NEW YORK - Women are now as likely to use the Internet as men — about two-thirds of both genders — yet a new study shows that gaps remain in what each sex does online.
American men who go online are more likely than women to check the weather, the news, sports, political and financial information, the Pew Internet and American Life Project reported Wednesday. They are also more likely to use the Internet to download music and software and to take a class.
Online women, meanwhile, are bigger users of e-mail, and they are also more likely to go online for religious information and support for health or personal problems.
Use the link the to read the entire article.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
CNN.com - College counselors adapt to diverse, reluctant students - Dec 23, 2005
CNN.com - College counselors adapt to diverse, reluctant students - Dec 23, 2005: "ITHACA, New York (AP) -- Janie Cisneros was having a crisis and needed to talk to a counselor. But there would be no embarrassing or intimidating visit to the campus clinic.
Instead, Sigrid Frandsen-Pechenik took Cisneros to the mall, where they had coffee and talked in English and Spanish.
It was not the usual approach to mental health counseling. But as campuses become more diverse, colleges are finding the old ways don't always work.
There are language barriers and cultural stigmas that equate mental health problems with being weak or crazy. There are the pressures of immigrant families who send their children to college and do not expect to see them fail.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Instead, Sigrid Frandsen-Pechenik took Cisneros to the mall, where they had coffee and talked in English and Spanish.
It was not the usual approach to mental health counseling. But as campuses become more diverse, colleges are finding the old ways don't always work.
There are language barriers and cultural stigmas that equate mental health problems with being weak or crazy. There are the pressures of immigrant families who send their children to college and do not expect to see them fail.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Thank you!
To our faithful readers,
Thank you for your support and encouragement. We appreciate your comments, ideas and sharing. We hope you will continue to visit our blog throughout 2006 as we strive to keep you up to date on diversity and equity related issues in our schools and workplaces.
Happy holidays and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year.
The Diversity Training and Development Team
Thank you for your support and encouragement. We appreciate your comments, ideas and sharing. We hope you will continue to visit our blog throughout 2006 as we strive to keep you up to date on diversity and equity related issues in our schools and workplaces.
Happy holidays and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year.
The Diversity Training and Development Team
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Top-Notch School Fails to Close 'Achievement Gap'
Information Center - Media: "Learning: Berkeley High tried to lift urban black and Latino pupils to the level of high-performing Asians and whites. But a sizable divide persists.
BERKELEY -- Here in one of the best-educated corners of America, this city's sole public high school suffers a split personality: One exhibits a steady stream of National Merit Scholars, the other an undercurrent of failure.
Viki Rasmussen is a product of one Berkeley High School. The confident 17-year-old took an array of college-level courses before graduating in the spring and leaving last week to attend Brown University. Viki is white.
LaShawna Candies is a product of the other Berkeley High. The 15-year-old, timid and self-doubting, returned last week to start her sophomore year. As a freshman she scored Fs in most subjects, and reads at a second-grade level. She may never be able to decipher a job application, let alone a college text. LaShawna is black.
Attending one of America's most reputable urban high schools is just about all Viki and LaShawna have in common. The two girls came through the schoolhouse gate, just blocks from California's flagship university, with vastly different backgrounds and skills. Rather than equalize their opportunities, though, Berkeley High may have succeeded only in maintaining even widening the academic chasm between them.
"This despite the best of intentions."
Use the link to read the entire article.
BERKELEY -- Here in one of the best-educated corners of America, this city's sole public high school suffers a split personality: One exhibits a steady stream of National Merit Scholars, the other an undercurrent of failure.
Viki Rasmussen is a product of one Berkeley High School. The confident 17-year-old took an array of college-level courses before graduating in the spring and leaving last week to attend Brown University. Viki is white.
LaShawna Candies is a product of the other Berkeley High. The 15-year-old, timid and self-doubting, returned last week to start her sophomore year. As a freshman she scored Fs in most subjects, and reads at a second-grade level. She may never be able to decipher a job application, let alone a college text. LaShawna is black.
Attending one of America's most reputable urban high schools is just about all Viki and LaShawna have in common. The two girls came through the schoolhouse gate, just blocks from California's flagship university, with vastly different backgrounds and skills. Rather than equalize their opportunities, though, Berkeley High may have succeeded only in maintaining even widening the academic chasm between them.
