Pepsi is giving away $1,300,000 each month to fund great ideas as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project. Lafayette's "great idea" is for a new school program that will create a community of readers and boost reading proficiency for economically disadvantaged students.
Here is a description for "Readers are Leaders:"
- Provide 840 at risk children a high-quality reading program
- Offer 20% of struggling readers services by reading specialists
- Develop 9 monthly activities to promote reading and related skills
- A school-wide event at end of program celebrating accomplishment
How will the 50K be used? |
|
| $ 15,000 | Reading services for all students |
| $ 15,000 | Reading services for reading challenged |
| $ 15,000 | 9 school-wide events promoting reading |
| $ 2,500 | Coordinator of events |
| $ 2,500 | fund-raiser for next year |
Some primary schools in South Korea are using a robots to teach English. The 30 egg-shaped yellow robots have a TV panel that displays a Caucasian woman's face and can wheel around the classroom.
According to a scientist: "They won't complain about health insurance, sick leave and severance package, or leave in three months for a better-paying job in Japan... all you need is a repair and upgrade every once in a while."
The Department of Education has unveiled a new publication for parents that helps explain its program for turning around low-performing schools. The brochure explains the main features of the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, including what parents and the community can do to help ensure that their local school districts make the most of the SIG funds.
This interesting article from The Economist looks at new ways states are assessing the value of teachers. The article points out:
"...in Singapore, which recently came second in an international ranking of 15-year-olds' skill in maths (America was 31st), the teacher-training programme accepts only students in the top 30% of their academic cohort. In America, most teachers were mediocre students. Only 23% of new teachers were in the top third of college graduates."
Time to drop those french fries! The U.S. Department of Agriculture is calling for big changes in the meals served to school children. Some of those changes include limiting french fries, cutting back on sodium and adding fruit and veggies. The government hopes the proposed rule, which will be released on Thursday, will help curb the obesity epidemic and teach kids healthy eating habits. Here are some facts from the USA Today article:
"About a third of children and adolescents -- 25 million kids - are obese or overweight. Extra pounds put children at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other health problems. An analysis in 2005 found that children today may lead shorter lives by two to five years than their parents because of obesity.
California isn't the only state struggling in budget crisis. According to this article from The Detroit News, DPS could close nearly half of its 142 schools over the next two years and increase class sizes to 62 under a proposal from Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb. DPS is in dire financial straights. Its debt increased by more than $100 million over the last year alone.
The proposal calls for closing 40 schools in fiscal 2012 and 30 schools in fiscal 2013. The move would save more than $33 million, according to the article.
According to this UPI story, a national survey found that middle schools are suspending more students than in the past, and that African-American students are being suspended more often than whites. An excerpt from the article:
"It's clear from these findings that zero-tolerance policies are pushing too many children out of school at a critical point in their education and are having a disproportionate impact on students of color," said Marion Chartoff, a senior staff attorney specializing in education issues at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which distributed the study.
The researchers said they focused on middle schools because studies suggest suspensions in those grades may have significant, long-term repercussions for students.
The children who attended responsive and engaging high-quality preschool programs were found to exhibit less aggression and rule-breaking behavior by the time they entered middle childhood (ages 7 to 11), according to the report.
Funded by a nearly $500,000 state grant, the Cerritos College Urban Teacher Fellowship is geared toward 17- to 24-year-old youth who are former gang members or who are at-risk of gang involvement.
Cerritos College will provide remedial instruction to the students to help them obtain an associate's degree, with the aim of having the youth eventually transfer to a four-year university to obtain a teaching credential.
The youths also will receive training and job placement in after-school programs to help them support themselves in their pursuit of becoming a teacher.
The college won a competitive state grant from the Governor's Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy. The program is part of Cerritos TRAC, its teacher training academy.
To learn more about the program, call 562-860-2451, ext. 2212.
Newly released government figures show that freshman enrollment surged 6 percent in 2008 to a record 2.6 million, mostly due to rising minority enrollment. That is the highest increase since 1968 during the height of the Vietnam War, when young adults who attended college could avoid the military draft.
Almost three-quarters of the freshman increases in 2008 were minorities, of which the largest share was Hispanics.
About the Blogger
Kelly Puente joined the Press-Telegram in 2006 as an editorial assistant and eventually worked her way up to general assignement reporter. Over the years, she’s covered everything from crime and breaking news to human interest and the cities of Bellflower and Cerritos. Kelly is a Long Beach resident and graduate of Cal State Long Beach. She’s new to the education beat and is looking for great stories.
E-mail Kelly at kelly.puente@presstelegram.com.
