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<div>July 30, 2013 - In This Issue:</div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK17">Congratulations, we're #2 in child poverty</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK45">Predicting drop-outs at age 6</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44">A stronger path to college and career for youth of color</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK43">What we don't know about early-childhood education</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK42">'Fixate instead' on supporting teachers</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK53">About those NAEP-based claims</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK55">Flight or fight</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK54">Trigger unhappy</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&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;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="http://mail.aol.com/37938-211/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27500562&seq=15&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">
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<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;">Congratulations, we're #2 in child poverty</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 report from ETS
finds that although the United States is one of the 35 richest nations
in the world, of these, it ranks second-highest in child poverty, at a
cost of $500 billion per year in lower earnings, fewer taxes paid, and
other long-term economic and educational outcomes. Twenty-two percent of
the nation's children are in poverty, and one in five are food
insecure. While white Americans comprise the largest number of poor, the
poverty rate for Hispanics and blacks is significantly higher. Six
percent of married-couple families are poor, compared with 31 percent of
families headed by a single female. About 1.5 million households with
about 2.8 million children are in extreme poverty, living on $2 or less
of income per person per day in a given month. Between 2007 and 2010,
the median net worth of Americans fell 39 percent, and the mean fell 15
percent. In 2010, the median net worth for whites was $130,600, compared
to $20,400 for non-whites. Toward a remedy, the authors recommend
increasing awareness of the incidence of poverty and its consequences;
equitably and adequately funding our schools; broadening access to
high-quality preschool education; reducing segregation and isolation;
adopting effective school practices; recognizing the importance of a
high-quality teacher workforce; and improving the measurement of
poverty. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014SQ_f2cXYIZhzND1RJk7FKNYnfpv8keuFyRechf9Hs0KlEtSNi3QFRa0sumGSGMMxvW1kEg-M1Vl4vmHPO-padBEa8vr4RMiZqR0aW1ElT2BRu10RB4-M19eYjszGglIfWPjZCQJfP1Dq0MH2gdK2U5KmZYO-zl-Mg3W_qBfavzWyJGgKOZnxZIP-D8g0BRqDyJgkLW8eAmPSdOqdNggmyK65H_Uuq4426d5viiPLz8=" 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;">Predicting drop-outs at age 6</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;">Chris West of the
Montgomery County Public School district in Maryland has built what is
likely the only first-grade early-warning system for eventual high
school dropouts, reports Jill Barshay on the Education by the Numbers
blog of The Hechinger Report. Montgomery County has kept excellent data
records for over a decade. West studied the county's senior class of
2011, in which 833 (or 7.4 percent) of the 11,241 students dropped out
of high school. When he traced these students back to their first-grade
report cards and attendance records, he found 75 percent of the dropouts
could be identified at age six through warning signs such as missing
school for more than three days each quarter or performing below
grade-level in math or reading. The big problem with West's model is
that it over-identifies, flagging 48.6 percent of the student body to
find the 7.4 percent that will drop out. Teachers and counselors have no
idea which of the 48.6 percent to focus on, and they don't all need the
same kind of interventions. West also found that as these first-graders
progressed through their education, they went in and out of the warning
zone. This first-grade dropout model is still an experiment, and has
not been implemented. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014SQ_f2cXYIa9kN-eUgUfLvnlMERUuHXQO7TpT9T9BQLrRJVrUGe6pGuk7B-T2jePHIyvcw3Dbamus5EjatbBxZcy6W9WGX1vEIshA9Wxpaa2fk_TvitszRlWoOrUaI2fzGiO6gK-_9TFLxECS8BlJ1UXJHff5hKle4_X2o4q2kt15uZL2eEmSCud_YpHymFjyv2I_7HHUm10PvtW9BiWCthinowzGb21aiNEAg9JdEc=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color: #f14e23;"><b>A stronger path to college and career for youth of color</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
Research Alliance for New York City Schools examines the trajectory of
black and Latino males on their path to college, and zeroes in on points
along that path where schools might effectively intervene. The report
describes college-related outcomes and other indicators that help
predict college readiness for black and Latino male students over time,
and discusses key contextual factors that underlie these educational
outcomes. It then uses this research to examine the Expanded Success
