachers and the principal, “let's focus on more things that are more important for education,” she said.

Some schools and all three local districts have established nonprofit educational foundations to help cover costs.

Vulgar Veto Leaves California Laughing While State Collapses - Daily Nexus

Vulgar Veto Leaves California Laughing While State Collapses - Daily Nexus:

"By now you’ve probably all heard about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent veto message spelling out a big “fuck you” to Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco. If you haven’t heard about this, you might want to start paying more attention to state politics.

Ammiano’s bill, AB 1176, would have given the Port of San Francisco expanded powers to capture and use certain tax revenues to fund infrastructure projects and set aside a portion of the money for stuff like waterfront parks and environmental cleanup. The bill received unanimous approval in both the Assembly and state Senate, which is pretty incredible in our increasingly partisan state legislature."

Schwarzenegger vetoed this bill not for what it was, but for what it was not; it failed to address issues his administration considers most important, such as water reform, prison reform and health care. And, let’s be real, Ammiano probably didn’t help his cause by telling Schwarzenegger to “kiss my gay ass” at a San Francisco Democratic Party fundraiser last month.

The carefully penned veto message is full of bizarre language and doesn’t fit the standard pattern of most veto messages, which tend to justify the veto by detailing problems with the bill itself. Of course, Schwarzenegger’s spokesman swears up and down that it is just a “strange coincidence” that the first letters of each line combine to spell out “fuck you.” Yea, right.

Aside from a few bloggers, the media and, presumably, Californians, most have reacted with nothing more than a laugh and a wink. The Wall Street Journal said Schwarzenegger “just likes to have fun” as governor and went on to list other funny “pranks” he’s pulled during his time in office.

Am I the only one bothered by this?

Victor Garcia: Parent Institute for Quality Education program graduates new class | visaliatimesdelta.com | Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

Victor Garcia: Parent Institute for Quality Education program graduates new class visaliatimesdelta.com Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register:

"Sixty-eight Visalia Unified School District parents graduated from the Parent Institute for Quality Education last week at Redwood High School."

It is a parent-involvement program where parents learn about SATs and the requirements for children to get into a university.
Each parent received a certificate of completion.

Students of parents who go through the program receive an automatic admission to the California State University system, if they meet all of its requirements.
The organization's goal is to promote family involvement in school.

Newhouse: Student finds favorite teacher at last - San Jose Mercury News

Newhouse: Student finds favorite teacher at last - San Jose Mercury News:

"Mike Bugbee has found his long-lost fourth-grade teacher from the mid-1960s, and I'm beginning to resemble my Halloween costume of Sherlock Holmes.

In my Oct. 22 column, Bugbee spoke of finding that one special teacher in his life, a young woman at Piedmont Avenue School in Oakland who took a dyslexic kid lacking self-esteem and instilled in him the confidence to succeed in education.

On Oct. 23, lost teacher was located. Take that, Magnum P.I.! I received a call from the teacher's sister in Danville, who informed me that Bugbee's favorite educator now lives in Laguna Niguel in Southern California and her name is Anne Hassard Bussey."

My Teacher, My Hero True Stories of Great Teachers

My Teacher, My Hero True Stories of Great Teachers:
"Did you have a great teacher inspire you and change your life?

We all did.My Teacher, My Hero celebrates those teachers.

See stories from leaders around the world and share one of your own!"

Century City News: Senate Prepared for Take-off on Race to the Top

Century City News: Senate Prepared for Take-off on Race to the Top:

"The Senate Education Committee will vote on key Race to the Top legislation this Monday, including the most comprehensive bill addressing the reforms, SBX5 1, authored by Senator Gloria Romero (D- East Los Angeles), Chair of the Senate Education Committee, with Senators Bob Huff (R-Glendora), Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), and Mark Wyland (R- Escondido).

“We can’t afford to wait anymore. If we’re not racing to the top, we will be grounded in our failures,” said Senator Romero."

NO on SB 5X 1

CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR

This is the info you will need to contact Darrell Steinberg.

District office -telephone - 651-1529FAX --------- 327-8754

Capital office -telephone -- 651-4006FAX ---------- 328-2263

CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

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