"This despite the best of intentions."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Overcoming Apartheid
Overcoming Apartheid: "Apartheid education, rarely mentioned in the press or openly confronted even among once-progressive educators, is alive and well and rapidly increasing now in the United States. Hypersegregated inner-city schools--in which one finds no more than five or ten white children, at the very most, within a student population of as many as 3,000--are the norm, not the exception, in most northern urban areas today.
'At the beginning of the twenty-first century,' according to Gary Orfield and his colleagues at the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, 'American public schools are now 12 years into the process of continuous resegregation. The desegregation of black students, which increased continuously from the 1950s to the late 1980s, has receded to levels not seen in three decades.' The proportion of black students in majority-white schools stands at 'a level lower than in any year since 1968.' The four most segregated states for black students, according to a recent study by the Civil Rights Project, are New York, Michigan, Illinois and California. In New York, only one black student in seven goes to a predominantly white school."
Use the link to read the entire article.
'At the beginning of the twenty-first century,' according to Gary Orfield and his colleagues at the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, 'American public schools are now 12 years into the process of continuous resegregation. The desegregation of black students, which increased continuously from the 1950s to the late 1980s, has receded to levels not seen in three decades.' The proportion of black students in majority-white schools stands at 'a level lower than in any year since 1968.' The four most segregated states for black students, according to a recent study by the Civil Rights Project, are New York, Michigan, Illinois and California. In New York, only one black student in seven goes to a predominantly white school."
Use the link to read the entire article.
How One Suburb's Black Students Gain - New York Times
How One Suburb's Black Students Gain - New York Times: "SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio
IT is hard to pick up an education article these days without reading about some excited governor or mayor who is busy closing the achievement gap. Test scores of minority children go up a few points, and there stands the politician on the 6 o'clock news declaring that merit pay for teachers or laptops in the classroom or the federal No Child Left Behind law is closing the gap between white and minority children.
Here in this integrated, upper-middle-class Cleveland suburb, you would think they would be boasting. African-Americans' combined math and verbal SAT scores average 976, 110 points above the national average for black students. The number of black sixth graders scoring proficient on the state math test has nearly doubled in three years and is more than 20 percentage points above the Ohio average for blacks.
Top black seniors get into top colleges. In recent years, Charles Inniss went to Princeton, Karelle Hall to Dartmouth, Winston Weatherspoon to Georgetown and Danielle Decatur to the University of Virginia.
While many a politician discovered the gap in 2002, when No Child Left Behind required that test data be separated by race, Shaker Heights has battled it for decades."
Use the link to read the entire article.
IT is hard to pick up an education article these days without reading about some excited governor or mayor who is busy closing the achievement gap. Test scores of minority children go up a few points, and there stands the politician on the 6 o'clock news declaring that merit pay for teachers or laptops in the classroom or the federal No Child Left Behind law is closing the gap between white and minority children.
Here in this integrated, upper-middle-class Cleveland suburb, you would think they would be boasting. African-Americans' combined math and verbal SAT scores average 976, 110 points above the national average for black students. The number of black sixth graders scoring proficient on the state math test has nearly doubled in three years and is more than 20 percentage points above the Ohio average for blacks.
Top black seniors get into top colleges. In recent years, Charles Inniss went to Princeton, Karelle Hall to Dartmouth, Winston Weatherspoon to Georgetown and Danielle Decatur to the University of Virginia.
While many a politician discovered the gap in 2002, when No Child Left Behind required that test data be separated by race, Shaker Heights has battled it for decades."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
CNN.com - Number of children getting school breakfasts rises - Dec 14, 2005
CNN.com - Number of children getting school breakfasts rises - Dec 14, 2005: "More children than ever are getting free or reduced-price breakfasts at school, an anti-hunger group said Tuesday.
Still, the School Breakfast Program only reaches two in five youngsters who need it, according to a report released by the Food Research and Action Center.
'No child should have to start the school day hungry to learn, but unable to do so because of a hungry stomach,' said James Weill, the center's president. 'The states and schools that are leaving millions of hungry children behind need to act now. '
In the 2004-2005 school year, 7.5 million kids got breakfast for free or at a reduced price, the group said. The number represented a 5.3 percent increase from the previous year and was the biggest hike in a decade, the report said."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Still, the School Breakfast Program only reaches two in five youngsters who need it, according to a report released by the Food Research and Action Center.
