Sleeping accusations surface in school bus wreck
\n(Chicago Tribune © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
The driver of a school bus that slid on its side into a cornfield while carrying nine special needs students has been suspended while officials investigate allegations that he was asleep at the wheel");
document.write(" at the time of the accident, sheriff's office and bus company officials said Thursday.\n\nThe driver, whose identity and age have not been released, has been with the company several years, said Illinoi...\n
End the Tyranny of the Self-Contained Classroom
\n(Education Week © 02/03/2012)
Conventional and unquestioned assumptions about ");
document.write("schools, teachers, and classrooms limit educational reform and prevent...\n
Testing has become a 'perversion,' Texas education chief Robert Scott says
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Education Commissioner Robert Scott must feel a bit misunderstood. He's getting both praise ");
document.write("and heavy criticism for railing about what's gone wrong with standardized testing in Texas public schools.It's not that he wasn't clear. It's just that some of his words were more memorable than others.In a span of just five days, Scott spoke out twice, very publicly, about the \"perversion\" that testing has...\n
New standardized testing draws support and criticism
\n(Houston Chronicle © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
The Texas Association of Business joined the squabble over a new accountability system for students in public schools by purchasing a full-page ad in the Austin American Statesman today in support of end-of-course requirements that will be phased in starting this spring.\nBill Hammond, President of Texas Association of Business\n\r\n\r\nThe ad urges school administrators, parents and legislators to stan...\n
Want a smarter child? Many women are trying BabyPlus
\n(Indianapolis Star © 02/03/2012)
An item tucked in a basket of baby gifts Erin Miller received looked simple enough. Just strap it on your expanding belly for two hours a day, the packaging promised, and your baby will be born with a head start on life.\n\nIt's not as if the BabyPlus Prenatal Education System could hurt, Miller, now 33, thought. But she nev");
document.write("er imagined how much it might help.\n\n\"I didn't have dreams of her being the ...\n
Accused teacher investigated in 1994 for allegedly fondling girl
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
The longtime Los Angeles teacher accused of committing lewd acts on 23 children was investigated for al");
document.write("legedly fondling a girl in 1994, but no charges were filed, authorities said.\n\nMark Berndt, 61, was investigated for alleged lewd acts on a child in January 1994 after officials at Miramonte Elementary School reported "an attempted fondling," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Sc...\n
Evidence was insufficient to charge teacher in '94, D.A. says
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office declined to bring charges against veteran Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt in 1994 because prosecutors determined there was "insufficient evidence" that he attempted to fondle a girl.\n\nBerndt is currently being held on $23-million bail after his arrest Monday on 23 counts of committing lewd acts against children. Sheriff's official...\n
St. Paul teachers union board ratifies proposed contract
\n(Minneapolis Star Tribune © 02/03/2012)
The executive board of St. Paul's teachers union unanimously agreed Wednesday to recommend that members ratify a tentative contract agreement reached earlier this week with school administrators. The sides had been negotiating since last summer.\n\n\nThe district's teachers will hear the contract's key points in brea");
document.write("kout sessions next week and vote on the contract Feb. 13, said Mary Cathryn Ricker, p...\n
Legislators listen as Rutherford teachers vent about pay, evaluation system
\n(Nashville Tennessean © 02/03/2012)
MURFREESBORO — Local school teachers challenged state lawmakers Thursday about the wisdom of changing teacher pay structures");
document.write(" and raised objections to Tennessee?s new teacher evaluation system, calling it burdensome and stressful.\n\nThe Murfreesboro Education Association and Rutherford Education Association, which invited the Rutherford legislative delegation to a forum at Blackman High, are b...\n
Teachers Who Don?t Teach: Who Gets the Blame?
\n(New York Post © 0");
document.write("2/03/2012)
The Issue: New York City teacher Alan Rosenfeld’s decade-long “rubber room” assignment.\n\n***\n\nNo wonder America’s public-school system is failing — we have teachers making very nice salaries for doing absolutely nothing (“A Creep & His Friends,” Editorial, Jan. 31).\n\nWhy should this guy leave? He’s living the dream. While Americans struggle, Alan...\n
Judge tells school officials in prayer suit to be neutral
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Be neutral.\r\n\r\nThat was the advice Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery gave to school districts Thursday as a controversial prayer lawsuit against the Medina Valley Independent School District neared trial.\r\n\r\nHe issued an advisory saying that if a person is acting as a government official ? such as a school district employee ? then he or she should keep m");
document.write("um and stay seated if a student asks othe...\n
Time to stand up for schools
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
One way of telling state legislators that you don't care about education: Single-digit voter turnouts for school board races. If you don't care, why should they?\r\n\r\nA");
document.write("nother effective way: Re-electing the same folks time and again who perpetuate this neglect.\r\n\r\nTexas does a lot of this. Message received, judging from the last state schools budget.\r\n\r\nThe first claim ? about turnout ? is mine, made...\n
MIDDLE SCHOOLS FACING LARGER CLASSES MIDDLE SCHOOLS FACE CLASS JAM
\n(San Diego Union Tribune © 02/03/");
document.write("2012)
SAN DIEGO — \nThe debate over class size in schools almost always focuses on the earliest elementary grades, due in part to research that shows the youngest students benefit from intimate classrooms.\n\n\n\n\nNow, it?s middle-school educators who are fighting for smaller, if not manageable, classes.\n\n\n\n\nLarger class-size limits approved Tuesday by the San Diego school board for the 2012-13 academic...\n
Students teach educators that art and science can go hand-in-hand
\n(St. Petersburg Times © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
