The Echo

Published Online: December 30, 2010


N.D. Bullying Lawsuit Settled

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/30/395287ndstudentlawsuitsettlement_ap.htmlFargo, N.D.

The Fargo School District has reached a $300,000 out-of-court settlement with a former student over allegations that he was repeatedly bullied by classmates.

School district attorney Tiffany L. Johnson told The Forum newspaper Wednesday that terms of the settlement include payments to the former student of $190,600 and $109,400 to his lawyer.

Johnson says the district's insurance company has paid the claim.

The lawsuit said the school district didn't properly respond to repeated complaints about the bullying and didn't do enough to punish the perpetrators. It sought unspecified damages in excess of $50,000.

The lawsuit claimed that the bullying of the unidentified student, now 21, began in grade school.

Published Online: December 29, 2010
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/29/15mct_ilchicagoboard.h30.html

Chicago Teacher Coalition Calls for Elected School Board

By Tara Malone, Chicago Tribune (MCT)
As Chicago prepares to elect a new mayor, a coalition of teachers, community leaders, parents and students on Wednesday said the city's next leader should not control public education as Mayor Richard Daley has for most of his 21 years in office.

The group called for the return of an elected, 13-member school board that would be geographically representative of the city.

It said 7 of the 13 seats should to go to parents and community members, while also including two teachers, an administrator, an education researcher, a paraprofessional and a business person.

Jitu Brown of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization said the group plans to sit down with state legislators and rework the law that put Chicago Public Schools into Daley's hands in 1995. They also intend to make their case to the dozen or so candidates for the city's top office.

"We want to make sure this becomes an issue for the people seeking to be mayor of Chicago," Brown said during a news conference at the James R. Thompson Center that drew a group of students and teachers in the midst of the holiday break.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/29/15mct_ilchicagoboard.h30.html

Dispositions for Success

Across education and industry, research by Mr. Sackett; Neal Schmitt, a psychology professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing; and others shows the biggest predictor of success is a student’s conscientiousness, as measured by such traits as dependability, perseverance through tasks, and work ethic. Agreeableness, including teamwork, and emotional stability were the next-best predictors of college achievement, followed by variations on extroversion and openness to new experiences, Mr. Sackett found.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/23/15aera.h30.html?tkn=MSNFLv2qkoQhwOKkkn1cdTQl9A0azUKZ%2F7h%2F&cmp=clp-edweek

I must be dreaming. 

More and more, research shows young people need the same cognitive and social-emotional skills to complete school and progress in the workplace, and, moreover, that those skills can be taught and tested like any other subject in school.

Nope.  Not dreaming. 

Most schools do not teach or measure nonacademic readiness indicators directly, though they do pop up through conduct reports, attendance, team-project evaluations, and other areas. However, several groups are developing more-comprehensive assessments they hope will help school administrators predict a student’s academic and social-emotional readiness trajectory.

Education Sector, a Washington think tank, has been studying something other than the "common core."  Seems social-emotional learning plays a role in college and career readiness.  Research "shows the biggest predictor of success is a student’s conscientiousness, as measured by such traits as dependability, perseverance through tasks, and work ethic. Agreeableness, including teamwork, and emotional stability were the next-best predictors of college achievement, followed by variations on extroversion and openness to new experiences," according to the article. 

This research  is a potential blow to education "deformers," the likes of which see Race to the Top as the second-coming, and as such is likely to get little mainstream press for now.  However, education advocates would do well to read between the lines and get ready to stand with their educators.  It's a fissure in the attack on teachers and may well indicate that academic assessment and the movement to tie teacher evaluations to them is seriously flawed.  (Though many of us already know that.)

Yes, Virginia, there is something more to education than the DCAS.  Your success is as dependent on your HQ teacher as it is on YOU. 

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28765366&postID=4369108827936382105
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 24, 2010


NORTH POLE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Because only 17 percent of children are grateful for their gifts, the North Pole School District has adopted a strategic plan, which launches several initiatives for Christmas, 2010.


CAPACITY MANAGEMENT
Families have told us they want predictability in their gift assignments. Unfortunately, our existing gift assignment plan results in excess demand for some gifts, and inadequate demand for others.


To create predictability and ensure excellence for all, the North Pole School District has adopted the True Rejoicing Under the Tree Holiday Gift Assignment Plan.


When TRUTHGAP takes effect, students in the northeast quadrant of the North Pole School District will be assigned new skis. Students in the northwest quadrant will be assigned an XBox 360 or Wii. Students in the southwest quadrant will be assigned a karaoke machine. Students in the southeast quadrant will be assigned wool socks. Students in the central area will be assigned an iPod, which they all must share with each other.


PLAY ALIGNMENT
Effective immediately, play will be guided by the North Pole School District's pacing plan. Children throughout the district will have the benefit of the same play experience on the same day. A child who has a playdate at a different house every day will not fall behind. Play alignment allows us to provide effective play-supervision coaching to parents.


Play alignment is not standardization. For instance, on Tuesdays, all North Pole children may be playing TROUBLE. Their play experience will be rich and diverse, based on the results of the Pop-O-Matic.


ELF QUALITY
The most important factor affecting a child’s happiness is the quality of elves making toys at the North Pole. Studies conducted by the Holiday Privatization Foundation have shown that children with highly-effective elves experience 1.5 years of joy in a single year, while children with ineffective elves experience only .5 years of joy.


Our new collective bargaining agreement with the elves union enables us to replace these problematic elves with altruistic college graduates, who -- although they have never produced actual gifts -- will manufacture superior skis, Nintendos and iPods (under the instruction of the experienced elves who have not yet been exited from the profession).
 DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
Because children’s happiness cannot be enhanced without accurate, easily-understood data, the North Poll School District will frequently, carefully measure student happiness.


The District has awarded a $6.5 million no-bid contract for the Children’s Rejoicing Assessment of Progress. Children will not be allowed to study or play for approximately three-week periods during fall, winter and spring. School libraries and computer labs will be repurposed for continual administration of the CRAP test.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Because the happiness of children is our overarching goal, we will be reaching out to key stakeholders. We will work collaboratively with Wal-Mart, Target, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, the North Pole Roundtable, the League of Gift Givers, the Alliance for Joy and other institutions with superior understanding of happiness. We’re listening -- and open for business!


THE NEW NORTH POLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS:


EVERYONE HAPPY. EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE. EXCELLENCE FOR ALL

Md. school cancels dance for 'dirty' violations


Associated Press • December 23, 2010


 A high school in Cumberland, Md., says it's canceling a February dance to crack down on the sexy gyrations known as dirty dancing or freak dancing.

Allegany High School Principal Mike Calhoun said Wednesday that students at the autumn homecoming dance ignored appropriate behavior guidelines developed by student government.

Calhoun says the February Sweetheart Dance is off, and the spring prom is in jeopardy.

Schools across the country are struggling to control dirty dancing by canceling events or making students sign contracts prohibiting the sexy moves.

Junior Sierra Sines tells the Cumberland Times-News she understands administrators' concerns but she really hopes to go to prom

Dear Christina,

I'm struggling with this issue.  At last week's board meeting at Stubbs, the board heard the impassioned pleas of those advocating that we approve a plan to convert a portion of our headquarters, the Drew Building, into a health clinic as part of Christina's Community School intiative in the City of Wilmington.  The board is scheduled to vote next month on the plan.

Children and Families 1st (no relation to our blog, Children & Educators First) has enlisted the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center as the potential partner.  HJ already has a clinic in Southbridge.  They would be opening a satelite location in 3,200 sq. ft. of space in Drew to be accessible by a separate entrance.  The Community Schools project will identify and obtain the funding for the conversion of the space.  In return, Christina will allow Henrietta Johnson to use the space for free in addition to conitnuing to pay the utilities on the space.  HJ will then provide the health care services to any member of the public who seeks medical care (covered either by ones' health insurance or on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay.)

