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<div>May 29, 2013 - In This Issue:</div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK7">NCLB in retrospect</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK8">Scrutinizing test oversight</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK9">Drafting the science standards was the easy part</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK10">The Common Core is good conservatism.</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK11">The Common Core and money</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK12">Per-student spending drops</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK13">Clear benefit in Boston</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK14">In Chicago's under-enrolled schools</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK15">BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK16">BRIEFLY NOTED</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://mail.aol.com/37752-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27475584&seq=0&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#LETTER.BLOCK17">GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES</a></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>NCLB in retrospect</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new report from the
American Enterprise Institute considers the record of No Child Left
Behind (NCLB), asking if it was a well-intentioned initiative that
failed, or did it actually attain its stated goal of improving academic
achievement, particularly for disadvantaged students? The report
concludes that school accountability systems in general, and those of
NCLB in particular, have only modest beneficial effects on standardized
test scores; however, accountability systems are complex and can have
both beneficial and harmful elements. Schools exposed to punitive NCLB
sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, tended to outperform nearly
identical schools that barely avoided them. Most individual sanctions in
the NCLB regime, such as offering students transfers, tutoring, or
modest "corrective actions," had no discernable effect. Schools
restructured under NCLB posted significant improvements in both reading
and math scores, suggesting leadership change is an essential reform in
persistently low-performing schools. While a pure focus on proficiency
can lead to diversion of resources from higher- or lower-performing
students, complementary policies that focus on those students mitigate
this risk substantially. The report recommends that any new law focus on
test-score gains rather than levels of proficiency; incentivize schools
rather than teachers; intervene with rather than fire underperforming
teachers; and move state and district autonomy even further<span style="font-size: 10pt;">. </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceFGXp9N19Pcbn6hpTBRJV9KbrUeO9NMGd_tSYsZABLJz3htlcc8LESf2KAXISngC3fHEXJ-Hfp8MHjrZacuAu_jU1YNyPflMuWtmCpjHny146Nb3fyBJIpDIuLKMfgU64n-KLflrgRVwI1wSAOTNagvbxhARDUHOealaaiD0biKJxjzUzEr7VDIagxuGA3FL63ud6kXs0pRp1vw_XrqJrL7loB6MUCqNm0S18BZO0YBWEGphnjo1lk4AUJMJu7fNaV_Fy-65HBExZ0GyMP_oJaM_g0siDymj-hA5fP-yGkyQyB6zh9hqR2ny00ocPn9NwX46WaJ2ktZ4StEH44h2Zz6QLndj2xANGgy6lWS_c71f5b_EjAh2zk16kDYyqPNwb7u4W7sMXvdg6tFL2gRYrHmXWmNMW3whnwprkSquwpidg==">More</a></div>
</span></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>Scrutinizing test oversight</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new report from the
federal General Accountability Office examines states' policies and
procedures around accountability testing; how states ensure that
districts and schools follow test-security policies; how often cheating
by school officials has been identified as part of this oversight; and
what assistance states rely upon for test-security issues. Researchers
surveyed administrators in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
All states reported policies that included 50 percent or more of leading
practices around security planning, training, security breaches, test
administration, and protecting secure materials. States varied in the
extent to which they incorporated certain categories of practices. For
example, 22 states undertook all leading practices for security
training, but four states undertook none. Many officials reported
feeling vulnerable to cheating at some point during the testing process.
To detect cheating, states use statistical analyses of student data,
monitoring, and audits of testing procedures. Forty states reported
cheating allegations within the past two years, and 33 states confirmed
at least one instance. Thirty-two states canceled, invalidated, or
nullified test scores because of cheating. Officials from a majority of
states said it would be useful if the U.S. Department of Education (ED)
gathered and disseminated information on test-security best practices,
and ED has since released a report containing opinions of experts around
best practices and policies. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceFX6_N3Cm8uYR6Xeh1rAFDBCPB036k2S6YwLVdW8l6pJpeGM-btJ9zJ7JEI8Jov_5bx5weoPw6wwBO1vOQSpxsYCLdIM58_y4qT6_dyEmyisUGqenmZyo-b-x7TxintxFJPBNSiuBIjx9GZuRYTdm5rE2GWbVZMCuk=">More</a></div>
</span></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>Drafting the science standards was the easy part</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Now
that the Next Generation Science Standards, which were drafted by 26
states and several national organizations, have been completed, the hard
work of implementation begins, writes Erik Robelen in Education Week.