TAMPA\r\n\r\nWith all the hype about science education these days, what are arts students to do?\r\n\r\nIn Hillsborough County, they headed to the Florida Aquarium to prove the two disciplines aren't exactly oil and water.\r\n\r\nAbout 300 students from the county's five magnet arts schools and Rampello Downtown Partnership School recently incorporated marine science th");
document.write("emes into music, drama and visual art di...\n
Column: Ethnic studies target of critics, cutbacks
\n(USA Today © 02/03/2012)
Ethnic studies programs were born out of university protests in the 1960s from students demanding a curriculum that moved beyond the Eurocentric tradition and included experiences of diverse people of color, ge");
document.write("nder and sexuality. In the past 40 years, universities nationwide have developed programs, including in African-American, Mexican-American, Asian-American and women's studies. USATODAY OPI...\n
Mich. teen suspended for growing hair for cancer patients
\n(USA Today © 02/03/2012)
BURTON, Mich. -- School board members offered a suspe");
document.write("nded teenage boy a compromise Wednesday that would let him to return to school while growing hair to donate to people who lost theirs to cancer.But J.T. Gaskins, 17, of Grand Blanc and his mother did not say whether they would accept the conditions that would end the youth's suspension, said Nicholas Mihailoff, president of the board that runs M...\n
Student propos");
document.write("al: Pay college tuition after graduation
\n(USA Today © 02/03/2012)
With public university administrators continually arguing for tuition increases to counter state appropriations cuts, it seems far-fetched that their budget problems could be solved by eliminating student tuition and fees altogether.But that's the idea put forth by a group of students from the University of California at Riverside, who in January proposed a new funding model for the University of ...\n
Many public schools in D.C.?s poorest area should be transformed or shut, study says; more charters recommended
\n(Washington Post © 02/03/2012)
A new study commissioned by D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray recommends that the city turn around or close more than three dozen...\n
Past claims raise further questions about LA teacher charged with committing lewd acts on kids
\n(Washington Post © 02/03/2012) (Registration Required)\n
LOS ANGELES — A 10-year-old girl claimed her elementary school teacher tried to fondle her — 18 years ago. The allegation is gaining new attention with the arrest of teacher Mark Berndt, who’s accused of photographing children for sexual thrills.\n \n\nProsecutors declined to file to charges a");
document.write("gainst Berndt in the 1993 report, saying they didn’t have enough evidence.\n\nNow Bern...\n
Colorado Bill gets tough on schools' trans fat
\n(Washington Times © 02/03/2012)
DENVER — The nation's leanest state is taking its sweet time as it considers a proposal aimed at getting junk food out of schools.\n\nA Colorado House co");
document.write("mmittee was expected to discuss a bill that represents the nation's toughest regulations meant to keep trans fat away from students, but lawmakers Thursday delayed the hearing without explanation.\n\nThe bill would forbid trans fat in cafeteria ...\n
Obama, Romney divided on for-profit colleges
\n(Washington Times © 02/03/2012)
It has");
document.write("n't gotten much attention on the campaign trail, but President Obama and Republican front-runner Mitt Romney are sharply divided over one of the most controversial issues in higher education today - the growth of for-profit colleges.\n\nWhile the Obama administration has cracked down on the burgeoning sector, the former Massachusetts governor has held it up as one answer to the wild growth of ...\n
Colo. lawmakers consider trans-fat ban in schools
\n(Boston.com © 02/02/2012)
DENVER—The nation's leanest state is taking aim at junk food in school cafeterias as it considers the nation's toughest school trans-fat ban.\n\nA Colorado House committee was scheduled to hear a bill Thursday to forbid any trans-fat in school food -- not just the food served through regular cafeteria lunches.\n\nThat would mean vending machines, after-school bake sales and popular \"a la carte\" ...\n
Transforming troubled schools
\n(Chicago Tribune © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
What happened?\n\n\n\nCan the world shift on such a simple question? Imagine yourself sitting eye-to-eye with a kid in trouble and that's the first thing you ask. No lecture, no sarcasm, no judgment, no explosion of lost patience and a cry of "Why did you do that?"");
document.write(" Just: What happened?\n\n\n\nAnd then you wait for an answer. When it comes, however haltingly, you press gently and firmly on, still...\n
Editorial: Union grievance not just about classroom time
\n(Denver Post © 02/02/2012)
A pilot proposal to extend the instructional day at some middle schools in Denver is a good idea that could boost");
document.write(" kids who've fallen behind, would offer advancement opportunities for those on grade level and provide enrichment classes for all.\n\nNot many people will tell you they oppose more classroom time. So why has the Denver teacher's union filed a grievance about it?\n\nThe union issued a news r...\n
Curriculum plan angers parents
\n(Fort Worth Star-Tele");
document.write("gram © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Grapevine and Colleyville parents are unhappy with a reorganization of the middle school curriculum that will mix students taking advanced placement courses with classmates who previously enrolled in more basic courses.Officials say the change will merge the present track for students taking primarily pre-AP classes with students in what has been called on-grade-level course work into a college-re...\n
Virginia legislators seek stronger laws on reporting child abuse
\n(Hampton Pilot Online © 02/02/2012)
RICHMOND\n\n\nFootball coaches, day camp counselors, college professors and others who may work with children could be added to the list of people required by law to report suspicions of child abuse, and may also face new criminal penalties for failure to do so, under proposals making headway in the General Assembly.\n\n\nLegislators have filed a ");
document.write("dozen bills seeking to strengthen Virginia's child abuse ...\n
Baby boomers hit the books at community colleges
\n(Nashville Tennessean © 02/02/2012)
Susan Boase never aspired to be an administrative assistant, but she was still devastated when she was laid off from her job at a drug and alcohol treatment center two years ago.\n\nUnem");
