Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Empty Nest 101: College orientation for parents - Boston.com

Empty Nest 101: College orientation for parents

This undated photo provided by Northeastern University shows parent Landi Tang as she looks over a booklet during an orientation for families of incoming freshmen at the university in Boston. Some orientations for families of incoming freshman are packed with workshops, tours and speeches on subjects ranging from letting go to campus safety. (AP Photo/Northeastern University, Mary Knox Merrill)

By Beth J. Harpaz

Associated Press Writer / July 6, 2010

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NEW YORK—Call it Empty Nesting 101: Colleges around the country are holding orientations for families of incoming freshmen. But these are not simple "Meet the Dean" receptions held the day before school starts. These are elaborate two- and three-day events, often held on midsummer weekdays, requiring parents to take time off from work and pay $70 or $80 in addition to lodging, food and travel expenses.

They're packed with workshops, tours and speeches on subjects ranging from letting go to campus safety. Reed College in Portland, Ore., even invites parents to read "The Odyssey" and attend a lecture and discussion similar to what their kids will experience in a freshman humanities course.

You might think parents facing massive tuition bills would balk at more demands on their budget and time. But many colleges report that well over half their freshmen have family in attendance at

Announcing The Great June Giveaway Winner

Announcing The Great June Giveaway Winner

Family and Friend

Architects of Change

07/6/10 | The Women's Conference | 0 Comments

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Guys We Love: Who do you love & why?

At The Women’s Conference, we focus on women and women’s issues – covering everything from women entrepreneurs to women’s health to women Architects of Change. But we know that – as men need women, we women need men – to make a difference in the world, to inspire us, and to give us moral and emotional support.

Our Great June Giveaway offered The Women’s Conference community the chance to reflect on the great “guys” in their lives – and to share those guys with the rest of us.

We received many thoughtful, heartfelt responses from you. An overwhelming number of women chose husbands, partners, sons & fathers -- who gave them love, respect, encouragement & affirmation. The winning response and two honorable mentions are below. Visit The XX Effect: Generation to Generation for more Guys We Love.

Winner

Cynthia Harty:

I love the guy at the auto dealership who talks to me like he would any man who walks through the door. I love the guy who installs or repairs something in my home and initiates a conversation with me as to what he is doing and accepts critique or suggestions. I love the man who defers to a woman in the room when she is an expert. I love my Internal Medicine Doctor whose first words when he met me were "Okay lets start from the beginning, tell me everything that happened", and then he listened. He then followed that up with "I'd like to get a second opinion". I love and admire the respect and will return it always.

Honorable Mentions

Jacquelon:

The man I love passed away over 20 years ago. That man was my father. He adopted me when I was four years old and was never anything but my "real" Dad. I only discovered that he was my stepfather when I was 12 years old. However, I never once questioned his love for me as his daughter. If someone made a comment about how much I looked like him considering I was not his biological child, he would immediately correct him or her and say, “of course she looks like me, she is my daughter”. He was the gentlest, kind, and loving person I have ever known. I never heard him raise his voice at me when he often had cause. He did not have to... all he had to say was how disappointed he was in my actions. And, then state that he was certain that I was more disappointed in myself.

I made a decision that the only way I could ever repay my Dad for accepting me as his daughter was to do the same for another child. My husband and I are now in our 60's and have three grown children. One child is adopted; I just cannot remember which one.

Kay Presto:

Who is the man I love?

He‘s a special person who has opened up a whole new life for me. He's explained things that I never had explained before, made me feel safe in my own body, helped me understand many mysteries, and so much more.

He has explained terms I’ve never heard before, has shown me eye-opening things I’ve never seen before, and taught me how to live a long and happy life.
And he does it all with a jolly smile and makes all these mysteries fun.

Who is this man? Of course, it’s Dr. Mehmet Oz himself!

Here’s a man who has shared with us the beauty and strength of our human bodies, showed us the bad effects of poor eating, smoking, and other bad habits, and makes it fun to live a good healthy life.

I’ve watched him ardently on television, even before he had his own show, and have marveled at his knowledge of our bodies, and how clearly he presents every single fact.

And why do I love him so much? Because he has demystified our bodies, and taught us to be proud and happy with the one God gave us.

And don’t forget to participate in The Great JULY Giveaway! We want to know – As a woman, what personal freedom do you value most?

NorthJersey.com: Nutley approves full-day kindergarten

Nutley approves full-day kindergarten

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

BY OWEN PROCTOR

NUTLEY SUN

OF NUTLEY SUN

The Nutley Board of Education voted 7-to-1 on Tuesday for full-day kindergarten to begin this fall. Board member Charles Kucinski was absent.
Board Vice President James Kuchta voted against the measure, citing the need for more fiscal analysis before starting a new program. Board members Steven Rogers, Vincent Moscaritola and Deborah Russo also raised concerns. Rogers said he had been under the impression all the kinks had been worked out, but would take Superintendent Joseph Zarra at his word.
The curriculum is set and "whatever issues there are will be addressed," Zarra said. "What we do in the next eight weeks will be small compared to what we’ve done," he said, referring to the numerous construction projects over the past few years.
Zarra said he is confident facilities and staffing will be available. "[Facilitating] lunch is the biggest issue now, but we will have that ironed out by the end of the month," Assistant Superintendent Mariana Francioso said. The administration plans to meet with the elementary principals soon to go over logistics.
"I believe it will be a smooth transition," Board President Kenneth Reilly said.
The original $375,000 price tag for full-day kindergarten was lowered when

Schools Matter: Dear Staci at the NEA

Dear Staci at the NEA

by Jim Horn

Someone named Staci at NEA sent me this invitation today:

Hi Jim -

High-resolution photos are available from today's award presentation. If you are interested in scheduling an interview with NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, please contact me at (202) 270-5333 or smaiers@nea.org.

