Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Local News | Pledge to pay Hondurans pleases Nike critics at UW | Seattle Times Newspaper
Pledge to pay Hondurans pleases Nike critics at UW
The University of Washington said Monday that an agreement reached this week between Nike and laid-off workers in Honduras paves the way for the UW to continue doing business with Nike.
Seattle Times staff reporter
The University of Washington said Monday that an agreement reached this week between Nike and laid-off workers in Honduras paves the way for the UW to continue doing business with Nike.
The UW's relationship with the sports-apparel company has been under pressure in recent months. An advisory committee this year recommended the UW end its contract with Nike because of the poor treatment of laid-off workers.
But Nike announced Monday that it will contribute $1.54 million to a relief fund to be distributed to about 1,500 eligible former workers. The fund will be supervised by a professor at Cornell University and
Rise & Shine: Civil rights groups criticize Obama reform goals | GothamSchools
Rise & Shine: Civil rights groups criticize Obama reform goals
- A debate over the name of a new South Bronx school has stoked underlying community tension. (Times)
- Buffalo school and union officials say the new evaluations will better support teachers. (Buffalo News)
- Civil rights groups, including the NAACP, are criticizing President Obama’s education reform goals. (AP)
- The D.C. teachers union plans to sue the city on behalf of 241 fired teachers. (Washington Examiner)
- William McGurn: The rise of school choice in D.C. helped Rhee pressure the teachers union. (WSJ)
- Ed. Sec. Arne Duncan encouraged Detroit voters to support mayoral control. (Detroit Free Press)
Shirley Sherrod, the American Spectator, and the History of Lynching in America � Student Activism
Shirley Sherrod, the American Spectator, and the History of Lynching in America
So the American Spectator has a piece up claiming that Shirley Sherrod of the USDA — the Shirley Sherrod who recently lost her job after Andrew Breitbart disseminated distorted clips from a speech she’d given to the NAACP — lied in that speech when she said her relative Bobby Hall was lynched in Baker County, Georgia back in the early 1940s.
Now, the Spectator is wrong about this, as has been noted. They’re wrong because they’re under the impression
Now, the Spectator is wrong about this, as has been noted. They’re wrong because they’re under the impression
Monday, July 26, 2010
Lawmakers Question Salaries at Nonprofits - NYTimes.com
Lawmakers Seeking Cuts Look at Nonprofit Salaries
By STEPHANIE STROM
Published: July 26, 2010
State and federal officials are starting to take their knives to the pay of leaders of nonprofit groups they do business with to help share the pain of tighter budgets.
Joyce Dopkeen for The New York Times
Roxanne Spillett, the chief executive of Boys & Girls Clubs, was paid $988,591 in 2008.
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A provision in New Jersey’s recently passed budget, for example, includes a limit on what nonprofit groups can pay their chief executives if they are providing social services under state contracts. The cap, based on a formula that also applies to for-profits providing such services on behalf of the state, is part of a broader effort by Gov. Chris Christie to rein in salaries on state workers.
In New Hampshire, Attorney General Michael A. Delaney is investigating compensation among nonprofit hospital executives. And Vermont legislators are trying various ways of curbing salaries paid by nonprofit groups that have contracts with the state.
On Capitol Hill, four senators this spring refused to approve a $425 million package of federal grants for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America after staff members looked at the organization’s tax forms as part of a routine vetting process and were surprised to learn that the organization paid its chief executive almost $1 million in 2008 — $510,774 in salary and bonus and $477,817 in retirement and other benefits.
“A nearly $1 million salary and benefit package for a nonprofit executive is not only questionable
School Tech Connect: Hats Off To Brave Reporting
Hats Off To Brave Reporting
I continue to be amazed a Sharon Higgins' dogged tracking of the Gulen school network that has cropped up in the American public charter school system. She's on the case again, on both her web sites. It's a difficult, almost radioactive topic because xenophobes and hatemongers get hold of these things and run with them. Nobody ever follows up on the story, probably because you put yourself in unsavory company when you call
Blog U.: Enterprise vs. Consumer Learning Technologies - Technology and Learning - Inside Higher Ed
Enterprise vs. Consumer Learning Technologies
By Joshua Kim July 26, 2010 9:03 pm
The 7/22 article in the NYTimes, "Windows Upgrade Helps Microsoft to a Record Quarter," got me thinking about enterprise vs. consumer platforms in our world of learning tech. Microsoft is making tons of money on enterprise licenses, but its stock price remains flat because their consumer brand continues to erode. In a world of iPads and iPhones, apparently consumer sales are where Wall Street sees future growth potential.What is the distribution and breakdown of consumer vs. enterprise technologies in higher
Eduflack: Around the Edu-Horn, July 26, 2010
Around the Edu-Horn, July 26, 2010
RT @usedgov Fifteen teachers from around the country selected as Teaching Ambassador Fellows for 2010-11.http://go.usa.gov/Ooz
RT @PoliticsK12 Blog: Race to Top Finalists Unveiled Tomorrow: Who Makes the Cut? http://bit.ly/bmucMH
RT @Larryferlazzo Civil rights groups skewer Obama education policy" Wash Post http://bit.ly/bragUt
Renting college textbooks -- http://tinyurl.com/34zogyg
Test prep for kindergarten? http://tinyurl.com/22pbc4q
RT @PoliticsK12 Blog: Race to Top Finalists Unveiled Tomorrow: Who Makes the Cut? http://bit.ly/bmucMH
RT @Larryferlazzo Civil rights groups skewer Obama education policy" Wash Post http://bit.ly/bragUt
Renting college textbooks -- http://tinyurl.com/34zogyg
Test prep for kindergarten? http://tinyurl.com/22pbc4q
Education chief: Let voters decide mayor's role with DPS | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Education chief: Let voters decide mayor's role with DPS | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Education chief: Let voters decide mayor's role with DPS
BY CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last year the Detroit Public Schools were ground zero for public education and the district’s crises kept him up at night, but today he said the system faces a “tremendous” opportunity.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Duncan said he is hopeful partly due to the public discussion about giving the mayor authority over the DPS. He is encouraging Detroit and other big cities to consider this path, saying that, with broad support, it can work.