document.write("ployed at 54, the Franklin resident is scared. Her unemployment checks are dwindling. She?s too young to collect full Social Security benefits.\n\nBut Boase is banking on something she?s always loved as her financial s...\n
Schools urged to embrace digital textbooks
\n(Nashville Tennessean © 02/02/2012)
WASHINGTON — Are hardboun");
document.write("d textbooks going the way of slide rules and typewriters in schools?\n\nEducation Secretary Arne Duncan and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Wednesday challenged schools and companies to get digital textbooks in students? hands within five years. The Obama administration?s push comes two weeks after Apple Inc. announced it would start to...\n
Teacher evaluation system proves popular subject for TN lawmakers
\n(Nashville Tennessean © 02/02/2012)
Amid mounting controversy, Tennessee lawmakers from both parties and opposite ends of the state are eager to fix the state?s new teacher evaluation system.\n\nNearly 20 bills by legislators rushing to make changes were filed by Wednesday?s deadline, and while Gov. Bill Haslam has urged the General Assembly not to tinker with the system yet, lawmakers say at least some of the bills probably will make...\n
Ousted superintendents unemployment bid denied
\n(New Orleans Times Picayune © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The state has denied the unemployment claim filed by the ousted former head of Philadelphia's public school system after she received a $900,000 contract buy-out.\n\n\nArlene Ackerman says she had her claim denied last ");
document.write("month and she won't appeal that decision.\n\n\nAckerman had requested the state maximum of $573 a week, based on her former salary of about $350,000. She was fir...\n
King?s fateful choice
\n(New York Post © 02/02/2012)
The city’s principals and teachers unions this week did, well, what unions do: They united, double-teaming stat");
document.write("e Education Commissioner John King to protect their least effective members — while throwing kids under the school bus.\n\nIn separate letters, principals-union boss Ernest Logan and teachers-union head Michael Mulgrew asked King to stop Mayor Bloomberg from shutting 33 failing ...\n
When Getting That 'A' Is No Longer a Must
\n(New York Time");
document.write("s (State Version) © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
The Envelope, Please\n\n\n\n\n Jason Solis, a student at Long Beach Polytechnic in Long Beach, Calif., is one of eight high school seniors blogging about their college searches for The Choice.\n\n * Series Introduction ?\n\n * All Posts in the Series ?\n\n\n\n\nTwo months. \n\n\nTwo months until a majority of us begin receiving admissions letters from colleges to which we?ve applied. Two months until the dre...\n
Bedbug tab may exceed $100,000
\n(Omaha World-Herald © 02/02/2012)
* * * * *\n\nPHOTO SHOWCASE: Bed bugs, up close and personal\n\n* * * * *\n\nLINCOLN — The cost of combating bedbugs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln may well exceed $100,000, campus housing officials said Wednesday.\n\nThe UNL officials announced that they will inspect every residence hall room — 3,256 of them — in the coming weeks to ensure that t");
document.write("hey are bedbug-free.\n\n\"We want to ...\n
Illinois high school cracks down on drugs by checking students text messages
\n(Oregonian © 02/02/2012)
CHICAGO _ An Illinois high school is cracking down on campus drug sales by confiscating the cellphones of student suspects and using their text messages to identify others, an investigative");
document.write(" technique that has raised questions among some legal experts and unnerved students who said they assumed texting to be private.\n\n\nStevenson High School spokesman Jim Conrey said the ongoing investigation, in wh...\n
The ugly tradition at Portland's Grant High School
\n(Oregonian © 02/02/2012)
Hazing? Hazing, from\nwhat I hear, does");
document.write("n't begin to describe the festivities in the locker rooms at\nGrant High. Try overt, malicious bullying. A tradition of ganging up on younger\nstudents to humiliate and/or assault them\n\n \n\n\nThe ritual even has a\nname among Grant students: \"G-ing.\" And that tells you just how\nengrained the ritual is in the high school's athletic culture. \n\n\nAs the Portland\nPolice...\n
Florida eyes school bus ads for extra money
\n(Orlando Sentinel © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Florida school districts mired in budget woes might soon get a new fundraising option — selling ad space on their fleets of yellow school buses.\n\nAds on school buses are illegal in Florida now, but two bills making progress in the Legislature would change that, allowing signs on the side of the vehicles.\n\nSchool transportation directors oppose bus ads on safety grounds, while others dislike ...\n
Editorial: Shoddy college rating system breeds cheating
\n(Sacramento Bee © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Claremont McKenna College, an expensive, 1,300-student private school in Southern California, has been falsifying SAT scores since 2005 to get better rankings from for-profit ranking companies such as U.S. News & World Report.\n\n");
document.write("In the search for greater prestige – a Top 10 ranking – an official at the college inflated scores, and apparently nobody was checking up – either at the col...\n
Bail set at $23M in ex-teacher?s molestation case
\n(Salt Lake Tribune © 02/02/2012)
In this undated police booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sherif");
document.write("f's Department shows former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was arrested for felony molestation of 23 kids after photos surfaced. Berndt been charged with committing lewd acts with 23 boys and girls ages 7 to 10. AP Photo/ Los Angeles Sheriff's Department)\n \n\n Los Angeles ? Bail for a former elementary school teac...\n
Obama insurance decision declare");
document.write("s war on religion
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
In politics, the timing is often the message. On Jan. 20 ? three days before the annual March for Life ? the Obama administration announced its final decision that Catholic universities, hospitals and charities will be compelled to pay for health insurance that covers sterilization, contraceptives and abortifacients.\n\n Catholic leaders are still trying to process the implications of this ambush. ...\n
High school principal resigns
\n(St. Louis Post-Dispatch © 02/02/2012)
CAHOKIA ?? Cahokia High School Principal Terrance Gaddy resigned\nabruptly Monday.\n \n \n \n \n\nCahokia School District 187 Superintendent Pamela Manning\nreceived a letter of resignation from Gaddy saying he was resigning\nbecause of health issues. She said she was surprised by G");
