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<div>October 21, 2014 - In This Issue:</div>
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<tbody><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK17">Change for Newark now (again)</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK45">Reform isn't rocket science</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44">Still widgets, five years on</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK43">'Nice' and racist</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK42">What 'close reading' is, and isn't</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK53">Leveled reading evolves</a></div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK55">D.C.'s vouchers by the numbers</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK54">Testing relief gains steam</a></div>
</td></tr><tr><td style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&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;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&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;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;border-bottom:2px dotted #8c8d8d;border-color:#8c8d8d;padding:7px 0px 7px 0px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38798-516/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27700450&seq=1&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 style="display: table;" id="aolmail_content_LETTER.BLOCK17" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;padding:8px 25px 9px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Change for Newark now (again)</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Nearly 20 years after
the New Jersey Department of Education took control of Newark's schools,
it's clear the state has failed to improve them, writes former Newark
teacher and current Mayor Ras Baraka in The New York Times. Thanks to
state control, Baraka says, Newark has been a laboratory for top-down
reforms, with persistent lack of consultation and consent. Court-ordered
remedies have been eroded or ignored; a $6 billion construction program
never materialized; and successive initiatives have come and gone.
Little of Mark Zuckerberg's donated $100 million has gone directly to
schools; instead, the first $1.3 million was directed to poorly
conducted community outreach. Another $100 million, including Zuckerberg
funds, went to teacher merit pay. Still, last year, the district ran a
$57 million deficit. Baraka feels reforms should ensure every 3- or
4-year-old child is enrolled in a structured learning environment, and
that all teachers get staff development and training. Educators must
share best practices, and class sizes must be manageable. If necessary,
more than one teacher should teach a classroom, especially kindergarten
to third grade. Baraka recommends a transition to local control through a
short-term transfer of authority to the mayor (himself). He would then
appoint a new superintendent, and once "basic functions" were restored,
would move return control to an elected school board with full powers. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgenMC3GZ6B_lGbpehLWWQH34FpJdw4CdPNHIxNCGAUfHDhDzrUNh9krVwgZo-bViq_594a883RND1XdpKhncFmDjwRAt7v6geq6usOsvOWXb7djJepmtzxBm9C-0GEUEYngzemUIX_5pv0IwZ5Dm8x8jx49u7UM8Oc9ToitT6TGh2Smn9Fg5zsyJ-bf3AhSd-eeID77-d0Z8tFdRpjgm1w5XZgK9sEuSi2rJFlpUfnrossyk0sFu3Em6Bzi42qrcSB-fRgFlgsUykbvuE4hMy67mcBLaiEMuiOqrXoBLLJ5GmURy1NdCHlJfuzkqBe5ctvhD8_0_Z36qZSa2WJDkf35mmaInUSXf-CmqGFS23gCBD_5taWx8en9I6OMhbu-pBePZd7_tMxQrM=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
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<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">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Reform isn't rocket science</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Why does so much reform
produce so little change? asks Jack Schneider in a post on the Answer
Sheet blog in The Washington Post. His answer is that most observers see
fixing schools as more like baking brownies than launching a rocket:
"Mix one good teacher with a solid curriculum; stir in a few books; add a
pinch of snazzy technology; and bake for 180 days." What could be so
hard? But unlike working educators, most leaders of reform have never
taught a five-period day, felt the joy of an unquantifiable classroom
victory, lost instructional time to a standardized test, or been
evaluated by a computer. And unlike students targeted by reform, most
policy elites have not gone to school hungry, struggled to understand
English, battled low expectations, or feared for their personal safety
on the walk home. Because reformers believe school reform is simple,
they are untroubled by their lack of familiarity with educational
research, test construction, cut scores, or measurement error. Most are
not versed in literature on cognition, memory, or motivation. And most
have never understood schools from an anthropological or historical
perspective. Most issues facing public education are dilemmas rather
than problems, Schneider says, the difference being that whereas
problems can be solved, dilemmas can only be managed. Educating kids
isn't rocket science. It's harder. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeqd17yA3XDYwZ0XaqEsqZG3b1YmogB5RqAm52deaa4FgRoPMG32z4a1azSEEtE6z61KKpoQ6KCAVVNy8rlK6buWsE9R6bIJ2hYk2Sy-Qjg4WJ-kxhcM5XChe9Ihk_4s_9ZrCEjes-z3ZpB9APF5oTyIfWo-NnqN2JsWq5-WaNh6h7LtsYFRWTOFwpHi5S-EBeC1PLyCAyfOw4fk0UDoCmZ8ic-yDaHlSmpxQMlH0IqFZ3voEokIlH2Q==&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
</td></tr></tbody></table><a name="aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44"></a><table id="aolmail_content_LETTER.BLOCK44" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;padding:8px 25px 9px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Still widgets, five years on</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Over the last five
years, in the wake of TNTP's The Widget Effect, Tim Daly writes that
