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<div>October 15, 2013 - In This Issue:</div>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;font-size:10pt;padding:0px 25px 0px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK17">The voucher disconnect</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK45">Opening the student-data floodgates</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44">Technology pitfalls, NYC edition</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK43">Bipartisan agreement on two disastrous ideas</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK42">Both vocational and educational</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK53">Getting used to the Common Core</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK55">Drop-out prevention in a rural context</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK54">Portfolio district? Not so fast</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK46">BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK56">BRIEFLY NOTED.</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/38099-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27534182&seq=11&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK19">GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The voucher disconnect</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">American taxpayers will soon spend $1 billion a year to help pay private-school tuition vouchers, though the policy has yielded few academic gains, reports Stephanie Simon on Politico.com. In Milwaukee, 13 percent of voucher students were proficient in math and 11 percent proficient in reading this spring, worse than students in the city's public schools. In New Orleans, struggling voucher students haven't advanced to grade level any faster than students in public schools that in some cases are rated D or F. And across Louisiana, popular voucher schools posted miserable scores in math, reading, science, and social studies, with fewer than half of voucher students achieving basic proficiency and fewer than 2 percent demonstrating mastery. Yet vouchers are proliferating: 245,000 students in 16 states plus D.C. currently pay private tuition with public subsidies. Nine states added or broadened voucher programs this year; New Jersey and Tennessee may soon join them. Voucher recipients aren't necessarily poor, either. In Milwaukee, a family earning as much as $71,000 annually is eligible; in Louisiana, a family can earn up to $59,000. Two-thirds of students in Wisconsin's Parental Choice Program were already in private schools before receiving tuition subsidies. And Gallup polls consistently find a majority of Americans oppose sending students to private schools at public expense: this year, opposition hit 70 percent. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC-tJrjGhJmbEA4acUNrTZryDbBtUW9LYZ78BNUCbCW81ZyOcrQ3KG9Yt0JwcPSeJ6l0BOaBBhlAOOaIA6nCqpJ-KTC_L1iEwcy4ooF71iwC-b18lstWJBjMuPc8IXdUfmNBd1NsKwM27RBz5aPvkbW9MLuPJZuocGMm6WXy55Krlb4WKlm0FF2Wsi2I_7QCpB5EWmuHeMr7Fg==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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</td></tr></tbody></table> <a name="aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK45"></a><table id="aolmail_content_LETTER.BLOCK45" 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="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Opening the student-data floodgates</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">To prepare for assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards, districts across the country are investing in software to analyze individual student performance in detail, reports Natasha Singer in The New York Times. The company inBloom wants to speed introduction and lower the costs of these assessment tools by standardizing data storage and security. inBloom's open-source code could facilitate universal apps, reducing customization for each district and theoretically making software cheaper. For believers in data-driven education, consolidating and analyzing data that districts already collect makes common sense. Yet inBloom also raises questions