What sets the new standards apart from existing state science standards,
and even those abroad, is how they weave together disciplinary core
ideas, science and engineering practices, and "cross-cutting concepts"
that span scientific disciplines. At their heart are performance
expectations that ask students to actively demonstrate learning by
planning and conducting investigations, making observations, analyzing
data, and devising models. These practices will be the most significant
change -- and challenge -- in classrooms. The standards will also impact
critical levers in the education system: teacher education and
professional development, curriculum and instructional materials, and
assessments. One of the biggest issues, experts say, and a costly
endeavor, will be helping teachers deeply understand this new vision for
science education. Whether the Next Generation Science Standards
succeed will depend on the strength of professional learning
opportunities for educators, said Fred Ende, regional science
coordinator for Putnam-Westchester in New York state: "That to me is
really going to be the glue that holds this together."</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceGA9rYSnEeIC7aMxTllr1YoUvklrfKBsRSWKl7gu9UtkUtH_FLR9ckRoh1-HZRe3ifHNBZw48ynHToMY3_Vm8xhKnU1-wKzmL3NZNkwiwOfNXsHIpAYWTiOeZPv966nmFkEIv2zuiJuFo1cb1kDns6epuWbY1xuJjjC6018zQWR3stul2ehMIudKWKSsSeSC6pUyZ40G1O4i9h6M5zo1QKiQ4GiNXZ3TgNr106_aSx5DWRTq0YHqR7Je1YII1HACEpRlHGDvnHrGA==">More</a></div>
</span></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span><b>The Common Core is good conservatism</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In
an opinion piece in The Washington Post that criticizes conservative
opponents of the Common Core, Michael Gerson argues that these opponents
are applying a single, abstract principle -- an ideological commitment
to localism in education -- and elevating that principle above all
others, regardless of conditions and circumstances. Localism is not the
answer to our educational problems, and in any event, the Common Core is
not a federal approach but a national approach from institutions
outside the federal government. There is no ideal ideological world in
which state and local control has resulted in education excellence,
Gerson writes. Since we don't have measurements to adequately compare
outcomes between students, schools, and states, we have a patchwork of
dumbed-down standards that render millions of American students
unprepared for global competition. And resistance to the standards puts
ideological conservatives in questionable company. In fighting the
Common Core, some tea party activists have made common cause with
"elements of the progressive education blob that always resist rigor,
measurement, and accountability." Localism is an important conservative
principle, but so is excellence, in Gerson's view. The measure of a
successful education policy is a demonstrated presence of actual
education. </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceFIZgKQ_4zfs_0B0NECox1F4fqjmgUAi84q3y6Q2JrF2Lut_u3FOLTeKPcGG1wVnEpD7l0aRHT1s2xeEpilTqN3N-kh5224_Dha9ne40qov9xleuommh0Q-vjAWNZWpINybyfYDApQ3xJxcV0s5q82tQGo9QTCaPP61ssamX1pJeNtxao5muQewCrM_HF94oO898eVk_K7lqSsu7RUq1J3uJ5W5uibGompX05HBb9Qi_TeFJMYaUEt7bYVI7NtNZaye3Vd5gJ0MpgQ5Qv2a6_PgZmaGYB5j3xraU8h5qOecjePqzwwgWdhFLl3CIA_gcUY=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
</span></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>The Common Core and money</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In
response to Democratic state senators in Pennsylvania who recently
opposed the Common Core on grounds that poor districts lack funds to
implement them, Marc Tucker of the National Center on Education and the
Economy, writing in Education Week, has a question: Why do countries
spending substantially less per student than the United States produce
student achievement way above ours? One answer is that top-performing
countries have redesigned their school-finance systems to direct greater
resources toward harder-to-educate students. What the Pennsylvania