many states and districts have designed new teacher-evaluation systems,
but fewer have fully implemented them, or implemented them well. A
higher number of classroom observations per year doesn't ensure
principals are actually giving teachers accurate, useful feedback. A
certain percentage of evaluations from student-learning measures doesn't
solve the matter of measuring teachers in non-tested grades and
subjects. And establishing more rigorous expectations for teachers
doesn't magically eliminate rating inflation. Daly says the consensus
around evaluating with multiple measures should be celebrated. Yet in
most schools, principals and other observers still fail to evaluate
accurately and with rigor. Even observation rubrics specifically
designed to better distinguish teacher performance have produced the
same old results, rating every teacher "good" or "great." Daly urges
rubrics be shrunk to four or five components, all focused squarely on
how students respond to instruction. These can capture differences in
teacher performance as well as longer rubrics, minus the confusion. He
also says state and district leaders must persist through the anxiety
and resistance that comes along with any big change, and carry out the
process of revising the culture. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlge47gq9TWP2cmD5-xWmrrAadZmMmFf98Bh9wcmf1d3lopLgUKYhzhjnMCDlM30a9Hdgz0s0igN07xyFwXpPEklVUkevVhpxft0ZD8a8vsPvLiSatV5xJsaRezqas1s6tNEcC1kwYfvqOtydpWnehs5TVYim8nyERNtQZ5dSavtOAY1wIKQS_-k6vumsU1Vc58BuZYyNTPCBqeZ71xEG2x0WA==&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
</td></tr></tbody></table><a name="aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK43"></a><table id="aolmail_content_LETTER.BLOCK43" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;padding:8px 25px 9px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>'Nice' and racist</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">In a review in Teachers
College Record of Angela Castano's Educated in Whiteness: Good
Intentions and Diversity in Schools, Lisa Mazzei writes that Castano
critiques how educator engagements with race have become inconspicuous,
normal, and "nice." The book problematizes discourses of race in U.S.
schools, and illustrates how well-intentioned diversity-related
practices solidify inequity and reinscribe whiteness as the norm.
Castagno attributes some of these policies and actions to a desire by
educators to be seen as fair and to treat everyone equally.
Counterintuitively, this fails to account for difference and leads to
inequitable practices. The effects of race-related silences -- use of
language coded for racial meaning, explicit ignoring of students' race
talk, and active silencing of students around issues of race -- are
often anything but nice. They may be considered nice for those who wish
to resist confrontation, but they affirm racist attitudes. Mazzei writes
that in her work with preservice teachers, mostly white and mostly
female, these young women have been taught, both at home and in school,
to be "good girls." True equity will not arrive as long as teachers --
especially "nice" white teachers -- remain unaware of socially
constructed attitudes and fail to see that an examination of whiteness
has a place in racial discourse. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlge2rBWk51wO2BdCf6G0WnkhaV2wEuxEB3ttg8No2FjlRaIzvJ5Jhy8MIQlQcEKJFDj7ZIAskk6eAIk2LioQBvhcL2Gfq4B2P6B-2nNDdDG4MAhW9HjiUD9C156v-LT0oJviJTBKhHM7gjgjsdGR_EXLQ==&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>What 'close reading' is, and isn't</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Every good teaching idea
becomes a bad idea the moment it hardens into orthodoxy, writes Robert
Pondiscio on the Thomas B. Fordham Institute website. The latest example
is "close reading," he says. The Common Core expects students to "read
closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical
inferences from it" and "cite specific textual evidence when writing or
speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text." Sounds simple,
even obvious. Yet Pondiscio says some of the guidance for teachers is
"frankly, terrible." Close reading is not a workaround for lack of
student background knowledge and vocabulary; it's a way of engaging kids
in challenging works that stretch their abilities. This requires
supporting students through multiple readings, providing vocabulary,
working in pairs or groups, and posing questions designed to elicit
understanding. Close reading means not giving students a steady diet of
dumbed-down, content-free books at their "just right" reading level. It
also means something different in different classes: Historians read
differently than literary critics. Pondiscio sees little to be gained in
a close reading of "any ol' text as long as it's sufficiently
difficult." The works we put in front of kids should be worth the time
it takes to read them repeatedly and thoughtfully. If the work isn't
stimulating, it's unlikely to stick. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlge0SuH-Ylo9B0ROFNDdAaxJHFXpJ3DNherJBxIh_xi9_6eAOIU43Bm_912fMGBEsLPoeB5fZ4Ph0nKKSI9fuFMvHlt_chZo6NJ97Z97z8sgsepOuBPG14XVHuyUCVCVEtEKH4D_IPuG0IGsZYGxzZ6CCXY-dqpD25nzmKJaYsLYL8=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
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<a name="aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK53"></a><table id="aolmail_content_LETTER.BLOCK53" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="color:#454545;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;padding:8px 25px 9px 25px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1" align="left" valign="top">
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Leveled reading evolves</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Technology is changing
the long-established practice of adjusting text difficulty to suit a
reader's ability, writes Annie Murphy Paul in The Hechinger Report.
