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Showing posts from October, 2013

Urban Education

Referred to as the "urban-centric" classification system to distinguish it from the previous "metro-centric" classification system, the new classification system has four major locale categories—city, suburban, town, and rural—each of which is subdivided into three subcategories. Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) RELs focus on using knowledge about effective procedures to transform low-performing schools into high-performing learning communities where all children achieve academically. RELs focus at least a quarter of their work on rural education issues REL Program Homepage The Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) work in partnership with school districts, state departments of education, and others to use data and research to improve academic outcomes for students. Fundamentally, the mission of the RELs is to provide support for a more evidence-reliant education system. Labs' websites on Rural Education Edvantia  (formerly AEL) McR

Inspired Quotes for Education

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle Death may be the greatest of all human blessings. Socrates True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. Socrates Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Lao Tzu I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King, Jr. We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone. Orson Welles A man reserves his true and deepest love not for the species of woman in whose company he finds himself electrified and enkindled, but for that one in whose company he may feel tenderly drowsy. George Jean Nathan

Race, Disability, and Overrepresentation

The ethnic overrepresentation of students in special education programs in this country has been a recognized problem for more than 30 years. Simply defined, overrepresentation, or the disproportionate placement of students of a given ethnic group in special education programs, means that the percentage of students from that group in such programs is disproportionally greater than their percentage in the school population as a whole.1 Currently, African Americans tend to be significantly overrepresented in the two special education categories of mild mental disabilities and emotional/behavioral disabilities (Oswald, Coutinho, Best, and Singh, 1999). At the same time, African American learners are also underrepresented in gifted education programs nationally (Patton, 1998). Although the latest national data indicate that Latinos/Hispanics and American Indians are not overrepresented in special education programs, these two groups are overrepresented in certain regions of the

BLACK YOUTH PROJECT

http://research.blackyouthproject.com/black-youth-and-the-future-of-american-politics/ A series of memos and fact sheets released by the Black Youth Project of the University of Chicago,  Black and Latino Youth: The Future of American Politics  Memo Series focuses on the civic and political engagement of America’s youth, especially Black and Latino youth, and investigates their participation in electoral politics and how their unique life experiences shape their views toward politics. Immigration Reform and the Possibility of Black-Brown Coalitions among America’s Youth: Youth of color support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform at higher rates than white youth, who are more supportive of punitive measures and increased enforcement of existing law. Gun Violence and Public Opinion on Gun Control among America’s Young People: youth of color experience higher levels of gun violence and report greater support for increased gun restrictions Understanding the Latino Y

ERASING RACIAL GAPS IN JOBS

Economic benefits of erasing racial gaps in jobs, income, and assets Racial inclusion and income inequality are key factors driving regional economic growth, and are positively associated with growth in employment, output, productivity, and per capital income, according to an analysis of 118 metropolitan regions. Eliminating racial gaps in income in 2011 would have boosted earnings by $687 billion, much of which would recirculate in the economy and create more jobs, and would have increased U.S. GDP by $1.2 trillion. Regions that became more equitable in the 1990s—with reductions in racial segregation, income disparities, or concentrated poverty—experienced greater economic growth as measured by increased per capita income.Making a national economy’s income distribution 10 percent more equitable prolongs its typical growth spell by 50 percent. Raising the national minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour would put $51.5 billion annually in the pockets of affected workers, wh

Color Face Community

The following resources make the case for equitable policies to address the long standing disparities communities of color face. New Ideas for a Diverse America This Progress 2050 describes the demographic changes our nation will experience over the next four decades and argues that a progressive vision is urgently needed to ensure we take advantage of diversity as one of our greatest assets. It’s important to raise awareness about the serious disparities in communities of color, while formulating a positive vision of where we want our country to be in the year 2050. America’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model This PolicyLink report makes the case for an equity-driven growth model that brings together two agendas that have traditionally been separate: the agenda to grow new jobs and bolster long-term competitiveness, and the agenda to ensure that all—especially low-income people and people of color—have the opportunity to benefit from and co-create that growth. Making
‘ GRADUATION IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY’: LESSONS FROM FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY Florida State University has long been recognized for providing a high-quality education to a diverse student body.1 Located in the state capital of Tallahassee, the university enrolls more than 30,000 undergraduates, about a quarter of whom are African American (10 percent) and Hispanic (13 percent), and nearly 25 percent of whom are Pell Grant recipients.2 In 2010, a series of Education Trust reports featured Florida State for boosting graduation rates of underrepresented minority students and for having consistently small or no gaps in its graduation rate.3 Nationally respected in both academics and athletics, Florida State could have chosen to pursue higher graduation rates simply by creaming the best students from across the country. As it turns out, FSU campus leaders and staff work exceptionally hard to ensure the success of their students, particularly those from low-income and underrepresent

Funding for online Education

As supplemental online education and full-time virtual schools expand, policymakers must address a fair and effective way to determine financial support for these institutions, which didn’t exist when school financing formulas were first developed. A new brief and companion model legislation released today offer a blueprint for funding online education fairly while not shortchanging traditional brick-and-mortar schools in the process. Both the brief, Financing Online Education & Virtual Schooling: A Guide for Policymakers and Advocates , and the accompanying model legislation document, School Finance 2.0 , were written by Bruce Baker of Rutgers University and Justin Bathon of the University of Kentucky and are published by The National Education Policy Center (NEPC). Just what is a “fair price” for funding alternatives to traditional public schools, including online schools, has been a matter of sharp disagreement. The research literature on the question is “at best, sparse and

