Education

I don't have a ton of time to write today -- I've spent the past week teaching and learning alongside of some really progressive thinkers in Australia -- so I figured I'd share a few handouts that I've been using in class this year to teach nonfiction reading skills in my sixth grade science classroom.

Harvard University students signed and delivered a petition to President Drew Faust demanding an investigation into how the school awarded a doctorate in 2009 based on a dissertation that claimed that Hispanics are not as smart as whites. The degree … Continue reading →

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has now awarded No Child Left Behind Act waivers to 37 states plus the District of Columbia. Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia are the latest additions to the list, the Education Department announced today. This means that the vast majority of the country is now operating under their own federally approved but state-crafted accountability plans as Congress continues to refrain from rewriting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, of which NCLB is the latest version. For Hawaii, their waiver continues a spate of good news. Last month the state finally secured a new contract with the state teachers' association, paving the way for Hawaii to keep its Race to the Top promises (and its grant award). The last state to win a waiver was Idaho seven months ago. Illinois continues to languish in waiver purgatory—the state that's been stuck there the longest over problems meeting the federal department's aggressive timeline for new teacher evaluations. Other states with outstanding applications include Alabama, Wyoming, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maine, and New Hampshire. One of the biggest remaining question marks is whether Duncan will grant a first-of-its-kind waiver to nine California districts after their state couldn't successfully get one on its own. The districts are working on revising their proposal after getting a feedback letter (which the districts refuse to share) from the Education Department. Interestingly, the department's news release says that California has notified federal officials that it will not make another go at a waiver, and instead will focus on common standards implementation. - Michele McNeil

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="267"> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/> UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2

Today’s young people must graduate from high school with the skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century global economy.  And that certainly includes youth with disabilities.  To that end, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy are working closely together to create opportunities for youth with disabilities to graduate college and career ready. Our economy demands a talented and diverse workforce.  President Obama has called on the Federal Government to hire an additional 100,000 workers with disabilities by 2015.  Senator Harkin joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in setting a goal to increase the size of the disability workforce from under five million to six million by 2015.  Delaware’s Governor Markell, as Chair of the National Governor’s Association, has called on state governments to identify business partners who will work with them to develop strategic plans for the employment and retention of workers with disabilities. We believe that all youth, including youth with disabilities, must graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills to be successful in the workforce. While in school, students with disabilities must be held to high expectations, participate in the general curriculum, be exposed to rigorous coursework, and have meaningful and relevant transition goals and services aligned to college- and career-ready standards. Research has shown that effective transition services are directly linked to better postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities. Research also tells us that to flourish in the workplace youth with disabilities must also be provided with the opportunity to develop leadership skills, to engage in self-determination and career exploration, and to participate in paid work-based experiences while in high school.  With only 20.7 percent of working age people with disabilities participating in the labor force, compared to 68.8 percent of those without disabilities, we must do better! That is why we’re currently hosting, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Social Security Administration, the first-ever national online dialogue to help shape federal agency strategies for helping young people with disabilities successfully transition from school to work. We know that we cannot do this alone. To bring about lasting change, we need educators, service providers, disability advocates, policymakers, and youth with disabilities and their families to provide input. We want and need to hear from you! Akin to a “virtual town hall,” this dialogue invites members of the public to help us learn what’s working, what’s not, and where change is needed, with particular focus on how various federal laws and regulations impact the ability of youth with disabilities to be successful in today’s global economy. This “Conversation for Change” started on May 13 and runs through May 27th. More than 2,000 people have participated, and we want you to join-in also! We encourage everyone who is interested in improving transition outcomes for youth with disabilities to contribute. We hope you will lend your voice to our efforts to ensure inclusion, equity and opportunity on behalf of America’s youth with disabilities. Join the online dialogue! Michael Yudin is the acting assistant secretary of education for special education and rehabilitative services.  Kathy Martinez is the assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy.