'No child should have to start the school day hungry to learn, but unable to do so because of a hungry stomach,' said James Weill, the center's president. 'The states and schools that are leaving millions of hungry children behind need to act now. '
In the 2004-2005 school year, 7.5 million kids got breakfast for free or at a reduced price, the group said. The number represented a 5.3 percent increase from the previous year and was the biggest hike in a decade, the report said."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Plan Takes Shape For Special-Ed Tests
Plan Takes Shape For Special-Ed Tests: "Education Secretary Margaret Spellings outlined new testing rules for disabled students yesterday, formalizing an initiative that has already helped more than 100 public schools in Maryland and Virginia meet the standards of the No Child Left Behind law.
In a speech at Guilford Elementary in Columbia, which she cited as a model for special education, Spellings fleshed out a plan she first proposed last spring. The plan builds on existing rules that allow alternative testing for the most severely disabled students, a change that raised the scores of up to 1 percent of all students tested in a public school system or state."
Use the link to read the entire article.
In a speech at Guilford Elementary in Columbia, which she cited as a model for special education, Spellings fleshed out a plan she first proposed last spring. The plan builds on existing rules that allow alternative testing for the most severely disabled students, a change that raised the scores of up to 1 percent of all students tested in a public school system or state."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
CNN.com - AP: Blacks likely breathe most unhealthy air - Dec 14, 2005
CNN.com - AP: Blacks likely breathe most unhealthy air - Dec 14, 2005: "CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A dozen years after former President Clinton ordered the government to attack environmental injustices, black and poor Americans still are far more likely to breathe factory pollution that poses the greatest health risk, an Associated Press analysis found.
The AP analysis of government pollution, health and census data found that blacks are 79 percent more likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where industrial air pollution is suspected of causing the most health problems."
Use the link to read the entire article.
The AP analysis of government pollution, health and census data found that blacks are 79 percent more likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where industrial air pollution is suspected of causing the most health problems."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Minorities suffer most from industrial pollution - Environment - MSNBC.com
Editor's Note: The Associated Press obtained a federal environmental health database under the Freedom of Information Act and, with the help of government scientists, mapped the risk scores to every neighborhood used during the 2000 Census. A three-part series based on the resulting analysis provides an unprecedented snapshot of the social, racial and economic legacy of air pollution from America’s factories.
CHICAGO - Kevin Brown’s most feared opponent on the sandlot or basketball court while he was growing up wasn’t another kid. It was the polluted air he breathed.
“I would look outside and I would see him just leaning on a tree or leaning over a pole, gasping, gasping, trying to get some breath so he could go back to playing,” recalls his mother, Lana Brown.
Kevin suffered from asthma. His mother is convinced the factory air that covered their neighborhood triggered the son’s attacks that sent them rushing to the emergency room week after week, his panic filling the car.
Use the link to read the entire article.
CHICAGO - Kevin Brown’s most feared opponent on the sandlot or basketball court while he was growing up wasn’t another kid. It was the polluted air he breathed.
“I would look outside and I would see him just leaning on a tree or leaning over a pole, gasping, gasping, trying to get some breath so he could go back to playing,” recalls his mother, Lana Brown.
Kevin suffered from asthma. His mother is convinced the factory air that covered their neighborhood triggered the son’s attacks that sent them rushing to the emergency room week after week, his panic filling the car.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Monday, December 12, 2005
U.S. immigration boom hits record levels - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com
WASHINGTON - Immigration — both legal and illegal — has accelerated, pushing the percentage of the U.S. population born in other countries to the highest point in nearly a century.
There are 35.2 million foreign-born people living in the United States — about 12.1 percent of the population, according to a report Monday by the Center for Immigration Studies.
The report comes as the House prepares to take up a bill to curb illegal immigration by boosting border security and requiring workplace enforcement of immigration laws.
Use the link to read the entire article.
There are 35.2 million foreign-born people living in the United States — about 12.1 percent of the population, according to a report Monday by the Center for Immigration Studies.
The report comes as the House prepares to take up a bill to curb illegal immigration by boosting border security and requiring workplace enforcement of immigration laws.
Use the link to read the entire article.
New Pittsburgh Courier
Home Schools Becoming More Popular Among Blacks
New Pittsburgh Courier: "RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - When Denise Armstrong decided to teach her daughter and two sons at home instead of sending them to public school, she said she did so thinking she would do a better job than the school of instilling her values in her children.
At the time, Ms. Armstrong was the only Black parent at gatherings of home-education groups. But she said that has been changing.