The benefits are obvious - the plan creates accessible healthcare for children and adults on the east side of town eliminating unreliable transportation burdens affecting area residents.  And I know its right to make healthcare as accessible as possible for our children.  It's our moral obligation. 

Yet, I struggle with the idea of using tax payer money earmarked for education to support a medical center.  So, I'm putting out to you, Christina - please share your thoughts in the comments section. 

Thank You,
Elizabeth

Students using music as gateway to success



At concert, Ennis pupils show off skills they've learned

By MOLLY MURRAY • The News Journal • December 17, 2010

It's the music that takes center stage at most school holiday performances this time of year.
But at Howard T. Ennis, a school for children with developmental disabilities in Georgetown, the music in the "Celebrations" concert Thursday was secondary.

"Our kids learn a lot throughout the process," Principal Kris Perfetti said.


Finish the Story HERE:  http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101217/NEWS03/12170323

DOE's Ennis Profile Here: http://profiles.doe.k12.de.us/SchoolProfiles/school/Default.aspx?checkSchool=750&districtCode=36

Published Online: December 14, 2010

Study Finds Bad Schools Rarely Get Better—or Shut Down

By Sarah D. Sparks

The lowest-performing public K-8 schools often linger in that state for years, neither improving enough to get off accountability life support nor being shuttered completely, and persistently failing charter schools fare no better than regular public schools, a new study finds.


Of 2,025 chronically low-performing elementary and middle schools identified in 10 states in 2003-04, it found, only about 1 percent had improved enough to exceed their states’ average academic performance five years later, and fewer than 10 percent had even broken out of the lowest 25 percent of schools in their states. The findings are in a report released Tuesday by the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Basis Policy Research, of Raleigh, N.C.

Continued HERE:  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/14/15fordham.h30.html?tkn=RLSF9%2FcFtNFcFVpVvIvvHn9mlKCrc%2FXlnaTv&cmp=clp-edweek#

Posted at 5:32 PM ET, 12/ 7/2010


Was Friends of Bedford ready for Dunbar?

By Bill Turque

As promised, DCPS moved Monday to bolster safety and security at Dunbar High School, which officials say has suffered from a lack of both under Friends of Bedford, the outside operator hired by former Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.

The package includes additional police presence, more experienced school security guards, and extra administrative types from the school system's central office. A team of social workers met with every English class (to make sure they covered all students) to talk about sexual behavior and respect in the wake of the alleged assault that took place at the school last month. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2010/12/was_friends_of_bedford_ready_f.html

Former DC Chancellor and Education Deformist, Michelle Rhee brought in Friends of Bedford to reform Dunbar High School, "once the pride of black Washington" as Turque puts it.  Bedford had an excellent pedigree stemming from the groups' five years of experience at Bedford High School in Brooklyn, NY, a highly regarded public school with an intense emphasis on college preparedness.  But the Friends built Bedford from scratch while at Dunbar they assumed leadership and operations of a failing school. 

Leonard built Bedford from scratch. Dunbar, once the educational pride of black Washington, had been a failing school for years. Enrollment is nearly twice that of Bedford (750 vs 400) and when he arrived, students were housed in a sprawling '70s-style building with concrete ramps and no walls for classrooms, part of an "open" design in vogue a generation ago.


Bedford was an application school, where students were screened by the city's education department for grades, standardized test scores and attendance. The names of incoming ninth graders were also available to school officials in May or June, allowing the staff time to reach out to new families.

At Dunbar, Friends of Bedford is required to accept anyone with the legal right to attend, including students from Walker Jones and Emery education campuses, some of whom are multiple grade levels behind in reading when they enter Dunbar. Also destabilizing, Leonard said, was the steady stream of late enrollments after the start of school in August, which interfere with attempts to establish some continuity of culture.  -- Turque

A day after Turque's post ran in the Washington Post, Kaya Henderson, Rhee's replacement ousted the Friends of Bedford, just three years after Rhee had hired them.  In another twist, Henderson brough back the former principal Stephen Jackson, who was removed by Bedford in the 09-10 school year to head the new leadership team.

Henderson's action underscores the extreme difficulty of high school turnarounds - especially involving operators who try to transplant their success into new soil in a different city. Rhee selected Friends of Bedford on the basis of its success at Bedford Academy, a highly regarded Brooklyn public school with an unstinting emphasis on college preparation. Anacostia Senior High School, which was placed under the control of Friendship Public Charter Schools by Rhee at the same time she hired Bedford, has also had leadership changes and discipline issues.


Bedford Chief Executive George Leonard, who had been acting principal since the beginning of the current school year, could not be reached to comment Wednesday. But in an interview Saturday, Leonard said the District's intervention was politically inspired, the product of disgruntled parents and former staff who had the ear of Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (D), a Dunbar alumnus, and D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D), who represents Ward 5, home to the school.  -- Bill Turque, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 9:27 PM  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120807351.html

While Bedford's chief executive blames politics for his groups removal, he would do well to remember that politics brought him in to Dunbar - NCLB forced Dunbar into restructuring.  Bedford High School was formed under the New York "empowerment zone" which granted broad control over budget and other matters.  A former Biology teacher, George Leonard took on schools in the deformist hot bed of New York City, where his programs blossomed under the idealogy of Joel Klein.  But, as someone who rose to success because of the political climate in New York, he also had a penchant for upsetting parents and a reputation for being non-collaborative.  He readily admits he's told parents “Just stay out of my way and let me create the scholar, because you’re usually the problem. I’ll see you at graduation.” 

“Our approach isn’t very palatable at times, I will say that,” said Bevon Thompson, chief financial officer (of Friends of Bedford). “We don’t wait for any debate or discussion about what should be done. We are at times confrontational because we consider ourselves advocates of children. We are not politicians.” http://www.dragonparadox.com/online-education/onlinedegree-onlineeducation-onlinecollege-onlineschool/school-d-c-s-dunbar-high-school-getting-new-administrators-more-security-to-quell-violence/

In the end, it looks more like this:  A Lead Partner's successful reform efforts are only as successful as the population they serve in the conditions they provide.  The ability to replicate success depends on the ability to replicate the conditions.  Educators will say Bedford failed to deliver in DC.  Bedford will claim the political culture in DC failed them.  But, I see something more:  I see a failure to apply standard scientific protocols to education reform. It starts in the planning phase if you hope to see it in the delivery.

In grade school, I did a science fair project on handwashing.  Every student in my class pressed their fingers on the augar in the petri dish and then we locked them in an overheated classroom for the weekend.  The following week, we identified the colonies growing in each dish.  Each dish grew something, but no two were the same.  It's a lesson in replication.

Published Online: December 10, 2010


EXCHANGE: Schools head denounces Rockford racism

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — Superintendent LaVonne Sheffield cited the community's racial divide as an obstacle to providing excellent public education for all children.

Her State of the Schools address, during a luncheon with business and community leaders Thursday at Cliffbreakers, was hosted by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. She spoke in her usual straightforward style, and began with a warning that she wouldn't just focus on "nice things, warm and fuzzy things, feel-good things."

She didn't.

She instead blamed racism for recent angst over the possible elimination of high school honors courses.
"Students who want to keep honors courses freely admit that they don't want the additional rigor of AP studies, but they do want to be separated from 'those other students' who they believe don't want to learn. They said so as recently as two days ago at the special Board of Education meeting. ...

"The ugly truth is that honors classes are not rigorous but serve as a contemporary form of segregation."

Parents and students rallied at the Nov. 23 and Dec. 7 board meetings against cutting honors courses.

Sheffield said some of those same people are criticizing the district because more answers aren't available about potentially shuffling the district's gifted programs.

