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<div>July 23, 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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK17">Preschool: vindicated</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK45">Have we evolved past integration?</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44">Charter segregation: symptom or disease?</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK43">Charters merely perform on a par</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK42">Lost in the shuffle</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK53">For low-income students, pitfalls in those final months</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK55">The Common Core kerfluffle</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK54">First steps, great impact</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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK46">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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK56">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" href="http://mail.aol.com/37893-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27497763&seq=2&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK19">GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES</a></div>
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<a name="aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK17"></a><table id="aolmail_content_LETTER.BLOCK17" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;padding:8px 25px 9px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span>Preschool: vindicated</span></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;">New federal data show
that children who receive early childcare beyond parents or relatives
perform better in reading and math in kindergarten than those cared for
only at home, reports Sarah Sparks in Education Week. The report from
the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics includes 41
key indicators across seven domains: family and social environment,
economic circumstances and health care, physical environment and safety,
behavior, education, and health. This year's report included a special
section on kindergartners' reading, math, and science achievement, as
well as approaches to learning, using data from the ongoing federal
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of children who started kindergarten
in 2010-11. As expected, kindergartners from households with incomes
near and below the federal poverty line had lower reading, math, and
science scores than children from households with incomes at least 200
percent of the poverty level. The data also show that students with both
parents working full-time or one full- and one part-time had higher
math and reading scores than those with only one parent working. The gap
between children who attended preschool with a non-relative and those
who did not, and the gap between children with two versus one working
parent, had not entirely closed by the end of the child's kindergarten
year. <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=001URdMUGpf0ECOAVUvIgZKbrPUcehAoFNZbomEcUjNexIu8oH2t4Ub_Qnz4BXzAuuAZdhs_0SBBBsnWrSwfgNLpoohhflPUKJ7BR8qDCHwcgFgfZnpGtcrpnbCdPQGHJLyHO0tNQr9ZvkzyeAGZWoKbh6QeG8scJ4ZjT6fh8U6MmfowF38G56-rAVJbuk_ZXEzGeTtGW8DcV18EFvmQ-fusdpBNBEBEiqUnSTOytBIuovslkAOtSi86MP5BIP8j4CmB5OPbRh-guvipVHOS4eltxTAwz4XukTWvhbC90usewP4nXPyOdaprw==">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>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Have we evolved past integration?</div>
</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;">In Greenwich,
Connecticut, two public elementary schools are two-thirds minority and
look demographically nothing like schools in the town's whiter,
wealthier areas, writes Al Baker in The New York Times. Connecticut
forbids districts from letting any school vary too much in racial makeup
from any of its other schools, which puts Greenwich on "a collision
course" with the state. The district is drafting solutions, but many
question if the law, passed in 1969, is still relevant. "We have evolved
educationally in recognizing that we must provide high-quality
instruction based on individual student needs, regardless of where the
school is in the district," said Superintendent William McKersie. "I am