'I've been delighted to be running into people in the African-American home-schooling community,' said Ms. Armstrong, who lives in Chesterfield County.
The move toward home schooling, advocates say, reflects a wider desire among families of all races to guide their children's religious upbringing, but it also reflects concerns about other issues like substandard schools and the preservation of cultural heritage."
Use the link to read the full article.
New Pittsburgh Courier: "RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - When Denise Armstrong decided to teach her daughter and two sons at home instead of sending them to public school, she said she did so thinking she would do a better job than the school of instilling her values in her children.
At the time, Ms. Armstrong was the only Black parent at gatherings of home-education groups. But she said that has been changing.
'I've been delighted to be running into people in the African-American home-schooling community,' said Ms. Armstrong, who lives in Chesterfield County.
The move toward home schooling, advocates say, reflects a wider desire among families of all races to guide their children's religious upbringing, but it also reflects concerns about other issues like substandard schools and the preservation of cultural heritage."
Use the link to read the full article.
Spanish At School Translates to Suspension
Spanish At School Translates to Suspension
By T.R. Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 9, 2005; A03
KANSAS CITY, Kan., Dec. 8 -- Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in which the three most common words are "like," "whatever" and "totally." But Zach is also fluent in his dad's native language, Spanish -- and that's what got him suspended from school.
"It was, like, totally not in the classroom," the high school junior said, recalling the infraction. "We were in the, like, hall or whatever, on restroom break. This kid I know, he's like, 'Me prestas un dolar?' ['Will you lend me a dollar?'] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to answer that way. So I'm like, 'No problema.' "
But that conversation turned out to be a big problem for the staff at the Endeavor Alternative School, a small public high school in an ethnically mixed blue-collar neighborhood. A teacher who overheard the two boys sent Zach to the office, where Principal Jennifer Watts ordered him to call his father and leave the school.
Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can't discuss the case. But in a written "discipline referral" explaining her decision to suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: "This is not the first time we have [asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."
Since then, the suspension of Zach Rubio has become the talk of the town in both English and Spanish newspapers and radio shows. The school district has officially rescinded his punishment and said that speaking a foreign language is not grounds for suspension. Meanwhile, the Rubio family has retained a lawyer, who says a civil rights lawsuit may be in the offing.
The tension here surrounding that brief exchange in a high school hall reflects a broader national debate over the language Americans should speak amid a wave of Hispanic immigration.
Use the link to read the entire article.
By T.R. Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 9, 2005; A03
KANSAS CITY, Kan., Dec. 8 -- Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in which the three most common words are "like," "whatever" and "totally." But Zach is also fluent in his dad's native language, Spanish -- and that's what got him suspended from school.
"It was, like, totally not in the classroom," the high school junior said, recalling the infraction. "We were in the, like, hall or whatever, on restroom break. This kid I know, he's like, 'Me prestas un dolar?' ['Will you lend me a dollar?'] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to answer that way. So I'm like, 'No problema.' "
But that conversation turned out to be a big problem for the staff at the Endeavor Alternative School, a small public high school in an ethnically mixed blue-collar neighborhood. A teacher who overheard the two boys sent Zach to the office, where Principal Jennifer Watts ordered him to call his father and leave the school.
Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can't discuss the case. But in a written "discipline referral" explaining her decision to suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: "This is not the first time we have [asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."
Since then, the suspension of Zach Rubio has become the talk of the town in both English and Spanish newspapers and radio shows. The school district has officially rescinded his punishment and said that speaking a foreign language is not grounds for suspension. Meanwhile, the Rubio family has retained a lawyer, who says a civil rights lawsuit may be in the offing.
The tension here surrounding that brief exchange in a high school hall reflects a broader national debate over the language Americans should speak amid a wave of Hispanic immigration.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Psychiatry Ponders Whether Extreme Bias Can Be an Illness
Psychiatry Ponders Whether Extreme Bias Can Be an Illness: "Mental health practitioners say they regularly confront extreme forms of racism, homophobia and other prejudice in the course of therapy, and that some patients are disabled by these beliefs. As doctors increasingly weigh the effects of race and culture on mental illness, some are asking whether pathological bias ought to be an official psychiatric diagnosis.
