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<div>December 16, 2014 - In This Issue:</div>
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<div><a style="color:#ee5624;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;font-size:10pt;" shape="rect" href="https://mail.aol.com/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK17">Mission impossible</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/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK45">Funding in 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/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK44">A triumph in redesign</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/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK43">An all-encompassing tool for expanded learning time</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/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK42">Educating young offenders</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/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK53">Adverse childhood experiences</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/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK54">Stereotypes, gender, race, and discipline</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/38865-418/cs_com-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=NewMail&uid=27725130&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_LETTER.BLOCK67">Another country</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>Mission impossible</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">What burned teacher
Ellie Herman out after five years, she relates on the Answer Sheet blog
in The Washington Post, was a photocopier dubbed "La Bestia" in her
low-income high school in Los Angeles. Herman, decades-long TV
writer/producer for shows like "Desperate Housewives," "Chicago Hope,"
and "Newhart," switched in 2007 to teaching Drama, Creative
Writing, English 11, and 9th-grade Composition at a South Los Angeles
charter that was 97 percent Latino and where 96 percent lived below the
poverty line. "The day I definitively and conclusively gave up, it was
after six o'clock and I was making 100 copies of 11 different scenes for
my Drama class. I'd been at work since before 7 a.m.; it was dark when I
arrived at school and dark now," Herman writes. A self-professed
workaholic, she found that in teaching, "no matter how fast or long I
worked, I could not get everything done... Everything felt like an
emergency." On that particular day, La Bestia jammed mid-job and Herman,
"just stood there. All I could think was: 'I can't live this way'." She
did not renew her contract. When teachers in other countries aren't in
front of students, they plan curricula, grade papers, call parents,
conference with students, create assignments, meet with other teachers,
innovate, and learn. In the U.S., Herman says, public school teachers
get no time to do the other half of their job. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSoyF6A-Fu70sGbf7ZGyTWAvAr75efnl2qRgH5nEqttYXENzM39zpJF7wmFCacP7ygCMhvyJc6jN1X5iMZqaHkP1-YQCC4DGO_JVJ8GdGYpQhFdpBiLqt-joIcUcVWFCcFuybvnQQAKwV3pEtLB4O1Cfi55OXb3WvNSkqbQE49owrpLE-jAmV_qeHLWoCW2QjhSmbJ6DDWacLQtRe6WsdmUsjsJWG4Pgp-AedsliMYYG-PSvqh8gC3nw==&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">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>Funding in California</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">In an effort to fund its
schools more efficiently and effectively, California has chosen a
lead-from-behind approach that gives more state money to districts but
pushes communities to hold local schools accountable for how this aid is
used, writes Andrew Ujifusa in Education Week. In practice, the process
varies widely, as districts throughout California put the Local Control
Funding Formula and locally driven accountability plans into full
effect. Supporters say the system eliminates the state's ineffective
dominance over K-12 spending, and argue it empowers diversity in the
state's approximately 1,000 districts and 11,000 public schools. Local
officials say it will still take several years for state aid to match
what it was before the Great Recession. It's not clear whether districts
are using increased funds to explore new approaches to instruction or
simply rebuilding programs and staff positions. Some worry districts
that continue to shortchange struggling students won't be identified
often enough or be required to restructure. In shifting to this system,
the state eliminated most categorical programs it used to fund and
control. Regardless, updated budget projections from the California
Legislative Analyst's Office show that $2 billion in unexpected state
tax revenue in fiscal 2015 may be made available to public schools. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS2hPvEoNgK1wOUA1Xvnp38aUBrBX8wOVrgA9T-bvONSe0r3a4Em9zHrugHCCLpjzAW8GFipuO53VLd718w69hYrqAN3oL0Ajv09repAaw1OQlQIb0mxou9ewsTMxeFgjUunbYc1hQ9_R2Q0v_wmljghlJ9pvD5qhivxs6NSN2LyICWo0fWUTbOA==&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">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; color: #ff6600; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>A triumph in redesign</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">In a profile of
Guilmette Elementary School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Jennifer Davis
writes in The Hechinger Report that Principal Lori Butterfield didn't
want to boost literacy and math scores at the cost of everything else.
Lawrence Receiver Jeff Riley gave district principals "charter-like"
autonomies, including control over budgets, curricula, schedule,
professional development, and how much time (200 or 300 hours) to add to
a full school year (contracts approved by the union). Expanded time,
and a year to plan for it, proved critical for Guilmette, writes Davis.