"My concern is that I don't see anyone who looks like me in the crowds jamming recent board meetings, which means that we aren't hearing from 70 percent of our population," she said.

Of the district's 27,000-plus students, 37 percent are white, 30 percent are black and 23 percent are Hispanic, according to the 2010 report card from the Illinois State Board of Education.

The lack of diversity at meetings, she said, is a socioeconomic issue.

"Typically folk who are struggling to make ends meet don't find time. Folk who are working two jobs don't find time" to attend additional meetings, she said.

Mayor Larry Morrissey said he was frustrated by what he described as a confusing message. Sheffield, he said, took time during her address to tout a number of positive community partnerships between the district and Alignment Rockford, Rock Valley College and Rockford College, and police and court systems.

"That doesn't sound to me like the racist community she described," he said.

Anqunette Parham of Crusader Community Health applauded Sheffield for being bold enough to discuss the issue of race.

She recalled being in fourth grade when sanctions from the People Who Care lawsuit came down.

"It requires courage to get the job done," she said.

Tiana Cooper, an administrator with Rock Valley, said she appreciated the bluntness of Sheffield's speech, dubbed "Having the courage to put children first."

"She showed exactly that, which was very encouraging to hear," Cooper said.

Sheffield made a point during her speech to thank School Board President David Kelley and board members Lisa Jackson and Jeanne Westholder. Sheffield made no mention of board members Harmon Mitchell, Alice Saudargas, Jude Makulec or Bob Evans, who have been critical of her administration in recent months.

Sheffield told the audience that she's paid a "huge personal price" and been subject to personal attacks working in Rockford.

"In case you didn't know, quelling rumors is not in my job description," she said.

Though Sheffield signed a four-year contract with the district in 2009 and has repeatedly stated she's in Rockford "for the long haul," she admitted she's having second thoughts.

"In recent days, I'm sad to say, I've started to wonder. As a biracial woman, the daughter of a German mother and African-American father, two people who married in 1950 and who fought the good fight for human justice, I have lived in both worlds. And I will not serve as superintendent of a school system being sued for racial discrimination."

Makulec said Sheffield has focused on race since she first arrived in Rockford. Sheffield's comment about a possible lawsuit reinforces that the superintendent's interests spread beyond the district to the city itself.

"That doesn't show allegiance to your job in the district," she said.

Sheffield's speech was heartfelt and explained the challenging times the district is in, Rockford dentist Cyrus Oates said.

"I was surprised by the bluntness of it," he said.

Oates said he wonders now whether the community will step up to the plate and help.

A typical Chamber of Commerce luncheon draws about 250 people, but about 350 attended Thursday, said Einar Forsman, the agency's president and CEO.

Paul Logli, CEO of the United Way of Rock River Valley, described Sheffield's address as one of the more direct presentations the chamber has hosted.

"The community needs to take some time to digest what she said," Logli said.
———
Information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com

Protesters attack car containing Prince Charles


Associated Press • December 9, 2010

LONDON — Angry protesters in London have attacked a car containing Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

An Associated Press photographer saw demonstrators kick the car in Regent Street, in the heart of London's shopping district. The car then drove off.

The prince's office had no immediate comment.

Protesters angry at a huge tuition fee hike are fighting with police and smashing windows in London after British lawmakers today approved a controversial plan to triple university tuition fees by a narrow margin.

The plan to raise the cap on tuition fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,000) was approved, 323-302 in the House of Commons, a close vote given the government's 84-seat majority.

The tuition vote posed a crucial test for governing Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, and for the government's austerity plans to reduce Britain's budget deficit.

Outside Parliament, police with riot shields and batons tussled with angry student protesters, keeping them away from the building.

Many in the thousands-strong crowd booed and chanted "shame" when they heard the result of the vote, and pressed against metal barriers and lines of riot police penning them in.

There was a standoff as the Metropolitan Police force said the "extreme violence currently being directed towards officers" was making it hard to let demonstrators disperse.

Earlier small groups of protesters threw flares, billiard balls and paint bombs, and officers, some on horses, rushed to reinforce the security cordon. Police said 13 protesters and eight officers were injured, while seven people were arrested.

The scuffles broke out after students marched through central London and converged on Parliament Square, waving placards and chanting "education is not for sale" to cap weeks of nationwide protests aimed at pressuring lawmakers to reverse course.

The vote put Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrat party in an awkward spot. Liberal Democrats signed a pre-election pledge to oppose any such tuition hike, and reserved the right to abstain in the vote even though they are part of the governing coalition proposing the change...

Keep reading at: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101209/NEWS/101209023/Protesters+attack+car+containing+Prince+Charles

Well, folks, I'd love to give some snippets from the latest MI report, but they've got copyright tags all over this one.  So, you'll have to follow the link http://www.massinsight.org/publications/stg-resources/125/file/1/pubs/2010/12/07/STG_-_School_Improvement_Grants_Take_2_Dec_2010__.pdf if you'd like to know how to write a SIG Grant application and win the Big Money!  No whammy, no wammy, NO WHAMMY!

I will share that they go as far as encouraging state departments of education to turn the SIG process into a mini-RTTT competition!  What a fabulous idea! (I hope you can taste my sarcasm.) 

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/walt_gardners_reality_check/2010/12/the_astonishing_illiteracy_about_pisa.html

PISA measures learning that has taken place since birth, but not necessarily what students have learned during their previous year in school. (PISA has been given every three years since 2000 to 15-year-olds.) As a result, it's extremely difficult to disentangle school effects from non-school effects. Although this distinction is crucial, it is given short shrift by the media in their reportage and commentary.

It's also vital to determine if a true sample of students from each country is being tested. It's here that China's results are highly suspect. About 5,100 students only from Shanghai were chosen. But Shanghai is hardly representative of China because it is an industrialized center with scores of modern universities. In contrast, the U.S. selected students from both public and private schools across the nation.

A Broad Story from Seattle worth sharing...
http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/oops-i-did-it-again/

Ahhh, good ole' China, the source of melamine-poisoned pet food and toys steeped in lead.  And now, the Gov. and the News Journal editorial board want Delaware to emulate "big red." 

So, let's talk about education in China and compare it with the United States.  A year before the Gov. visited China, the International Reading Association, headquartered in Newark, Delaware, led a delegation to China, visiting 7 of China's top schools. Here's an intro to their summary article, followed by some highlights that I've pulled out for readers:

http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/ReadingToday/RTy_April_2010/RTY-10Apr_china.aspx

International Reading Association (IRA) President–elect Patricia Edwards in November 2009 led a Language and Literacy Education delegation of 39 IRA members on a journey through China that focused on current and historical educational developments. The trip was sponsored by the People to People Citizen Ambassador Program, founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to promote peace among nations through "understanding and mutual respect between individuals."

The program facilitated professional meetings of K–12 teachers, literacy coaches, administrators, librarians, university professors, and a publishing representative with Chinese educators and administrators. The delegates, who represented 22 states, visited seven of China's top schools and universities across Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai.

For many delegates, this was their first trip to China, and it dispelled many of their preconceived notions about Chinese culture and education as they traveled throughout the country.