Thanks,
Staci

My response: Thanks, Staci for the offer. I will need, however, some evidence from Dennis that his Suits and Prostisuits have not sold out the teachers, children, and parents in order to buy a place at the federal feeding trough, along with the ed industry leeches. It will take more than this latest meaningless gesture or the ones from this week's convention to convince us who have watched the

Discovery Charter School wins nine-year lease in West San Jose - San Jose Mercury News

Discovery Charter School wins nine-year lease in West San Jose

By Sharon Noguchi

snoguchi@mercurynews.com

Posted: 07/06/2010 04:07:31 PM PDT

Updated: 07/06/2010 04:07:33 PM PDT

After weeks of intense and emotional Discovery Charter School and the Moreland School District have forged a long-term lease for the K-8 school in West San Jose.

The lease ends an acrimonious dispute that had culminated in the school district threatening to remove one-third of the portables occupied by the popular school.

Under the agreement, Discovery will pay the district $207,500 annually for a nine-year lease, about triple what it has been paying. The school also will pay a one-time $32,000 administrative fee.

Both sides hailed the agreement.

" This allows us to take a step in the right direction for our students and establish a period of stability in the relationship between DCS and Moreland," Superintendent Glen Ishiwata said.

The agreement is "a win-win situation," Discovery board President Barbara Eagle said. The charter school will draw from its general-fund budget and step up fund-raising to pay the lease on its 29 portables, one more than it occupied this year, she said. The school was willing to pay market rate for some of the portables in exchange for the long lease.

Typically, she said, charters spend six months a year trying to arrange the following year's facilities.

"We're aware it's going to be a little tight for us, but we are willing to do this so that there will be some peace," Eagle said.

Fewer than half of Discovery's students live within the Moreland district's boundaries, and by law the

Media Advisories | U.S. Department of Education

Media Advisories

JULY 07, 2010

Under Secretary Kanter to Participate in 2010 Campus Progress National Conference

U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter will participate in a Q and A session with some 1200 students attending the 2010 National Conference of Campus Progress, at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 7, in Washington, D.C.

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Media Advisories

JULY 07, 2010

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood to Join Education Secretary Arne Duncan for "Let's Read. Let's Move." Summer Enrichment Series

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be joined by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and local D.C students for the Department of Education's "Let's Read. Let's Move." summer enrichment series on Wednesday, July 7, from noon-1:30 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Education's Lyndon Baines Johnson headquarters outdoor plaza in Washington, D.C.

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THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Grannan: In The Village, no one can hear you scream

Grannan: In The Village, no one can hear you scream

by The Perimeter Primate

Guest post by Caroline Grannan

People like me – regular parents with regular kids in regular schools, along with many other non-headline names -- are having trouble fathoming how the Obama administration could so eagerly embrace the Bush administration’s education policies and push them forward. Obama’s policies even add more emphasis on high-stakes testing, on blaming teachers, and on exalting privatization.

The forces that created and promote those policies pointedly fail to consult with or listen to educators, parents, or anyone else who spends time in actual classrooms with real live kids.

Obama’s wrongheaded tack was already dismaying. But it was even more astonishing when Arne Duncan, Obama’s education secretary, told the New York Times that he had encountered no opposition to the administration’s education policy. “Zero,” Duncan added, for emphasis.

“Hey Arne! Over here!” responded blogger Mike Klonsky.

Here on Planet Earth, dissenting voices have been raising an outcry in every way we can think of. We have a new spokesperson in Diane Ravitch, former Bush administration education official and onetime supporter of the Bush/Obama policies who took a hard look, saw those policies not just failing but doing harm, and now speaks

Adult education: America needs to improve its options for adult education - baltimoresun.com

Adult education for the 21st century

Too many are unable to make the leap from community college to a four-year degree

By Susan C. Aldridge

6:22 p.m. EDT, July 6, 2010

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I have had the pleasure of handing diplomas to some unusual people at commencement. Still, it was startling to see the child walk toward me. He was 9. He looked younger.

He wasn't accepting the diploma for himself, of course. It was for his dad, on active duty in Iraq. He'd sent his son, living on a base in Germany, to get it for him.

"Congratulations," I said. He and his dad deserved it.

At University of Maryland University College (UMUC), our graduates are America's adult learners. Almost all work full time. Half are parents. Their diplomas often reflect the work, sacrifice — and triumph — of an entire family.

The personal achievements of our students, though, are the exception rather than the rule. They highlight a national problem. UMUC graduates often begin studying at the "unsung heroes" of higher education: America's community colleges. But each year, thousands of community college students who want to earn a bachelor's degree — particularly those from modest-income or minority families — cannot continue. America's four-year colleges don't accommodate them.

This is not just a tragedy for them. It is a tragedy for our nation. Researchers estimate that baby boomer

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Tuesday, July 6, 2010