Initiative (ESI), an ongoing citywide effort to improve college and
career readiness for young men of color. Specifically, the report looks
at the role of poverty, gender expectations, and language and cultural
barriers in shaping the educational experiences and outcomes of young
men of color. Policies and programs that address these underlying issues
are needed to achieve more equity -- and across-the-board success -- in
the city's public schools. The authors find that ESI does touch on
several levers critical to increasing college readiness among black and
Latino young men: focusing explicitly on college readiness; investing
resources in the 9th grade; increasing opportunities for rigorous
coursework; cultivating student leadership and voice; forming strategic
partnerships with organizations that offer support for youth or
educators; and training school staff in culturally responsive
education. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014SQ_f2cXYIbc3bi-YZ4ep6vyDOhZBTxKw3kAGLMNee8pAbUCWYjwJUDNG95kdxj6f_ctGcmK8kKbYs6SRYh8tk9ZqVPBwyOTvhNaZshmgBhtFZxUhPEEvCFg3pk5eJyNzrldDit4jM7erWt02PTCo8obclkOKXpVvCP5fVYuftih-aj5h-byaKCs06wp9QlzR_5lgvKNlyE-n4NK33xDN5P3OYboZPad" 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;">What we don't know about early-childhood education</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 report synthesizes
findings from research grants on early intervention and childhood
education funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National
Center for Education Research and National Center for Special Education
Research through June 2010. It looks across IES-funded projects to
determine what has been learned and to suggest avenues for further
research. In addition to summarizing findings of various research
undertakings, the authors assert a number of questions that the findings
raise. What are the crucial features of high-quality early childhood
education? More evidence is needed about the relationship between
specific features of classroom quality and children's development and
learning. Second, which instruction is most effective for which children
and under what circumstances? More evidence is needed about aspects of
effective instruction for young children, including children with
significant learning needs. And third, how do we effectively and
efficiently support teachers in improving their instruction? While we
have learned a lot about effective instructional practices, we know much
less about effective strategies for helping teachers improve the
quality of their classrooms and instruction. Rigorous research that
addresses these important questions can provide educators (and other
public consumers of education) with important guidance regarding the
scientific bases for practices and policies currently in place or under
consideration for adoption. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014SQ_f2cXYIb5rpCmhcW5m6aeX39eH1BucHf5lMLm-39iS7-SZ5qGoWz1UFxZaDOBo028HjW-MTbIEivQroqKnTQG8orviUgDI2Hj7W5e8oJT1yugI9if-prrLC75XZT8UH_FOgF4Y_QwLy-zBE7M_kKcS-6_axow6UGIDYPAaRw=" 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;">'Fixate instead' on supporting teachers</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;">Teachers who aren't up
to snuff should find new careers, AFT President Randi Weingarten said in
a recent speech before 2,000 rank-and-file members of the American
Federation of Teachers. The Associated Press reports that Weingarten
stated, to applause, "If someone can't teach, after they've been
prepared and supported, they shouldn't be in our profession." But she
also said too often, teachers are left "to sink or swim" without help
from more senior teachers or school leaders, so new teachers should be
mentored and offered more training if their college coursework was
inadequate. She said union-backed evaluation systems would help keep
successful teachers in the classrooms, and remove those who aren't
helping students, recasting tenure as a guarantee of fairness and due
process, "not as an excuse for managers not to manage, and not to cloak
incompetence." But she had harsh words for those who would fire teachers
based on students' performances on standardized tests, a practice that
has gained popularity as states have implemented school-improvement
plans. "I have a plea for those who fixate on how to dismiss teachers:
Fixate instead on how we nurture, support, and keep them," Weingarten
said. <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=0014SQ_f2cXYIZqIFBYyAMP2HTKYhtL9rOhTlILPbRcCCBdcZ0vwr2FQiQaupYdVJY96UEgIGEB7zPEL9oGquHSFkwp8OUNwc6oN4YgrjFGRuoKTu_-8RyoUYKyEQ6v7u_s9h0uQT6QvfYBMUoj1QKOnITLnvH_lSu1DXd7gRPZsxMf3mAsoW1rWRmolUqlRk9MjNwrUR5TMxGVsiIip8u7IHIC96Mkjv2x9yiBGQfh2RoDfG2z4oUJRf40FIqM6KUp7EqhOCE6MtubY13NRf5CHm_rD8jgTwSq6IGlHtmDz5gOdb8ZIPoJOqVE6dqzj2Kv1nIGNqRlL2Q50wY4LI11LA==">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;">About those NAEP-based claims...</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;">NAEP data are frequently
used to bolster claims about the effect of particular policies -- from
test-based accountability to collective bargaining to specific reading
and math interventions -- on student achievement, but these claims are
mostly speculative, writes Stephen Sawchuck in Education Week.