And now for some article highlights:

• China has a centralized education administration, as opposed to the decentralized system in the United States.  Chinese educators, however, talked regularly about reform efforts to decentralize decisions and curriculum planning, while the U.S. is moving toward national standards and a more centrally regulated model.
• Primary school in China consists of six grades, and junior secondary school consists of three grades, which completes the nine years of compulsory education in China. 
• Three additional years in senior secondary school are available for those planning to attend post-secondary education.
• On average, chinese girls receive approximately seven years of education instead of the compulsory nine.
• Teachers face social and national pressure to teach toward high-stakes assessments, which limits their instructional choices in the classroom.  Standardized tests also determine teachers' job security and perceived effectiveness.
• Standardized tests determine the number of years students may attend school, their future occupations, and their social status.
• Middle school students are required to pass tests to enter high school.  If not, they repeat middle school.  If they fail a second time, they are tracked into trade schools that focus on trades such as cooking, mechanics, or cosmetology.
• At the high school level, students must master English-language tests to enter postsecondary education.
  The greatest challenges are found in rural China, where migrant workers move for employment.  They are required to remain registered in their home province for social services such as health care and education.
• One of the major differences that delegates noted while visiting schools was the lack of special education teacehrs or classes for learners with special needs.  For students with more severe cognitive or physical impairments, there are special schools separate from the mainstream educational system.  Delegates were not invited to visit these schools.
• The majority of Chinese students graduate high school with a basic proficiency in English.  Because of the widespread teaching of English as a second language, Chinese students need higher levels of of proficiency to stand out among their peers.
• English is taught in homes and across all grade levels, however, rural students usually do not study English until middle school as opposed to their urban peers.
• "Prestigious schools" are used to deomonstrate exemplary teaching practices and lead the way in school reforms.  Many of the schools supplemented the core curriculum with technology, art, music, physical education, drama, and other electives.

Gum, anyone?

This isn't a message we are used to hearing. As the governor and Education Secretary Lillian Lowery point out, past assessments of our children's academic achievements have been less than honest.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101121/OPINION11/11210314

Seniors' Reading and Math NAEP Scores on Rise

By Catherine Gewertz

Twelfth graders’ reading and mathematics scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress have improved only modestly in the past four years, according to results released today, prompting renewed recognition that too few students leave high school well equipped for a promising future.


Results of NAEP, often called “the nation’s report card,” show that between 2005 and 2009, the two most recent administrations of the exam, 12th graders’ average reading scores rose 2 points, from 286 to 288, on a 500-point scale.

Read the article above by clicking on it.
Learn more about the nations report card:  http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

From the Failing Schools Blog - on my blogroll at right

Published Online: November 16, 2010

Republican Leader on Education Pledges to Check Federal Role

Republican Rep. John Kline poses for a portrait in his Burnsville, Minn., office. A deficit hawk and retired Marine pilot, Kline believes it's time to pull Washington out of the nation's classrooms and stop using billions in federal dollars to bail out state education budgets.
Burnsville, Minn.

The smooth flight through Congress that President Barack Obama's education plans enjoyed could soon crash into Republican Rep. John Kline, a deficit hawk and retired Marine pilot who once carried the nation's nuclear launch codes for Ronald Reagan.

The Minnesota Republican expects to take over leadership of the House Education and Labor Committee when Congress reconvenes. He said it's time to pull Washington out of the nation's classrooms and stop using billions in federal dollars to bail out state education budgets.

"We have got to see if there is some way to fix it without putting the federal government in charge of everything," Kline said.

While outgoing committee chairman Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., was considered a natural ally of Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Kline's relationship with him promises to be more complicated.

Kline, 63, said he liked Duncan personally and supported many of his policies, especially the ones opposed by teachers unions. "I like charter schools. I like performance pay for teachers," he said, but "there's a lot of tensions we've got to work around."

Those tensions come from Kline's dislike of rising deficits and what he considers the creeping influence of Washington into areas best controlled by states. That friction could flare up when the committee takes up the overhaul of the No Child Left Behind law next year.

The 2002 law championed by President George W. Bush was "the largest intrusion of the federal government in public education, ever," Kline said. "We have bipartisan consensus that we need to fix it."

Obama presented his blueprint for re-writing the law in March with an emphasis on ensuring students are ready for college or a career when they graduate from high school, a departure from the current law's focus on getting students to perform at their grade level by 2014.

But Kline said that plan wasn't the answer because it gave Washington too much power. "It's an important part of the dialogue, but the reforms themselves won't look like the blueprint," he said.

For one thing, he said, Republicans don't like how the plan encourages states to adopt common education standards.

"These national standards too easily morph into national assessments which morph into a national curriculum," he said.

Finish this article HERE



From: http://www.sundiego.com/keep-a-breast-i-love-boobies-bracelet-p-6575.html

 Breasts are like the first day of spring - typically the first sign that a daughter has embarked on her journey into womanhood.  Maybe that's why women love them so much.  Even those who hate their breasts (too big, too small, uneven) love them.  Few can imagine life without them.  And, perhaps, that's why breast cancer can be so devastating to its survivors.  My own family has eluded breast cancer thus far, but a dear friend is in for the fight of her life. 

Does the potential of losing your breasts change one's perspective of what we call them?  Can those of us who have never experienced this threat make an impartial judgement as to what names are irreverent or obscene?  Do you correct your daughter when she and her friends call their breasts "boobies?"  Do you correct your son?  Should a school district suspend a child for wearing a bracelet that says "I (heart) Boobies.  Keep a breast."  The debate is getting closer to Delaware with a new lawsuit in PA. 
 
From the News Journal:

Pa. school sued over 'boobies' ban


MARYCLAIRE DALE • Associated Press • November 15, 2010

 PHILADELPHIA — A free-speech lawsuit is being filed against a Pennsylvania school district that bans the popular "I (heart) boobies" bracelets.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the Easton Area School District ban violates students' First Amendment rights.

The suit filed Monday says two middle school students received in-school suspensions last month for wearing bracelets that say, "I (Heart) Boobies. Keep a Breast."

School officials call the rubber jewelry distracting and demeaning.

The ACLU says the bracelets are perhaps irreverent, but not indecent.

School districts in Wyoming, Florida and California have run into similar disputes.

The bracelets are sold by a California nonprofit to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer organizations.

Delaware school districts balk at Denn's push to cut back on expenses

Lieutenant governor: More education, less administration
By NICHOLE DOBO • The News Journal • November 13, 2010
Lt. Gov. Matt Denn came with a message to Friday's meeting of New Castle County school boards and administrators: Reduce class sizes, move resources into classrooms and lower administrative spending.

Speaking to about 20 people at the monthly New Castle County Combined Boards of Education, he pointed to an April report his office drafted that showed some $28 million could be used for instruction if districts would downsize administrative costs.

His audience pushed back.

Describing the April report as "harmful" to school districts, Appoquinimink Superintendent Tony Marchio said it used flawed methodology and that districts were taken by surprise when the state released the administrative cost analysis. The districts want to work with the state before the next report is released, he said, adding that the April one "fed into this feeding frenzy on this notion" that there are too many administrators.

"The way that it came out was harmful to the districts," Marchio said.

Denn stood by his report.

"It may just be something that we disagree about," he said.

The report is part of an effort by Gov. Jack Markell and the state Department of Education to encourage districts to send more money into the classroom. The two districts with the highest spending on administrative expenses were Laurel (10.03 percent) and Appoquinimink (9.99 percent), according to the report. The districts that spent the highest percentages of their budgets on direct educational expenditures were Seaford (77.47 percent) and Caesar Rodney (77.27 percent).

The report shouldn't have been a surprise, Denn said, because a state House bill signed in 2009 requires the state to create an annual report that outlines district spending. He brushed off a suggestion at the meeting that he present the report in a "more positive than a negative way," saying he favors reporting in an "accurate way." He also disagreed that the report should be combined with test score data to show that some high-performing districts are getting good scores because of administrative spending. He did agree to meet with district officials to work on collaboration.

The report used spending data reported by districts. Districts report financial data broken down by categories. The government provides definitions for each category, with the intention of gathering it in a uniform way.
Marchio and other administrators said it's not fair to compare schools using those numbers. Some districts may report the same kinds of spending in different categories because each district makes some judgment calls on where to report the money. And there's a problem for some schools where administrative costs are inflated because of expensive programs for special-needs students.