"Leveling" was introduced in 1946 by reading specialist Emmett Betts,
who instructed teachers to assign texts students could read with
relative ease, and to avoid "frustration-level texts." New,
technology-based leveling tools are enabling all students in a class to
read the same story but at varying levels of complexity. They also make
leveling more discreet, preventing students from being teased or
stigmatized, and students can dial up or down their reading level
themselves, which supports awareness of their own abilities. Digital
reading programs also offer "formative assessments," another advantage
over paper and ink. But these digital improvements on traditional
leveling arrive just as the practice itself is facing criticism. Critics
say it's better to ask all students to tackle texts appropriate to
their grade level, with teachers helping where necessary; this approach
is advocated by the Common Core. However, everyone agrees that students
must read frequently on their own, and independent reading calls for
not-too-easy, not-too-hard selections -- in other words, leveled
reading. Both sides also concur that students should wrestle with
challenging texts, but in the classroom, where teachers can head off
discouragement. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeFDTJUgPviScGerycFtGOKzg-TVOWmgx9j0gLMmjUdEzNiubjlkl03FOiNZEXQFszyJ93dhA-NydqXQfOhwlGkE7EDxY6DUh_6x6LAhacu3XNUl19Bo5y9hsLj2hWblrSIkHyQVKJVC9rMqrj8dT565Sv6h-0EZd395YnwNhQD4_8t9DHzZh6t-GApral4QEUn091h9u-hwqlK3y06qrj4QIi_EI3X7TZ&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>D.C.'s vouchers by the numbers</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new report from the
Institute of Education Sciences examines the District of Columbia
Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), which provides tuition vouchers
to low-income children for private schools; it is the only voucher
program created and funded by U.S. Congress. The report focuses on
implementation of OSP since reauthorization under the Scholarships for
Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act of 2011, which expanded scholarship
amount, prioritized types of student recipients, and redrafted
accountability requirements. The report finds about half of all D.C.
private schools participate. These are more likely now than in the past
to have tuitions above scholarship amounts; to serve grades 9-12; and to
have less diverse student populations. Compared to district schools,
participating schools are smaller, serve a higher share of white
students, and are clustered in affluent neighborhoods. OSP applicants
represent fewer than 5 percent of eligible D.C. students (in a household
with an annual household income within 185 percent of the 2011 federal
poverty level -- $34,281 for a family of three, $41,348 for a family of
four). Applicants are less likely to have attended low-performing
schools than all students potentially eligible for the program, but as
likely to have attended a charter. Most OSP applicants live in the
lowest-income neighborhoods. Older students, and those from
disadvantaged schools and families, use the scholarship at lower rates
than others. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgehH_lZ9Vz1lpJl3mn4PZgrCYlAKtZK_1jz3R_Wm330dFUmO0-9UgNHnLyVOUQ3JSzz5R3H21jba3Guy9fXCGpfnlLKtuiD4bVQ-xiMnl_haufE_8pAU0-ynachHqWjh6q2ZsJrhEy0kwUfcKcxTD-WlAI4UOQ1KXl&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Testing relief gains steam </strong> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A movement to limit
federally mandated tests is gaining momentum as the Obama administration
draws to a close, writes Alyson Klein in Education Week. Proposals
include legislation in Congress backed by teachers' unions that would
allow summative tests in math and English/language arts only in certain
grade spans. New Hampshire and the U.S. Department of Education are
discussing establishing a pilot that would administer summative
assessments only in certain grades, provided districts offer other
"competency-based" tests to gauge student mastery. The Council of Chief
State School Officers has proposed a similar program. And in
Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy is pursuing "a dialogue" between the
Obama administration and his state on ways to "reduce the testing
burden," such as allowing 11th graders to take the SAT in lieu of a high
school exam aligned with the Common Core State Standards. A bill
introduced in March by Reps. Chris Gibson, R-N.Y. and Kyrsten Sinema,
D-Ariz. would let states test students in certain grade spans, reducing
mandated tests from 14 to six. And a bill by Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y.