Advocates have circulated draft guidelines and have begun to conduct systematic studies. While the proposal is gaining traction, it is still in the early stages of being considered by the professionals who decide on new diagnoses."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Advocates have circulated draft guidelines and have begun to conduct systematic studies. While the proposal is gaining traction, it is still in the early stages of being considered by the professionals who decide on new diagnoses."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Poll: Nearly one out of six employees claim bias - Race in America - MSNBC.com
Poll: Nearly one out of six employees claim bias - Race in America - MSNBC.com: "WASHINGTON - Nearly one out of every six U.S. employees say they were discriminated at work in the last year, with women more than twice as likely as men to claim bias over hiring and pay, according to a new poll.
The poll released Thursday by the Gallup Organization found that middle-aged women and minorities were more likely to report being victims. Out of the part-time and full-time workers interviewed by telephone, women were more than twice as likely to claim discrimination (22 percent) as men (9 percent).
Among racial groups, Asians and blacks led the field (31 percent and 26 percent, respectively) in saying they were treated unfairly, followed by Hispanics (18 percent) and then whites (12 percent)."
Use the link to read the entire article.
The poll released Thursday by the Gallup Organization found that middle-aged women and minorities were more likely to report being victims. Out of the part-time and full-time workers interviewed by telephone, women were more than twice as likely to claim discrimination (22 percent) as men (9 percent).
Among racial groups, Asians and blacks led the field (31 percent and 26 percent, respectively) in saying they were treated unfairly, followed by Hispanics (18 percent) and then whites (12 percent)."
Use the link to read the entire article.
The Bias Breakdown
The Bias Breakdown
Asians and Blacks Lead in Perceived Discrimination at Work
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 9, 2005; Page D01
Fifteen percent of all workers say they have been discriminated against in their workplace during the past year, according to a new Gallup Organization poll.
The survey was conducted to discover workers' perceptions of discrimination in their workplaces during a year that marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC's chairwoman, Cari M. Dominguez, said the information will help the agency compare employee perceptions of discrimination with complaints actually filed with the agency.
For example, 31 percent of Asians surveyed reported incidents of discrimination, the largest percentage of any racial or ethnic group, with African Americans the second-largest group at 26 percent. But Asians generally file fewer discrimination complaints than other groups, according to the EEOC.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Asians and Blacks Lead in Perceived Discrimination at Work
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 9, 2005; Page D01
Fifteen percent of all workers say they have been discriminated against in their workplace during the past year, according to a new Gallup Organization poll.
The survey was conducted to discover workers' perceptions of discrimination in their workplaces during a year that marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC's chairwoman, Cari M. Dominguez, said the information will help the agency compare employee perceptions of discrimination with complaints actually filed with the agency.
For example, 31 percent of Asians surveyed reported incidents of discrimination, the largest percentage of any racial or ethnic group, with African Americans the second-largest group at 26 percent. But Asians generally file fewer discrimination complaints than other groups, according to the EEOC.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Friday, December 02, 2005
U-Md. Students Protest 'Racial Tension'
U-Md. Students Protest 'Racial Tension': "Yelling 'Expose racial tension! It's time to change the system,' a group of students marched across the University of Maryland campus yesterday to the police station with a list of demands.
Ever since a party last month ended with the arrests of three people, the College Park campus has been embroiled in a debate about race, equality and integration. Yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a bus, student protesters called for an end to racial injustice."
Use the link to read the entire story.
Ever since a party last month ended with the arrests of three people, the College Park campus has been embroiled in a debate about race, equality and integration. Yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a bus, student protesters called for an end to racial injustice."
Use the link to read the entire story.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
HOWARD ZINN
Teaching for Change
presents
HOWARD ZINN
discussing
History and Social Justice Education
On Sunday, December 4th from 11 AM to 1 PM,
Teaching for Change invites educators (teachers, parents and students of all ages) to join us at Busboys and Poets to hear Howard Zinn address the teaching of contemporary social justice issues.
$25 Admission includes Brunch (pay at the door)
RSVP to Don Allen at dallen@teachingforchange.org
Limited Seating Available
Please arrive early. Doors open at 9 AM. (Seats will be forfeited promptly at 10:45 AM)
For more information about Teaching for Change, go to http://www.teachingforchange.org/
presents
HOWARD ZINN
discussing
History and Social Justice Education
On Sunday, December 4th from 11 AM to 1 PM,
Teaching for Change invites educators (teachers, parents and students of all ages) to join us at Busboys and Poets to hear Howard Zinn address the teaching of contemporary social justice issues.