Schools Matter: Wake County Republicans Try to Make Resegregation Plan All About Busing
Wake County Republicans Try to Make Resegregation Plan All About Busing
Until national attention was finally drawn to the racist Tea Party's Gang of Five on the Wake County School Board, the Republican Party had been content to let the haters of Wake's school diversity plan frame their argument as being opposed to liberal "social engineering." This thinly disguised racist meme was uttered by all of the Tea Partiers who were working overtime to overturn the successful Wake County diversity plan, whether it was Little John Tedesco at a big Tea Party rally or anti-diversity pioneer, Susan Matson, who could not wait to see an end to the "social engineering" that had brought Wake County to the point where there were, indeed, no
School Tech Connect: An Opportunity To Learn
An Opportunity To Learn
On a given day, I triage through several hundred Twitter messages about what's good for kids. I can only say this:
Presidential Proclamation--Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act | The White House #education
Presidential Proclamation--Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Presidential Proclamation--Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2010
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990, a founding truth of our Nation was realized for persons living with disabilities -- that all our citizens are entitled to the same privileges, pursuits, and civil rights. As we mark the 20th anniversary of this historic legislation, we renew our commitment to ensuring that everyone with disabilities can live free from the weight of discrimination and pursue the American dream.
Across our country, Americans with disabilities have enriched and strengthened our Nation. Each day, individuals living with disabilities contribute immeasurably to every aspect of our country's national life and economy, from art to law, science to business, education to technology. Through steadfast determination, they have worked to make our communities more accessible, while empowering others to exercise independence and self-determination in all aspects of their lives. They have also brightened futures for countless young people. Today, children and youth with disabilities have a place in our classrooms alongside their peers, and are graduating with the knowledge and skills needed for postsecondary education and beyond.
Yet, despite the progress made in removing barriers and eliminating discrimination based on disability, on this 20th anniversary of the ADA, we must renew our commitment to achieving equal opportunity for, and the full inclusion of, all people with disabilities. My Administration has taken important steps towards achieving this goal. We have expanded funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so that all of America's children have access to the tools to succeed. Under the health care reforms enacted in the Affordable Care Act, unfair practices like discrimination based on health status or pre-existing conditions will be eliminated. This landmark legislation also creates the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Program to assist Americans with disabilities to live independently. Additionally, the Affordable Care Act provides States with more tools and financial incentives, such as the Community First Choice Option, which will support individuals with disabilities living in the communities of their choosing. These and other initiatives build on the "Year of Community Living," which I launched in 2009 to support independent living.
The Federal Government is committed to leading by example in hiring people with disabilities, with focused efforts to recruit, retain, and support these public servants. In partnership with the many Federal agencies and departments with ADA responsibilities, my Administration will uphold strong and meaningful enforcement of the ADA to eliminate discrimination in employment, housing, public services, and community accommodations. I urge all Americans to visit Disability.gov for comprehensive disability-related information and resources.
I am also proud that the United States has in the past year joined the international community in signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In so doing, we affirm that these rights are not simply principles to safeguard at home, but also universal rights to be respected and advanced around the world.
In honor of and in solidarity with all Americans with disabilities and their loved ones, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ADA, and recommit to build a more just world, free of unnecessary barriers and full of deeper understanding.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do hereby proclaim Monday, July 26, 2010, the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I encourage Americans across our Nation to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this civil rights law and the many contributions of individuals with disabilities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
No more regional heads, Tribune reports | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
No more regional heads, Tribune reports
by Paul Socolar on Jul 26 2010 Posted in Latest news
The District is getting rid of its regional superintendents and plans to reuse its regional offices as "Parent and Family Resource Centers," according to a exclusive report in thePhiladelphia Tribune this weekend.
The Tribune article, by Eric Mayes, says its information is from a District statement, including staff changes, released on Friday. The Notebook is awaiting comment from the District on the reported changes.
The Tribune says that in lieu of regional superintendents, who now supervise principals in their geographic area, there will be three assistant superintendents for elementary education, one for middle schools, one for high schools, one for alternative schools, and one for Promise Academies. All will report to Penny Nixon
Remainders: Randi Weingarten, professional tight-rope walker | GothamSchools
Remainders: Randi Weingarten, professional tight-rope walker
- Randi’s favorite body part? Her legs, “because I have to walk a tight rope most of the time.” (Politico)
- One budget-cut casualty is full-day kindergarten programming. (Hechinger Report)
- Math and ELA scores are out on Wednesday, but parents can’t see them for a month. (InsideSchools)
- A teacher says DonorsChoose is hurting teachers by supporting a pro-charter movie. (Accountable Talk)
- Teach your students problem-solving skills and this will never happen to them. (Education on the Plate)
- And a comic shows the theory v. reality of media and education. (Toothpaste For Dinner)
- Basil Smikle, the reform-friendly state Senate candidate, travels by motorcycle. (New York Mag)
- The NAACP and other civil rights groups are attacking Arne Duncan’s agenda. (Answer Sheet)
- Aaron Pallas is worried about Michelle Rhee’s firings’ reliance on value-added. (Hechinger Report)
- Arne Duncan’s speech tomorrow will be themed “the quiet revolution.” (ed.gov)
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