would require students in grades 3 through 8 to take just one test per
year instead of two. Recently, former President Bill Clinton said he
favored fewer tests -- perhaps once in elementary school, once in middle
school, and once in high school. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeRGqIxckPvK6FEJ6p4S5BjUSOn8gNl3KEhphT8M-Ap21v5dJyDnKxEtMVOHBtVvFzUNikj9srLql5bYtIcrsPobHnPih--L_A3DQp6D9iBjQOhoPCNBUfKXkx1bVBHvI-_tIv8Nms5H3nKc0vLAfjJYNMgypeR7ixFlnhMrXrynU=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<span><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgesW3MKyCLmDuMzaQMXY9neVjGmAG4zxaZUDcH4WsnZ-U6CbOqMmi4gvmTyavLwUi-QRzbD7LIaNeipBPBo9jnK7y-_g0ACOoxub2UVE5jtQHBIkA5WqS8ofZs3s7buGsct-P2AR-JYjsj-8JD6z6yRu0uVpQQd6tKYw7DlYqGxMRqIbyrLd5FFSQjAu1L2vnMo6aQWkhYQZylQStMiOKGJgqjvhWNm7K-I7zz9z9Yp6Bd_08nl31oUVIQsBvsqHL2&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">Related:</a></span><br>
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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;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>And so it ends</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">John E. Deasy,
superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, has resigned
after reaching an agreement with the city's school board that ended his
tumultuous three-and-a-half-year tenure. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeWeJ9tZAz8dcOIoSy3C3qD7WA8HH4A-VhMjXhGtXo2MPWRMvub_xWaMfTgj-0OG1dOf7KmEoNu3Z12_-xo2Pv5xMXgBE1RYFUICwplRncWqaNlXmfDQTKNFSLBF8EdaBMUK6fbyn1X0P702_hHmEi7rM5ZRJheTuIIxHXY_gLvxSdZ94RYDtSuc7iFHwXaUCkhLvkfy7ZGzVf32HP-gOXDFiw8Ky-x_MX0cZfQsoAuHn9Cr3QhuhiLKpyV_KY1kn9J1Y9lo28WWbHOmhWJ4ZB0IF8v1RPTTtTMfNueA_gr8lR4r0s3G6QXH-nu0BFkpoVsDSERiGtQZiLYATXx_8CrdYLMH1Q15lS&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>A 'crescendo of spending'</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Independent groups
backing the two candidates for California superintendent of public
instruction have reloaded the campaigns with millions of dollars in
contributions as the race heads toward November 4. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeYFulCOd9HLnaBzHm5a6K63VSMV7likiHIF5Jf5RZJV4DlfurkOkndq81cGWy80B_k9yTS4dX--ax7MSyzTIZK20wJFBxqwmnRe8Yj8AvUXUbZGfh-ZyH1XwHre6uTbHmdz5YklzrzR46w9PqPQcbA9b5XRtJ-UjrT0xNwVo_WORL-UaVtytb_zo-c6BRH1Cy7K5SaymwIO8=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Fiasco, redux</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Los Angeles Unified
School District's student information system, which cost more than $130
million, has become a "technological disaster," according to The Los
Angeles Times. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeFXJrJItOmr2XdP8dWlFTUVa-lWums5s9YEOsMSrzk_lvt9Nl4YSZbQTrEPTNkkAP4oI5UaqiUYtLMoIw4GCsage3DVB42ac_9vI48ECUOj_PoWC0s5ztomjlbFJQ_kS5Rv9n-rqI7CEnz1PwaKCUBs3iv3K0IkgLnpyNot_VHjhdSA97-Izqa-ue_Mm8bWiap7eUC_WXs4Q=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Good money after bad</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Los Angeles Unified
board has approved the purchase of 3,340 computers costing $3.6 million
for school sites struggling to properly schedule classes, take
attendance, and track student needs in a new data system. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeDHz22efFqbugKF4Aw2Og0wnPNxi9SaoXjnr9U6kGNSNrI4JUWDZ6eRgMLRbk5MITf9foJSFZJXHBx07eMHdVGZK0-O4vBWREPh6zMKY179kr8dTSRNTg3gk8CTyC8XZ5yh4iKs8F_ZORiFBbsvh7SNAgUtXwcopFbob7DbC81N_zjeVBi-Qy0eiQ1qDt2Ej5vLP1QdUjMPWrdhVkq_1wBufnnuClAlLfTm5gV60rfzc=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">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;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Thinking systemically (we hope)</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Education Department