Community college leaders are trying to double the number of graduates by 2020 to meet President Obama’s targets. It’s not easy, writes Stacy Collett in Community College Journal. For administrators at Harper College in Illinois, 10,604 is the magic number—it’s the college’s share of the 5 million additional community college graduates President Obama challenged the nation’s two-year career and technical institutions to contribute to the economy by 2020. (That’s in addition to the college’s current trajectory of 21,000 credentialed students by 2020.) Harper started by reaching out to students who were a few credits short of an associate degree. Some already had earned those credits at other institutions; others just needed a few classes. Now that the low-hanging fruit has been picked, raising the number of graduates will get harder. “Many people working in community colleges still do not understand how abysmal our graduation rates or our student retention rates or course completion rates are,” says Angela Oriano, associate director at the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) at the University of Texas at Austin. Completion rates are up 125 percent at Snead State Community College (SSCC) in Alabama since it started a campaign encouraging   students to “finish what you start.” The college redesigned orientation, eliminated unneeded requirements, such as speech and computer training, and even dropped a $15″cap and gown” fee. When Cindy Miles became chancellor at California’s Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD) in 2009, a dismal 3 percent of the 4,000 freshmen who entered the college in 2006 had earned a degree, yet 1,900 had successfully transferred to a four-year university by 2009. “High numbers of transfer students who come to us don’t care if they get that degree,” Miles explains. “We’re trying to ascertain what the student’s version of success is, and we’re now trying to show value in the associate degree before they transfer.” Four-year graduation rates are much higher for students who transfer with an associate degree. The Roadmap Project at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) in Pennsylvania helps students plan their college career and understand all the support services available.  The first-year experience initiative includes mandatory orientation and success seminars, help from a success coach and access to walk-in “math cafés” staffed by faculty volunteers.

Blog: Alma Mater When I first started seeing the phrase “enterprise risk management” pop up in higher education literature, my reaction was one of skepticism. It seemed to me yet another idea of limited value that someone had created a label for, to make it seem more important than it really was. Although some of that skepticism remains, I find myself increasingly in sympathy with some of its basic tenets, particularly in relation to preparing for risks arising from operating conditions, natural disasters and poor planning. Most leaders in higher education have an appreciation of operating risks associated with institutional policies related to liability claims, insurance coverage, investment asset allocations, human resources and student discipline. Then there are the operating risks that arise from the actions of individuals that comprise our campuses, some more massive than others, but equally challenging in terms of institutional health and reputation. No college president escapes the late night phone calls about accidental fires, auto accidents and post-party hospitalizations. What the tragedies at Virginia Tech and Penn State and the devastation as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Sandy have taught us is that we must be prepared for massive risks associated with natural disasters, and no one is immune. While Illinois Wesleyan University does not have to worry about ocean surges, we are at the center of a tornado alley and sit above a fault line. With all of these emergencies, an institution better have a thorough and practiced response plan. No two situations will be the same, but well-developed lines of communication and responsibility will be invaluable when the inevitable emergency arises. There is a third dimension to this discussion that receives less attention but is equally important, namely, the analysis that goes into decisions about the future. Most institutions are currently engaged in some kind of strategic planning effort driven, in part, by the need to protect their financial viability and vitality for the foreseeable future. These efforts are no longer perfunctory exercises with limited consequences. Bad plans and bad execution of good ideas can put an institution at risk fairly quickly in the current environment. Besides examining what we hope will happen if a particular plan is adopted, we should also devote time to the consequences if the plan does not work. I still cannot quite get comfortable incorporating enterprise risk management into my daily vocabulary, but I have embraced the underlying principles. Richard F. Wilson, president Illinois Wesleyan University Show on Jobs site:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Segment via NBC -- apparently the First Lady's only HS commencement speech this year.

Caleb Cantres-Maldonado was all of 6 weeks old and just stirring from a nap when his mother propped him up and pointed him in the direction of a picture book. "Look what I have! See the book?" said Milenka St. Clair, a family support worker who visits Caleb's Manassas home once a week. "It's a drum! What else do you see?" Caleb's head flopped to one side. St. Clair tapped the page loudly, then moved it left and right and up and down. The baby's eyes, still cloudy and a little crossed, followed her movements.

Educators are finding that kids aren't coming to school prepared to learn because they are not getting proper rest, discipline, and attention from their parents. According to Graeme Paton in the The Telegraph, in order to help parents, Britain will be handing out leaflets to remind them to make sure kids get the proper amount of sleep, are well fed, have time set aside for homework, have quality time spent with them and come to school prepared with the proper supplies.