UNLOCKING THE GATE

One of the greatest challenges that community colleges face in their efforts to increase graduation rates is improving the success of students in their developmental, or remedial, education programs — the courses that students without adequate academic preparation must take before they can enroll in courses for college credit. Emphasizing results from experimental and quasi-experimental studies, this literature review identifies the most promising approaches for revising the structure, curriculum, or delivery of developmental education and suggests areas for future innovations in developmental education practice and research. This analysis focuses on four different types of interventions for improving students’ progress through remedial education and into college-level courses, including (1) strategies that help students avoid developmental education by shoring up their skills before they enter college; (2) interventions that accelerate students’ progress through developmental educatio

FIN AID LIKE A PAYCHECK

Can financial aid programs do more to help low-income college students achieve academic success and complete their degrees? This brief describes Aid Like A Paycheck, a promising pilot program that distributes financial aid every other week to help students progress academically and better manage their money. The program relies on existing financial aid dollars, primarily Pell Grants, but seeks to use them more effectively. Aid Like A Paycheck has been successfully pilot-tested at two institutions, where implementation was relatively straightforward and the policy was well received by college staff and students. The early outcomes from the pilot make the case for expanding the program and testing it rigorously on a larger scale. In the 2011-2012 award year, the federal government provided over $33 billion in Pell Grants to nearly 9.5 million low- and middle-income students. Yet too many of these students do not succeed academically. More than a third of students who enroll in college d

FIN AID LIKE A PAYCHECK

Can financial aid programs do more to help low-income college students achieve academic success and complete their degrees? This brief describes Aid Like A Paycheck, a promising pilot program that distributes financial aid every other week to help students progress academically and better manage their money. The program relies on existing financial aid dollars, primarily Pell Grants, but seeks to use them more effectively. Aid Like A Paycheck has been successfully pilot-tested at two institutions, where implementation was relatively straightforward and the policy was well received by college staff and students. The early outcomes from the pilot make the case for expanding the program and testing it rigorously on a larger scale. In the 2011-2012 award year, the federal government provided over $33 billion in Pell Grants to nearly 9.5 million low- and middle-income students. Yet too many of these students do not succeed academically. More than a third of students who enroll in college d

ASAP Program

National attention is focused on increasing graduation rates at community colleges. Graduation rates are particularly low for students who come to campus underprepared for college-level work. Across the nation, between 60 and 70 percent of entering freshmen in community colleges enroll in developmental (or remedial) math, reading, or writing courses. Data show that only 28 percent of developmental students in two-year colleges attain a degree or certificate within eight and one-half years of entry, compared with 43 percent of non-developmental students. Finding ways to help developmental students persist in school and receive a degree is critical to substantially increasing graduation rates. MDRC is currently conducting an evaluation of an unusually comprehensive program designed to help students to stay in school and graduate with an associate’s degree quickly. Originally funded as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), the City University of New York’s (CUN

Florida AVID Program

Project Overview MDRC is evaluating the AVID College Readiness System along with the establishment of a “vertical alignment collaborative” across several middle and high schools and a local community college, all located in rural Central Florida. The project is funded by the Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation initiative. The project will test the hypothesis that a collaborative of secondary and postsecondary institutions serving a rural area can significantly improve student achievement and success by vertically integrating college readiness best practices and by providing access to rigorous coursework and student support services. Rural communities, which often have high levels of poverty, find it hard to: 1) attract the highly qualified teachers needed to provide rigorous coursework, 2) provide professional development to teachers, and 3) form communities of practice by discipline because of the small number of teachers in each subject. The project addresses these

Quicklinks for Elementary School Teachers

Quicklinks for Elementary School Teachers http://teachinghistory.org/quick-links-elementary Content Teaching with Historical Film Clips Explore this approach for teaching with historical footage in the elementary, [...] » Teaching Tools Teaching about Memorial Day Memorial Day is a day of remembrance. Materials for all classroom levels are [...] » 3–5 Resources Pre-1865 Pockets from the Past: Daily Life at Monticello What do the contents of pockets say about their owners? TAH teachers model [...] » Post-1865 History Explorer The Smithsonian offers rich resources for teachers, but tracking them down can [...] » Classroom Toolkit Historical Thinking & Literacy Adapting Documents for the Classroom: Equity and Access Documents are riddled with difficult vocabulary. Don't be afraid to adapt texts. [...] » Using Technology Recording

Quick Links for Middle School Teachers

Quick Links for Middle School Teachers http://teachinghistory.org/quick-links-middle Pre-1865 Civil War's Causes: Historians Largely United on Slavery, But Public Divided Major historic events are always shrouded in controversy. Check out this [...] » Jamestown: The Starving Time Only 60 settlers out of 600 survived the winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown [...] » Post-1865

Control what you can, not what you can't- Urban Education

Control what you can, not what you can't- Urban Education   The Broad Prize is awarded each year to honor urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among low-income and minority students. Featuring superintendents from four finalist districts: Frank Till, Cumberland County Schools (CCS); Michael Lin, Corona-Norco Unified School District (CNUSD); Cindy Marten, San Diego Unified School District (SANDI); Terry Grier, Houston Independent School District (HISD) http://www.broadprize.org .