Throughout the meeting, Denn urged the group to find ways to cut costs and solve problems without asking for more money from the state. In these economic times, there's no money to spare, and schools should shoulder some of the responsibility for finding efficiencies, he said.

States have been grappling with how to fund education initiatives in a weakened economy. The issue of administrative costs was addressed this week in New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie proposed caps for superintendent pay based on district enrollment -- a move that calls for significant pay cuts for current superintendents.

There's been no effort to push down a similar plan in Delaware. The message from the governor's office has focused on putting pressure on districts to come up with their own savings plans. At the same time, the state cut its own payroll by eliminating jobs through attrition.

Some at Friday's meeting expressed doubt that administrative spending cuts are feasible.

Decreasing administrative spending will be difficult given that the state has passed down new initiatives -- such as Common Core standards and the Race to the Top education reform program -- that have created more administrative work, said Judy Curtis, an assistant superintendent in Brandywine. She predicted that future reports will show increased administrative spending because districts have been tasked with making these statewide initiatives workable on a local level.

"That's not books and pencils ... and it's not work that can be laid on teachers or principals," Curtis said.

Brandywine School District Superintendent Mark Holodick said those trims do not come without consequences. His district, for example, decided to consolidate bus routes this year to follow a suggestion from the governor's office. Now, droves of parents are showing up at board meetings to complain fiercely that there are fewer neighborhood bus stops.

"It's easy to talk about saving money ... until it affects you," he said.

The State of Our School District


Posted by Riya Bhattacharjee on Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 4:23 PM

I had a rather awkward moment with Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson at her first State of the District address last night at Mercer Middle School. I'll get to that in a sec, first, the state of the district.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/11/10/the-state-of-our-school-district

Hah!  The Legend Lives!

I was Newark teenager in the 90s when the "cougars" first came to town.  Late in the 90s, I was spending the night in the front bedroom of my parents home not far from the residence of the infamous "cougar lady" - the dear heart and passionate Newarker, since passed on, who saw the cougar first.  There was a rental home just around the curve from my parents, the previous renters had been of the Gore line, and had recently been replaced by a rowdy crowd of UD students, then subject to the hazy glee of underage drinking and college parties.  At 3 am, I was staring woefully out the window, wishing the party away, when there in our front yard was the "cougar,"  or a giant pregnant raccoon.  I'm pretty sure it was a raccoon.  I donned acceptable wear and headed for the front yard.  It was gone.  So, I walked up the street to the former Gore residence, knocked on the door, and asked a student to turn the music down.  She did. 

Yes, it was certainly a raccoon.  Even after marrying my own dear heart, whose mother swears she saw the cougar in a tree in her North Wilmington home, I am still a non-believer!


Cougar sighting craze returning?


Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 8:44 PM CST

The sighting of a cougar early Wednesday morning was only the latest chapter of the story of the elusive cat in Delaware that dates back to the 1990s.

Sightings of the cats, also known as mountain lions or pumas, were reported in the 1990s and continued into 2002.

One story in the New York Times claimed the cat had escaped from an owner in Pennsylvania and had fled into Delaware. The Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife declared that two or perhaps more cougars were roaming New Castle and perhaps Kent County, according to the website, cougar.net. They were believed to be feeding on deer and Canada geese. Sightings were also reported by State Park rangers at White Clay Creek and Lums Pond state parks in New Castle County. Sightings were also reported in the city of Newark.

Evidence included video, footprint and droppings. There have been no reports of attacks on pets or livestock.

Sightings have also been reported throughout the Delmarva Peninsula all the way to the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

The reports became so numerous that New Castle County Police assigned an officer in the mid 1990s to track the cat and capture it with a tranquilizer gun. The effort, which included bringing cougar hounds from Colorado, failed.

State wildlife officials have not ruled out the possibility that all animals that have been sighted either were freed or escaped from private owners.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports cougars need a lot of room, while noting that no evidence of a breeding population on the East Coast has been found. Males may occupy a range of more than 25 square miles and females between 5 and 20 square miles.

In the latest report, County Police said a 45 year-old man told them he was out walking his dog when it began acting "strange" and pulled toward a nearby wooded area, where he spied a cougar sitting underneath some trees.

The man said he called 911 and watched the cat for about eight minutes. The cougar, which he described as twice the size of his Boxer, then made a high-pitched growl and walked off into the woods, the man said.

Police searched the area, but found no signs of the animal.

A June 2008 look at Career Academies and Impact on the Labor Market: There are several important notes to made in this evaluation and I have bolded/underlined each.  Academies range from 150-200 students, the results are based on the experiences of more than 1400 young people, 85% of whom were Hispanic or African American and the labor market impacts were concentrated among young men.  Read the Full Report Here:  http://www.mdrc.org/publications/482/full.pdf

Career Academies


Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood
James J. Kemple with Cynthia J. Willner

Established more than 30 years ago, Career Academies have become a widely used high school reform initiative that aims to keep students engaged in school and prepare them for successful transitions to postsecondary education and employment. Typically serving between 150 and 200 students from grades 9 or 10 through grade 12, Career Academies are organized as small learning communities, combine academic and technical curricula around a career theme, and establish partnerships with local employers to provide work-based learning opportunities. There are estimated to be more than 2,500 Career Academies operating around the country.

Since 1993, MDRC has been conducting a uniquely rigorous evaluation of the Career Academy approach that uses a random assignment research design in a diverse group of nine high schools across the United States. Located in medium- and large-sized school districts, the schools confront many of the educational challenges found in low-income urban settings. The participating Career Academies were able to implement and sustain the core features of the approach, and they served a cross-section of the student populations in their host schools. This report describes how Career Academies influenced students’ labor market prospects and postsecondary educational attainment in the eight years following their expected graduation. The results are based on the experiences of more than 1,400 young people, approximately 85 percent of whom are Hispanic or African-American.
Key Findings

The Career Academies produced sustained earnings gains that averaged 11 percent (or $2,088) more per year for Academy group members than for individuals in the non-Academy group — a $16,704 boost in total earnings over the eight years of follow-up (in 2006 dollars).

These labor market impacts were concentrated among young men, a group that has experienced a severe decline in real earnings in recent years. Through a combination of increased wages, hours worked, and employment stability, real earnings for young men in the Academy group increased by $3,731 (17 percent) per year — or nearly $30,000 over eight years.

Overall, the Career Academies served as viable pathways to a range of postsecondary education opportunities, but they do not appear to have been more effective than options available to the non-Academy group. More than 90 percent of both groups graduated from high school or received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, and half completed a postsecondary credential.

The Career Academies produced an increase in the percentage of young people living independently with children and a spouse or partner. Young men also experienced positive impacts on marriage and being custodial parents.

The findings demonstrate the feasibility of improving labor market preparation and successful school-to-work transitions without compromising academic goals and preparation for college. Investments in career-related experiences during high school can produce substantial and sustained improvements in the labor market prospects and transitions to adulthood of youth. In fact, Career Academies are one of the few youth-focused interventions that have been found to improve the labor market prospects of young men. At the same time, Career Academies have proven to be challenging to implement on a large scale with high levels of fidelity, and the evidence from this evaluation may not apply to programs that are partially implemented or that use only selected features of the Academy approach. Further research should be conducted to determine the effects of key Academy components.

In keeping with earlier blog post, I am continuing my research into Small Learning Academies, the projected instructional model for Christina's Glasgow High School as a part of the DOE's RTTT Partnership Zone.

It strikes me as odd that the Small Learninng Academies Model for High School began  in Philadelphia; yet, even with our close proximity to Philly, Delaware is forty years behind in attempting this form of educational intervention.  Here's some history and model highlights:

History (from http://www.academiesinc.org/info_presidents_message.html)

It was 1968. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. Our cities were ablaze. Our nation was in crisis. Youth found no relevance or reassurance that what they were doing in school could change their future. The drop out rate in some high schools was 50%. The nation was asking how it could address the educational needs of students; how to steer them away from the negative forces of urban unrest and how to give them hope for a future where they could be contributing productive citizens.