legislators should do, Tucker says, is file bills allocating more money
for the harder-to-educate. But it's easier to oppose the Common Core,
though it hurts the very people they're supposedly championing. The
world now operates according to these tougher standards, anyway:
Employers use them, as do graduate schools for the professions. People
who can't meet these don't get jobs or a professional education. We must
radically change our school-finance systems, and make big changes in
teacher compensation, teaching-career structures, standards for getting
into teachers' colleges, curricula in teachers' colleges, teacher
licensure standards, and the way we support new teachers. The only
option these senators really have is to embrace the Common Core and use
money they already appropriate to fix our bloated, ineffective system.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceHcc5nHkMWy1l4YWnq4GYW1apzI8VhfpJZGJV1QzLPBdK5WWOPMHMnpNkoHWU_25spsp49SRN07drXK1V91kM5tdcpIubmuyGG-bV5m7FbnvAi0g_8BGFkTseQ8lM-Lc-fiwb0TbsfBI-0td7nKQox1MRO4c-bBH5oSDvRGAUlfWSXgPQkjIQaF0Q3DqP1RlSWKNYIv2CYrbNq3htXDe2yBcONDYRuHlXU=">More</a></span></div>
</span></div>
</div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>Per-student spending drops</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">U.S.
public-education spending per student fell in 2011 for the first time
in three decades, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, reports
Stephanie Banchero in The Wall Street Journal. Spending for schools
across the 50 states and Washington, D.C. averaged $10,560 per pupil in
the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, down 0.4% from 2010 and the first
drop in actual numbers since the bureau began collecting data in 1977.
Adjusted for inflation, spending per pupil dropped once in 1995 and hit
its highest level in 2009. In inflation-adjusted terms, spending per
pupil was down 4% in 2011 from its peak. Overall, the nation's schools
spent $595.1 billion on 48 million students in 2011, $522.1 billion of
this for daily operating expenses, a decline of 1.1% from 2010 and the
second year in a row that total spending dropped. Salaries took up the
largest share of the total with $308 billion, and another $109 billion
went toward employee benefits, including pensions. According to the
data, New York spent most per pupil at $19,076, followed by Washington,
D.C. at $18,475; Alaska, $16,674; New Jersey, $15,968; and Vermont,
$15,925. Utah spent the least, $6,212 per student, followed by Idaho,
$6,824; Oklahoma, $7,587; Arizona, $7,666; and Mississippi, $7,928. </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceEhBq6NI-RMStW5bGhs6_m1cpjM4-kyBDgePZmzG_ajZMMx7Pg3FWiYV0kW-uSCtQJikskl9HxyNVe4K9EOGzPuJazxvJ9rsBTvFDnp6xWzmSLLQAHHwS7tBVtue-S4dqGqtb88gSY-s9H5IE8hEYeUiM26gLb7XkErfCgXpQzbwg23LGf-IDjIPmJA7A3H_Sw2G__uulycvxN0MRiBq6dEXfzAcMwZWOg=">More</a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>Clear benefit in Boston</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A
new report from the Boston Foundation follows up a 2009 report and
assesses the effect of Boston's charter high schools on student outcomes
beyond state standardized test scores -- high school graduation,
attainment of state competency thresholds, college scholarship
qualification, Advanced Placement (AP) and SAT scores, college
enrollment, and college choice. The study finds that while students at
Boston's high-performing charters graduate at about the same rate as
those not offered a seat, charter enrollment produces gains on AP tests
and the SAT. Charter attendance roughly doubles the likelihood that a
student will sit for an AP exam, and increases the share of students who
pass AP Calculus. Charter attendance does not increase likelihood of
taking the SAT, but it does boost scores, especially in math. Charter
attendance also increases the pass rate on the exam required for high
school graduation in Massachusetts, with especially large effects on the
likelihood of qualifying for a state-sponsored college scholarship.