document.write("addy's\nresignation and that he was an excellent principal.\n \n \n ...\n
The Circuit: Cybersecurity, Facebook, digital tools in schools
\n(Washington Post © 02/02/2012) (Registration Required)\n
LEADING THE DAY: The House subcommittee on cybersecurity will mark up the Promoting and Enhanci");
document.write("ng Cybersercurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness (PrECISE) Act, which has provisions to secure infrastructure, such as utility grids and financial services systems, from cyberattack.\n\n\nThe bill would task the Department of Homeland Security with assessing threats to these systems and create a se...\n
Bail set at $23M in California teacher molestation case
\n(Washington Times © 02/02/2012)
LOS ANGELES — Bail for a former elementary school teacher accused of taking bizarre photos of children in his classroom for a sexual thrill was raised Wednesday to $23 million, as parents questioned why they weren't notified when the pictures were found more than a year ago.\n\nMark Berndt, 61, appeared in court for the first time after being charged with committing lewd acts involving 23 boys...\n
Missouri system eyes tuition increases
\n(Boston.com © 02/01/2012)
COLUMBIA, Mo.—Faced with yet another round of likely state budget cuts, the University of Missouri system wants to increase tuition next year by 7.5 percent at its flagship Columbia campus and even more at its campuses in St. Louis and Rolla.\n\nA proposal released Tuesday afternoon spells out proposed in-state tuition hikes of 8.2 percent at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and 9 per");
document.write("cent ...\n
Longer school days
\n(Chicago Tribune © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
The school day editorial (\"The gift of classroom time,\" Editorial, Jan. 30) seems to think that a longer day is a panacea for all schools. Select and magnet schools do not need an extra 90 minutes.\n\n\n\n\n\nOf course, the sit");
document.write("uation at mediocre schools is another story.\n\n\n\n\n\nSchools such as Skinner North Classical do not need a longer day because the parents are involved and the most of the elementary ...\n
Naming names latest tactic in scholarship fight
\n(Chicago Tribune © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Monday, the Better");
document.write(" Government Association posted online a \"nice\" list — a roster of members of the Illinois General Assembly who have voluntarily opted out of the controversial legislative scholarship program.\n\nThat century-old perk annually allows each member of the House and Senate to grant four-year scholarships to two residents of their district — one for the University of Illinois...\n
New Trier High School plans to give iPads to some students around the clock
\n(Chicago Tribune © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
New Trier High School is planning a pilot program for the fall that would put Apple iPads in the hands of a select number of students — not just in the classroom, but around the clock. At school, at home, at Starbucks — anywhere with a wireless Internet connection.\n\nChris Johnson, director of the school's technology department, sees a future without heavy, costly textbooks");
document.write(". If the pilo...\n
CU drops standardized tests for foreign students
\n(Denver Post © 02/01/2012)
Students walk to and from classes near the University Memorial Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder.\n (Denver Post file photo)BOULDER, Colo.—The University of Colorado will no longer require foreign applicants to submit ");
document.write("standardized SAT or ACT test scores with their applications, because it says there are too many countries limiting access to the materials the foreign students nee...\n
Editorial: Obama right to emphasize keeping college within reach
\n(Detroit Free Press © 02/01/2012)
Ann Arbor was a good place for President Barack Obama to lay do");
document.write("wn some new proposals for financing college. \n\nMichigan has been short-changing its colleges and universities for years, regularly letting its budget problems trickle down onto the schools, which then raise tuition and, in the case of community colleges, sometimes turn to local taxpayers for more millage.\nBut there is another wake-up c...\n
Elementary teacher arres");
document.write("ted after photos show children blindfolded, taped
\n(Detroit Free Press © 02/01/2012)
LOS ANGELES -- A veteran elementary school teacher was arrested on horrifying child molestation charges after a film processor gave police photos showing blindfolded children with their mouths taped and cockroaches on their faces, authorities said Tuesday.\n\nMark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday at his Torrance home and remained jailed on $2.3-million bail, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff'...\n
Editorial: Connecting students with future employers
\n(Houston Chronicle © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
As the economic downturn left unnumbered college-educated Millennials un- or underemployed, pundits and policy-makers understandably questioned whether schools were sacrificing job-preparedness for college-readiness. For decades most people assumed that a college educat");
document.write("ion meant a good career. As we have learned, that isn't necessarily true, and there has been a push to return vocational training ...\n
Falkenberg: Higher dropout age is no magic solution
\n(Houston Chronicle © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
It's refreshing to hear President Barack Obama acknowledge th");
document.write("e seriousness of the high school dropout crisis, rather than downplay it, undercount it and treat it with the manufactured skepticism of a global warming debate, as Gov. Rick Perry has done.\n\nBut if you're wondering if Obama's call for states to raise the dropout age to 18 would make a dent in the national problem, simply look in your ow...\n
Accused teacher blindf");
document.write("olded kids for ?tasting? test, source says
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
The "game" conceived by Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was a tasting test during which he kept the children blindfolded, sources familiar with the investigation said.\n\nBerndt is accused of committing lewd acts on at least 23 children, including blindfolding them and spoon-feeding them a white substance that authorities say was the teacher's semen.\n\nChildren tol...\n
Cheating by Claremont McKenna College: What's gone wrong?