has allotted $8.7 million to a new Center for Systemic Improvement,
which will replace the old regional resource centers that provided
special education assistance to states. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeoUuN70CGh4yhk06u5D6ygO-H1KstKFAvLi1Cc5SmKVkPq8vchaBX7RK_DC49LDzg9-yZ1LSVQWVHq8Jy0znPvfLRT7UHmKCGzz-6gGK03Fe5gTDTcMpnbJckkgibAXAGT3J-XIYARR1cmS4AOTaDnakRqD83N0v7-_Ugp9hcrYABk_LPLZMbfPoTBtxDpVGC&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Altered course</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Three years after a New
York Times exposé, the corporation K12 appears to be taking a step away
from virtual charter school operation -- not because of critics'
continuing complaints, but because virtual charters are no longer the
lucrative or growing business they once were.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlge-6VId9OFs00DCHSogc67lYiy2ES7JrM-BeqjwYm707sits4LDbKxoz8Ka9KRLJb0QJ5ZQJB6X-iWSK8kT4dpD9mB9iiZxzYolUxoQFTMEuzaJJ8YHkEGYf-HTE17sG7vWjn6caO4lAC_uslOVhjloKqjGTKGyGBHA3TY0fkd_1SHMphqVSUkBkXTGWL8p0DPF52u0H8lS4eF5CDxGPdR3BoOKcwJ8luazL9og17SLR0=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Come what may</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Portland, Oregon
School Board has voted not to set state-mandated achievement targets in
three subject areas linked to the state's new Common Core-aligned tests.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlge1ubj1oOnXIZWXmrwql5pVinAoFtNpK-7qo2vBNKFEwgHtQIABDUGaovAosNC9vo97nyITcl9sZ6dgpPZZQ49e9kqBWMVtuPmFNUOnBw-f4dX3iheTR_VqUt_y9AbMOiIQTBNnGjXiJMmz28qyoBv5olG69weqjKloujnnkm_numYKkTNkBCc_lgDguzKpH6YQ5i5qp8c-_s=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Not making the grade</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Indiana Board of
Education members have shelved a planned release of A to F grades for
all Indiana schools after a sharp debate which included criticism of
whether state Superintendent Glenda Ritz and her lieutenants properly
screened the data for errors.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeXxyrLXI0kynCOvDFnH9ziEtSPiFyQbGWApodyDvbjz0OJm_T4LL0QyP-WIJEOY3zFsSs1j2YEQFnLIYne-TIqNBp55D4kvj6xzqOAVuCW1C5DIX28czPOd9yx6L6JOODVe6-uKQItYZPbrSqL5EUO5IlRTGUoMR8yduL272RbSSTTVW_zr9uVz58agNRXI1j1n38-P0yxTr9kPC7fGKnaQ==&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Oh, so now he wants federal input</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A dispute over the
Common Core education standards won't sideline Louisiana's application
for up to $15 million in federal grant money for pre-kindergarten
programs.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeO00pABae9B7KT_pLuVcC8lTyQO9qM2wkI4RkTCEcf-FFVsHiCSfwbqQ83_5tifvkv-ksXGWyogAxd1FR5JKydzFQ5Hw9xXVAe4jKXYakJBFixfpIpYh0mAAcRLxUIu5WJQUJUzTXTfHfGtA54ITwqvHfz8FPUzK2qOmnrw8-q6CqJ7vmMLwyI0VQ_JuZ-8pPWcSPZrAx1vph2MWHYgYrPkhI2-WO5eizJWGPVLDPeghmdY8BLK3IC9dbbRvfAB2zTQ3b-RKKOlg=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Better spent elsewhere</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Over the past 10 years,
Wisconsin taxpayers have paid $139 million to private schools that were
subsequently barred from the state's voucher system for failing to meet
requirements related to finances, accreditation, student safety, and
auditing.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeKqSCzjga9NOG3OxeV9vlNboa2wf-CfUNwEnB3LXgOQbFpvSMxrowlg-AX8kAmWKrGm7BfmgYG32yqK1VM7SrmjzaSVRNZJ8NLxjwbd7mSFyqXWQQa9g_gdfMyI_teYcfTeZGDtp6KO1vh-gwMRGbMP3L2wlULZ22NGZMJzIZr21MKtqF07iXEiLPs6kMZ0Tzgc49fj5Thn4Qp4_ELuhuiLskwqIXNEioXqY8ul3xbNGb-zYDVz2kmqX0axyMp6LCvOo0Okro30GIeQAsq8ojVcFI0jtsjkG88uqpewVCJWRjrO0xcVsLN8eufXKRsJlz7_fAAL_nmkpoVTv3w6zqt6g27vh_frgQ&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==" shape="rect">More</a></span></div>