Other estimates suggest charter attendance may increase college
enrollment, but the number of charter applicants old enough to be in
college is still too small to be conclusive. However, charter attendance
does induce a clear shift from two-year to four-year colleges, with
gains most pronounced at four-year public institutions in Massachusetts.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceH08s0fxvVj2snZiO5ax0kmxA9ruwuzw2CP1nKD42xk6vexEw2M7iPNmGM5fjxKjHjFRs3tnA0qk17a939CZD7usWJ0Jonj_KZqIEks9I8kbHDtT3mUOojBG61U8Rhkn_c4JMI4-uM5yDoc_5RXoXgtxwpvajh5_hXoSbnlWLgSadmARqhsvhrrX3ZNwxPGstLxTAzcD89gRrH5NhPtNxTfbT7AgTiuWWatqPh59bsmPA==">More</a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>In Chicago's under-enrolled schools</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">At first glance, Mary
McLeod Bethune Elementary School in East Garfield Park in Chicago is an
obvious candidate for closing, writes Steven Yaccino in The New York
Times. The school has a low academic rating, and serves 377 students in a
building that could hold 780. A mile away, John Milton Gregory
Elementary School is in top academic standing, with a half-dozen unused,
fully equipped classrooms. If the two schools combine, the district
will save $700,000 annually, money that can be repurposed for computer
labs, a science lab, and tablet computers. And yet in uprooting
elementary schools like Bethune, community members say the city is
uprooting the personal and academic lifelines of Chicago's neediest.
"Bethune is a safe haven for me," explains Alicia Jefferson, whose
13-year-old daughter attends the school. Jefferson said that teachers at
Bethune had assisted her with personal problems, and last year aided
her when she spent a night searching for her daughter after the daughter
stayed out til morning. Her son Brandon, now in high school, returns to
Bethune for tutoring. It is not yet known how many teachers will follow
students to consolidated schools. District guidelines allow up to 31
students per class, raising concerns that students will get less
individual instruction in merged classrooms. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceEqp48GB7trGgmmCVdOUdX4YvJ7axe0B1czIXfnBuEWgORW62ouv7sCVrWS84FXA7Ty5XCGyv9qaf91dAX4uoN2JzFCh21VJO3Liv7PZQz8nJF6252nwO7xuBvi_A3PWRB_5qzFK2n75FusNrL5LEjAKpZ4SctolqVCts605_FlTsGibfUVj6sgFYeQw34NEE5S49JtMpBSQspRNOjaP5eFE1CLNfJVzN5vfFwtpABvkB2pLA7sXTBXC8SZl2R8KZF0Wx6o48j5rg==">More</a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
</td></tr></tbody></table><a name="LETTER.BLOCK15"></a><table style="background-color:#ebf5f6;display: table;" id="content_LETTER.BLOCK46" bgcolor="#ebf5f6" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:25px 25px 0px 25px;font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(240, 79, 35);" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><b>BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA</b></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;padding:8px 25px 18px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Too tall an order</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Citing the difficulty of
reforming the state's education system, California will not make
another attempt to get a waiver of the federal law NCLB that requires
every youngster be proficient in English and math by 2014. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceFoVZ2GkbT75L6An9VFvDwisTQ6-8R2KR5eZ8hb4KoXYqjzOjcVTnNipmXfwI_kcEMoxao0Rto2LBqhIxBxKI_jSGJsyvsW5UPJQjsmC6oXCXaAPCLyPWhwWmW8dkTqJxjVYytk8bN8ggvco11RWfaqZoDmiTAhUhr52uyW-e1UxYeCiDBMHD1kVL-9hc00IP8X_kxnfcVygJynR9ubJjxqsJbE-f8FCT85zlsT79cdhqo14e6NzLPWMxtUl-g57Qk=">More</a></div>