One answer came from a handful of business and community leaders in Philadelphia. Charles Bowser, Executive Director of the Urban Coalition and Deputy Mayor, brought together the CEO’s of the Philadelphia Electric Company and Bell of Pennsylvania to work on ideas that could save their city from the worst of the racial unrest that was so devastating to cities like Chicago and Detroit. In seeking ways to help, they focused on the future—the children. They formulated a plan to bring business into the schools in a model that would engage both the student and the business partner in meaningful ways. What they didn’t realize at the time was that they were creating one of the most successful education reform efforts in the country.

In 1969, the first Academy opened at Edison High School with thirty 10th grade students. Called the Academy of Applied Electrical Science, the program was set up as an independent not-for-profit corporation with its own Board of Directors. Over the years, more Academies opened as independent entities. In 1988 the individual Academy programs relinquished their status as separate, tax-exempt, non-profit organizations and merged into the Philadelphia Academies, Inc.

California came first to study the model, then New York, then Florida. Soon the career academy model was everywhere. Today with some 3,000 academies in operation nationwide, they have evolved into one of the nation’s most widely adopted reform initiatives to address the major problems associated with large comprehensive high schools, particularly those in urban districts where more than half of the students do not graduate on schedule.
The career academy model has been researched, studied and scrutinized and recently named as one of only three evidence-based, in-school models that work. And it all started in Philadelphia –not by a think tank of educators but by a handful of community leaders who loved their city and knew they could make a difference by helping its children.


Academy Model

■Our Model
■The primary assumption in PAI’s model is that we can significantly change life and economic outcomes for young people by motivating them to learn through their own interests and real-world, career-connected experiences and curriculum. Embedded in the model are three core activities – programming that motivates, the active development of networks with caring adults, and local advocacy at a policy level for instructional and structural changes in secondary education.

■Our Role
■PAI serves as an intermediary, bringing the financial and human resources of the business community into Philadelphia public schools, providing work and life readiness skills, making connections to internship experiences, and offering scholarships that provide a path toward a productive life.
■We engage over 400 volunteers from the local business, labor, non-profit, and higher education communities in improving education and building 21st Century skills for Philadelphia public high school students.

■Our Numbers
■PAI serves over 4,500 students in 28 academy programs in 10 career areas. We work with 16 high schools.

■An Environment for Learning
■Each Academy program is housed in a large urban high school as a "school-within-a-school".
■An Academy’s curriculum is centered around a career theme to motivate students, connect the schools to business and community partners, and give students practical applications related to their studies.
■Academy enrollment should not exceed 250 students so that teachers have an opportunity to give adequate attention to the needs of each student.
■A team of teachers is selected from among the school’s faculty and an "Academy Coordinator" is chosen to lead the program and be accountable to the Academies, Inc. for the delivery of education and career services to students.
■Students are scheduled to attend classes together and are taught by a core group of teachers as part of their daily routine.
■There is contiguous space provided to create a sense of a defined community within the school, which includes an Academy office complete with direct telephone access, fax machines and other items necessary to run the program effectively.

California Partnership Academies

State legislation launched the California Partnership Academies (CPAs) in 1984. Now operating in more than 200 comprehensive high schools, CPAs have been used as a model for high school reform in California and elsewhere. Academies typically feature multi-age learning groups, team teaching and career-based instruction. Teachers help students connect high school lessons to future employment scenarios. Several evaluations have found positive student effects associated with academies.  http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/about/downloads/CA_Partnerships.pdf

Program Overview


The Academy Model

The Partnership Academy Model is a three-year program, grades ten through twelve, structured as a school-within-a-school. There are currently 340 funded programs throughout California. The model, originating with the Philadelphia Academies in the late 1960s, spread to California in the early 1980s. Academies incorporate many features of the high school reform movement that includes creating a close family-like atmosphere, integrating academic and career technical education, and establishing viable business partnerships. Emphasis is also placed on student achievement and positive postsecondary outcomes. Academies have been carefully evaluated and shown to have positive impacts on school performance. Key components of the Academy model are:

CURRICULUM focused on a career theme and coordinated with related academic classes.
VOLUNTARY student selection process that identifies interested ninth graders.
TEAM OF TEACHERS who work together to plan and implement the program.
MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITIES with private sector involvement to encourage academic and occupational preparation, such as: integrated and project-based curriculum, mentor program, classroom speakers, field trips, and exploration of postsecondary and career options.
WORKPLACE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES such as job shadowing, student internships, and work experience.

Curriculum and Career Focus

The career technical focus for an Academy is determined by an analysis of the local labor market, with an eye toward fields that are growing and healthy, that offer jobs with career "ladders", and that have companies willing to support the program. Career technical education is kept broad, focusing on industries rather than specific jobs in areas such as business technology, health, electronics, media, agribusiness, building trades, natural resources, finance, and retail trade. The integration of a standards-based academic and career-technical curriculum is a key ingredient.

Staffing
Teachers request to participate in the program and must be willing to work with "at-risk" students. Teachers are required to have a common planning period to meet regularly to:

Plan the program activities and curriculum.
Coordinate with business representatives.
Meet with parents.
Discuss student progress.

Student Selection
At least half of each new class must meet specific “at-risk” criteria to determine student eligibility. The remaining one half has no restrictions. The program is voluntary; students must apply, be interviewed, and be selected on the basis of need and interest. About 60-70 students are typically selected for entry each year, enough to comprise two sections of a sophomore class.

Business Involvement
Each Academy has a partnership with employers. Employer representatives:
Serve on an Academy steering committee that oversees the program.
Help to develop the career technical curriculum.
Provide speakers for Academy classes.
Host field trips to give students a perspective of the workplace.
Provide mentors who serve as career-related role models and personal points of contact in the field of training.
Provide internships and summer jobs for Academy students.

The Mentor Program
In the eleventh grade, Academy students are matched with mentors. Mentors are usually employees of participating businesses who volunteer to be a "career-related and/or caring adult" in the student's life.

Internship Program
After their junior year, students performing well enough to be on track for graduation are placed in internship positions. Students apply for these positions as they would in the open market; i.e., they prepare resumes, complete job applications, and have interviews. Companies make the hiring decisions.

Funding and Evaluation
Funding is performance based; only those students meeting the 80 percent attendance and 90 percent credit requirements qualify for funding. State grants must be matched 100 percent by both the receiving district and business partners. Annual evaluations consistently reflect improved student performance on attendance, credits, grade point averages, and graduation rates.

Funding Requirements


Following are the funding requirements for California Partnership Academy grants:

1. The district provides 100 percent match of state funds received in the form of direct and in-kind supports.
2. Participating companies or other private-sector organizations provide 100 percent match of state funds received in the form of direct and in-kind support.
3. State funds provided by the Partnership Academy program are only used for the development, operation, and support of Partnership Academies.
4. The Academy is established as a "school-within-a-school" with classes restricted to Academy students.
5. Academy teachers work as a team in planning, teaching, and troubleshooting program activities.
6. An advisory committee is formed that consists of individuals involved in Academy operations, including school district and school administrators, lead teachers, and representatives of the private sector. The advisory committee meets regularly.
7. During grades ten and eleven Academy students are provided instruction in at least three academic subjects that contribute to an understanding of the occupational field of the Academy and one career-technical class related to the Academy's occupational field.
8. Academy classes during twelfth grade may vary, but must include at least one academic and one career technical education class.
9. The school site class schedule limits Academy classes to Academy students with classes block scheduled whenever possible.
10. Students are provided with a mentor from the business community during the student's eleventh grade year.
11. Students are provided with an internship or paid job related to the Academy's occupational field or work experience to improve employment skills during the summer following eleventh grade or during the twelfth grade year.
12. Students are provided opportunities to engage in additional motivational activities with private sector involvement to encourage academic and occupational preparation.
13. Academy teachers have a common planning period to interchange student and educational information.