not convinced that forcing students to move from their neighborhood
elementary school is the best strategy for improving academic outcomes,
especially in a district where students attend integrated schools from
6th through 12th grade." Greenwich education officials are weighing
several proposals for state review, including additional magnet schools
and modest redistricting, with busing for those options. The district's
student body is 69 percent white, 16.9 percent Hispanic, 8 percent
Asian, 2.9 percent black, and 2.8 percent multiracial. Its gap between
whites and blacks in meeting state reading goals was 27.4 percentage
points in the 2011-12 academic year, and 21.7 percentage points between
whites and Hispanics. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001URdMUGpf0ECdcpdxjUAy4R9cnDDM5zIJqMFvLBYWAkE_aFgkDNFXgHaXh9Jr6xUa2U3kHLA_BjVigIiq3yaEgRq8tAfUPrWzBzOO8aENZHABOWiLRBqipOyRjPyP7C0LmUUJfVVSsFE7KHzEJVXcJ4Z-XQ0ScQaJwKwa644zvL5ao1DqR1fHvO081P-YefVcrkTSYWoiwLBYHtY6O2rw5Cgv85b0e6BfZh6GMQR4HX4=" 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>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Charter segregation: symptom or disease?</div>
</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;">The Twin City suburbs
have an increasing African-American and Hispanic population, but this is
not always reflected in area schools, reports Sarah Butrymowicz in The
Hechinger Report. The number of predominantly white charters in the area
has risen from 11 in 2000 to 37 in 2010. Charter proponents say
charters take any student who wants to attend -- and randomly select
students through a lottery if too many apply. Yet some see the end
result as the next phase of white flight. Much research has focused on
predominantly black charters in cities, but pockets of mostly white
charters are emerging in diversifying suburbs across the country. So --
have charters fostered a rise in racially isolated schools? Or are they
symptomatic of an enduring self-segregating tendency now manifest
through parental choice? Sixteen states try to ensure charters reflect
the diversity of surrounding communities, but such rules are rarely
followed with fidelity. There has been a small trend toward urban
charters with an explicit aim of racial or socioeconomic diversity, but
until diversity is made a priority at all levels, any changes will be
incremental, says Andre Perry of the Institute for Quality and Equity in
Education. "We never include diversity into our notion of quality," he
says. "When you don't measure diversity, you don't get diversity." <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001URdMUGpf0ED8qeGxPtXCJ0JXwnoy_TCKNCKCyNbwpCu_dAc9urio_EzSkuPanAbEqMgIIWshHWPKKqeW4pvDf0Kv2AszNWPqFSv58pyid_IWy0QFUJlQaPASAeRaNJU0lLKRUUi4T44dJ2fEhb27sQ7jT2aw0vSldtSzeARIVdMsaozTMVYWVfhXRcKhCGtOrBNzaGos2r9jkZLrY29MDZRP0mW9n2u4onshvFKpnEU=" 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;"><b>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Charters merely perform on a par</div>
</b></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 review from the
National Education Policy Center of a study from the Center for Research
on Education Outcomes (CREDO) finds that the study merely confirms that
charters perform on a par with traditional public schools; the study
asserted "charter school students now have greater learning gains in
reading than their peers in traditional public schools," a conclusion
widely repeated in the media. The primary findings of the CREDO study
were: (a) a small positive effect of being in a charter school on
reading scores and no impact on math scores; and (b) a relative
improvement in average charter school quality since CREDO's 2009 study.
The NEPC reviewers indicate several methodological concerns, which they
discuss. They find the study itself shows only a tiny impact on the
part of charter schools. Specifically, students in charter schools were
estimated to score approximately 0.01 standard deviations higher on
reading tests and 0.005 standard deviations lower on math tests than
their peers in traditional public schools. "With a very large sample
size, nearly any effect will be statistically significant," the
reviewers conclude, "but in practical terms these effects are so small