Instructional priorities included reading comprehension, experiential
learning, and teacher collaboration. Guilmette now runs from 7:30 a.m.
to 3:35 p.m. To ensure all students are on track, the schedule
incorporates a Learning Lab where students receive targeted
interventions from instructional coaches and special education teachers.
Other students take part in accelerated studies, like small debate
teams or higher math-skills groups. Teachers regularly review student
data. In 2014, after one year with a redesigned schedule, 46 percent of
Guilmette's third- and fourth-graders were proficient in reading, a
ten-point increase over 2013. Sixty-three percent of third- and
fourth-graders were proficient in math, a five-point bump over 2013 --
and 22 points higher than 2012 -- outperforming the state by three
points. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS7gPMIfMStFHrk18GWO7ypRVCdNsA0SEJGzPPkWNjP9DvmsuGIinHcyNK24djZU-4aDt49-NPJVVS-tjqnJFDJgObwE4HmqbbMvvHF50FMKtdURD1XGc9FEAqAyT6ztbCSCMz1mMploxpJ2STC6BEpFxJ3ZyAgDh6GHOCmh4CkIqEL2HCF7N_edSIyqlpFU0EewkfsNdroXMJURrezBd1re39pm7H7UL6&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">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>An all-encompassing tool for expanded learning time</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Annenberg Institute
for School Reform (AISR) has released a web-based tool for school and
district leaders, reform support partners, researchers, and community
organizations around effectively measuring the process and impact of
expanded and re-imagined learning time. The tool offers a range of
measures beyond standardized test scores that encompass the entire
context surrounding educational improvement -- academic research, data
tools, videos, etc. -- on indicators such as teacher leadership; engaged
student learning; and student, family, and community engagement. The
project was undertaken with the goal of making research accessible to
those around the country working to create equitable education systems,
according to Michelle Renée of AISR. "After we created our initial
framework of 24 indicators, our partners had more questions: Does
research support these measures? Have any data already been collected on
more challenging measures such as social and emotional growth?" The
site's resources aim to provide a deeper understanding of how more and
better learning time can influence students' lives, school policy, and
the systems surrounding schools. The project is part of the Ford
Foundation's more and better learning time initiative, which seeks to
reinvent urban public schools by adding and improving learning time to
ensure that students are prepared for college, career, and civic
participation. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWl8Xb-K6TBWAhkaS6jubIgXdMyAE7S9XDNMOd5zdqP-gmz_gjVUnY8sAjqT7gj6197Yt7O17OXASXlJd0bu5FdRarhbJgNSM5WynSabqYJmavsvAWploeluq2w6xtdS6Pw==&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Educating young offenders</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">U.S. Education Secretary
Arne Duncan and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. have released
guidelines for improving education for youth in the nation's juvenile
detention centers, reports Moriah Balingit for The Washington Post. An
estimated 60,000 young people are in custody nationally on any given
day, many already behind in school; poor schooling in custody puts them
further behind. A Washington Post investigation last month detailed how
incarcerated juveniles on Native American reservations languish in
facilities without instruction. The new guidance clarifies education
rights of juvenile offenders, indicating they have many of the same
rights to special education as their peers. The guidelines do not create
new policy, nor expand federal authority to enforce provisions, but
advocates see their issuance as a sign that federal authorities are
taking the education of incarcerated youth seriously. The guidelines
also clarify that some incarcerated juveniles are eligible for Pell
grants, which have helped millions of poor students attend college, and
could enable young offenders to take college classes in custody. Studies
have shown that inmates who receive a college education are less likely
to re-offend. To incarcerate a juvenile offender costs an average of
$88,000 per year; good schooling could reduce the likelihood that young
people will be arrested again. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>More</strong></span></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Adverse childhood experiences</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A new study in Health
Affairs uses the 2011-12 National Survey of Children's Health to assess
the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among U.S.
children, including exposure to violence, extreme economic hardship,
family discord, and mental health and substance abuse problems. The
authors find nearly one-half of U.S. children have encountered at least
one of nine types of adverse experiences. Over 22 percent (one in five)
had two or more such experiences; these children were more than twice as
likely to have a chronic condition or special health care needs, and
were over 2.5 times more likely to repeat a grade in school. The authors
also found that children who learn resiliency skills -- such as the
capacity to usually stay calm and in control when faced with a challenge
-- had mitigated negative effects and better engagement in
school. Children receiving care in a family-centered medical home were
more likely to demonstrate key aspects of resilience even when exposed
to higher numbers of adverse childhood experiences. The authors
recommend a coordinated effort to fill knowledge gaps and translate
existing knowledge about adverse childhood experiences and resilience
into national, state, and local policies, with a focus on addressing
childhood trauma in health systems as they evolve during ongoing reform.