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Editorial\n \n\n When colleges cheat\n\n \n Sure, schools such as Claremont McKenna College are under pressure to look good, but there should be zero ");
document.write("tolerance for dishonesty.\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n...\n
DNA key in case against L.A. teacher accused of classroom abuse
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
DNA");
document.write(" evidence collected in the classroom of a teacher accused of gagging and blindfolding children and feeding them semen is considered central in the felony cases against him, a detective said.\n\nMark Berndt was charged Tuesday with 23 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child. The case began when photos of scenes in the classroom emerged. Berndt, 61, was fired as a teacher in March and was arrested ...\n
Educators urge support for early kindergarten program
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
A group of California educators on Tuesday urged state lawmakers to maintain funding for a new kindergarten program for children with fall birthdays.\n\nThe status of the transitional kindergarten program was thrown into doubt when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed its elimination in his 2012-13 budget plan. Scrapping the program could save an estimated $224 million next year; the governor is attemp");
document.write("ting to ...\n
Parents angry they weren?t told of teacher allegations sooner
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Parents at Miramonte Elementary School in South L.A. said they were stunned by allegations that a longtime teacher was arrested on charges that he abused at least 23 childre");
document.write("n.\n\nKimberly Kirklin, 32, has six children, including three daughters who are still students at Miramonte. She said she quizzed each of them immediately after learning of the arrest of former teacher Mark Berndt on the early mo...\n
Teacher abused students during class, detective says
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
An elementary school teacher accused of gagging and blindfolding students allegedly did so in his classroom during school hours, according to a detective on the case.\n\n?He disguised it as a game,? said sheriff?s Sgt. Dan Scott of the special victims unit. ?This occurred in his regular classroom with his students,? Scott said. ?It wasn?t done in secret. The only secret was what the game was really ...\n
Teacher's alleged classroom abuse began in 2005, authorities say
\n(Los Angeles Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
A South Los Angeles teacher accused of gagging and blindfolding children and feeding them semen will face multiple felony charges in a court hearing Wednesday.\n\nAuthorities say the alleged crimes took place between 2005 and 2010, though detectives said they were still trying to determine how far back the alleged abuse occurred.\n\nMark Bern");
document.write("dt is being held in lieu of $2.3-million bail after being a...\n
Indiana Senate broadens creationism teaching proposal
\n(Louisville Courier-Journal © 02/01/2012)
INDIANAPOLIS — Legislators have broadened a proposal aimed at allowing Indiana?s public schools to teach creationism in science classes to require that such courses ");
document.write("include origin of life theories from multiple religions.\n\nThe Senate approved the change to legislation that critics had argued was unconstitutional because federal courts repeatedly have found teaching creationism violates churc...\n
Teachers told to teach digitally
\n(Louisville Courier-Journal © 02/01/2012)
The Indiana Department");
document.write(" of Education is challenging teachers to instruct their students digitally.\n\nThe state agency said Monday it's hosting a \"29-Day Web 2.0 Challenge\" that will feature an online resource with educator tutorials and tips for each day in February. It says teachers will be challenged to explore the online tool and share ways in which it enhances learning or helps them teach more e...\n
Overcrowding remedy in Jefferson Parish public schools could force hundreds of student transfers
\n(New Orleans Times Picayune © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
A plan to ease crowding at the largest elementary school in Jefferson Parish, the 1,125-student Estelle Elementary in Marrero, could set off a chain reaction shifting hundreds of students among five West Bank sites for 2012-13 and creating the school system's only campus spanning pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The corresponding goal of easing conges");
document.write("tion at two East Jefferson elementary sch...\n
Gambling a College's Reputation on Climbing the Rankings
\n(New York Times (State Version) © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Claremont McKenna College, an elite school in California’s Claremont Colleges cluster, admitted on Monday that a senior admini");
document.write("stration official had reported exaggerated SAT data to college ratings agencies over six years. The inaccurate numbers were a rare example of an institute of higher learning falsifying data submitted to a rankings agency, and appear to be the work of an individual, th...\n
Photos Led to Arrest in Abuse of Pupils
\n(New York Times (State Version)");
document.write(" © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
LOS ANGELES — A former elementary school teacher who taught in a South Los Angeles school for 30 years was arrested Monday on charges of inflicting bizarre abuse rituals on at least 23 young girls and boys, including blindfolding them, binding their mouths with masking tape, and placing cockroaches on their faces and mouths before photographing them. \n\nThe man, Mark Berndt, 61, was ar...\n
Principal in pants prank sacked
\n(Omaha World-Herald © 02/01/2012)
When a school official's actions lead to a controversy that distracts staff and students from teaching and learning, a school board may have to act decisively, an Iowa State University education expert said Tuesday.\n\n\"When that happens, the school board is completely (within) their right to make sure that distraction from the educational program is taken care of, is removed,\" sai");
document.write("d David Whaley, as...\n
School computer hacking probed
