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<div>April 29, 2014 - In This Issue:</div>
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<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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK17">Keeping on-track in Chicago</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK45">Helping parents, to help kids</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44">Just what is TFA's mission?</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK43">The coming teacher-prep crackdown</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK42">The Bloomberg education legacy</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK53">The Schoolchildren's Religious Liberty Act</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK55">The lessons of inBloom</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK54">Smoother landing for the digital NAEP</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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&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/38539-111/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27623472&seq=7&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" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="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;">Keeping on-track in Chicago</div>
</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A
new report from the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School
Research examines dramatic improvements for Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
students exposed to a targeted approach for reducing course failure in
the ninth grade. Much of the work coalesced around an "on-track"
indicator, developed by UChicago CCSR and providing a simple
quantitative measure of whether ninth-graders making adequate progress
to graduation based on credit completion and course failures.
Specifically, a student is "on-track" if she has enough credits to be
promoted to tenth grade and has earned no more than one semester F in a
core course. Between 2007 and 2013, the CPS on-track rate rose 25
percentage points, from 57 to 82 percent, an estimated 6,900 additional
students finishing ninth grade each year without significant course
failures and with sufficient credits to become sophomores. These
improvements occurred across all racial and ethnic groups, among males
and females, and across all levels of incoming achievement. Improvements
were sustained in tenth and eleventh grade, and followed by a large
increase in graduation rates. By reframing the problem of dropping out
from something outside the control of educators to one that can be
managed through effective school-based strategies, Chicago's on-track
initiative is a case study on using data to build the capacity of
educators to manage complex problems and create systems of continuous
improvement. </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?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVEevtVAzTmAOivjVLjnIobDNTCL3wKrOC-PG8eFbKTBoCLSFXDPsWOV_r2qi6ILmLeKKjJrxDWzZ_clqinHGevvlRLPul8TK_QIY9IO-MNCWgkv4gU667d4qrb8jwhhLnHkz48yIvV22sNu0Jj5cva8nEN1Pbt4jNqu2VS1PSFVY=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
</div>
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<div>
<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;">Helping parents, to help kids</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;">One nonprofit in Tulsa,
Oklahoma -- the Community Action Project -- has flipped the script on
preschool, reports Eric Westervelt for NPR. The idea behind its Career
Advance program is that to help kids, you often must help their parents.
The program strategically links low-income parents -- almost all women
-- with education, career training in nursing and related healthcare
fields, and Headstart services for their children. Participants must
take a monthly seminar that includes resume-building, basic finances,
and workplace etiquette, such as being on time, eye contact, firm
handshakes, and basic hygiene. Tulsa organizers believe providing
high-quality childcare along with intensive help for parents returning
to school might prove the missing link in anti-poverty efforts. The
program also includes career coaches, who in a different socioeconomic
context could be called life coaches. More than a quarter of the women
drop out and never come back, and cash bonuses, coaches, seminars,
emergency gas cards, and other expenses cost more than $7,000 per mom
per year on top of the $7,500 per child for Headstart. It'll be a few
years before the results are in, but researchers are convinced that
getting policymakers and agencies to think about the family all together
will save taxpayers big money in the long run. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVAgscOW0pRTZhLcDGoCejpwQNcknvjVij84U52rKFuRRsA7mpfmv38RdDFS_aGPhmHEg5eqTQ2tQG2sZGFJPUAB2NQ1mnPqjrzbZcyTCVSkC4JtwGkR2_4RbwUTdyfNKEIMkAJ5iFfXIyBIOTUy91C2lv9gFqZwI9SNqIXw-mxaPY5Ip_pZwQEg==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
</span></div>
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</td></tr></tbody></table><a name="aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44"></a><table id="aolmail_content_LETTER.BLOCK44" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="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>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #f14e23;"><b>Just what is TFA's mission?</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;">Since the recession,
teacher layoffs are more common than shortages, leaving some to ask why
Teach for America (TFA) operates in areas where new-teacher need is low,
writes Alexandra Hootnick in The Nation. In 2009, some 13,800
candidates applied for just 352 teaching positions in Seattle, yet TFA
expanded there anyway. TFA's growth also increasingly hinges on the
country's charter movement, Hootnick writes. The organization's data
show that a third of its recruits now teach in charters, up from 13
percent in 2007. An additional growth strategy TFA has used is placing
recruits in special education and limited-English-proficiency classes,
understaffed subjects that should require specialized training, an
increase of 15 to 20 percent annually. Meanwhile, the cost of