Researchers say the exam's technical properties make it difficult to use
its results to prove cause and effect. NAEP data are generated through
matrix sampling, in which a portion of exam questions are given to each
sample of students; no child takes a "full" exam. Most claims suffer,
researchers say, from failing to consider that a correlation or
relationship between two points of data does not prove causation.
Moreover, NAEP data represent repeated cross-sectional snapshots of
achievement, not the progress of individual students, making it much
more challenging to institute controls. Scholars say it is possible to
do high-quality research using NAEP data, but doing so appropriately
requires research expertise beyond what most lobbyists and policy
analysts possess. Advocates' desire to seek quick confirmation for their
policy prescriptions -- especially when they are gaining or losing
momentum -- mean that it's unlikely that using NAEP for policy analysis
will end anytime soon.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014SQ_f2cXYIb6JZSWrpZ16j60cEu33qI-dP0RPrnXE6zBobT2rtmyVuYCKH7JaM9g1c6gHFCdAOavT55i9M7UDuBiRHqtln5UKF0J4ATsWnI6-oO8h-6k9TTOgw5PTy0qEW0MEUGzyC6cDgNBOQw-9h-kw3uzR8EKztXj-o8PzhZoxJKXjdGY8EvIgICXUjEG2BzaQbvWmyUeqi3epEzIm9SMSu4SPiCLtUT1fER1O59Xm6NhwxoicDkPpPEh3Fw1ZhPLSpB5_LmYcKOCTJB9LA==" 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;">Flight or fight</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 tragedies in
Newtown, Connecticut and Columbine, Colorado have given rise to new
recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education around keeping
students safe, writes Jane Meredith Adams on the EdSource website.
Instead of huddling in locked classrooms awaiting rescue, it is now
recommended that students run away and hide, or if they have to, fight.
This is a major shift from the static classroom lockdowns campuses have
followed for years. The new procedure asks teachers and staff to take a
more assertive role in trying to survive the unlikely event of an
"active shooter" situation on campus. The technique gives teachers
leeway to ignore lockdowns, to run off campus with students, and to
unleash a fire extinguisher on a person with a gun. "The idea is that
instead of being passive and being executed, be active and perhaps save
your own life and the lives of others," said Arthur Cummins of the
California School Resource Officers Association. The preparation comes
as crimes of all types at school, including violent crimes, have
steadily declined from 1992 to 2011. In the 2010-11 school year, 11
students died at school from homicide, out of a total school student
population of 55 million, according to the National Center for Education
Statistics.<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=0014SQ_f2cXYIZomsWDrI6sQ1dN39FHTNhyuwaoOHfOMEuqaIUpl3EPTAuxTy-EcTQJIhtgOaLvc2WkQwmdotYSly22wfg3WdecBvLOhHIH27-Bc1qe_AgAtOtLAGKQAsElM_uucshP-c2vx81adNXeUOBYhQHy4qpnJqFyTNjMAu5XLiGZImpzp4jyvpL-sPA-uQUIG5S1HAKtzYdA3brD5Q0z6BAJkH8IsTKjPV5JAGqPXKP23ewnEYli0stDatxm">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;">Trigger unhappy</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;">When California's
parent-trigger law was passed in 2010, former California State Sen.