\n(Omaha World-Herald © 02/01/2012)
Douglas County sheriff's deputies are investigating the case of a Millard student who reportedly disrupted his high school's computer network over a three-day period.\n\nChief Deputy Marty Bilek said no arrests had been made in the incident invo");
document.write("lving a student from Horizon High School.\n\nBilek said investigators are trying to determine whether a crime was committed and whether any grades or school re...\n
Students feel blindsided
\n(Omaha World-Herald © 02/01/2012)
BLAIR, Neb. — Jordan Welch grabbed his jersey Thursday morning. He grabbed his helmet.\n\nHe didn't really");
document.write(" care if anyone at Dana College saw this or not — what were they going to do, kick him out of a school that no longer exists?\n\nThe senior-to-be walked over to the registrar's office to get his transcript, but he could barely wedge himself in the doorway. Dozens of other Dana students...\n
Black student seeks to shift cultural discussion as head of University ");
document.write("of Oregon student newspaper
\n(Oregonian © 02/01/2012)
From The Skanner:\n\nWhen Tyree Harris first started writing at the Oregon Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon's (UO) daily newspaper, there were no other Black people on staff.\n\"Journalism is traditionally a white man's club,\" says Harris, who is now the Emerald's editor-in-chief. \"It's a really weird time in college journalism. You have two Black leaders of major college news organizations in ...\n
Close the loophole: GI Bill aid should be counted as education dollars
\n(Pittsburgh Post Gazette © 02/01/2012)
For years the U.S. Senate has been investigating the recruiting practices of some for-profit colleges. The businesses that run the so-called career schools depend heavily on federal student aid, cater to low-income learners and offer flexibility to those who must work while going to class.\n\nSome of the colleges also have weak");
document.write(" graduation rates.\n\nSenators heard troubling testimony from students and ...\n
Jerry Brown, legislators and CTA put local schools in a bind
\n(Sacramento Bee © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Re \"Teachers union chief expects support for Brown tax effort\" (The Buzz, Jan. 31): The California Teachers Asso");
document.write("ciation being in favor of raising taxes for schools is not a surprise. It would mean more teachers employed and paying dues. \nHowever, for the CTA to give Brown its full support shows that the union doesn necessarily care about teachers as individuals. \nSchool districts must by law send ...\n
Feds: States should do more to reach students
\n(Salt");
document.write(" Lake Tribune © 02/01/2012)
FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2011, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks about No Child Left Behind Reform in the East Room of the White House in Washington. In its initial review of No Child Left Behind waiver requests, the U.S. Department of Education highlighted a similar weakness in nearly every application: States did not do enough to ensure schools would be held accountable for the performan...\n
School to offer Utah?s first German dual-immersion program
\n(Salt Lake Tribune © 02/01/2012)
Provo School District plans to offer Utah?s first dual-immersion program in German.\n Starting next school year, Lakeview Elementary will offer German language immersion, giving students the opportunity to be fluent in a second language by the time they leave sixth grade. Students will get to interact with German peers in Provo?s sister city, Meissen, Germany.\n ?We firmly believe that learni");
document.write("ng a se...\n
School board wont pay corruption case legal fees
\n(San Diego Union Tribune © 02/01/2012)
SAN DIEGO — \n A bid to have the Sweetwater Union High School District in San Diego County pay legal fees for some officials in a corruption case appears to have fizzled.\n\n\n\n\n U-T San Diego (\n \n http://bit.ly/y1GgeO\n \n ) says ");
document.write("not a single board member voted to move the requests for action at a Monday night meeting that ended Tuesday morning.\n\n\n\n\n Board members Bertha Lopez, Pearl Quinones and...\n
Report: Hercules first grader suspended for 'sexual assault'
\n(San Jose Mercury News © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
West Cont");
document.write("ra Costa school district administrators are saying little about reports that a Hercules principal suspended a first-grader for sexual assault.\n\nThe mother of a 6-year-old student said in a Bay Citizen story that appeared last week in the New York Times that the principal of Lupine Hills Elementary suspended her son in December. She said the principal claimed the boy inappropriately touche...\n
Education editorial about public-school funding, priorities
\n(Seattle Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
We need more investment in literacy programs\n\nThank you for the editorial page focus on education, and for the ongoing support for early learning [“Losing kids on the path to prosperity,” Opinion, Jan. 29]. Losing kids on the path to prosperity describes the education continuum from cradle to college, but doesn’t show that disparities are measurable by age 9 months.\n\nResearch");
document.write(" dem...\n
Parent Teacher Association funds
\n(Seattle Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Let the PTA decide how to use these funds\n\nThe Jan. 29 front-page article, “As parents raise cash, schools confront big gap” doesn’t tell the whole story until deep in the article when we are ");
document.write("advised that the schools in wealthy areas, “rarely come close to offsetting the differences in the district’s weighted formula benefiting poor schools.”\n\nSo even with rich ...\n
The Obama administration's war on religion
\n(Seattle Times © 02/01/2012) (Registration Required)\n
WASHINGTON ");
document.write("212; In politics, the timing is often the message. On Jan. 20 — three days before the annual March for Life — the Obama administration announced its final decision that Catholic universities, hospitals and charities will be compelled to pay for health insurance that covers sterilization, contraceptives and abortifacients.\n\n\nPreparing for the march, Catholic students gathe...\n