<a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS2ZyuBVIvkeLtZY2AuIXGPbsmHWufb-_T_Si69kMFIGlQm8UxXy8onW2fS7P6DwFgneE0QfmO5PG9OOwtr6vvE7ygGHXUw47gJlpUKk6DGqQ7y3D6ErrMR1Pj9TDRcJfho1NLKFB4RJvR6l_Yf6TyLzTHm9Y_gLVTzHrP6PmbFcM=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Stereotypes, gender, race, and discipline</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">For all the attention on
the problems black boys face with school discipline and criminal
justice, focus is growing around these issues as they pertain to black
girls, writes Tanzina Vega in The New York Times. Data from the Office
for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education show that from 2011
to 2012, black girls in public elementary and secondary schools
nationwide were suspended at a rate of 12 percent, more than girls of
any other race or ethnicity, and compared with only two percent for
white girls. An analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Surveys
of Youth and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health also
indicates that black girls with the darkest skin tones were three times
more likely to be suspended than black girls with the lightest skin.
Different gender expectations exist for black girls compared with white
girls and within a cross-sections of black girls: "When a darker-skinned
African-American female acts up, there's a certain concern about her
boyish aggressiveness, that she doesn't know her place as a female, as a
woman," says Lance Hannon of Villanova University, who conducted the
analysis. Compared with black boys, who are disciplined at higher rates
than boys of other races and ethnicities, researchers find black girls
are penalized more subjectively, such as for having a bad attitude or
being defiant. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS-Zdw807SbLjt3TtCgdF5GuaDHthbSL1uEgW1OT31-onyiE880isp4IuXPogbip-64Nk_afF-X_D1uJGLJRIp_cgX164k3Lp_mhMVABWVgAlHQNiOJfwA0sDQIYuKsPu9CbeNE1bVgfqaWL5XZzaiKY4POEElcU_jEA5I6WtIbTIqwbuoySVUreA_pcrHg9N0kTDjNGv0ymm0tlRYEef4PcOuPkFyLvSkCobbKkn4iJ17yhUhVzUKHR8BgHk-4Koc&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14pt; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Another country</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Since its birth, the
U.S. has defined itself as egalitarian, fundamentally distinct from the
class-ridden societies of Europe, writes Matt Phillips in Quartz. This
has sometimes been true: On the eve of the American Revolution, income
distribution for American colonists was much better than in England,
slavery aside (if you can put it aside). Yet the U.S. has become
increasingly unequal since the Civil War. For an interval in the 20th
century, parity existed; since the 1980s, inequality has climbed
sharply, and social mobility has plummeted. A poor Moroccan kid in
France is now much more likely to join the middle class than a child
born to a poor family in Mississippi. Many agree that any change must be
driven by the American education system, but this system itself is an
offshoot of an increasingly class-driven society, Phillips writes. Since
the 1950s, the proportion of Americans who are middle-income has
shrunk, with effects spilling over to schools. Some effects stem from
schools themselves: Poorer kids receive lower-quality, poorly financed
instruction. Other issues stem from a low-income monoculture in schools
segregated by class. Perniciously, the effects of socioeconomic and
racial segregation linger in college: Lower-income kids graduate at far
lower rates, further indication of the socioeconomic gulf that keeps
Americans from different class backgrounds living in what are