about mass-scale surveillance of students. Changes in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act allow schools to share student data with companies to which they outsource functions like scheduling or data management -- without notifying parents. "It's an experiment in centralizing massive metadata on children to share with vendors," says parent Rachel Strickland, "and then the vendors will profit by marketing their learning products, their apps, their curriculum materials, their video games, back to our kids." inBloom has no oversight by a publicly elected body, and the company has said districts must define their own legitimate uses for data and develop policies to manage them. It announced in February that nine states, representing more than 11 million students, will test its technology. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC9nltzPc8Horl91Rrx8Uo5rNa1lTZPaMbX6AenjDhYxKFLaGkutZwJwxTwZYGvkQP37iTVb0MhOmtT7PrQyxpzURM-8LYsY5LmQSYEMviLl-ys92on1TUlaAlMr5FBYgyAyWUy7TpOAABtJZJuLLedDrJTPNtlcvDpQfqJ91RAurTSoqA6vFyvuRCcF1RgiZlP6YpYTKp3hJMtM-Mc_yPvTSNS8QDs3hZglpJMw5qCB7M93Mj1HyN_2o9hVC7snw6wOxP5ZZN3sEQ==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Technology pitfalls, NYC edition</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A $41 million-plus settlement to educators in New York City could have huge ramifications for districts across the country that are struggling to provide adequate technology and internet bandwidth, reports Benjamin Herold in Education Week. In April, the NYC Department of Education began paying back wages to more than 30,000 teachers, school psychologists, social workers, and others after an arbitrator agreed with the United Federation of Teachers that its members had been forced to work beyond their contractually mandated workday when implementation of a new student-information system, SESIS, was plagued by slow internet connections, glitchy software, a lack of computer access, and poor training and technical assistance. Initially, the legal decision went largely unnoticed outside of New York City, but experts have now seized upon its significance. Increasingly, educators see digital devices and high-speed internet connections as basic workplace necessities, an idea buttressed by this legal precedent and potentially affecting everything from collective bargaining to court-mandated funding parity. Giving laptops and tablets to students, administering online tests, and conducting extensive data analysis all "presuppose software that works, robust broadband access, and effective training and support," says Douglas Levin of the State Educational Technology Directors Association. The city is contesting part of the arbitrator's award. SESIS is still in use, and educators are reporting continued problems. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC-wnvjqVDkjE9YAI4OX7p7AYSlhN_XFx5Y42ujLsWiS-wYTcVa9rTjQK4L-JroldUfql2rs4ayYLi-KSIUxbyNnU1wvozc5aEBET1BLoFhH5XWcrndECqa9i4FL4o88riOS1PL6AEg4oZddoOHZrw3K-nZgS0LhaOIEYpgByVIDvixhQn1aPF4E8VV945fOX_1TawxNB-hrQ-ILg24YicES6Jg65ZUMVviALI6Xc9MiSL7Vfo4ZBnNRcWD8y2Sn6ik6d64dgW5zDRlCLThCurYL" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Bipartisan agreement on two disastrous ideas</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">In a commentary in Education Week, Marc Tucker, Linda Darling-Hammond, and John Jackson write that Democrats and Republicans agree on two things for ESEA reauthorization: continued grade-by-grade testing, and sanctions exclusively for the lowest-achieving schools, which primarily serve low-income and immigrant students. The authors feel these provisions virtually guarantee the overall performance of our students will never equal that of our international competitors, and will further widen the gap between our top performers and our disadvantaged students. By continuing accountability requirements and high-stakes testing that effectively force states to use cheap, standardized tests, Congress will ensure our teachers have strong incentives to teach a curriculum that leaves out complex skills and knowledge. By refocusing sanctions on schools serving the most disadvantaged, Congress ensures that