"Our leaders dictate almost every aspect of life to us. They dictate what our children are taught in school. It's called education reform, although some of the standards are not age-appropriate. Teachers have no say in what is taught and to whom, as it is mandated by the state..."

One election won't fix our nation

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20101107/OPINION02/11070310
BY JASON THOMPSON • November 7, 2010
Wouldn't it be nice if we all lived in a magical land where there were endless days of pixie dust and rainbows? It sounds unrealistic, doesn't it? Then why, might I ask, is it that our political leaders think a simple election can fix our struggling nation?

For the past several months, all we have seen and heard is candidates attacking their opponents. After all the backbiting and muckraking, I wonder if any candidate is worthy of my vote. It hardly seems like our votes mean anything anymore anyway. Just look back at the 2000 presidential election where a judge, not the voters, chose our president.

Unfortunately, the problem also trickles down to the influential people who support our candidates. Instead of donating to charitable organizations, food pantries or even a local hospital, corporate CEOs and others donate money to the major parties candidates' campaigns. You don't need me to explain why that happens.

Ask yourselves this question? Every time we get a newly elected official, do things ever really change? Let's see. Everything we buy, our earned income, our licensing for vehicles and driving privileges are all taxed. Even if you are lucky enough to own your own home, you still have to pay property taxes, and if you cannot pay those taxes, you will lose your home. But our government claims it hasn't got any money. Show of hands please to those who believe this. I think I've answered the question.

Our leaders dictate almost every aspect of life to us. They dictate what our children are taught in school. It's called education reform, although some of the standards are not age-appropriate. Teachers have no say in what is taught and to whom, as it is mandated by the state.

How long is it going to be before our government is telling us what to say and how to think. It seems as if it is only a matter of time before a new law will repeal the First Amendment. Until then, my fellow Ohioans and Americans, let me remind you of this little thing called a mouth. We all have one just below our noses, and we don't need a trustee, mayor, senator, representative, governor or president to speak for us.

Jason Thompson is a resident of Philo. He is a broadcaster for various independent pro wrestling shows and a recipient of the 2008 Muskingum County Red Cross Hometown Hero Award for Education.

Published Online: November 3, 2010
Kohl's Contest Raises Questions

By Doris Hajewski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MCT)
A Kohl's Corp. contest that gave a total of $10 million to 20 schools nationwide inspired intense campaigning and wound up being dominated by small religious schools, leading to questions about whether the well-intentioned competition was fair.

Featuring online voting on the company's Facebook page, the contest succeeded in mobilizing hundreds of thousands of parents across the country to talk about Kohl's during the back-to-school shopping season. But there also has been criticism of methods used by some of the top finishers to lure votes, such as raffling off iPads or reaching out to overseas voters.

Each school in the top 20 received $500,000. Jewish schools won 12 of the 20 spots, and six other winners were Christian or Catholic schools. Two were public schools.

"It wasn't fair," said William Henk, dean of Marquette University's College of Education, said of the raffles and international voting. "It was probably creative. But it doesn't seem like it was a fair thing to do."

Henk followed the controversy surrounding the contest on his blog, Marquette Educator.

Kohl's said the raffles and the votes from outside the U.S. were in compliance with contest rules.

"We saw several communities show ingenuity and creativity in raising support for their schools," said Vicki Shamion, senior vice president of public relations.

Kohl's held the giveaway to mark the 10th anniversary of its Kohl's Cares charity effort, coinciding with the department store chain's back-to-school marketing campaign. Each person could vote a total of 20 times, casting up to five votes per school, using a Facebook account.

Voters automatically became "fans" of Kohl's on Facebook, the social networking website, boosting the company's fan total to 2.7 million, from 1 million.

"They get more connections for future marketing campaigns," said Jan Owens, associate professor of marketing for Carthage College in Kenosha.

At the same time, Owens said, the gifts to schools resonate with parents and teachers.

"We were inspired by the amount of school spirit and community support we saw from students, teachers, parents and school supporters across the country during this contest," Shamion said.

Drumming Up Support

More than 11 million votes were cast, as parents and school administrators drummed up support for their schools. Parents set up laptops in shopping malls, at nearby colleges, at Starbucks, at entertainment events%mdash;anywhere they could log on. The volunteers would solicit people to vote for their schools, helping them to set up Facebook accounts if they didn't have one.

Lucas Christian Academy in Texas, the second-place finisher, found lots of votes at the FortyFest Christian rock concert at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Our Lady of the Presentation, a Catholic elementary school in Lee's Summit, Mo., that ranked third in the contest, had help from a nearby elderly living complex, John Knox Village, where some residents belong to the parish.

"We had little old ladies helping people at John Knox set up Facebook accounts," said Jodie Briggs, principal at Presentation.

Kohl's kept a running tally of the vote on its Facebook page throughout the contest, but after it ended last month, it did not post a list of the winners. Visitors to Kohl's Facebook page can search only for top vote-getters by state.

The company provided the list to the Journal Sentinel at the newspaper's request. No schools in Wisconsin were among the winners.

"We wanted it to be very local," said Julie Gardner, chief marketing officer for Kohl's, of the decision not to post the full winners list. "We felt like the localization piece was more important."

The top vote-getter was Lake High School, a public school in Millbury, Ohio, which was listed with 163,395 votes at the end of the contest. The school was destroyed in June by a tornado that killed the father of its valedictorian. The $500,000 prize from Kohl's will go toward a $24 million rebuilding project, said Principal Lee Herman.

Lake High was a sympathetic favorite among other front-running schools, who directed their extra votes to the school, Herman said.

"It was more the effort on the local media's part," Herman said. "As a school, we did nothing to promote this."

Lake High was the exception in that regard.

Some schools, including Pius XI High School, St. Marcus Lutheran and Racine Mitchell Middle School in Wisconsin, had administrators sitting on the roof to garner attention.

Some others did more. Mount Ellis Academy, a high school in Bozeman, Mont., that is affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist church, used contests offering an iPad and a 30-minute helicopter ride as part of its successful effort to make the Kohl's top 20 list.

"We think of it as a miracle," said Darren Wilkins, principal of the 70-student high school.

The school, which is more than 100 years old, had been struggling to find ways to raise money to repair its failing sewer system. The big turning point for Mount Ellis was near the end of the contest, when the school was close enough to winning to draw support from the worldwide Seventh Day Adventist organization, Wilkins said.

"It really did end up going around the world," Wilkins said. Votes came in from Nepal, Malaysia and Japan, he said. In addition, a former exchange student from Pakistan drummed up support in his country, just as the floods there started.

After winning $500,000 from Kohl's, students at Mount Ellis ran a fundraiser for Pakistan.

Schools Form Partnerships

Motti Seligson, media relations spokesman for Chabad.org, a website that serves Jews worldwide, said the base of support for the 12 winning schools, most of them affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch organization, was local.

"It was really between the schools themselves," Seligson said.

Many of the winning schools formed partnerships at some point in the competition, asking their supporters to use extra votes for one or two other schools.

Charlotte Jewish Day School in Charlotte, N.C., for example, worked with Spartanburg Charter School, a public school in Spartanburg, S.C., marketing themselves as the only Southern schools with a chance to win, said Gale Osborne, development director for Charlotte Jewish. On the last day of the contest, the local Fox TV affiliate did live broadcasts from the school, urging viewers to vote. Both schools were among the 20 winners.