recruiting, training, and supporting corps members, partly subsidized by
taxpayers, has more than doubled in the past decade, from $22,000 to
$47,000. Informal data that TFA uses to track its teachers' performance
indicate students aren't making as much progress as they were a few
years ago. Hootnick, a former corps member, feels the impact recruits
have on low-income students is only the short-term, experiential part of
TFA's longer-term mission, to build a force of leaders who will go on
to influential public- and private-sector careers supporting TFA's
education-reform initiatives. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVjacOamutoSWj2sbKepGAIHaZ96e6NgwFq60lD_xvyCDWxXi1nnvAbVs3n21lEsH0adRiLSKQxBrbMa5KKNjeNkyjnBDca3cc1NSeNbawmJG427DmWBm4vNLTilWGljQUYUxqGDJIUv6GhAbTpvoR7SdUz0j6aMftq_v4LHD95Edidj52NYoVAvbO5uvk3aPsv1TCbASdtVKiDKrughJVbeyJDY9zIdMHiOmh_bsk5akrWbjcsxboBg==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
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<div>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><b>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The coming teacher-prep crackdown</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;">The Obama administration
plans to use tens of millions in federal financial aid as leverage to
reward teacher-training programs that produce teachers who routinely
raise student test scores, and to drive the rest to fold, reports
Stephanie Simon for Politico. The administration's goal is to ensure
that every state evaluates its teacher-education programs by several key
metrics, such as how many graduates land teaching jobs, how long these
teachers stay in the profession, and whether they boost their students'
scores on standardized tests. The administration will then steer
financial aid to those programs and their aspiring teachers that score
the highest. The rest, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has said, will
need to improve or "go out of business." Duncan plans to release a
draft regulation by summer and enact it within a year. The proposal
echoes the administration's recent bid to crack down on for-profit
career-training colleges. Under that regulation, still in draft form,
hundreds of degree programs in fields from accounting to culinary arts
could be forced to shut down for failing to place enough graduates in
well-paying jobs. Duncan noted he expects considerable controversy.
While there's broad agreement that the country's more than 1,500
teacher-training programs need improvement, classroom teachers, union
leaders, education reformers, and professors of education differ sharply
in their prescriptions. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYViB6tcAKilXxLiK1O6GPNh-H0ZOZf5iq3v3796rkE7grrLNtKqc4HrQUDnMUQ1fvrvLA1fSkk0m44viNQyLCqrauPbiFO4kQyeHGFoN2xNhhuRq-MMaaqJVctx-x2ka2SYg7kNuyKuoDnDOAS_BbGY_LetACbOQ6zbppsldtXCrOeEth93ONqQyQDTlomg_eE6nckdJ4JCG-byDeNsJ6LNV72MfWaBai_1SkhXevRIOP2O3eYT1NZGg==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
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<div>
<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;">The Bloomberg education legacy</div>
</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>Where
New York City students attend school saw dramatic shifts under recent
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to enrollment data released by the
city's Independent Budget Office, reports Geoff Decker for Chalkbeat NY.
The IBO compared enrollment between 2003 and 2013 for all types of
schools serving the city's 1.3 million school-aged population. Nearly
60,000 students attended a charter last year, a huge leap from 2,400
students ten years ago. This year, charters enrolled close to 70,000
students, and the sector will continue to grow as new charters open and
existing charters add on grades. New state laws also ensure that
additional charters could open and receive access to facilities under
Mayor Bill de Blasio. Catholic schools lost 47,000 students in the same
timespan, a reflection of the growing number of families who opt for
charters or other new public school options. Jewish schools have
supplanted Catholic schools as the predominant private schools in the
city, since 2003 adding 20,000 students and last year enrolling 95,000
students. Nine hundred eighty thousand students attended a district
school last year, 65,000 fewer than a decade earlier. Overall, the
city's school-aged population fell by 30,000. The IBO also looked at
racial and ethnic enrollment. Over 93 percent of charter students are
black or Hispanic, compared with 68 percent in traditional district
schools and 26 percent in the city's non-public schools.</span> </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVaS9TVg70o5LR8s9EEn9xwHcEa2MduXBUWbdmWvJAjcch-1pcRpM2EDKQId-qeDTm841jr34R1tV14w6HI9b36ISv3sqLEICa1hEa-35kahLcZZjYlUnIgv9p-h1d4A-9FmCIlFCIH6yyrG8RELoZYpSkn4svlg3Gb2pazGe9my8O09pybIpsenpCwn2wojXlHWWnIaThXYX7llFV3FAsC44aQUzrCPKn&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
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<div>
<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;">The Schoolchildren's Religious Liberty Act</div>
</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>Tennessee
is the second state to institute a Religious Viewpoints
Antidiscrimination Act (RVAA), reports Sarah Posner for Al-Jazeera
America. The little-known Texas law of 2007, also known as the
Schoolchildren's Religious Liberty Act, requires districts to treat
student religious expression equally with nonreligious expression in
classroom assignments and in the organization of school clubs. The RVAA
is "part of a larger effort to erode existing Establishment Clause
protections in public schools," says Daniel Mach of ACLU's Program on
Freedom of Religion and Belief. The Texas RVAA and copycat bills in
other states, "are plainly intended to encourage public schools to
promote prayer and other religious expression." Most controversially,
the RVAA requires schools to permit student speakers to engage in
religious speech throughout the school day and at school-sponsored
activities, which critics say could include anything from morning
announcements to pep rallies to football games to graduation ceremonies.