as to be regarded, without hyperbole, as trivial." <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=001URdMUGpf0EDOn74KH19TH2foWh5LeqLBtFGLmK4i0D_DC4lwkYcUynnblBOXq8LpDwW2Gb0HTQB7sTLK8_1wRpYgUIBbRdKKzasjR4-k_MHn5uwRBwAhVEjBZulq0eSFa4F9nDKAYvfaeBmcBda_l18E2FwFuFG7">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>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Lost in the shuffle</div>
</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;">Youth advocates have
identified a troubling pattern nationally of students removed from
regular school and dispatched to alternative campuses, where plans are
casual and include long stretches of stay-at-home "independent study,"
writes Susan Ferriss in The Sacramento Bee. Across America, alternative
schools have become the last resort for troubled students. Some say,
however, that educators are just dumping kids there. California's
Department of Education doesn't track students expelled and returned to
home schools, so how they fare is hard to measure. Nor does the state
require county-run schools to report how many students are put on
independent study. However, the state did report that during 2011-2012,
over a third of students at more than 75 county-run schools for kids
with discipline problems dropped out. Most did poorly in core subjects,
which is why advocates are confounded by plans that put the onus on
these same kids to self-educate, sometimes with only a few hours of
class time a week. "You take a kid who has already demonstrated that
he's not successful in conventional school, and then you impose on him
the duty that he's going to self-study, to me that just seems insane,"
said Tim McKinley, an attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001URdMUGpf0EDqaL-AjL_-Ko8b-78QQJwp66GuHIJezrLDXXhH9YTCdo-WLNZp3Hl4tk7MHq_EPdSUUQbh9CXRsy7P09G5fzmQTH-TVKy9Xtwou6MFbgpPZH206zHMhFr7jlKRqGdoGmLzLpvb2RRUJhVbOhEf28tzt-ERxZmO53BTCBtlNmaDPQUhXbjZeVwcbkCR4_yKThXsicKG88JVcrJaA-gHU12crvZD9RKpQSKqUrcH7T9_uMzol4fjgm8aJjndONvXmOck25Z2baguu_ITA40NBW27" shape="rect">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>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">For low-income students, pitfalls in those final months</div>
</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 paper from the
Harvard Graduate School of Education describes a phenomenon it calls
"Summer Melt" -- in which 20 percent of low-income students who at high
school graduation say they're continuing on to college in fact encounter
obstacles and don't attend college in the fall, reports Shankar
Vedantam of NPR. Previous research indicates that a sizeable share of
low-income students who paid college deposits reconsidered where, and
even whether, to enroll in the months following graduation. The study's
authors used data from a national survey and a smaller study focusing on
Boston, and found the "melt" was much more likely with students headed
for community college versus other institutions. The researchers
identified a number of complicating factors. Kids often lack role models
and resources. They may be the first of their families to attend
college, with peers who are not going: "It's tough to be making plans to
leave when your girlfriend or your boyfriend is staying back home."
Low-income students also seem to have difficulty navigating the
considerable paperwork required for financial aid and matriculation. The
authors recommend that districts retain guidance counselors for a full
12 months of the year to help low-income students clear these final
hurdles. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001URdMUGpf0EARGYNnkgx0poBKCb8-LpUo_IiADLVBe59He6OgpdIpHxMIUoq_zSR-GMqXDcL2duZRz1FSnpB2nDJ7xIjTHxjRXc7XRfkNVVTOyh-5i9OJo8sM7CSANoxPY3WBLF_ILH-oOkN6JseGayhDmtf7_7XO0INhYzccw2r8ghTNe_6kHcCcF04FibzhmTgyUmTVKt5KMGFMboqPKYQaSFSvYBA_91YuGDbpjmY=" shape="rect">More</a>. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001URdMUGpf0EB-oQAaO1eNidPiNNCUtlSDfMkcysbgkYqQGttpJRfuwn0z4k1Y4D58099XGPzrI4jeZ6iKa9GN1qCfytW6n6shp83V4huNCbqFTlKVLfNjGgkibPMUurahitHRUHYnx7DwwEr1t7cfx-JNQyds5CLnmE3sIwBWdGfNSm6HpKqVgMBLu9vKscEBEm2cUC-RVhbFxIsNHnISRUI_vxvkbUwIDvx54yBgdDpjEVCsRMhhDh5TdruLOBr7BzqsnxjGdKg=" shape="rect">See report</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; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span>The Common Core kerfluffle</span></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;">Despite an unprecedented
backlash against the Common Core State Standards this spring, actual
policy changes were minimal, writes Dylan Scott in Governing Magazine.