effectively different countries. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSyuPfXqtT5JUyglZBjTlo8xrH9GtBKIXXjkWVhM3kEbt1mW7yvdYM_NTdv60L33KqKgWWZBxQydQl4iAtbZmQ7_T1kMKePbdHB8u8murzbTeOQbCZhe8bqmGP-T1JNrIbVNywUTdPtbtmdwRzqZoAdjTYsz7Bqzr16mU5oRdyn-o9DcFZXEo0dgEerBBMc1I-&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">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;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Getting there</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Another bill proposing to significantly expand state-funded preschool has been introduced in California. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS5XbNd-P9nOssonNwaA6BwTJXggTnTo8VHuFceW-zMDG0JYjiIcXwld4jZlkN0ZX_yo9CbCygOQXk_jk32mR4cACK1RVgJl3boz4lyWiqrjFPjUdWO8rdEgOzVT9YjsLL6Hm1Ax1minpbf4A4iQJpo6esFbRACI5T_9F122SKIG8M21jR4wcXi67diAMUH6FpSNGscTRaj87KR1vhxNV9FA==&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>So fleeting</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Two-thirds of the
superintendents of California's 30 largest districts have held their
posts for three or fewer years, ten have been in their posts for less
than a year, and only three have been on the job for more than five
years. <span><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS42QPe3FpIuDLp2re39U29IzpLsR-EOD8-xN84qpkoJfOgdG_ZBkDK4DMIEKj6Xxr4YD2sem5AFDNo3vb3c6m0MSMTePHQXDXcvEnPkVLhs3Ky11tYKY830QJkIo4JFGNPfqL7yZXNHW5lD2117mGvXsIgqWjXoJWCQgE3q4fuW3kPXpxW-9bvimgydDXRy_2UbcEG1K3sv4=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Hoboy</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Los Angeles needs to spend at least $11 million more to deal with problems caused by the new and faulty student records system.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSdlwnmGSZQIfKF_qSUkQWP5fyfMrzRM9wRm5pxQVxdQw-bmhWgCbRgkz1tNJ9EElfhfGU8lSAdnhHidjjOJ3QdkgU7it8Uam5gCbQuJiBOQId1yzJWNpRL0i559fuYCzAaijUELczVy8cAZCELLA82Ct5WHr3aRnFqk7fOt340I_RGdWq41axNXQQ-xSURGss23BmYfPlCQY=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Diverse offerings</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The San Francisco school
board voted unanimously to require all of the city's 19 public high
schools to offer ethnic studies courses.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSVu76TqDUx9zokmiVEY_4mPp_SRfdm7Op6mP1JGcLwpXtdhZU4tvauydpqlWxqenTCuDhG3IUrpDInoMOWFYGhRFW1iFt8i3TX0BQ6ye2SSCEsgb_KEWl4qJrWD3xX2LBkC5xCBpHOL7Jx05CaFlfftV2pFH3HhzI2W76l8cx1aSQEtRWa8huAATbmICta67ZDda08NBmqyQ=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Free bird</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Los Angeles Unified has
joined with five other major districts to announce plans to ban the use
of chickens treated with antibiotics in school meals.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSF_cRLQrsn_xYcElYwNXk5lPT4loV1voKhOlZrauPs4sPbDhBwubqnX9CEcHgqpIQxibF6mH8bIbY18N5vM9JkeQVc5XMS3snw8xA2Rx_BMVYxkoNsgVgIiXcSi_XPx56QdqJFUVVNgaoKTWRone9VMAeTmtg7d3DBFAKpCoi8mWErYs88XEzIpkfjrLaAtGu9l1gNq5vtWLH1mnqsL7zWq8vTnVDW8J0&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Arts infusion</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Thirty-three middle
schools that either lack or are grossly deficient in arts instruction
will get a share of a $2.5 million allocation approved by the Los
Angeles Unified School District board.<span> <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSyDljAxJybJ2v8keoRzUiElwRGWwG-dpSgo6OwIAnwSzNBoYaFryExmcesIeqfJqo9jSEiXTa1t1o4YL_9nqwWYuLdoefZTMTGhITfWbFcyCsfOlzPhVTv26wsYq1x-zRdVKqf1CmhP6W4i9d95rhV9s3RVHlRBX5MnNbycAJqGQvkDQ1TP4q388SvTcBCaU_cO6LiaFj-Zc3gBKGZjMvRPcZx-h5UXrLpM1_DS-msQk=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></span></div>
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<div><b>BRIEFLY NOTED </b></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ee5624;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Right on</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Declaring early
childhood education "one of the best investments we can make," President
Barack Obama has announced $1 billion in public-private spending on