In addition, critics charge that the Tennessee RVAA could be exploited
to teach creationism in public schools, and open the door for anti-gay
bullying under the guise of religious freedom. These laws, said the
ACLU's Mach, "may simply be a way for legislators to score cheap
political points, but the danger is it encourages public schools to
violate the Constitution."</span> </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?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVMzWhXQUnr1No3HSi8Zfw5y-aT-jAxoh4LRWQf_pl11tEN1ZmIAhpvUhxuHhhLnMmbb6alw3mQ-WBtGCMrRS0NCzQLffjz1OwUVEJS8sm7lqIpIaqeMVJ_BOaoPTDJJehgaGC5htbS3gS7kg2FlhjKIFH7yk57EtRsfY4-JU1qCBDfg3l-6WA1g2SMFBP242e&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
</div>
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<div>
<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;">The lessons of inBloom</div>
</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>The
well-funded student-data nonprofit InBloom has announced it will
shutter after sustained protests by parents and privacy advocates that
forced districts to drop its services, reports Ariel Bogle in Slate.
InBloom hoped to streamline student information online so teachers could
track progress and personalize lessons and learning materials. Yet
despite millions in seed funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and collaboration
with districts in nine states, the company was unable to reassure
parents that student information would be safe with a third-party
vendor. Protests and lawsuits in several states caused many districts to
pull back, but the most significant blow occurred when the New York
state budget bill restricted its Education Department's ability to
contract with companies for storing, organizing, or aggregating student
information, and demanded inBloom delete all held data. The collapse of
inBloom is a blow for the K-12 education-technologies sector generally
-- a market that, if calibrated carefully, could benefit schools and
students. It's clear legislators on both the federal and state level
must strengthen student privacy protections. InBloom's failure is an
object lesson in trust-building and accountability for the next company
that will surely take its place.</span> </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?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYV8nk00FkXEVTSnnONvlN_qQuyy7W69PKTtTSs4ZBlE83VWsOOk9SaaprDFw2wJCpg7S7etXcHrS4d4lJ_iF6XSnlksEM8Y4jDQ_p0ASklcylJ3V3S3YlifvJ4wbA-nlf6Q4DGpnlbxpwusVn7AUHoeUWCtadKuySk3bQ2dvkGxwjSN7x-d2whrmmIfX-GNeSIPq2KbF1hFc2madUvDu7Sy_8kyWRN8eLSNF7lFnWU4L4xpihNKJ-ImQ==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
</div>
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<div>
<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;">Smoother landing for the digital NAEP</div>
</b></span></div>
<div style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span>The
architects of the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP)
are preparing a dramatic expansion of technology-based assessment,
relying on a starkly different approach from that for online Common Core
exams in the states, reports Sean Cavanaugh for Education Week. The
government will rent tablet computers from a private contractor,
distribute them to the sample of participating schools, and retrieve
those devices after the exam. This strategy was used in NAEP's earlier,
less-ambitious forays into computer-based tests, with the goal of
ensuring that the tests were delivered securely, reliably, and
consistently. In contrast, a year from now, three dozen states will give
Common Core-aligned exams using the eclectic array of computing devices
currently in place in schools: desktop and laptop computers and
tablets, all with different features and operating systems. Testing
officials familiar with the two assessment programs say the contrasting
