Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g18EWWu02727; Fri, 8 Feb 2002 09:32:32 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 09:32:32 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <NCBBKFFJMKFIFAGAFGNEAECBCPAA.jlee@famlit.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Jon Lee" <jlee@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:728] FW: PEN Weekly NewsBlast for February 8, 2002 X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2911.0) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 15993 Lines: 295 Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast "America’s Favorite Free Newsletter on Improving Public Education" *************************************************************************** BUSH PROPOSES EDUCATION TAX CREDIT As part of the recently released White House budget, President Bush has proposed a tax credit to pay as much as $2,500 a year in private-school tuition for children whose public schools are considered to be failing under state standards. A senior administration official said that under the proposal, the money also could be used for books, computers and other equipment to set up a home school, or for transportation to a private school or better public school. The proposal's estimated cost in lost revenue is $3.7 billion over five years. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18219-2002Feb3.html HIGH-STAKES FOR DENTISTS? What do teachers and dentists have in common? Last spring at the Project-Based Learning Conference: "Kids Who Know and Do," keynote speaker Linda Darling-Hammond retold a satirical story by John S. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools in the Lancaster County School District in South Carolina. In a room full of 5,000 educators, you could have heard a pin drop. Of course, during the witty dialogue and the ironic parts, outbursts of laughter filled the room. But as soon as Darling-Hammond began speaking again, the audience fell silent. What had educators laughing so hard? http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4727.html CREATING A SEAMLESS WEB OF SERVICES FOR YOUTH Outcomes for youth in the District of Columbia were quite poor during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. SAT scores were well below the national average and the juvenile violent death rate was almost three times the average for the largest 50 U.S. cities. To address this crisis, several important initiatives have been started, many of which focus on improving after-school activities for DC youth. One such initiative is the DC Children and Youth Investment Partnership, which is coordinated by DC Agenda, a local education fund. The Partnership seeks to build a sustainable collaboration that changes the way in which youth programs are designed, managed, and implemented. Specifically, it aims to improve outcomes for DC youth by increasing both the quantity and quality of services provided to this group. This new evaluation report suggests that this new initiative is helping to provide important links between a large number of stakeholders who might not otherwise work as closely together on their common goals. http://www.urban.org/education/DC-CYIP.html#execsum TEACHERS UNION SEEKS UNPRECEDENTED POWER California's largest teachers union is poised to seek unprecedented power over everything that happens in the classroom, from setting local academic standards to choosing course curriculum and textbooks. The California Teachers Association already holds great sway over statewide education policy set in the Capitol. But teachers union labor contracts have always been limited to wages, benefits and working conditions. Elected local school trustees set broader education policy in consultation with teachers, parents and the community. Now the CTA is circulating legislation that would give its members the right to collectively bargain over education issues as well. The union president says he would want to exclude parents from any contract negotiations over standards, curriculum and textbooks. "School administrators could bring in their curriculum experts, and teachers could bring in their experts, and they could have a thorough discussion on the curriculum at every level and every subject matter. They could reach a decision on what they want to do, or what they agree is the best way to teach kids in their district." All behind closed doors. Parents might be consulted on the side, he said, "if they have some qualifications." http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/education/story/1584148p-1660375c.html TEACHING AS AN ACT OF LOVE A teacher is a revolutionary. A revolution is a change in the way things are organized. As we teach we create revolution because we change patterns of thought. Cognitive psychology and developmental psychology tell us that the adolescent locks in on the first possible solution to a problem and once equipped with this possible solution, will not explore new possibilities. The role of a teacher is to re-open the evaluation process and have the students begin to practice exploring different options, and when faced with different viable alternative solutions, use critical analysis and reflection to choose the direction of their life. As William Ayres writes, a teacher calls students to look beyond the reality of the moment. Read about how one teacher is moving toward a more revolutionary vision of teacher quality. http://tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/rights/features/3/perspectives/williams.html TEACHER SAYS: "IF I'M GOING TO