Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h9PD10V12761; Sat, 25 Oct 2003 09:01:01 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 09:01:01 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <002901c39af7$f38f4bc0$da60f7a5@air.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Mary Ann Corley" <macorley1@earthlink.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:1269] Cross Posts from the Public Education Network (PEN) Weekly Newsblast X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 5584 Lines: 111 The following articles are cross-posted from the PEN Weekly Newsblast. -Mary Ann Corley NIFL-Povracelit List Moderator * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EDUCATION DISPARITIES WORSE THAN SEGREGATION Tom Vander Ark, executive director for education for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, urged the 600 participants at the Wake Education Partnership's annual meeting to work at improving the graduation rates for minority students. He implored educators not to have lower expectations for minority students, which he said leads to an inadequate education. "We're losing half the African-American and Hispanic students," Vander Ark said. "Think of what that means in a generation or two generations from now. We have rising incarceration rates, declining voting rates and stagnating family incomes. Do you think there is any link between that?" Vander Ark also was critical of schools in which many white students are in advanced classes, while minority students are in basic courses. Schools need to stop treating students differently based on their race, family income and where they live. "When you walk in the hallways of some high schools, you see something worse than segregation," he said. http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2953782p-2709940c.html INEQUALITY RULES TODAY'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS Vouchers, charter schools and other school-choice programs might not make America's schools any more segregated and unequal than they are today, according to a new study. The reason? Today's public schools are bastions of inequality. "Alert and aggressive parents already work the bureaucracy to get the best for their children," said Paul Hill, co-author of the study in this month's journal Education Policy Analysis Archives. In fact, Hill and co-author Kacey Guin argue that the kind of parental jockeying for favors that takes place under school-choice programs is at least more "transparent" than the hidden special treatment routinely secured by savvy and connected parents in most public school systems. The authors said the warning often levied about school-choice programs -- that they might -- increase racial segregation and inequality -- is overhyped. http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n39/ TALKING ABOUT LEARNING DISABILITIES Now more than ever, it is imperative that parents work with their elected representatives to make sure that the voices of children and adults with learning disabilities (LD) are heard in Washington, D.C. and at the state and local level. To help further these advocacy efforts, National Center for Learning Disabilities has developed this LD Advocates Guide. The LD Advocates Guide seeks to explain how best to engage policymakers and the media on issues affecting the LD community. In addition to this step-by-step guidance, the Guide also provides a primer on key issues affecting the fields of learning disabilities and special education. http://www.ld.org/advocacy/tutorial.cfm WE CARE, THEREFORE THEY LEARN Closing the achievement gap begins with teacher encouragement, says researcher Ronald Ferguson in this Journal of Staff Development interview (September 2003). Ferguson describes findings from a survey of 40,000 middle and high school students which revealed few class or race differences in how students viewed the importance of their school work. Through the Minority Student Achievement Network, Ferguson and others are spreading the word that teachers who provide both emotional support and "instrumental assistance" can help black and Latino students close academic gaps. (225k PDF file) http://www.nsdc.org/library/jsd/Ferguson244.pdf |---------------GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION--------------| "Dollar General Community Grants" Dollar General's community grants program provides support for non-profit organizations committed to the advancement of literacy, drop out prevention and character education. Dollar General believes these three focus areas work together to address some of the greatest challenges and needs of students within their 27 state market area. Application deadline: December 5, 2003. http://www.dollargeneral.com/community/communityinvestments.asp "Grantionary" The Grantionary is a list of grant-related terms and their definitions. http://www.eduplace.com/grants/help/grantionary.html "GrantsAlert" GrantsAlert is a website that helps nonprofits, especially those involved in education, secure the funds they need to continue their important work. http://www.grantsalert.com/ "Grant Writing Tips" SchoolGrants has compiled an excellent set of grant writing tips for those that need help in developing grant proposals. http://www.schoolgrants.org/grant_tips.htm "Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)" More than 30 Federal agencies formed a working group in 1997 to make hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find. The result of that work is the FREE website. http://www.ed.gov/free/ "Fundsnet Online Services" A comprehensive website dedicated to providing nonprofit organizations, colleges, and Universities with information on financial resources available on the Internet. http://www.fundsnetservices.com/ "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" Philanthropy News Digest, a weekly news service of the Foundation Center, is a compendium, in digest form, of philanthropy-related articles and features culled from print and electronic media outlets nationwide. http://fdncenter.org/pnd/
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