strategies are a reflection of the tests' very different purposes and
needs. The NAEP is given to a much smaller sample of schools and
students, designed to produce a nationally representative set of
results. By 2020, federal officials want all NAEP tests in all subjects
delivered with computing devices.</span> </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?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYV9w-lH9qDfLvVsv3hsa2z_GKnQ09DdZqlA-reH0tTlfrGdVyUpcdvonWyp-ISVW8z8IqaEz1SGrsyu2iwUVjoChB1kusgav-qGtCRaQmzV4NBIyxX15YT5VDfyK0deviETr4EOCdgMi0dgx_0-0fyJO_jCbUy0qBWNXPWxaEz4w0=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==" shape="rect">More</a></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: #ee5624;"><strong>No cigar</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A key state budget panel
has rejected Gov. Jerry Brown's latest plan to give the K-12
independent study program a makeover and create more opportunities for
students to use modern technology as part of their academic day. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVGGmrFYimJT51g5NWk-T-jp-mYGugQLOWumGLUozVOFA2CdAl-982eH3SAm-uQ9wNVOcDlL0eMfqD2XelgrAG26uZVIN3z7u1c_0TFizRvodUx9OHY3qMP1KmHcwy3QwNC9fXvk_6nHuGm6mRJ3tf7882rwTwfvFApyocW156K15vErNdUFigXO7hu01YTLxraYgT8CuF06M=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>True Blue</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Resistance to the Common
Core may be spreading in parts of Red State America, but Californians
are learning more about the standards and generally like what they've
heard, according to a new survey. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVuXF1Wve2o7Pv3NCdIAsqx4VhmOuN0RvD1ViV5FaBmkTol9tsKqd4nJmw3l9mkzqY0R_oQ6fLM1TpKiF_i4V-nprV7qqsa5D0cyMDtKvjx5mGVbkaeDFqSx86OfYsn3nQwW4wBr7xqvwpclGlvVu90LH2s117VPvdVnQGHmzDuOiAT5wPqMEx2RjnbAfHTZeK92pwjuc-gxeJQTrV1Rew8PrVOmQpG0M-7PIoqTdSt8k=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>For those who can't stay away</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Effective July 1, LAUSD schools will be allowed to hire and pay retired teachers as coaches. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVS4pES23cn0T1lurHtTlGMq19IzErwlmJNMjw2um2LBQOSJgCkD-JGm87eWNZJoOtyEIjvocaavX5Qi1NWd4G6vntFByOoyLiQEDVIdk5zG4ED4rueMtTQQUccYu8_1k_bevXAiCwc0Uh91R7cYij3kX1_vnnFQHgqzIJQeJ3HwHoE_MNFjiYsXnm8NqD8e-mTnJeMlZx1scKJUgx9PNurKnnoAs-6Jm7uG1fEDO6_hNBP2hKChMCWloKqyrJevjfAPG2ZE22UNFubafYucd4nqiAHBvQ3-jWoRDBLy9sQtBXINzNinW2OcOxulyWs-dp&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Mere incompetence</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Los Angeles County
District Attorney's Office has reviewed an internal district report on
its iPad contract and concluded that criminal charges are not warranted.
<a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVaCEtJTiZBKYb1HBibysB_Kz4ZYjBD9gEneEiBeOkmJBJC_gqLlr7tcRFlTYYR_SvQpGFAXezBO_782K3TGMfQKunKoc1fifECLdIsRq9FAvws-CRFOwScfHRHMa6Zgx7EmUcAHpXtiAyf9miY3sQNjhep57A44YyACDKsF7TdE8bKOxLiN7fiQWIohHIxT4oZbCuhRakI0viexArgInKsk1GoQtqsBvT&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Reprieve</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Los Angeles Unified
School District does not need to release names of teachers in connection
with performance ratings, according to a tentative court ruling. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVW6En5_x6edIpIj7E4IdSSN6RhgqN0K9kKtLhiLzb5SsOP_aVnoNZ564RaQ4f8WVJg9CPDWGGqlE9CyACTFPgkNoll8NsjZRVrl_xgnEq2sTVZ8CyB0j0-ZxtdJVhxJ1jAFe-gSqnNbGLMrUFy_tC7n6OJ_pZjPwKweRZlSL37BXCRQPq6V8OgsPRxqLOYZM94uywZh3jgcE=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>CTA relents</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Faced with a ballot
initiative on teacher firings that could have placed it in the position
of publicly defending child molesters, the California Teachers Assn.