GROW, I MAY NEED TO MOVE ON" "I really do not want to leave Turner," writes Ellen Berg. "I love my kids. I love the community. I love the idea that I am serving a population that desperately needs committed teachers. Yet I cannot help feeling I will never reach my potential if I stay where I am, without the support and guidance I think I need. There is no one to observe, no more experienced colleague to glean wisdom and ideas from, no person to ask me the hard questions about what I am doing. I am feeling my way along, a blind woman in a sea of darkness." http://www.middleweb.com/mw/msdiaries/01-02wklydiaries/EB21.html BAD KIDS OR BAD COACHING? When a child swings a bat, shoots a basket, kicks a ball or slaps a hockey puck down the ice, are they becoming a better moral being? According to Arizona State University Exercise Science Professor Darren Treasure, maybe not. Sports leaders should promote sportsmanship and foster the development of good character by teaching, enforcing, advocating and modeling six "pillars of character": trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and good citizenship. http://www.aiaonline.org EXPERTS DEBATE EFFECTS OF WHOLE SCHOOL REFORM The federal government has poured millions of dollars into its whole school reform program, and hundreds of schools have overhauled their academic programs in the hope that such prescriptions will improve academic results. But are those models meeting the high expectations of lawmakers and educators? That depends on who's doing the evaluating and which whole school experiments they're looking at, according to a panel recently convened by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. While some schools have shown great success, and the concept carries much potential, many pitfalls remain in packaging and mass-producing systems for school improvement, panelists said. http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=20whole.h21 ONLINE ACTIVISTS: YOUTH WEBSITES SERVING THE PUBLIC GOOD Adolescents, pre-teens, even younger children are often today’s computer experts. And on the Internet, young people combine computer savvy with idealism, developing websites that serve the public good. Check out the causes they champion and services they volunteer, from increased school funding to global peace, from soliciting suitcases for foster children to helping Tibetan refugees bridge the "digital divide." http://www.whatkidscando.org/studentwork/onlineactivists.html SCHOOLS GETTING TITLE I MONEY NEED TO STAND & DELIVER For years, educators and their political allies have complained that Washington did not invest enough money in Title I, the massive federal program that provides extra funds for public schools in poor neighborhoods. According to this article, Title I money--like so much else in big-city education--has flowed more toward the needs of adults than of children. "In many places," says Phyllis McClure, "Title I has been thought of more as an adult employment program than an education program." No one should minimize the challenge facing schools trying to help low-income students coping with chaotic neighborhoods and, too often, chaotic situations at home. It's fair for schools to protest that they can't solve all these problems alone. But it's equally fair for society to demand that schools place no other priority above helping kids. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000008895feb04.story USING TITLE I TO SUPPORT OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME & COMMUNITY SCHOOL INITIATIVES Title I, the largest single federal investment in education, now provides $10.3 billion annually (an increase of $1.6 billion over last year's appropriation) to school systems across the country. This brief presents an overview of the program, including recent legislative changes, and highlights three strategies that community leaders, program developers and school officials can employ to access these funds to support out-of-school time and community school initiatives. http://www.financeproject.org/newproducts.htm BOTH SIDES NOW IN GIFTED EDUCATION Parents want their children of high ability to work at the upper boundaries of their abilities. This leads to a common misunderstanding. Teachers see a child who is doing well; parents see one who is capable of doing much more. Parents know a child who is capable of moving faster and going into greater depth. They know when their child has slowed down and/or dumbed down in order to fit in. Read how one teacher is helping other teachers deal with a greater range of student abilities by analyzing curricula, student interest, and other methods for enriching and accelerating learning. http://teachers.net/gazette/JAN02/burke.html SCIENCE GOES TO PRESCHOOL Hunched over their microscopes, peering intently into the eyepieces, they look like biology students or scientists anywhere—with one big difference. These are pint-sized scientists—3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, to be exact. What kind of science can preschoolers do? "What can't they do?" replies Kati Gilson, a Chicago Public Schools early childhood science specialist. The rationale for preschool science is that we need to expose children to science as early as possible. According to Gilson, "The more science they get when they are really young and impressionable, the less likely they are to struggle with science when they get older, and the more likely they are to develop a lifelong interest in science that may translate into future studies and careers." http://www.hhmi.org/news/preschoolgia.html |---------------GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION--------------| "The Thomas B. Fordham Prize for Excellence in Education" The $25,000 prize for distinguished education scholarship will be awarded to a scholar who has made major contributions to education reform via research, analysis, and successful engagement in the war of ideas. Anyone may be nominated whose work has had a profound impact on education in the United States. Nomination deadline: May 31, 2002. Self-nomination will not be considered. http://www.edexcellence.net/fordhamprizes/fordhamprizes.html "2002 McGraw Prize in Education" Since 1988, the prestigious Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education has been annually awarded to three individuals who have had an unusually positive impact in the field of education. Past honorees include U.S. Secretaries of Education Roderick Paige, Richard Riley and Terrel Bell, former First Lady Barbara Bush, former Governor James Hunt, as well as university presidents, principals, superintendents and educators from across the country. Prize recipients are selected by a distinguished Board of Judges who review eligible nominations. Recipients are honored at a dinner in New York City and receive a $25,000 prize. Only individuals who are presently committed to the cause of education are eligible for nomination. Nomination deadline: March 15, 2002. http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/community/mcgraw_prize/2001/nomination.html "3M Salute to Schools Grant Program" Schools seeking to protect library media center equipment can get security products under the 3M Salute to Schools grant program. 3M will provide up to two 3M Detection Systems for the entrance/exit of their library media centers and a supply of Tattle-Tape Security Strips for marking materials—a package with an average value of about $15,000. The awards program is open to middle and high schools with 500 or more students. Application deadline: March 1, 2002. http://www.3m.com/market/security/library/press/releases/callforEntries.jhtm l "Oracle Help Us Help Foundation" The Oracle Help Us Help Foundation is a non-profit organization that assists K-12 public schools and youth organizations in economically challenged communities through grants of computer equipment and software. The foundation’s goal is to ensure that all children have access to Internet technology and learning opportunities that will enable them to succeed in the 21st century. Grant packages of 50, 30, or 15 computers and related equipment such as printers and software are available. Application deadlines: February 28, 2002 and May 31, 2002. http://www.helpushelp.org/ "Department of Education Forecast of Funding" This document lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards for FY 2002 and provides actual or estimated deadline dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The lists are in the form of charts -- organized according to the Department's principal program offices -- and include programs and competitions the Department has previously announced, as well as those it plans to announce at a later date. Note: This document is advisory only and is not an official application notice of the Department of Education. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCFO/grants/forecast.html "eSchool News School Funding Center" Information on up-to-the-minute grant programs, funding sources, and technology funding. http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/funding/ "Philanthropy News Digest-K-12 Funding Opportunities" K-12 Funding opportunities with links to grantseeking for teachers, learning technology, and more. http://fdncenter.org/funders/ "School Grants" A collection of resources and tips to help K-12 educators apply for and obtain special grants for a variety of projects. http://www.schoolgrants.org QUOTE OF THE WEEK "Education is one of the most powerful tools for acquiring self-esteem, and since self-esteem is the most powerful psychological force that prevents violence, it is not surprising that the level of education is one the strongest predictions as to whether or not a person will be violent." -James Gilligan (psychiatrist), "Preventing Violence" ===========PEN NewsBlast========== The PEN Weekly NewsBlast is a free e-mail newsletter featuring school reform and school fundraising resources. The PEN NewsBlast is the property of the Public Education Network, a national association of 69 local education funds working to improve public school quality in low-income communities nationwide. There are currently 42,450 subscribers to the PEN Weekly NewsBlast. Please forward this e-mail to anyone who enjoys free updates on education news and grant alerts. Some links in the PEN Weekly NewsBlast change or expire on a daily or weekly basis. Some links may also require local Web site registration. To view past issues of the PEN Weekly NewsBlast, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/news/signup.htm To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/news/signup.htm If you would like an article or news about your local education fund, public school, or school reform organization featured a future issue of PEN Weekly NewsBlast, send a note to HSchaffer@PublicEducation.org Andrew Smith is a regular contributor to the PEN Weekly NewsBlast. ---------- Howie Schaffer Managing Editor Public Education Network 601 Thirteenth Street, NW #900N Washington, DC 20005 202-628-7460 202-628-1893 fax www.PublicEducation.org
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