</td></tr></tbody></table><a name="LETTER.BLOCK16"></a><table style="background-color:#ebf5f6;display: table;" id="content_LETTER.BLOCK57" bgcolor="#ebf5f6" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:25px 25px 0px 25px;font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(240, 79, 35);" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><strong style="color: #f14e23; font-size: 14pt;">BRIEFLY NOTED</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><strong style="font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;">An era passes</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #ebf5f6;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #f14e23;">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">All
Virginia students will have to log on to take this year's Standards of
Learning tests, making it one of the only states to wholly abandon
paper-and-pencil bubble sheets. <a style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceHat4UnPWmWzREJhEexJrsOL2Cre0HtukE2IVOAyiSDhNhRjbQpBp_svw8n6lVO5O5pc8f4lRTeOFqj-VEPZCMXlbfZiNEmFuDiL49xSKLGhUrsuVW3zwfZejxuoNPWWszWGFYopKGeNgU5ENKtLnoEbJAVRErOsh0p1yM7CXD_t9TFXrsVKjO3_aSEFQFaNklvIDE_aq1wn8-SnQVeN3kox1LxxHqgzcs-z3kV_1YYlvOLRrMX0MQPnYbgP1SB0GL842WNA3mOYrMBfda9ZVDtgr0CDSXv0zsAQ1iJlJ5J-JtDxhiKhkrBQHXeQvLK3ig=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Incentivizing</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">New
York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher are offering a
four-year, $60,000 stipend to high-performing science and math teachers
willing to serve as mentors and coaches. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceEEgny-FSRm7LhwCbtUtc1dGCSyBJTj-aQmW7M7ZLNKi7cQUywxoXOpQbbcZ9Dnd-qefYiZhGL3iEGHYJ_QSl3Lq_xlYMPlJmGwBCGoJTljKmHEB53D2R3Hr7rY5dufw_QbSZqrtuuCCy7giuaj7Xa1IKVrmBwPhPNxFARDvldXXnxeRUzyK8dVqF3WGooPmg8UZw-rjSJyxtxa_iwVo5Xx" shape="rect">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Smart move</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">Most
Minnesota parents will have access to free, all-day kindergarten
beginning in fall of 2014 under a $15.7 billion education-funding bill
that has been given final approval. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceGE7CPhyixYrz-OqISrC53LTmXYs4jGUTwoV1KNL6IsVRqYVhN0Hy_spW5iWFpT8Zvo2_4gl7v-mzP1v6wVUIrotKy9jtnnVWJZsTuXvFjFfcBUGCudUgdIxAjK_S3_vtEWa51ZC2SZnMglCCU6IhNXiHSGWdRzbfU=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Questionable move</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that allows people with police training be armed in schools. <strong style="font-size: 10pt;"> <a style="color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceEdHg9Ql71-VhvIEPt1v3RGjyVHdm-Cvj7ElACqxF6b8Vxdhhg0Grl40nwGFeb8DXIQvx9W4Z_wrkTyrhetvHTa8SApoblnm1u7TcfE_pEkq2oxpQlaXfRvOex_R-2VxBeIXemZKUGNxqpV1ocJM4Q4yaU5uX-5uDYxQb0dHN8F4rVwRmffvYNmxHp3odxbZqI=">More</a></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Even more questionable</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">A
provision has been added to the Kansas 2014 state budget banning
spending of any money to implement the national Common Core standards
for math and reading. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceGGScgVNqaOwssQhm3hpKZxqLqRpJGJOtefH3lhwZKmWg1HqEpoHna0j1HYVHIsWGZddbMWCq4j1xwbaqOUOf34w3jqsW30qmmKGQZY30CSkP4vtJZTn7Pk7rw7Vz06_EGhJwGx5v4XTnEba0TjRzclAkDaRJxyBrtK3fVx0Zx1PlfdiodK8n_4ldvOhJmAj0paZCYb7LCtAw==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"><span style="color: #f04f23;"><strong>Okay, you know what</strong></span><span style="color: #f04f23;"><strong>?</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">Legislation