agreed to legislation that streamlines the appeals process for 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?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVPScpGtxGZtR876pvdI7x8ek9saADZx9XyNJZaxfyl-TtJGKhBacSvqbdE2tA_MJqdLsZv7bPPYxfRooJX-ADXN_b2cxAqdCUE5iZpuegz_PpvUypWCNCWA0XFw6j1ZUPIsWhrx2VE4TbViHWhGOQwRmdje4AUFhLxtQwifhpHTmDLKQ0uSkYB-kdclxvV9vEgBj5xTzW-RojdpYBf67cZxoSmWi_qPOtQf3A9eAUDt8=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Transitional training needed</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Ninety-five percent of
the first transitional kindergarten teachers in California had
previously taught preschool, kindergarten, or 1st grade, but said they
could have used more training on how to teach 4-year-olds, according to
new research. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVE_UMAQxHV9Iw7c5N-f9Rjhqw4BqTqftBSZAAM7Zt7O7VwJV0qXPztW5YxHxDqRg01lQw-UBrh4sV41guvBVJJhS2oU8CSAyhCO3olRkmccwWM66us5nfGFaRm3yWjP1j_vb5T_jtNt3DgXuP1PSYjPYXL9MP-n3ncWMTCdzd9j7dfP_ejlzMrCt9L4UruPs_ipqAqJAa84H2YUstiCo-jXf7IlbOdmvk&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">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: #ee5624;"><strong>The first loser</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Washington state is the first to lose its NCLB waiver. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVgB4NOc9R2TNzX6B1nvIUJ24CqSHARTs2uO3b7M3yMs7nre7-5fUUmSeOFyn02b5gHsRsd9KZR3F5BndmQ_NNDMaHMBF4x9XWvBxJPnekUu2ZSiJJwGiL7GuGArnRWw1qNB_GGpbzsHMyKApyiIm3yYbPX-QLDjofDJlcPHj7r1OnaI0EvX_qS0jC7uNxaInB&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Not to be outdone</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new interactive test
from the National Assessment of Educational Progress aims to measure how
well students do real-life problem-solving. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVXSsINGup9RhDYvdMbDQ-NVTP-yfNnevnb6qE4a_F5Se2IvVgwMHFsqo8e_euPsGc0feRTeU5xkVd7-xu2kFsRxRTkPl8fbgKpyTINcuR2KrE1w5y5-MmICaVUtyFdFBExCJOEh9sv1yxVUukf57NpQr9Gxq3X_yX72AgboI40O_1GrW4YnVWik83PmJhMBQKhaWCG86BobE=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Better than ever</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">North Carolina's
state-funded pre-K program for 4-year-olds has produced
better-than-expected positive outcomes for participants, new research
says. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVXCpv9uEhKYV8tk2Prl1l1zr5nkLpL8A77iunhBV0AArIHQ3dJ41l9y3z6QhIYqVDLUvglBy4dodgyxFGRYo79YFmAG7APctLdZO801rOdDzY7L4etYPHp2pbNsaA6fNCJbVZ1_QrmvIuXxHrHSRTFTFdm8aB-UiDlZJGwyVCOZsAFxCQ_t-U0TeWslF1TnuTZfWVhA5Nz9IstWZ4QFNeZZwOFqSO5eAcmyt6FpZpAkFXHtZ112krdYJMRxlopjTFdD_fP0DIeEvDKnHNOTPtow==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>No stopping it</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Louisiana's high-profile
school-voucher program will almost certainly continue to expand in its
third year, though interest from new participants has dropped. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVOPi3GdV6_jRAaM9h6JQb580u_Z88B_hSAAfNbM3UVYrbWVpsKHtbX6nGWRzvmAfEB8uRIl6onzwB0y8nZPUbjFfVyVM8rn4N2CHKAksdusp97Vo3P9TWxeZC-8Tv0Tg6FZFZj9sHoc3CFkbsNevVMt81rDx-1TBHBcUZbn8pxymTZWTx2TYze2lM_UHqJmhapPz3NB6cPg8=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>On the bandwagon</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Oregon has settled on an approach to evaluating teachers based in part on students' test-score gains. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYV3MhxG-W2OLELccBuoh6pRIQ97ZHQuJ289Gsmoml6xb-VIo9NIxdn_Yap_aNwgjpF5mNYuVLeTaayM24FzHhx7hdYdRii5rB5w5CYx-xjLvsTbfy_kUY03EcsMbJPNhEDMI4xAR_0DljrRbUuKzmIgtiTHJw8Rn4akdByH5vyARJfU0qJ51judlgzonoRUIn6rxzrsgIMBHl8CiOmRQK6ef0c06NalN3H&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Seemed like a good idea at the time</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new law in Washington state ends state-mandated culminating projects as a graduation requirement. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVD1GbzXqxwdetgkfDL96xMLCur6YyTNzwy-MqjEtB9O6DUAb8A18GsacLd02B4qmqaysPdGZmKrFVfJjwkvse8LOWizmwO-_MXr72yc2-b8CMhMZM_5IeaH4OEamVXzXQ-9ZwU_8dufdXsqNqpe-Ke9LxnQN1ECkOp07zeuo_sos_VNAmzDPWuPN32vsQoAC3YRbeg4ytPVUFBgls20fYjw==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Proper weight</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Mississippi is reworking
its rating system for districts and high schools after federal
officials demanded the ratings put more weight on high school
graduation. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVF4LjEewUQnqJjyhRX8yModTkNnQ43c7ydbFSkoFFhR7vaYvxrr9tAsD3q9BhyNGHe46vK56AtZr-fOgVKDRh1Unx7gpfm0KkyRyL-zJ531ikTLWGh-I2GYwouEfD_Idb14W_vnS3A9XH79mJ5EUzUODT0eoiI99mqJAQrPUR19hDPzaNdnmJMwSUeklB1JEchOxwM06n7PE3dcvkdLWljRvZMy_V7Mag&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Sounds reasonable</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">South Carolina is
replacing its high school exit exam with tests considered more useful to
students' future success, with scores that could go on work resumes or
college admissions applications. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYV7r_QLN8snBAQGefV6xbCnt72fo2gOSoNyv47BDFyXWUxnKa7VhtdtFy4LenAZ6btqalMl742AqhnMH6d_nRal4yIImGlwOaTz4uoogbC8DIQWfOmwtw-RlE0cPso1jmsOimhx8Jw7JdPQiICHzDJMWrKKHiy9TDNP9KTjqu9yiOS3G-g3uyQZaR2yJkfc6xBwQM8QNY8Z9JKOfj9aHicqOdQtGcEVeY8rm4GVa0ZiZJFCPRf98STMnszuUJW2UDS&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>No pleasing everyone</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A panel of Indiana
business and education leaders were booed and jeered by onlookers after
overwhelmingly voting in support of new math and English standards to
replace the Common Core in state classrooms this fall. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYV4a4VFJkaKZ00mM0bpfr3QRN9-mr0B5VM9X5Lzjzn9fqs1qwu3thjAUZIM2cT6dMBErpvjYWklLCBYtOfuWFRHDFI7nnwYRlo-jT_a_rMVVPA4zHaSok6FAav7isBPCbWdNoR_rCis0KmOWT9ouik4Im-NaaJM8klhzyh9VqEc_0DS-2I67BNqCzkllGsVyx0aBfVxxb2ZOfL-1oLa70AQOq2UIXWSG-bMYB9ii_3Bbp-0Ynj0UJScB3E6oK36Bnc&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Getting in on the ACT</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Alabama has become the first state in the nation to adopt the ACT suite of K-12 standardized tests. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVAMnJcS8MTJaLY4paoJQ73O4HGhnaRCHqvnvKGqYcRySoL7ggtaAeJ0GsiQSlLw9hz7vlH5WFQhI_MsLX8VRwedY5bR2_yHchVOevysxyMw7ihariBAdxMDJGhqpek4sPvbZCMTn2qNrQyph_H3YslG2hm1QqYY9aFU7bOwdRqm8=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>AP for all</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">In Grand Valley High School in Parachute, Colorado, all students take AP classes. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVojQlvu04NAgi9L2Rm-Z2Omn_5dbqDRjcXseD5rDAx_ga5BcrnUXAXcCyFJSeMz8eZQ1f87bqgRbCTJwxzJsYI5vqu5T0jGQYKOsDuedhmArFUPamY03wk3ZdyplJFeIzZ7Rc6uJJJXspB-o1TSXJsij9ign9zJMNQ6LW3D5K0DBn7wT96nZhywrqKQD0ru_W&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Medication nation</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new survey finds that