those who most need a top-flight education receive the most limited curriculum. Instead, Congress should require that states ensure external testing for a single grade at each of three school levels -- elementary, middle, and high school -- while continuing to report scores for vulnerable groups. Without spending more than they do now, states could employ higher-quality assessments that encourage productive teaching while reducing the testing burden on students and teachers. <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=001ZdqVCFaAYC88bmbndpr3ZLtZ2p3EwNkzzWwtq4P6FKizIjg41bmFQkWy_81FXc31d4sapHDFxlO_mLCz3l6qV3n9Uty0w2Oz6kqqxpUzjkpJjmaHLRe8PYjEWwqyeOb2dNPLjFEcxbDSbRxD90xNjRgRsqXIAuqdTRwPhQb7id_bNzk7cChDfeLDktrCvXy2UbVFAevYrGNQQK6WNJqS6unx7FlXZRqZUpQTVRWFSkc3yHak1Zkj00x2VBARIYqA9qWgLJK-kdQJsh4JftDXFA==">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Both vocational and educational</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">In a profile of the Utica Center for Science and Industry (CSI) about an hour north of Detroit, Sarah Butrymowicz writes in The Hechinger Report that the high school uses technology to prepare students for automotive and military-industry jobs with a goal of boosting the region's economy and aligning with employers' needs. In other parts of the country, high schools treat college and career preparation as mutually exclusive, but Utica blends them, and CSI's model directly links skills students acquire with specific job needs of the community. Students must apply for one of 90 slots available each year for freshmen. Once enrolled, students spend three hours at CSI every day and three hours at their home high school taking other requirements. CSI offers electives in multimedia, engineering, or mechatronics (a mixture of mechanics, electronics, and computer science), with an emphasis on hands-on experiential learning. Post-secondary attendance is assumed; of the program's 120 graduates so far, nearly all have gone to college. Students can enter nearby Macomb Community College with up to a year and a half's worth of credits. In a new apprenticeship program by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for high school graduates, half of the slots have gone to CSI students. <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=001ZdqVCFaAYC-dq9RRo_Ct4Gwi8i7bllBGHmLlDnmhGuH_QvLnkSwbPOm0qbgjcx2s_xzdqJphGwkzYGOD9iFg2hZkGX0HBNVbuYmjuzB4u1xQdcgPAm8NVamW36nZqtIhU0z3qznuR0vOqk9yX1kxVvK261pQxxJwuiuk3II2k4hH5RSFQqEhl7HTp3EUihiy_h7KzRtMiQDlbCHHBkUhYzCXKSyHQByn">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Getting used to the Common Core</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">For Massachusetts, questions around Common Core adoption centered on the wisdom of changing the state's already high standards, writes Nick Pandolfo in The Boston Globe. Massachusetts students excel on the NAEP, and the state ranked sixth globally in math on the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, scoring in the company of Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Despite this, Common Core proponents insist the new standards are a step forward for the state. In math, the standards set a more deliberate pace in the early grades, and teachers cover fewer topics in greater depth with the goal of achieving mastery of basics early on. Some have criticized the pace for higher grades, saying Algebra I is introduced too late and Calculus omitted entirely. Massachusetts middle-school math teacher Michelle Calioro says monthly math professional development meetings now focus on preparing for consortium assessments, whereas before they centered on implementation. She expects this year to be smoother, since her new students were taught a full Common Core curriculum last year, but there are bound to be bumps as students and teachers recalibrate. "I'm hopeful that as we move forward that will decrease and students will come into eighth grade really ready for the rigor," says Calioro, "and that they'll leave really ready for high