has been introduced in Alabama that would prohibit the federal
government from offering grants or policy waivers contingent on a
state's use of certain curricula or assessment policies such as the
Common Core. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceGD-1uxnZ-VQ3XELeQ4EdsmOSqm8SqvIh2q1uHmaD2ZTztcfQ2HsqILL5tmvCeiB52_PY_gjgGAPZrYa4zD3bcY5b3jONkjbBGyGA2g5wn2MbmWyuwqFc81RkYPYI9CIzjf1UDdY-wvmlgnZp4RshpRqnTpptpBFVJXP7lWDD0Hj_CcbcwZttHh">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Reason prevails</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">Rhode
Island is the first state to adopt the Next Generation Science
Standards, after its state board of education voted unanimously to
approve them. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceG_MDTue9YSI3N1k11CiAkaC28ax7CRcDwr00Kx5Vomvrvq3NtXgSugbrgiMle34OVYXeWg7qUa1T4It8ovSFFh4mDQVcIWHffMmtAeyRghonrZTNmyG6UzKVt6U0dplxk6Tk47oP-K7oM2164EeRM7zGPCwRlg7wAq6xAZFQW5MZulAafH0-nADE1md1u1QXr99wCCWiyHxQ==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Good news for NOLA, if you like those kinds of measures</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">The
Recovery School District's standardized test scores in New Orleans grew
faster than any other public school system in Louisiana this spring,
according to newly released data. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceFpQHZhuZPWi1qSjtnjPRInD-A_G_NFfiksnXIMuj1GEKMHx1nECMn6J5IUQJBoojS5wVqIs1juT04Gy9W0ZMygHevI9l_Gfg9siJOuvexT009wuuRd9PGxvVxvyvYcNHoqlBTBLtSfXKlri9rTb0qRDAzcHGcJoMVrjLCGDN5FU4sECGGIvPLolxh_0lPFzUID95HqS5X52g==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #f04f23;"><strong>A moratorium on moratoria</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;">A
group of state education chiefs, Chiefs for Change, has sent a letter
to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, urging him to resist a call for
a moratorium on high-stakes uses of tests on the common standards. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceGs-bboyzrtRiMuhk5Snlj8uR3H_3vY4nLXRiivkHrzyYFaWMqG6tVUQ3bw9zUYUkDyEBJ0kMVbUAcMZOo7QtrvsDx4i0uySJRltXj09eVDhn3tVsJueZ8NtAhxL99xlez2pIHBh438mF-mOZcsiUtSMOrJQ1-YTfk3bNaG2SjifuXPzGL5mAC6p3TCWKC-hCFv2N8BhqeBKDUBgqr8q4_3ZsX1C0-5mzg=">More</a></div>
</span></div>
<br>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;padding:8px 25px 18px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Too tall an order</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Citing the difficulty of
reforming the state's education system, California will not make
another attempt to get a waiver of the federal law NCLB that requires
every youngster be proficient in English and math by 2014. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceFoVZ2GkbT75L6An9VFvDwisTQ6-8R2KR5eZ8hb4KoXYqjzOjcVTnNipmXfwI_kcEMoxao0Rto2LBqhIxBxKI_jSGJsyvsW5UPJQjsmC6oXCXaAPCLyPWhwWmW8dkTqJxjVYytk8bN8ggvco11RWfaqZoDmiTAhUhr52uyW-e1UxYeCiDBMHD1kVL-9hc00IP8X_kxnfcVygJynR9ubJjxqsJbE-f8FCT85zlsT79cdhqo14e6NzLPWMxtUl-g57Qk=">More</a></div>
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<div><b style="color: #ee5624; font-size: 14pt;">GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES</b><br>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceEf0NlXEpfNDFRdD3KNPcI8txkVdmG2StXJrOl5Nes3snSpKWjCQvpZngyq-ErI9q-Uw64_bo2atd9ACOy2CPX2k3OE7IEpBfPtmeAG3osTy6QMdYm7e0SgowSwFGdhGBIasxCJGb1NSWPPBdrnR9oOAN5dn4GIRDghSUPhCfqk2chKWBXT3snF">Save-the-Redwood-League: Grants for Education on Forest Stewardship</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The
Save-the-Redwood-League's Education Grants Program funds projects that