programs for young learners. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSJSM5pqxPl5qSiWpXXDQc4TtglIj2EgGTrAPJen3tNvj105WiSvSYjegtT44CXHh7GMY-7Mor6eXI-cyUIYw_4A_DQPbQI6Q8AuEaMa5tZo2lC2UfndhtKIJzMlAnftE37YVKcgMWOgzJG_Se24wwa3nogL1iKX6WcOGoL6eROGbeojhinkj3sGx6e4iWVvX76yNFPYkx8Ilu2MhMtwsuv-XSzlMcZ-CW&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>So long, whole grain</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">President Obama and
first Lady Michelle Obama both would see key education initiatives
eliminated if the $1.01 trillion spending bill unveiled by Congressional
leaders this week passes without changes. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSkY94rKrpi1FNrqWyk4OgO9seeGnmBQ6n3tGZSOXbGw1KXaPRBGOhzCKsWSVI-D6rxI4_78V6z4rMzp_vKLjWJ0917YFor1Ju24jHk549PXs4kiwVfzWWOCUULDyHnS5RjZBBXk-XArceDg4HIq8GknN5ONI8KarI0sYdznW5cgsAQa7SukFGpbjYphswXCF855otDZrmqeMVKPkRFAAdCKFC8ENKgua3wJKGkgveJ1nrljc1ZI5WU11Szm2DTPUPQBiuvh_CbYFDIbdOahZVX-2ss29Mk3xU3KwlKOS5saEB420aXa6n88PSC61oN3yH7Ea0LYpzy1xkSXGluC6QCLmnnXgu7tbk&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Facing the future</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The seven largest school
districts in the U.S. are joining more than 50 others to start offering
introductory computer science to all their students. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSz4e04kEoKZrQ-EcXklBXxqXLdPKZx92If2HCZAAD0V5yFP-aYSsjjQ0WDBGxYMnZ0gJsE0x340ROHctu9G1hOFMSozN5ZaxtaEpLMG0pfbBh-4Q-nj3p7JK4TPXxaEJ8TBbzVo1Up02yy8NmN_wvUvhjHA-HG49Y2WgqkPpswWLa5x38TgYTYhyMojX55cO8ok9q4rBK8JKTbbu6KYgRLeB5OeITAKDat7zPLTzzl7IP1-D-FY_TS1aQNIMl0rhO&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Wired</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Federal
Communications Commission has voted to increase funding that supporters
say will expand the Internet capacity for an additional 40 million
students in 100,000 schools nationwide. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS-_3h1z_IH11ZDFzI_XkGRlIfcSZceQlpgI9wPI67E1xQyQnnknVk7Od615Ol_NN-Zhnw7vSrb3Pnkfcm4RZddkq3NqrN9hi1lF6eawx6TL30y2nft5WZPXB5viRgoYTkLR7QVfpcrbA57vazn0pQ4h3xor9IRbgvQocA224pvNKpbit5v3Q2CghO1YlIf5N9Ba05JOMVmZg=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Merit pay gets a boost</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The New Mexico Public
Education Department is giving Santa Fe Public Schools $3.8 million to
increase teacher salaries as part of a pay-for-performance pilot program
for the 2014-15 school year. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS6fEpzavVKQTyGnqfIx9T63l3Oy2_K_esgk8wG2u_lALUT4X_kP61TPXM4PKDpXBenT2vhzBclwyM8GBEPBFt3bPkVUlxkU0c3tNZwsrJiWUvXeByrH1BvVTJHBwmgIAU-gw7j8VY6j8K0uF6ZlUvHT6qw0SvlWh83j2Xn7xqMvwYeI-cSeWD0iPnK2BoplcOnHsYemDWVZ2GUO5nWq4mxXruaA1vdzg46iDN0G5f1zHeS0LvKqDQW879ZWYY6KMWWiUvYnC5XQF9zg2Dy_jKUA==&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>Missing out</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Louisiana students
aren't getting tens of millions of dollars that could help them pay for
college because more than half of the state's high school seniors are
not completing the application required for federal student aid. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSsINayaHCiiev2q7T8_IYVbXKYOaYgjoWJJ7G9K4C-pG3UwrX0kU2rPo4taRlO-LtuL3v3RPpTaLB-8iFkdVWgHmhmJ2zKZeLIQbb7ONy22m8S1v8bOvEScnobTtJBXdk0rJGonRePCu7BHFjFCf_fvb7KSIohgwdtpIzVBE5FBj1UN6alZFLGA==&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></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: #ff6600;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>AASL: Innovative Reading Grant</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The <a shape="rect"><span>American Association of School Librarians</span></a>
Innovative Reading Grant supports the planning and implementation of
programs for children that motivate and encourage reading, especially
with struggling readers. Selection criteria include the potential to
measure and evaluate a literacy project that promotes the importance of
reading and facilitates the learners' literacy development by supporting
current reading research, practice, and policy. Maximum award: $2,500.