Gloria Romero, its author, compared it to the civil rights movement five
decades before and envisioned bipartisan support in state legislatures
across the nation, writes Natasha Lindstrom in TIME Magazine. Three and a
half years later, Romero's grand vision seems remote, as opposition
grows to any bill that even resembles a parent trigger. No group has
succeeded in invoking a parent-trigger law -- or even made a
full-fledged attempt -- outside of southern California. Only seven
states have a parent-trigger law on the books, some versions weaker than
others. In 20 states, bills to create or expand such laws stalled or
died in legislatures this past spring; only one prevailed. The movement
has also been damaged by the first few attempts at invoking a parent
trigger, characterized by fierce hostility and feuding within schools,
with parents turning on one another and accusations of harassment,
intimidation, and fraud flying on both sides. Undeterred by the bills
that stalled or died in 2013, Derrick Everett of Parent Revolution, a
non-profit that supports parent triggers, said that "laws as novel as
the parent trigger process have often taken multiple legislative
sessions to both get the law 'right' and get it passed." <a style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014SQ_f2cXYIYvNbayEPHDqNy1-BT6gQrPSl7d-B7E_tREym24n4M9HToWfiqXHC5nMjZoLv7zs4YBN2dviZLa4FoTGQPx0hZ03TDUwGiE6XFwI5ENICaCMPK2kG2yu9L_l-awZGOam4etLd2OnvXVGB-x1PYvEn9IBKsgiJLVKdUvbhz2nJnVtGlymLsrjwRUbgdanIRu9nLlYeryYFM3HFN-R4w9QwCdW5lbB-4lPaYzo1q2ftOWryQx5ShV5yd4U1XVTL28Sp1IHBquMkrd3g==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
</td></tr></tbody></table><a name="aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK46"></a><table style="background-color:#ebf5f6;" id="aolmail_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>Here comes the money</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The first installment of
Gov. Jerry Brown's new state aid program, known as the Local Control
Funding Formula, will reach schools by next week. <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=0014SQ_f2cXYIY7i5thlQTF4-3-EQSZVqGtM185AH_tEEPlrevxNwPNx_ld5CYSrE1QseYKjExaofQog8akz9SJnRoLv4VSfgLyNnrYUltXvtCcUYnXHGv1x6FjtobJMpQ-CWlUOcrAUP610t2Pl6Nc1aCebm5K1_fudV3gwMd-B56pHX3_UfS763uK6hki7DmG">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Slumming it</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">California has funded
less than half of the $800 million required by the Emergency Repair
Program to fix "slum" schools, which grew out of a class-action lawsuit
against the state that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to
settle. <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=0014SQ_f2cXYIYJPxeVvjLyPvKu4zGweBJlJhA_PXOyEJtwGUg-0ILY7Okewzm35RAbeZDSyGJF0r9dIOrANZu6ibFFw_ZucLN2z9hz6i2havvVC8OqAM_Xsmsq-Z9H1KMygTKRHwiSFH0XrxArdjMUo8gMhxWt6D9S9Vt1IoaagAcCol8h6oADgUpEUBQwgbgF">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Unpopular move</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Scores of Los Angeles
Unified parents and teachers protested the looming transfer of hundreds
of disabled students from special-education centers to traditional
schools, as the district complies with laws to integrate students who
have physical and developmental challenges. <a style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014SQ_f2cXYIaSJofc9iuGBpHfSmypZLl-S66gzd1McFeGCFteUAR3hT9G5md5E0n0k_p-kkJavAtcQF49YVeJ44y7Tn88oR8Zd45EAvL7_xiCMGO_g18UOh16ewx8r8K6Bl4Q9UIs3eExiEmTZHfiYHcao1BFiu30KKVYkGxvD5MvpoKp56MBOjp2DXCaiyIbMxy0ZGLQxXToVaw9IT-wk2FxwNaiXyMRt25eoAFOLvY=">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>Money where their mouth is</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation is awarding more than $15 million in "Innovative
Professional Development" grants over a three-year period for on-the-job
teacher training, to be split among the Fresno, California; Long Beach,
California; and Jefferson County, Colorado districts. <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=0014SQ_f2cXYIZPXYppTXunbEpVWSuHg--lnhhpeyN8xyx4kHRGMDJ46rXnexyEqwlhYTsdv3gS7Ib2shb_3e_XPsQ06Hj9xJH1lkAHMXXQzidiLCjzqPmpkxCnvErhWt7BfajniuV8GV9HdCH2L2af9-go6U-OKFbiIdqVShTq_XulELJV2sziQo8BuSizc2lDmbL82D_sgkqJx6QMaootUA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Pricey</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">PARCC summative tests in