7.5 percent of children aged 6 to 17 are taking some sort of
prescription medicine for emotional or behavioral difficulties. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYV3cR0jWURddpzjlTcWuY3M8B3tkC3a431e-y0oLLEfnWclU7VeIIddUB9q3nE6LxkXDp3hXki0Bld8YXifMr2MWk5tooKoU97C8RphdBL5ncpdLQLkj87PLxnTUOh1kwIrWJ-Dt8g_klCQXTmgSLUiub53mmdPPfUOEWBiFkt-EGMGnK4HToX_otf4aauLdJc&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Another concession from Bobby</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Louisiana Gov. Bobby
Jindal has agreed to adjust a 2012 state law surrounding teachers' job
security and firings after losing a legal battle with an educator facing
dismissal. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVZvcgm0dQjIGbEqS5IZiQD4XCbCRmJRTPyHeYUaOBd0k8I_3MW7s7hV-KJ1O4FhOiptxu8CLkUxcckHtJ_FEhEUlIFsbivTGZ5iA6woIO7wc7DBEtWyH4Xt2aD3vjDHd8yQZTx1AqmzQL5tCK_LbEi54YHKnslNjTIBXUFQoAWm6xaSp886gkFT0v0S74lbUce53UqA9OkTa-lLTFdxXGzg==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>It makes her gag</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">American Federation of
Teachers President Randi Weingarten is sending a letter to the
executives of Pearson asking them to remove the gag order that bars
teachers and principals from talking publicly about what's on the exams
that Pearson has developed for New York State, including any mistakes
educators find. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVDKpcAcZ50UeJnM7xu-61slCayEqRyk0_1NrChP4ePG_9ThyXnDxpVWxBQv4FK_OKJITBHKruSvDkvq1fyJgyAnIeoCCLfjtVhnr-JS7XOjNCicCJcRF4uGtK5URJnrpMxYRNks3OFubCdQba9gsQuJayCUp3tQJCahrqx5_JGVpFsgv1h6pVDyKvm7pBQ6FvBSJJwJQBZjQvZZVHSRU8ON45_vxk2aDBNzAqUfn3_zzqS5GaP0cOxwq87ZbGwcuPKjvO_zMO6I0zh2tTQRURZKe58XxsXuJA&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><strong>Don't mess with Moskowitz</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The office of Mayor Bill
de Blasio of New York has announced it has found space for three
charters at the heart of a battle between the new mayor and Eva
Moskowitz, leader of a high-performing charter network. <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVstXOIo1pLLfdeYvo29F2NJA0kapEIHFjWMAmpWEWcpUU20UKIqMKg7P65Cbxxsi_7o5RXhLvoMwlqkqPG75tPVEWakn__BO6vcur5fb4C42dnbxid-xlok16AtkFVfTPSbwhGBjlZThKyWAoxR_LCtvwJeux40AhYBrZIDRQtCfN3D-LiyN3K_JYS5KTG35KMqyyXy-AFZxtBi6g59KnFO2ZZc90qwLubzt1TR1f3Ls=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">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(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVYickZw1kc-HrxJfbdPCeZwEYCai1tR3keZ4OIy-M_NvuFOsgUhG1NngR69wt-JUfxzxj__gVTq7RWQyna8fssoiLNiIMSgG6l49DQmIqgOJvQJtw59hkaKQ6_6ru6lWuqqxOa8PTtgGIsdyQa8u_DhYA_WEeXeG_HFrTyCExFYBl_Eh7r7F95Q==&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">ASM Materials Education Foundation: Living in a Material World Grants</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The ASM Materials
Education Foundation "Living in a Material World" grants help teachers
bring the real world of materials science into their classrooms and
recognize teacher creativity. The purpose of these grants is to enhance
awareness of materials science and the role that metals, glasses,
ceramics, semiconductors, and polymers play in our modern world, and
that material scientists play in society. Maximum award: $500.