2013 was the first year the standards became heavily politicized, most
likely because the Obama administration fully endorsed them. The White
House has vocally supported the Common Core in the past few years,
including provisions around them in the Race to the Top and the NCLB
waiver program. This support spurred some conservative figures and
institutions to decry the standards as a federal takeover, and in turn
led to legislation specifically opting out of the Common Core. But
despite strong rhetoric, most anti-Common Core bills failed. In some
ways, the debate was part of the broader ideological fight between tea
party conservatives and their more moderate counterparts. As the Common
Core debate intensified in state legislatures, moderates rallied
business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business
Roundtable, to lobby lawmakers to keep the Common Core because they
think it will improve education and thus be good for business. At least
for 2013, that argument has won. But opponents expect the debate to
resurface as the realities of implementation draw closer. <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=001URdMUGpf0EAloSdPmqsP41bASLJlnG5QJTl_CO8eFVL6LWic86T83NrSA8pppWwU_Lb5ivakbvneNg-vvm2sgT3uZEDRkRMmvjxu3eW9x6hcOn-FIn1qbY6xBnOD4clix0K_yoY0T8zjVlNeKpffoEk78j5Yc9foqCguoFXwxQ3kSzklXCoTX73eBCekAYr4nEtCe1ZGJlCAR7le2sotPg==">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>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">First steps, great impact</div>
</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 paper from
Education Resource Strategies explores what actions districts can take
to impact teacher effectiveness immediately. These "First Steps" can
positively impact student outcomes; be implemented within a year; be
implemented within existing collective bargaining agreements; require
little or no new investment, or are budget neutral when implemented in
combination; and build toward a new teacher-compensation and career-path
system to attract, retain, and leverage skills of a highly effective
teaching force. One "First Step" is to ask strong performers to assume
responsibility, then reward them for their impact. Districts can do this
by matching high-need students with the best teachers, and/or by
expanding the reach of the best teachers through larger classes or
leadership roles. Another "First Step" is to give low-performing
teachers extra support to help them succeed, eliminate raises for
underperforming teachers, manage out underperformers through absence and
tardiness accountability, and deny tenure to underperformers. A third
First Step is to link what's paid to why it's paid by linking COLA
increases to actual cost of living, and closely monitoring what
coursework counts toward lane progression. A final First Step is to
invest more in recruiting and hiring, improving the quality of
applicants through identification and robust screening. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001URdMUGpf0ECImKvtnpByZxZvVMuiRInftSOXP3g1MbgxkVvR4X0xpS5wAhDKuOku323F_TfcRJtq9qioadBwBvsMNeXIg0OL-0B7ibMut8Yzi_TCbtqYMHcnOMCg-zhY70aUGf8LH32NUmlOOnmg99912UDvinqCnKSYXqOMBuGCBst_AOCk3Q==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
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<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>The controversy continues</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">FBI and Internal Revenue
Service agents seized several boxes of records, phones, and computers
during a raid at the home of Ben Chavis, former director of three
controversial Oakland charter schools. <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=001URdMUGpf0EC4xwvWbiA0lvF3zAxlPTAlFEdjoKnfxXQyu5zO5y1kgqXoMoOcrEpXGRV3lrOOEvcO6t40Z7njOHTtRXrnw-RfegEQNoPkz-4PYvfVDOopFwjaH8aPJN3CzeDP472qm65-uGM5KjNQSRG_nYqhq0tLSy-RvTMEqmza2ImN2aIGxNjI6RZ-pdTm2GYwdMp-rs3j53GuHhwr26RfqI78BI45">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Towards a redefined role</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The L.A. Fathers Program
at Children's Hospital Los Angeles is designed to reach the
often-forgotten partner in teen pregnancies and dispel the stereotypes
attached to the young men: deadbeat, irresponsible, or absent fathers. <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=001URdMUGpf0EDCN5cu0MkyxhQI6-dMsb3N_FfqXF4Ndet9-GIWKfrOzC-bMqi2t-ORo_4WBpOOQDjrKmF1gd69JuCZRq-jCKpafYo6pllZMFgvMEQf7USBfprefG4MtGMK2XLgrMBQy8yj0gn1eDs5SHlqUtRj4P4GOsRaYGgdfWFPseDJiLzLpwJjEDkt4CD9yMfiGj92pEA=">More</a></div>