provide engaging, firsthand experiences of redwood forests for youth
(pre-K thru college); for example, through field trips, park
interpretive programs, service projects, and after-school or family
programs among the redwoods. Projects must connect more underserved,
low-income youth to the redwoods through culturally relevant projects
that reflect the changing demographics of California and the United
States including, but not limited to: projects that connect rural
redwood region communities with the forest resource in their backyards,
and projects that connect urban communities with local, regional, or
distant redwoods. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: schools and
501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: July 3, 2013.</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceFim-bcdIdlK62_8HAcZ39oVOtIPBL8BR5fST37_cgjcoC1nXx4STG7ZYm-h9Wae346XhYdN54G1eT8dgiZVDqYMBoqr5OrQ-bja8mnfq3MBy7ljtcwucPj_uGo0o6Y2mo=">The Fruit-Tree Planting Foundation: Fruit Tree 101</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The
Fruit Tree 101 program creates outdoor edible orchard classrooms at
public schools of all levels across the country, providing generations
of students with environmental education opportunities and a source of
organic fruit for improved school lunch nutrition. The "Fruit Tree 101"
event is typically completed in two parts. The first is held on a
weekend to accommodate volunteer schedules, and involves planting the
orchard under the direction of our certified arborist. The school helps
coordinate local volunteers for this day. The second part, held when
school is in session, invites students to join FTPF's instructors for a
fun, hour-long lesson about the importance of trees for the environment
and fruit in the diet-culminating in a group tree planting exercise.
Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: schools in Atlanta, Detroit,
Houston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, San Antonio, San
Francisco/Oakland, and Washington, D.C. Deadline: rolling.</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceGN-kKJV5wlBcquHn4qkAea_21gwS7wIcyPTxBzaSiiSiqe2d8xDyBvSe-pO0GBQdBaz36b-GNHsqLcoEtJM23A14x08VTSKa1OJfTfEfNVLVGE97K_l0l7iQeZ_V1fpBgnbmA9IULFwzXMVErQietomvzXe3g8crc=">Fender Music Foundation: Grants</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Fender
Music Foundation grants are awarded to music academies, schools, local
music programs, and national music programs across America, particularly
in-school music classes, in which the students make music; after-school
music programs that are not run by the school; and music therapy
programs, in which the participants make the music. Maximum award:
$5,000. Eligibility: established, ongoing and sustainable music programs
in the United States, which provide music instruction for people of any
age who would not otherwise have the opportunity to make music.
Deadline: rolling.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>QUOTE OF THE WEEK:</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">"It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time." -- Nine-year-old <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001qplaw0H9ceGIrKBhlTxFy6BfzLGpuBFJm5yu3enHxDikFm0_YU1JKOS39Jbo1SxFiVJMxhisAD-xIWQ8pO4DmPE8uSZ2xdxDDwQuX1N71HLXlq-g3pZGZBMD01fPHPoUWM1sJOyiTzgZFRJ6Q48uRRNAIbYDa4qSGk9ZNHmifyZ5sjpFw6ZRkotVGqJqV5B_LCwg69efWD1hw5T-UroQdUYLr4ysaeDAopNqO5V7QS5fQx1gPiSbzNshsF11oKTQ">Hannah Robertson</a> to McDonald's CEO Don Thompson at the corporation's annual shareholders meeting in Chicago.</div>
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