school." <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC8T9sxymxtG5Cg0F9KWN-7w1t9suFPkeqJ-qPvu-Sblbgju-nMxSoVcBRs1nm_1xsQ-vz4-epoJq1X-Y-8TCBumSfmo706ZsI6BkGsdy8Bi8HsiHpwMPzQbVNHqZGjDOZApj0xser2VdO0fvdaJKjUa2g9kqCOZHVPLf1PTGi5HsfzPyeTlQrXZwNHg7JBt5irM5md1RU0OoiZJLon-7dWauOGMdMGntCV555QhKVVPBEbRftKas7NnRKJAxM6hYrE=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Drop-out prevention in a rural context</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new report by the Inner City Fund considers dropout intervention in rural communities, where a quarter of American public school students are educated. Twenty-two percent of rural students don't complete high school, troubling in an era of declining rural-community fortunes. Rural communities have specific challenges: a small tax base, limited pool of educators, and lower student aspirations for postsecondary education since few rural jobs require it. But rural districts also have distinct strengths that can be leveraged: strong school-community relationships, robust parent involvement, and intergenerational relationships among community members. Rural districts typically have less bureaucracy and organizational complexity, lower student-teacher ratios, and a capacity to respond creatively to challenges. Because of a school's central role in a rural community, it is often open before and after school hours, offering a place for credit recovery, tutoring, and adult education -- an ideal setting for at-risk students. And because students lack anonymity, it is more difficult to "fall through the cracks." Perhaps because the dropout crisis is stereotyped as urban, or due to challenges in obtaining a large enough study sample, research on rural dropout prevention is scarce. More is needed to understand whether the evidence base underlying typical interventions can apply in rural contexts, and what elements of programming could be viewed as universal versus context-specific. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC85e06nJfu5NAgwC7m3R_A9X_v1L1weS26FSk2kbTOPgopJo9LfrBpARQUgKKypxN9Y1eWGbG7I8OUUbSw1Cd6eKAPaaBVPvE_Fa8OgbTXvHRmSJ7iU5XuWPwpkpXQBj2wQHkzDZubkFmDshwDuVKa4t-sekzPGPZ-wcFIqDGycvaD9tUiLZnuIivBSkp2j1iFG5MXLAag_XCoky43hw6lYwKlY4dXgf4U=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Portfolio district? Not so fast</div>
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<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">A review by the National Education Policy Center of two presentations claiming success for the portfolio-district approach cautions their evidence is weaker than it seems. The review discusses PowerPoint slide sets by Elliot Smalley of the Achievement School District in Memphis and Patrick Dobard of the Recovery School District in New Orleans, presented to the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. Under the portfolio-district model, a district contracts with outside providers to run its schools. The district administration holds the providers accountable for schools' results -- usually, academic achievement as measured by standardized tests. In the opinion of the reviewers, the presentations' strong assertion of improved student achievement fails to acknowledge "the thin evidence base on portfolio governance." The presentations ignore alternative explanations for positive results: The New Orleans data, for instance, are presented without accounting for the massive out-migration of New Orleans students, which in itself could plausibly lead to higher achievement averages. The Memphis findings reflect too few data to draw reliable conclusions. Both presentations report "teacher and administrator human-capital improvements," but lack specifics about type, cost, or frequency. The cost of the portfolio model in each district is likely underestimated, since both received federal and philanthropic funds not mentioned in the PowerPoint analyses. The reviewers conclude that the presentations lack the research base that policymakers should demand before embarking on the portfolio model. </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC_r7oPZhQyltHyQ1Qq4cv0BnUVQIPX14IZzUdGko_uEI74P3LzUnpvsRhH1E5ZS4oITnCFfUWY_5DBuKbJfla_BBWvsq-aobKnVdX0AwA-nW48KfDwzMVvFAS4wt6fFWJBUD1p6bL_w42KXLGJJpXBB8cV3aIlLEyY=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div><b>BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA</b></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Keep