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<div><b>BRIEFLY NOTED </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>And yet somehow we don't feel hopeful</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The House of
Representatives has passed a Republican-backed revision of NCLB that
would greatly reduce federal oversight of public education and give
states and school districts authority once again over how to measure
student achievement and fix failing schools. <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=001URdMUGpf0EDRvOVsb5yohjHJnQIlpz18UawUgvhkhgmDqLy1oi0qqmd8zGUU51l1O6dZGV1V1fxRM5cWpXPw7Jyd2k-T_9Ab1HSdmrieBpJLGAxxr-tHzzCztF4qN65foaF9NH45C-OFALBvW8hHMnk00QZjp1MfX8QPvhLayZarhxzyP4VMn75CsleQC9ETbglYqYx2zuPE3waJKxqAJGihEtunn8qF">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Standing up</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The National Education
Association and the American Federation of Teachers, which together
represent some 4.5 million teachers, are both urging the Department of
Justice to investigate George Zimmerman, who was acquitted by a jury of
second-degree murder in the Florida killing of teenager Trayvon Martin. <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=001URdMUGpf0EDKnXXTQXvjFiQJqno7Id4ApYmnoFOiQHfG16dIKyeeA3E4NVHU0iC5c4Nl6Z4Tmgv6D8wod54d-01UrAbK-T4W00r2wA0RsQbkx-Z4aH7zeih0kOrM9djYV2U9-DSX1G0dV7KkI_DGNDYNbBMgj5N-uWps_dUNdzVgg4rXQ0xAYdkHbKss7u2mZz5Qj4RIWkJWBvNv24Ub24W9s0ExCoriAiv5bIaGyVDDr_Z9Ln55ibMOP6Y-LB75veChiK8dEvcp_XbTdr1PN90Bw5Wndk0avP46zsmkCBd2PF0qpESWH3exQx52QybX">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Heads still rolling</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Citing a $1 billion
budget deficit, Chicago Public Schools will lay off 1,036 teachers, half
of them tenured, as well 1,077 school staff members, firings that are
in addition to 855 employees who were laid off last month. <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=001URdMUGpf0EADLL40hvZwXUCf159CrNaP2w-X6S3UB47iQmwvz4kSDw-bcz8t-uiFXIABMdhPrYES0Guvov04zD9yKRyLHCpl4K2MNyjbM7Hv2VtgbIdMBkZ9KWbqg9nrsUhpsgJJHMoncXAxqbDBHDnkYdi7LiLtUHy1_1F0Kq1O--CbRR8KzwwInVo8fSW-_wlIrnybTitLKNjOqjpiDA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>One step from meaningless</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Many Florida schools
that struggle under the state's A through F grading system will again
get a reprieve this year after the state Board of Education narrowly
agreed to keep rankings from dropping more than one letter, regardless
of performance. <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=001URdMUGpf0EDKTuahOMa3emqOmPqvDfAOkrPuCrMFzxJRHMyh2h6mbzSLLmz_m_GwW4OgIYrj4s-3BnMgEL7bZMiwYoURkzL28ktYawigZTlObKkBQk4TUPW3Av4BpDPQ-yddzLCn-mLnOHX5lVLIyPAs5MHbUsBdor3hjBm3RviR26T_grouUxZD2g9EG3p_pgjDLCGc-h_b38AC4kA4RCUtMiM1ztEFaFnkt8SL-dM=">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>That'd cut costs</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A Utah state senator is
seeking an end to compulsory education, arguing that it has resulted in
parents disengaging themselves from the responsibility of overseeing the
education of their children and has caused schools to falter under the
burden of being all things to all people. <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=001URdMUGpf0EDJQPif99jL9D30QJhvOFWeG4zJmVGpPZpHrTJDmDe7PTfejfkIcj1XbbXdyWdz3zTX7xyrwahKmQYvnnfQhtOMQPs_FM_ooNPJLIhzA_ql23b-Nsyqqc8RsN40ApuKfTgfV6ulNFmL9gkg0ZXfnamXaH6XJJBX6ZxNrM8iX0kNB7mkL-ihBiactX-Gp3v4-2_xL8mdUmNeSQx4ONrXtKFBKRL9fhJRo-E=">More</a></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><b>GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES</b></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<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=001URdMUGpf0EDDixjxTCl8BhkKo0Sad48bTQT1bIWkdzoTydfvUq-F31fEx4BDahiZ_urs4wmCKVLJy9RUnbD0OJgLDTN2Jqqtn-3iomZGY8Pv-s2GUo31ApItEztUPYPDCLKCd-AGWE0=">Mockingbird Foundation: Grants for Music Education</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The
Mockingbird Foundation awards grants to schools and nonprofit
organizations to effect improvements in music education for children.