Deputy jailed on sex charges
\n(Tampa Tribune © 02/01/2012)
TAMPA --\n \n \n\nHe spent some of his free time with the Zephyrhills High School marching band.\n\nShe played in it.\n\nThe two became intimate, authorities said. But there was a big problem.\n\nHe was 49. She was 15.\n\nOn Tuesday, authorities arrested Juan Ortega, a Hillsborough County sheriff's detention deputy, accusing him of having a sexual relationship with the girl that lasted several mont...\n
Poverty may burden scores
\n(Tampa Tribune © 02/01/2012)
TAMPA --\n \n \n\n Florida has ranked all 3,078 public and charter schools for the first time, largely by scores on the state's standardized test.\n\nThe results in Hillsborough County: Public schools with the smallest share of poor students perform the best.\n\nBevis Elementary ranks No. 1 among Hillsborough's 150 elementary schools ? tied for fir");
document.write("st, in fact, among all state elementary schools...\n
Ex-L.A. teacher charged with molesting 23 children
\n(USA Today © 02/01/2012)
LOS ANGELES\n(AP)\n\n?\nA veteran elementary school teacher was arrested on horrifying child molestation charges after a film processor gave police photos showing blindfolded children with their mouths taped");
document.write(" and cockroaches on their faces, authorities said Tuesday.Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday at his Torrance home and remained jailed on $2.3 million bail, according to a Los Angeles County Sheri...\n
New tool to clearly disclose 403(b) fees
\n(USA Today © 02/01/2012)
Just as many teachers are seeing pensions shrink, they're relyi");
document.write("ng more on costly 403(b) retirement plans that are not covered by the new federal fee disclosure rules.Public school employees have no help from their school systems in making informed investment choices, so an industry task force, including the National Education Association, today will unveil a tool that will clearly disclose 403(b) ...\n
Yes, classrooms first
\n(Chicago Tribune © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
About a year ago, in his budget address, Gov. Pat Quinn took a political risk and said Illinois should greatly reduce the number of school districts in the state. Illinois has 868 school districts, more than almost any other state. That creates a lot of unnecessary expense through duplication of services. We're long overdue for a downsizing. \n\nQuinn estimated the state would save $100 million in a...\n
Cleveland schools' New Tech program to be featured on national webcast
\n(Cleveland Plain Dealer © 01/31/2012)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland's New Tech high school serving the West Side will be one of the schools featured in a national Internet broadcast Wednesday celebrating Digital Learning Day with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. \n\n\nNew Tech West will be one of several schools showcased in short");
document.write(" videos during a morning webcast. Then New Tech Principal Erin Frew, Spanish teacher Marixa Marri...\n
Treasurer of 2 charter schools losing both jobs
\n(Columbus Dispatch © 01/31/2012)
A charter-school treasurer who has been ordered to repay more than $600,000 in public money has\nlost his job at one local charter, and another plans");
document.write(" to fire him on Tuesday.\n\n\n\nCarl W. Shye Jr. of New Albany still was employed at two Columbus charter schools, FCI\nAcademy and Patriot Preparatory Academy, last week when the state auditor announced the latest\nfindings against Shye for misspending taxp...\n
2 vandals damage 18 school buses; West Bloomfield district cancels classes for a day
\n(D");
document.write("etroit Free Press © 01/31/2012)
Two people spent 35 minutes walking from one snow-covered school bus to another Sunday night in Orchard Lake, yanking wires from batteries, pulling fuses and letting the air out of tires.\n\nThey were seemingly oblivious to the surveillance cameras capturing their nearly every move.\n\nThe vandalism -- in which 18 of 58 buses were damaged -- forced the West Bloomfield School District to cancel classes...\n
Charter School Closures Are Down, But Why?
\n(Education Week © 01/31/2012)
The percentage of charter schools that are being closed when they are up for renewal has fallen for two straight years...\n
Classes turn bilingual students into biliterate on");
document.write("es
\n(Houston Chronicle © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
There is no escaping Spanish inside Room 510.\n\nThe classroom walls explode with vibrant posters and banners welcoming students to class (Bienvenidos), illustrating the cuisine of Spanish-speaking countries (Paella, Salsa de Mole, Cuy Picante), and giving translations for common classroom objects such as pencil sharpeners (el sacapuntas).\n\nBut this is no ordinary Spanish class, and these eighth-gra...\n
Web 2.0: Indiana challenges teachers to instruct digitally
\n(Indianapolis Star © 01/31/2012)
INDIANAPOLIS ? The Indiana Department of Education is challenging teachers to instruct their students digitally.\n\nThe state agency said Monday it's hosting a \"29-Day Web 2.0 Challenge\" in which it will feature an online resource with educator tutorials and tips for each day in February. It says teachers will be ");
document.write("challenged to explore the online tool and share ways in which it enhances learning or h...\n
Claremont McKenna College inflated freshman SAT scores, probe finds
\n(Los Angeles Times © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Claremont McKenna College inflated freshman SAT scores, probe finds\n\n ");
document.write(" \n The SAT scores are used for national school rankings. A senior Claremont McKenna official has taken responsibility and resigned, the campus president announced.\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n ...\n
College Says It Exaggerated SAT Figures for Ratin");
document.write("gs
\n(New York Times (State Version) © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Claremont McKenna College, a small, prestigious California school, said Monday that for the past six years, it has submitted false SAT scores to publications like U.S. News & World Report that use the data in widely followed college rankings. \n\nIn a message e-mailed to college staff members and students, Claremont McKenna’s president since 1999, Pamela B. Gann, wrote that “a sen...\n