it coming</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">California's Linked Learning Initiative will get over $7 million in new funding from private and public sources to support its high school career-preparation program, which grew last year from seven to 63 districts across the state. <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=001ZdqVCFaAYC8wwFF3KrASoWCVzJ1ySsasCEbr-E4-nb3TRqyD_NeoGc_mZtOQrv_N6k-iyB-59_6KalieEnyASu-VeMBemCt23BoLZiZALfffMtpqqNnGmzHaTG9iUk15rcgjlANIX7UezW1jQ0h90q_Ou4Eo8zfjLXFVI_tV8IB1ezlZm01eouf-EhcLcD4Oz6feZ2yGvHk-3-Rdr7sSgsCvnGB37sHtEI1NRGRpNZoblIN47h1ux2vNVaAqtJGm" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Back at ya</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would change the complex system for dismissing teachers, encouraging districts and teachers to keep negotiating a way to simplify the process. <a style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(240, 79, 35);" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC-OGmcSYTejlclyvS5aRVUiQ10lOthx3hBa764m76udr3Ubd37pBwzmbS8bd5kFEpDtTZgavt-Bk1L1SKq5b_vHcy86TM6KoJ3YqeZT5jj-gAFeGmfVeaU6k_Ry0k7mf1lXzLj_4lskynIUCxeW1FI-2hsTv7XRG_rshMgbp695OEwrayDnDH_tp0sM7xTm5-7NFZA8QqaMySDOEuwIlqboY9P7b8HYuNt9F_lVcamR6wnU5nf2K1hB7mS-iQK0VGE=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Sua maxima culpa</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Whatever harassment issues he faced, LA Unified's Board President Richard Vladovic still has UTLA support, thanks to his public acknowledgement of his bad behavior. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC9J7MKsIBkwXQuqljZ-3T5PNlJIy3_h_A_8zK5j-8k7sxS0NgwMVpsfMe2Msa1wxuAISil1zOjN61YPEtC1XWn84p-U3pAgme-mTyAlxJYw2nQQnQlFxvYlkCa9rhLInLpr5StaUjkmFcowODNuD-c6BtmyXw4wtzaVq1mX6gpM2ridnETj-u2L" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div><b>BRIEFLY NOTED </b></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>No way to run a federal program, but hey</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">John and Laura Arnold, who made billions in a hedge fund, have donated $10 million to Head Start to keep its programs running through this month despite the government shutdown. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC-EhGJ8bGlbrhPFWHmKusSL22rNtcynakzLOTexCYDvuL80Wced9ZD_3HxtPtoeDa8EIYGHwnAS0WOOoQ92GQ8SnoefBJbVQgKlD1NbDQhvuMveZtJ-eXthfWV-2NurvIkFhuyZiGmA9GAywKO3Dpy-fihCfThqlWJ3__4cDl6vUFcx0_KC0tpTooxdB1-iWFx_edH2_W68qjLtRRlxN9Zj8oQFiDnFY5-rKYNVAKeht-CY8Qg5VZxiSJhcRXlRbOOUhlKEw2Tktw==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Not good, people</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The National School Lunch and Breakfast Program could soon be a casualty of the government shutdown, leaving millions of children without an important source of nutrition. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC-5f3sH6KCSirs4vkDlHPvVT4Sv-mSpU7XRwt-PHW9rx77xVKD7Bfexy3LpWsdQvNl-QYierTFsf3TSDBDiNAxAYxFDFOqolNU8uUEa4l5fUukt4YKNVqUyBUEtorH6Ke_Fepw-LbTPE0PUAr52BVEbOXCzeJTGnqg1HbFj1yE49YGD8ODzBAO2Dw8DDkJCUMr0bFDxHnck4Je0Kgk1V10csN02f3RIpRSMu3URZfauUrJm1cgoeH6y" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Case in point</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Nebraska Public Schools has learned the state lacks money to reimburse it for free or reduced-price student lunches as a result of the federal shutdown. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC97vpdDQ4VGx8Ebl5gx0DoS8_anx51TEiQb_h4RWQpPxS-NCy8GXj90mo2WyZcDemLkmB9TMZX6D77owMmgV6AS5vCm5vCRMrGB9derePq7DRL5pCQ-DsjpUbHn_BmySymgA1tpMVv8Q4svnkFwRkJC9d36APTVD5Y=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Problems Amplified</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A North Carolina school district has suspended use of 15,000 tablets after reports of multiple hardware issues, including device chargers melting at home -- a major sting for NewsCorp's Amplify, which was piloting the initiative. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC_sEhh09Qr3v_EnvXECLEH93r6-vOfCaMggTg_oFq3vqssoE739iggjhFjBfReZCQW6zK48aNLCSZbIpftKYGCSYF_PkAedNGHscliTglTVWc3xP1SdczufFTT6xXgDimPPUc9uJ3M37LtojuOJ4WW0ETLTqDO_W6MHYi9XFnv99B0_BF0HTjvNMEPhYo0txGU0pABA74iKVStMg3f7Ck0zF8TTzin3hU0gPhZgaMW75TIbizrbUthXqGwVYpmJI7c=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Vouchers we can get behind</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says his administration plans to issue more than 3,000 new vouchers to enable young children of low-income parents to receive early education services. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC_1ClIGyceco_BYLEqKaKxi4zbU3KninxKxghu8J2B10W812ZI_dFlSzCQC4OeuftniyY62DGPDfZzL4oNZGNJerpGqR4rCJKvH5XGnwW3QPI_-fsJcKB0Mf7jNitRbHlXaCnPta2s8blMZHF0hWWujQv68brBRLkgfzchEvfitfg3gg_oAKD8ixp8tae1hiUgh-GMQ62QMMi2kQ4WEyr9BOgMoLt37OghEHuEoMF1XkO9YU9M9TPFTyEvPZZFZHYPlIIHYDWJxzdbcS5kOO0dgYzI92aFnZZk=" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Not exactly streamlining</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Business Roundtable has issued a paper calling for the establishment of a panel of judges to decide which instructional materials are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC-q5S2pV7lZX1DxtmzEEtPuXbMwSzP7jg8nKkiNJio1faGwMw0QWvbZAL7_KjJjGUVm62KLXxM0nzCy7ATDqOImNoe99XVChgzf0fAeOMkvuqoO2WLWt5y6MfL0Ddvr5QP7L-0Zz3yvnIvGoaMD9IY-kqhusTS_Qs3lsY-7AGFn4WGheZ94knIBvNEkkbGXhY3vTMW356xY2w==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Headway</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">More than 2,000 preschool-age children in Ohio will get an early start to their education this year, thanks to new funding. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC82NY4XGAvRULIr3Ixjr7UPXDVttTIT3y_06kQAaxSFxIgTeyVetgslojxy_gnAgBL1YY2DceKwHYLsyNrr8MfEkIpXTsySCL0x6wHbgKzCST1gtkomiunSGMCDgujCoIVw0fnAcC8V_ZYw83DmI7FquZWJegWdfNUlVB8Mf3PFOmQgbFs0dq7_2LEk7pVQjmwAaF3S3xonQg_8-HjpBKIs" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>They'll be hard-pressed to find complaints</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Montgomery County school board has agreed to look into shifting high school starting times to 8:15 a.m. a week after the county superintendent proposed delaying the first bell so that teenagers can get more sleep. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC_Cx9G2En0VnDT8zrdQsR5z2S6_npdHXJqNAZAXdzPgrp-lf4rpN4mslaQY2s9_hlO9gWEJ9ekoicrgdVbuX5WRg9Rfa_DiMFJcoXYQFxWHvK4y38EgV6ZXkZE61qK2bZQHe7LIhExQ97SdzM3ux07jy8wXuXiaU0bu8tiLNwgUacH_-DxGnLwuBnziz-Z590xQz7BQT680bQ4U9rB2HEXI-butswDw02BCk97oZCrX6tycdOfu_IHSe0OKkFtUFTNrmBP4EradabxVlobTRiH_88YL1lcDRjMZkm1SIuyQ_HvNxQewUKZ9er-VX0xme8Zy8kymnCSIvQ==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>An end to 'chaos'</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The majority of D.C. charter schools and all schools in the city's traditional system will participate in a single unified lottery to determine enrollment for the 2014-2015 school year, the office of Mayor Vincent Gray said. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC8Bf9jzPgY55ryGcPyxOZZ7wZ163CDkt3VIeZA8gL0DcqKw-AMZrgV31e6pgnOkwF1dNQOrDdJTNL1QP5j9JEOiuJJOAyyMWs-DSIG_aesAKf9dWy70lOhhc_Cwaaf1HXgca8Xpa3bQroBoRHlosSR37X2md-aBn-BVlfcMJMAb4kV2cjoi7WaMAZpsND4ja-6xogQA_y2klEZpRAKCNdK7jlINoLBK85ZLDbG-m9upu2AelPwb4J4B9BrdMu1gaCu7OEi0neisL4_HBaeYYfnmRs6joPUSuk0Do0ZOpDe4IpNB8GPOeO0dniNguURrh8Ham4XXzB0JnjMjPfXpg5VZlShQeBI2o9FM44ch4MpZuXroTtC_DhM9" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Ain't no mountain high enough</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Despite delivery problems stemming from the federal shutdown, 219 applicants made last week's deadline for the U.S. Department of Education's second Race to the Top district contest. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC9F7s8-7BZ6fYtJPNUXIA2PXN7CHgkAf2yDOH0QRXNt8MpuUXs4aGz-hxBy5XaJyy3VO2h1ngytHHw83G9NHBqbRLKF7OO74tsaMA9XOfmrGcDJEBqFsgpSU9DwHf3WtjYpMcOMvy-0ra4uMiGiV1Qstc7_Z-erj-XV3oV6uMaFqpXayEQLzV51v3IzftVEvv2-kYhyX1ubGw==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #f04f23;"><strong>Spin-proof, it would seem</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">New York City will spend $29 million in 2013 on the salaries and benefits of 326 educators who have been deemed too dangerous or incompetent to work in public school classrooms but cannot be immediately fired, the New York Daily News has learned. <a style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(240, 79, 35); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZdqVCFaAYC9Uel8lraFCNjQZCRss4Wwjk5Izvr3eoqMiqRMbiwKf5tNIOgZ6jaCAmp23794j6R29iQSG3Tx9YS9bgWj56mxhVuqFY8FKGC8cyj-blzeTdkQxwFiny9eB6PS1zwKS-f1Y1GGC1Y5In3OoNRoccImJypFXZFHeWKsA2G-tcsQ4oTA36_i8p5GLJpFm3iZ4PTZQSVEiFMGBXNQt972RxI3Qy1wNbuEM0usupwW1MRkUlQ==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