Mockingbird is particularly interested in projects that encourage and
foster creative expression in any musical form (including composition,
instrumentation, vocalization, or improvisation), but also recognizes
broader and more basic needs within conventional instruction.
Mockingbird encourages applications associated with diverse or unusual
musical styles, genres, forms, and philosophies. Projects may include
the provision of instruments, texts, and office materials, and the
support of learning space, practice space, performance space, and
instructors/instruction. Mockingbird is interested in targeting children
18 years or younger, but will consider projects that benefit college
students, teachers, instructors, or adult students. Maximum award:
$5,000. Eligibility: public schools K-12, 501(c)3 organizations.
Deadline for letter of inquiry: August 1, 2013.</div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<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=001URdMUGpf0EBHOh643VtalzOAI7pAC-BYDrF8e9dX9-xt9HcBXbSsDkEtBqs75RsnnCZU0SeDob8Xnty-Lj-8dwlAhzBN1AkXUoAFpWnyy5otwCJQYnR81PaHDVEgqDckVoUNcLdnTnzfSgn2Hm0BcOk1_adqesCO">Thomson Reuters/ASIS&T: Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The
Thomson Reuters Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award
recognizes the unique teaching contribution of teachers of information
science. Maximum award: $1,000; $500 towards travel or other expenses to
the grant recipient, contingent upon the recipient's attending the
Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) annual
meeting, and $250 to ASIS&T Headquarters towards administrative
fees. Eligibility: individuals directly engaged in teaching some aspect
of information science on a continuing basis, in an academic or a
non-academic setting. Deadline: August 1, 2013.</div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<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=001URdMUGpf0EDt9L9x77TB9ifCpOs_uFxOyHKqBQ1M9ioAIx0NAP3GrCiHzx90hPW66H2qdnPM6U4arp1BwfaSyrsAX0-emfL95icpc7iB408JVg8prWpjHM_UtGTDA9n1xQ-205N0nPnBU26XfoeHncP1oB30iJn3b2iYgvfsGo0=">National Endowment for the Arts: Art Works</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">NEA
Art Works grants support projects that have learning as their primary
outcome, in any artistic discipline, that are standards-based and align
with either national or state arts education standards. Innovative
projects are strongly encouraged. Maximum award: $100,000. Eligibility:
501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: August 8, 2013.</div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<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;">"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago." - <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=001URdMUGpf0ED_IMquT5jKwaeb82eziu-IHy7poLYUnFU0reiLNMnonPn6Hg4NAe99_yMva2mqjS4YCqyJYMRaL9OKy48RWwTUUVVHTVZQRQFwB3FhnxB8NPtru5nMz_GeAR96ctawO30yyCMZzUb4lWhUB1AD47EJEZCsW7Y357WMmQbxJ9AWvXbIYYiAfVh94pCGfuvz94eHYTdRFXRykLseAWxou8g6846RiCLmgKP6ArY551QeiXThyCW-41EhrfYHFlRmhpP1RwiaWPMdiM96XYKuYSQHfr7o5oMT44udq9DO-pD2SmtaT6owiyjp">President Barack Obama</a>, speaking on the George Zimmerman verdict.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> <br>
</div>