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<div><br>
<div style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES</b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition: The Trust Challenge</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Successful applicants to
the MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition Trust
Challenge will develop digital tools -- apps, badge systems, data
management platforms, online learning content, etc. -- that engender
trust, safety, and privacy in connected learning environments, and that
empower learners to connect and learn anywhere, anytime in ways that are
equitable, social, participatory, and interest-driven. Maximum award:
$150,000. Eligibility: organizations and institutions anywhere in the
world that serve as laboratories where challenges to trust for youth in
connected learning environments can be identified and addressed;
applicants may be affiliated with any institution, organization or
entity that has legal status to operate, regardless of its size or the
sector in which it operates. Deadline: November 3, 2014. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgepgDvgmFyZQbWXf3JaLmXdmOR2GttH8OV2eioQ0ZQbyKpwtszMxqb3ZLu6hZiFcgLwqtCZ31kloZcWX1ep8QJ3nuocHisX-iKEQxpp_OVTF9u6_nbB98Hlay8NIUw0GBP&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>U.S. Dept of Energy Office of Science: Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Albert Einstein
Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program provides a unique opportunity
for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics to serve in the national education arena.
Fellows spend 11 months working in a federal agency or U.S.
Congressional office, bringing their extensive knowledge and experience
in the classroom to education program and/or education policy efforts.
Maximum award: 11-month fellowship. Eligibility: U.S. citizens with a
minimum of five years full-time classroom teaching experience who have
been teaching full-time in a public or private elementary or secondary
school for at least five of the last seven years in a science,
technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline and are
currently employed full-time in a public or private elementary or
secondary school or district in the U.S. Deadline: November 20, 2014. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlgeix5VHaRPDVUvsHCTLEomew6BmVJoz6VrhmQ022ibi_NpoYHrtJgdh5ABdRm_F77j9FKE05CXw9-SZyo7WkbxF6cljjSX03hY6FlOz_HxfrLpJutVFbsRAtcXR5iRedqCurAVo5LGBKk=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 12pt; color: #ff6600;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Quote of the Week:</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"Deasy
wasn't careful enough to avoid the perception that he enjoyed using the
sledgehammer. He fought for things he really believed in, which is
fine, but he wasn't careful about how it would be perceived by the
people who have to teach our kids everyday." </span><strong style="color: #ff6600; font-size: 10pt;">-- LA School Board Member Steve Zimmer. </strong><strong style="color: #ff6600; font-size: 10pt;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00154qIN37UM-VnC9NsGkhF6tocg5E-dj3swLuWwVBBRkDfSVi0V4UZPSs4dqdchlge-9kQuww_e8Le7BYKThPywslEnY3RnFGzBupq3vloq5Fr4RRB6n5MyZTmOed_Xwu8GzY4CbrA7I6F-_cKVubkwDURGrpBdtDJ-z1-lbPAMXliw9ZJqmNPVQcys9i2ZnYSwpw9u5zWZwpklxljKBBVet7yOFWBDJTMw5SBsLGgPqo1CTOO-NZtRlxCKGzZJwas_58xk4VOVjj5B6kx5WPU8zB5hI-NsTaQnUax9cMmurw=&c=c_DB-gA_RMjCkAIq85GVFdywN3co7vms7BNwkpM7rSO1D1e8XSDsgA==&ch=4pVwCN6ZR6_8SYXLzZ-g0f5jdHuSu3Ihik79IBl-6_MDx-VUpNouew==">More</a></strong></div>
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