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<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><b>GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES</b></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=001ZdqVCFaAYC-PHufpknPyPqmcL1Fz1CZS6JIG9S3viSV4PJpzLtJgKvV-eiAKAnC_Idxr7nthlI0bCJ9oDn_7y46m2-oPeSIs0qPDCnGA8jCNGUIJ4_QWw7qck8UEFxTtHh-xr0wyHe9BogQBYVte7cqHmodidksQ9iokFI0oZtbWx21WwgYOv78PkexTviz4sG5XJSTnir4=">Whole Kids Foundation: School Garden Grants</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Whole Kids Foundation is offering grants to help bring "outdoor science labs" - school gardens -- to K-12 schools. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: schools K-12. Deadline: October 31, 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=001ZdqVCFaAYC-RrM-FTW3pGeAs7HxPbvVRQSy2mM6ED_F4pu-zP-SENdl56U1pBmVMW-ArHNDLzL2CX4ZyCuqgB-rtmNJOGYqJzqo-uXtkyKpi-hJmL4zBej1U36l4ebCw9gSd22EFB3EBEXMWE6dCFuLpQk3zIxJckhVDxPcFmk_7y3jR5CzIhnnw7SilKp8yaZj26W1bOVQ=">Sea World: Environmental Excellence Awards</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">SeaWorld Environmental Excellence Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of students and teachers across the country who are working at the grassroots level to protect and preserve the environment. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: All schools (grades K-12) and community groups. Deadline: November 1, 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=001ZdqVCFaAYC9_3ygpBe1Tm2UEWUm89_4AS8s4LSd8ffp9iEaa8BN3TrEEkYOyf-Hc-R4SBGzXQ6BT8jPonzO-Cf5kf271TyeLUyDfNixLHrCS6ZKo6ED0xasD8uT-q1STujYV2j4nolhxrfL44N8pVlDBusKG5hWA8eWjsCqeDuzoN70A_RxMKA==">NFL: Fuel Up to Play 60</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The NFL Fuel Up to Play 60 Playbook focuses on school breakfast and increased physical activity -- because students who eat well and move more learn better! Your school can apply for funding to support one Healthy Eating Play and one Physical Activity Play from the 2013-14 Playbook (see website). Maximum award: $4,000. Eligibility: schools participating in the National School Lunch program. Deadline: November 1, 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=001ZdqVCFaAYC_p-v9lOGPa_8pN8JnGEQ77PNQrNQ9wm_9S9WFoTcJbxRbbDZvMD54TtjCu7gWe9KQY5cGx1GsTIOT594u7w3TvoG01OqrFB6aaKgdPw7eYwH0b_KyMHX7h1mq4IB3PII0lUtaoN7NT7ZAUVnCqp36w">VFW: Smart/Maher National Citizenship Education Teachers' Award</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The VFW's Smart/Maher National Citizenship Education Teachers' Award recognizes the nation's top elementary, junior high, and high school teachers who teach citizenship education topics regularly and promote America's history and traditions. Maximum award: $1,000. Eligibility: teachers K-12. Deadline: November 1, 2013.</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;">"Beginning learners have a right to know what scientists have concluded. It is not right to allow religious, political, or economic ideologies to trump instruction in science." -- <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=001ZdqVCFaAYC9Xg4oJSk6wtqojAembP25AVYNeLqlMsb2YghGfyLVpG896iuGfwJPoe-ZXfg5Y5Hy5yGWfqWRyNGqaMLZ9MubcCQJ7osY4zhxTdp49xivHs3clbTGZWakxmOSJww1sf7OxV8eusBGoEcdJdPHtRbuoKrevGjEUc0eFuVqUciLG9CxYW24Jh6BGf2N5Uj-8b-6c0-UjTzVpX4oDWCOYgMkVgRfm4iiPgFA=">Eugenie Scott and Minda Berbeco</a> in Scientific American, in an article about "academic freedom" laws aimed at teaching evolution and climate change in public schools.</div>
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