Eligibility: reading programs specifically designed for children (grades
K-9) in the school library setting. The program must encourage
innovative ways to motivate and involve children in reading. Applicant
must be a member of AASL. Deadline: February 1, 2015. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjS2Seke3tQkVNyCHOa2ugWjA0jOgHKLH55r6m4p7i2Xzl2Lf1AGOujqlZlpWLVDATqxJwJr8hHJIkwhlUP4wLMlUGKzPxKBYEcPErQDQuBbGQe8TF3LqXEb-gbitMlQ483VVBKIEtQGsK52v1916_B7TCwlQEf09d38--NC7aUmYPJN5jc4iKbAQAvgiL9Omnt&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600;"><strong>AASL: Collaborative School Library Award</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The American Association
of School Librarians Collaborative School Library Award recognizes and
encourage collaboration and partnerships between school librarians and
teachers in meeting goals outlined in Empowering Learners: Guidelines
for School Library Programs through joint planning of a program, unit,
or event in support of the curriculum and using school library
resources. Maximum award: $2,500 to the recipient's school library.
Eligibility: school librarians that are personal members of the AASL.
Deadline: February 1, 2015. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjSWmUVoNpucnAgFcTyNdBvQJarr6S6TqXFgHnrFNtj800p8aP9i9DpzvkbQtmZRCMG5Kfpn6w_-6RNfG8iPq3AlkpubxvvpxWzteRg2TIwdXAJyfAU49ODbLsUqUOiHrnpF0c-t2HpUuk=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"> </div>
<div><span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>Bezos Family Foundation: Bezos Scholars Program at the Aspen Institute</strong></span><br>
</div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">The Bezos Scholars
Program at the Aspen Institute seeks students who are independent
thinkers, demonstrated leaders, and engaged community members.
Participants meet one another and engage in seminars and informal
meetings with the international leaders, acclaimed thinkers, and
creative artists who participate in the annual Aspen Ideas Festival.
Following attendance at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the student/educator
scholar teams will return home and create Local Ideas Festivals in their
schools. Maximum award: participation in the Aspen Ideas Festival, June
27-July 3, 2015. Eligibility: applicants' schools must be public high
schools (including charter and magnet schools) where at least 25 percent
of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch. Potential scholars
must be legal U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents in their junior year
with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and be taking Advanced Placement or
International Baccalaureate classes. Scholar applicants must demonstrate
leadership in school and community and have scored exceptionally well
on the PSAT/SAT/or ACT. Deadline: February 17, 2015. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWhbOMzONia33d7yKC9dbIyIUd8Nz6mZ_CnO4G0tnA4oF6OZhGtcZZmvN_8A7fKBxlAuFehMFO1qkAOoaaBhN4MrWgHz_Qi8FZXoqw4YR2iS5hDUsiNiklSO2ljQrODTX_R2UVoccpcsruOh29z57sNg=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a> </div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #ff6600; font-size: 12pt;"><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;">"How many of us know
that the unemployment rate among adult Americans with disabilities who
can work and want to work is over 60 percent? Almost two out of every
three Americans with a disability who want to work and who can work
cannot find a job. That is a blot on our national character."</div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>-- Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, longtime advocate of people and students with disabilities,</strong></span> in his Senate farewell speech. <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); text-decoration: underline;" shape="rect" target="_blank" href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QNpeHPn7VOEv-65u8ZbYknDzrdYUzCy_ILV0u90UKOan2VVReTEPWtReMo9cIvjShKT_TCbUwvFyupSZDCYX77iq4WyEsc2ZESAW--l-GXG3DlS70NBzfujLqq8BBzccWNPV4EmLIOFPLEoU5pvJ09-mDrwm9hK66uJL2bxDgEzRue03Bwyf797llxCAQyf0zO9o9Vy1yogBzus9bT7BdeOZrJfPE2GRt2h73xEJVfefQwGuEGVRUQsiSbERcUhtympTeevxwTI=&c=2iH7yoZC4ioTjvP8dFE-_5-sMa-RasC7dah7VdxQX5UbWTtQkWb0rA==&ch=6ipzMbj0l8ys4XXG8YOENt7chdf1Riw5zVnTYYgINJOveYggMsAK5A==">More</a></div>
</div>
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