Eligibility: K-12 teachers. Deadline: May 25, 2014.</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqG6YGDfIhksRPBZhlRQVN2bHz5XYP9z_RTBpf-6r6wZG25Z6PVsIbhl5nq38qWTqXEHhPYUWOCPOHVLsPUV62dEnpWd3dfboAdvXUD-fbUFXWZwZEajIqI6hDgH43giqiTQok6cM6XYcCPTypCArVZsjEqUEIyfpzGHLlvvVVGUQT1E-gGmE2UBpRhLTnE5PnrecgAuiqsDc&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">Dow Jones News Fund: High School Journalism Teacher of the Year</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The DJNF High School
Journalism Teacher of the Year program identifies outstanding high
school journalism teachers. The winning teacher addresses the Journalism
Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association, the
Columbia Scholastic Press Association, <a shape="rect"><span>American Society of News Editors</span></a>,
and college journalism educators. Maximum award: a laptop computer;
travel and lodging expenses and a per diem for substitute teacher fees
for address and seminar; a quarterly column for the fund's newspaper,
Adviser Update; and attendance at a seminar at the Poynter Institute for
Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. A senior student at the winning
teacher's school will receive a $1,000 college scholarship to major in
news-editorial journalism based on his or her performance in a writing
contest held at school. Eligibility: high school journalism teachers
with at least three years' experience who have done exemplary work in
the 2013-2014 academic year. Deadline: July 9, 2014.</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVHy3FU99yCQCDHbhYQnHCl6Fn9bRMJzthDq6v_N9gjIp3RIFa9g68fMFDb-CgvlS9FgSVtW1w4TDgs2hjRP_3_KHMpO2hs9ip5qLeRFolksUxfBc7zEPSobfGbUjVFazUAhYDSATn98IhPEwmw0pINPTr5DlM2Gr6YJGb4q-kQwg=&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">Public Welfare Foundation: Grants for Organizations that Serve Disadvantaged Communities</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Public Welfare
Foundation supports organizations that address human needs in
disadvantaged communities, with strong emphasis on organizations that
include service, advocacy, and empowerment in their approach: service
that remedies specific problems; advocacy that addresses those problems
in a systemic way through changes in public policy; and strategies to
empower people in need to play leading roles in achieving those policy
changes and in remedying specific problems. The foundation provides both
general support and project-specific grants. The foundation is
currently focusing on criminal and juvenile justice, and workers'
rights. Maximum award: $50,000. Eligibility: public and private
entities, including nonprofit organizations and for-profit
organizations. Deadline: rolling.</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(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqPmrfSYKbhYAXac0UiYiuu7R0En_TNw0Lp-dT76Hspk4WEqMgcxars-owiJG7XYgFAinOADGVcFEFm0xmzARPYqXDx7OD7bhzjWTc6W26DHq-nGFAuMFMQZn9xZWBux6WdCfNaGqYBum&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">American Academy of Pediatrics: CATCH Resident Funds Grants</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">2013 CATCH Resident
Funds grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for pediatric
residents to plan community-based child health initiatives. CATCH
Resident Funds projects must include planning activities, but also may
include some implementation activities. Maximum award: $3,000.
Eligibility: pediatric residents working with their communities.
Deadline: July 31, 2014.</div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>QUOTE OF THE WEEK:</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">"The teacher tapped me
on the shoulder and said she had a problem with what I was wearing. I
thought it was because of the hat or the leather jacket, and I was like,
'Well I'll take those off,' and she was like, 'No, it's the pants.'" --
<a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(238, 86, 36); text-decoration: none;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001l5U-ktCkJB8h1p-bBlguDW_umpDVnoVOFBmVT9LgUIn9BOS2jDYuqLsy__GCeQYVSyRRrtKS8BsqocRsFDVM8hAIvByYgTkb3t-ybfDYZwYyzZIl2wsUYoDky9v7oGSDrnsRSbajDvX_tc3Mvg0DYU4vgPlm0tP6iQ0AqKmL1ZAXILmowaoJVi6xTeHPf4_L4kndjfFUGwIVkK3pYFAcf21TSG7Aci1Vyq2mHfO4JqharXhfpdE0Ya7nQbT1KOqO4t6immZj3gZVPLQXeqKrRkQqgBA434K3XvIkyOrhx0eIPqXWQDaipkTNQqIcJz3p&c=S0ctJjW87JIZstexPmW5Ok8MUxywcMeU60U3sr_nccFwTkAI3xe8Yg==&ch=PYjIJRxgg3kV97p1X2sNGZ6-eBvQLGLWrK9DzJlHObxUnMCqsjz4AA==">Shafer Rupard</a>, of Cherryville High in North Carolina, who was kicked out of her senior prom for wearing pants.</div>
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