"The positive effect of the campaign is so much greater than the money," Osborne said. "The Jewish population in Charlotte is small. What happened is that it galvanized our community. By the end of the campaign, people were saying, 'How are we doing?' "

For parents at Darby Elementary in Northridge, Calif., however, the Kohl's contest brought frustration. Darby, which is part of the Los Angeles school district, was in 12th place at the end of the competition, but was eliminated after 35,000 votes for the school were disqualified. Kohl's has not explained the problem to the school, despite requests from parents posted on Kohl's Facebook page.

Sharon Docter, a Darby parent who worked on the campaign, said parents decided to try to win the money because of the school budget crunch.

"It feels like we were duped into providing free marketing for Kohl's and in the end they disqualified a significant number of our votes with no explanation," Docter said.

Two other schools, Yeshiva Achei Tmimim Academy in Worcester, Mass., and United Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Brooklyn, N.Y., also were in the top 20 at the contest's end, but were not certified as winners.

"Kohl's engaged a third-party organization to verify adherence to contest rules and regulations including voting accuracy," Shamion said. "The organization used the same contest criteria and verified votes for all schools. Any votes determined invalid per rules and regulations were not counted, per contest rules, therefore changing the final vote count. While many schools that exhibited a strong sense of spirit did not win, Kohl's congratulates all of the participants that displayed an inspiring sense of community throughout the contest."

"What we were hoping to do was to get a lot of engagement with our customers," Gardner said. "At the end of the day, we accomplished what we hoped."

THE WINNERS ARE ...

Kohl's Cares $500,000 winners:
• Lake High School, Millbury, Ohio
• Lucas Christian Academy, Lucas, Texas
• Our Lady of the Presentation, Lee's Summit, Mo.
• Pius X High School, Lincoln, Neb.
• Hebrew Academy, Huntington Beach, Calif.
• Good Shepherd Christian Academy, Fairfax, Va.
• Cheder Menachem, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Bais Chaya Mushka School, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Mount Ellis Academy, Bozeman, Mont.
• St. Clement Coptic Orthodox Christian Academy, Nashville, Texas
• Charlotte Jewish Day School, Charlotte, N.C.
• JETS-Jewish Educational Trading School, Granada Hills, Calif.
• Chabad Hebrew Academy, San Diego, Calif.
• Hebrew Academy Community School, Margate, Fla.
• Rohr Bais Chaya Academy, Tamarac, Fla.
• Silverstein Hebrew Academy, Great Neck, N.Y.
• Netan Eli Hebrew Academy, Reseda, Calif.
• Jewish School of the Arts, North Palm Beach, Calif.
• Spartanburg Charter School, Spartanburg, S.C.
• Sha'arei Zion Ohel Bracha, Forest Hills, N.Y.

Job Description


SMD, Regional Growth, Strategy & Development (Delaware)

Primary Location : Delaware Team : Regional Teams

Description

Position Summary

The Senior Managing Director (SMD), Regional Growth, Strategy & Development is responsible for maximizing the impact of our relationships with community partners, particularly our district and school partners, and for maximizing the reach and impact of Teach For America in Delaware. SMD, Regional Growth, Strategy and Development will play an important role in driving our strategy to reach our 2015 goals and maximizing the impact of Teach For America in the state. This SMD will report directly to the executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Region.

About Teach For America

Teach For America is the national corps of top recent college graduates who commit to teach for at least two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. Our mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders in the effort.

In the 2009-10 school year, over 7,300 first- and second-year Teach For America corps members will teach in 35 regions across the United States. Since 1990, Teach For America corps members have reached approximately 3 million students. Nearly 17,000 Teach For America alumni are working in education and many other fields, where they continue to advocate for students and families in low-income communities. While only 1 in 10 corps members say they were interested in the teaching profession before joining Teach For America, more than two-thirds of our alumni remain in the field of education.

We are a high-growth, outcomes-oriented organization, with a $189 million budget and close to 1,200 staff. We operate in an entrepreneurial environment, maintain focus on quantitative measures, and are committed to continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Growth Strategy

•Design and implement a human, political and intellectual capital strategy for the region

•Building strong external relationships with partners, including local graduate schools, school districts, nonprofit organizations, political training programs, and charter management organizations.

•Networking with local organizations and community leaders

•Appropriately prioritize district and school partnerships

•Keep an eye towards expansion opportunities

•Identify and manage strategic local and community relationships to deepen and broaden our impact

•Potentially work effectively with local media outlets and national communications team to elevate our presence in DE

District and School Cultivation and Stewardship

•Develop and execute the regional strategy for cultivating school and district partners by managing the relationships with HR/placement contacts

•Cultivate and maintain relationships and alliances (along with the program team) with leaders in partner schools, charter school partners, and partner districts to deepen understanding and investment in our organization and to strengthen the partnership

•Manage a cultivation portfolio of new and existing placement partners

•Develop cultivation materials to share with partners

Placement

•Coordinate and execute the placement strategy to ensure all corps member are placed by the first day of the school year

•Manage placement process with HR/placement contacts

•Conduct all corps member district/charter assignments and appropriately distribute corps members across the region

•Regularly identify vacancies - both teacher positions for corps members and leadership opportunities for alumni - by maintaining regular communication with districts, schools, corps members and the alumni team

•Plan and manage key placement events, such as May Site Visit

•Develop messaging for any placement related issues

Development

•Grow and maintain a sustainable, diversified local funding base that will include gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations; district and local public funding; and possibly an annual benefit dinner

•Cultivate and ensure the ongoing engagement and support of a portfolio of influential individual, corporate, and foundation donors

•Develop and evolve a strategy for maintaining and growing public support, from district, local, and state sources

Qualifications

Candidate Profile and Experience Prerequisites

•Bachelor's degree required

•4-5 years work experience and experience building district/school relationships and managing back-office operations preferred

•Proven ability to build and leverage relationships

•Excellent organization, detail-orientation and project management skills

•Ability to thrive in results-oriented, fast-paced and entrepreneurial environment

•Ability to work flexibly and balance both long-term and short-term projects

•Exceptional strategic-thinking and operational skills

•Strong communication and interpersonal skills

•Strong results orientation with proven record of achieving ambitious goals

Benefits and Salary

Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience. In addition, a comprehensive benefits package is included.

Anti-Discrimination Policy and Commitment to Diversity

Teach For America seeks individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to this effort.

Application Requirements and Process

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please submit your resume and one-page cover letter with your application.

To link directly to this job listing, please use the following address http://teachforamerica.taleo.net/careersection/01/jobdetail.ftl?&job=10731

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20101104/NEWS03/11040369
 

Delaware schools: Rumor of chief's ouster has Laurel concerned

McCoy not addressing rumors board won't renew his contract

By DAN SHORTRIDGE • The News Journal • November 4, 2010

Laurel community leaders and residents say they are upset by rumors suggesting that the school board may not renew the contract next month of schools Superintendent John McCoy.

McCoy, hired in 2008 from Chester Upland School District in Pennsylvania, has led the district through a financial scandal involving the former finance director, now a convicted felon, and a narrow but successful passage of a massive schools rebuilding referendum...

http://frankcalio.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/show-support-for-superintendent/

November 1, 2010


SHOW SUPPORT FOR SUPERINTENDENT

Filed under: Education — Frank Calio @ 9:19 pm

Residents of Laurel, business people, teachers, administrators, your attendance and show of support for Superintendent Dr. John McCoy is urged for the special board meeting Wednesday evening at the LHS auditorium, 6:00.

Mr. McCoys contract is up for renewable in December and the board needs to know in light of rumors his contract may not be renewed, of the support for the outstanding performance and dedication he has given our school district.

Please set aside time for the future of our kids.

Please Link back to Calio's blog for a wealth of comments from Laurel readers!