Briefly: Nebraska teachers sought
\n(Omaha World-Herald © 01/31/2012)
Lincoln portrayer to perform in Iowa\n\nSpend \"An Evening With President Lincoln\" as the Donna Reed Foundation presents the fifth event in its \"American Icon Series\" at 7 p.m. Friday at the Donna Reed Theater in Denison, Iowa.\n\nRichard F. \"Fritz\" Klein will play the role; he has portrayed Lincoln on the History Channel, Disc");
document.write("overy Channel, National Geographic Television and C-Span.\n\nTickets are $15. ...\n
Counselors on hand at Aloha High School in wake of Ryan Lee Johnson's shooting death
\n(Oregonian © 01/31/2012)
Counselors will be on hand at Aloha High School this morning in the wake of the shooting death of 22-year-old Ryan Lee Johnson Thursday aft");
document.write("ernoon.\n\nJohnson, of Aloha, was shot outside the Bales Thriftway just before 3:20 p.m., according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The state medical examiner's office said Johnson died from gunshot wounds to the head.\n\nIn 2008, Johnson graduated from ...\n
Data: Bright Futures not just for rich
\n(Orlando Sentinel © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Florida's Bright Futures scholarships may be perceived as financial aid for the elite, but 40 percent of the recipients come from families making $50,000 or less, according to data released Thursday.\n\nThe scholarships, funded by the Florida Lottery, are based on merit, not financial need. As the state has faced shrinking revenue, questions have been raised about whether the state should change how...\n
Bill to change school testing passes Utah House
\n(Salt Lake Tribune © 01/31/2012)
A bill that would change the way Utah students are tested moved closer to becoming law Monday.\nThe House on Monday passed HB15, a bill that?s part of what state education leaders have called their top priority for this legislative session. The bill would replace Criterion Referenced Tests (CRTs), now given to most Utah students once a year, with computer-adaptive tests at a cost of $6.7");
document.write(" million.\nC...\n
Utah - Bill to change school testing passes Utah House
\n(Salt Lake Tribune © 01/31/2012)
A bill that would change the way Utah students are tested moved closer to becoming law Monday....\n
California Assembly approves Mendoza bill making it easier for school districts to deny charter schools
\n(San Jose Mercury News © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Tony Mendoza The state Assembly Monday on a 45-28 vote approved Assemblyman Tony Mendoza's bill that would make to make it easier for school districts to turn down charter schools. \n \n \n\nA.B. 1172 establishes three reasons - based on financial data - allowing distri");
document.write("cts to reject charter schools. \n \n \n\n\"If innovation and choice would add burden to a school district already faced with difficult ...\n
Port of Los Angeles High School students participate in 'cram night' before finals
\n(San Jose Mercury News © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Port of Los Angeles High");
document.write(" School held an after school \"cram session\" for its students Monday to help them prepare for finals on Tuesday. About 600 students participated in the voluntary program where they can attend three study sessions from their teachers. Eduardo Ramirez, center, takes a practice exam in Mary Jane Liverpool's AP government and politics class.\n\nPhoto by Steve McCrank / Staff Photo...\n
Parent trigger bad policy
\n(South Florida Sun-Sentinel © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
It's understandable that parents who have seen little improvement in their children's poor-performing Florida schools would have itchy trigger fingers.\n\nSo what does the Legislature propose? Putting a powerful weapon in the hands of untrained parents. Last week, state House and Senate committees endorsed so-called \"parent trigger\" bills that would empower 51-percent parent majorities to select a \"...\n
S.D. lawmakers urge schools to provide academic instruction on the Bible
\n(St. Paul Pioneer Press © 01/31/2012)
PIERRE, S.D. - A measure encouraging South Dakota schools to provide academic instruction on the Bible won final approval Monday from the state Legislature amid criticism from some lawmakers that it could blur the line between government and relig");
document.write("ion. \n\n\nThe Senate voted 25-10 to pass the non-binding resolution, which has no force of law. The House passed the measure last week.\n\n\nSen. Elizabeth K...\n
Are second-graders already over-tested?
\n(Washington Post © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
Washington Post education blogger Valerie Strauss ga");
document.write("ve a shout-out to Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua Starr for proposing to eliminate a standardized test used in the second grade. \n“At a time when many school systems around the country are — unfortunately — increasing the number of tests that students have to take so that teachers in all areas can be evaluated on the sco...\n
Obama plays ");
document.write("his Catholic allies for fools
\n(Washington Post © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
In politics, the timing is often the message. On Jan. 20 — three days before the annual March for Life — the Obama administration announced its final decision that Catholic universities, hospitals and charities will be compelled to pay for health insurance that covers sterilization, contraceptives and abortifacients.\n \n\nPreparing for the march, Catholic students gathered for Mass at V...\n
Reading is not a race: The virtues of the ?slow reading? movement
\n(Washington Post © 01/31/2012) (Registration Required)\n
This was written by Thomas Newkirk, a former high school teacher and currently professor of English at the University of New Hampshire. His most recent book is “\nThe Art of Slow Reading: Six Time-Honored Practices for Engagem");
document.write("ent” (Heinemann).He can be reached at Thomas.newkirk@unh.edu.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBy Tom Newkirk\n\n\nGo to just about any elementary school in this country and you will see teac...\n
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