mathematics and English/language arts will cost member states $29.50
per student, more than what half its member states currently pay for
their tests. <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=0014SQ_f2cXYIYf4ESrdQcy-V3Kx33TnrH8ezuNhct68HKfX6OIwVnpVh3djq47c1h0vUxSRmUTH_wFA14g-3Br7SLB5RDGpVl6bZ2BNSZpJJtLsp94qc9UqC4iuSnk8U0Xeuvj6xpt1IVIztxT0yvXXM6ain4mJ8Q8Jp4mAkVXem6LwAzm31AYUJqgmdiuleco7z6J3PzKRU3WLwNdYrcwBA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Thanks, but no thanks</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Georgia leaders have announced that the state will not offer a new, expensive standardized test tied to 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=0014SQ_f2cXYIY5hYK5GEfzaqNT65ptPcAKMUM7BFcVoD0S8xcWxjZzcdMHPmXMoIBHmtx_LoUu6i5EL_h9rhnRtd6t9GFrhmQKP_X39Grh6IGSMeLnV-JFdaab_Y0UhvaA_ytiRUekDzU8GEBPO2rskCdmN_WrcvDcx4LHnVFjNN7flC4IpUAhHLKB77y2WeZUf8ZRudyaanAfG07dPKpgMS_cieGexnydEfsxMPTa0z0=">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>
<br>
</div>
<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=0014SQ_f2cXYIYrx3ZFBzwjUqBDdxwpKXkg4vIGIWhEykJ2cgluKRQK2Ntk09Yl17dIUBVI6GVVyDEJdrCIp4flUAvWVYd8XMKgZfXcuBHnIMhT8_qCvpnvsNkJzU2qhlTONmoOxBt73PE=">Libri Foundation: Books for Children</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Libri Foundation
Books for Children Grants donate new, quality, hardcover children's
books for small, rural, public libraries across the country. Maximum
award: varies. Eligibility: Libraries should be in a rural area, have a
limited operating budget, and an active children's department. The
average total operating budget of a Books for Children grant recipient
must be less than $40,000. Deadline: August 15, 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=0014SQ_f2cXYIYMf-kdNkkFKFAyh4FZAtg1rIGwsYNWOb9RnTUznMQbUz3uxO_9sQrpzwRAreQBAIw1I9HUCK4PsNccbYp7uuFtpgr4I2pTHUSVag8xwghG10xdSx6Kz0puMXIRQXqSd5s4F8qvc34uRVIlMeG-sMi8ZXvtFqBHgA8=">AMA/Hesselbein Institute: AMA Scholarship</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The American Management
Association and the Hesselbein Institute Ambassador scholarship program
is intended to assist social-sector nonprofit organizations in
developing strong leadership. The scholarship is designed to provide
nonprofit leaders with an opportunity to step out of the day-to-day,
interact with peers across sectors, and develop practical skills they
can apply immediately within their organizations. Maximum award:
one-year scholarship. Eligibility: employees of 501(c)(3) organizations
with a minimum of three years of work experience in the social sector.
Deadline: November 29, 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=0014SQ_f2cXYIa5CKOq_gcg8-BUgh69Qly0IYIXE1CZ5dIZ6FubtKjrOHlRRIHGJ9Oibwzmu0I21P9YIT0-TUJOm7wcX6OdClw6_s6kmrxzm0Z9nyTSFqgngsiUIx5Skemii8y16035sRskvnm8VLL8DA==">Bonnie Plants: 3rd-Grade Cabbage Program</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Bonnie Plants delivers
millions of free cabbage plants each year to students in third grade
classes throughout the country. The program offers students a chance to
get a unique, hands-on gardening experience through growing colossal
cabbages, reaping hefty harvests, and the possibility of winning "best
in state" and a scholarship. Maximum award: $1,000 scholarship towards
education from Bonnie Plants. Eligibility: teachers of 3<sup>rd</sup> grade nationally, with the exception of Alaska and Hawaii. Deadline: February 1, 2014.</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; color: #f04f23;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">"We can't forget what
districts were allowed to do to black kids and brown kids and poor kids
before No Child Left Behind. Unfortunately, a lot of the conversations
continue to perpetuate wrongheaded accountability. It's still about too
much standardized testing. But without the accountability measures for
states and districts, I do fear what happens to the equity agenda." -- <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=0014SQ_f2cXYIYVnol_xnlDyDYsxSgWP96qqcGXjziaxkz24p9LfocowWunJdIA0Ng34HwEBe8m7w3CznfnhGN8t6sx7s_cdSqoo8Li5_5_eIQoCpQ49pI_pol_hMDBu2vC8tLPcJbeLnEzvqBdzlhz8SMxwDwGP0_ffa2joVLF5v_ky8R4GncyxylCvDTmA74jmbomjfUe3xWfqVuvf6028c7pE0N_DoANTRyfo-hZ_-Q=">Joshua Starr</a>, the superintendent of Montgomery County schools in Maryland, regarding the legacy of NCLB.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> <br>
</div>