$25 Admission includes Brunch (pay at the door)
RSVP to Don Allen at dallen@teachingforchange.org
Limited Seating Available
Please arrive early. Doors open at 9 AM. (Seats will be forfeited promptly at 10:45 AM)
For more information about Teaching for Change, go to http://www.teachingforchange.org/
Teaching for Change Multicultural Diversity & Anti-Bias
December 10, 2005. Equity in Education 2005 Conference. Sponsored by the Equity in Education Coalition of Montgomery County. Keynote speaker, Dr. Pedro Noguera. Breakout sessions to include: Tracking 101, How to de-track, Language as a tracking mechanism and more!
Equity in Education Conference 2005
Kennedy HS 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Use the link for more information.
Equity in Education Conference 2005
Kennedy HS 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Use the link for more information.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Special Education and Minorities - New York Times
Special Education and Minorities - New York Times: "IN the debate over the achievement gap between white and minority children in Connecticut, the overrepresentation of black and Hispanic children in special education classes is among the most sensitive subjects."
In communities throughout the state, minority children are carrying around labels, like emotionally disturbed and intellectually disabled (formerly called mentally retarded), that do not accurately describe them, special education experts said. They said the students are being placed in special education because educators are misinterpreting behavior problems and misunderstanding cultural differences.
Use the link to read the entire article.
In communities throughout the state, minority children are carrying around labels, like emotionally disturbed and intellectually disabled (formerly called mentally retarded), that do not accurately describe them, special education experts said. They said the students are being placed in special education because educators are misinterpreting behavior problems and misunderstanding cultural differences.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Friday, November 18, 2005
HIV Cases Among Blacks Show Decline Since 2001
HIV Cases Among Blacks Show Decline Since 2001: "ATLANTA, Nov. 17 -- The rate of newly reported HIV cases among blacks has been dropping by about 5 percent a year since 2001, the government said Thursday, but blacks are still eight times as likely as whites to be diagnosed with the AIDS virus.
'The racial disparities remain severe,' said Lisa Lee, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Use the link to read the entire article.
'The racial disparities remain severe,' said Lisa Lee, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Monday, November 14, 2005
FBI: Racial prejudice top factor in hate crimes - Race in America - MSNBC.com
FBI: Racial prejudice top factor in hate crimes - Race in America - MSNBC.com: "WASHINGTON - Racial prejudice lay behind more than half the 7,649 hate crimes reported to the FBI in 2004, the bureau said Monday. Hate crimes against black Americans were most prevalent.
The number of race-based incidents rose by 5 percent last year to 4,042 from 3,844. Authorities identified prejudice against blacks in 2,731 of those crimes, the FBI said.
Overall, the number of hate crimes grew by just 2 percent compared with the 7,489 in 2003, and there were slight declines in crimes motivated by bias based on sexual orientation and ethnicity, the FBI said."
Use the link to read the entire article.
The number of race-based incidents rose by 5 percent last year to 4,042 from 3,844. Authorities identified prejudice against blacks in 2,731 of those crimes, the FBI said.
Overall, the number of hate crimes grew by just 2 percent compared with the 7,489 in 2003, and there were slight declines in crimes motivated by bias based on sexual orientation and ethnicity, the FBI said."
Use the link to read the entire article.
CNN.com - School drops song about picking cotton - Nov 14, 2005
CNN.com - School drops song about picking cotton - Nov 14, 2005: "A song about people picking cotton was pulled from a middle school concert in suburban Detroit after a black parent complained that it glorifies slavery.
Superintendent Tresa Zumsteg decided Monday to remove the song 'Pick a Bale of Cotton' from the program, said Gwen Ahearn, spokeswoman for the Berkley School District.
Ahearn said that when the song was picked for Wednesday's folk songs concert at Anderson Middle School, there was no intent to offend anyone.
'As it became apparent that that is the case, we pulled the song,' she said.
The school is predominantly white."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Superintendent Tresa Zumsteg decided Monday to remove the song 'Pick a Bale of Cotton' from the program, said Gwen Ahearn, spokeswoman for the Berkley School District.
Ahearn said that when the song was picked for Wednesday's folk songs concert at Anderson Middle School, there was no intent to offend anyone.
'As it became apparent that that is the case, we pulled the song,' she said.
The school is predominantly white."
Use the link to read the entire article.
High Court Rules Against Parents in Md. Special Education Case
High Court Rules Against Parents in Md. Special Education Case: "The Supreme Court, using a Montgomery County, Md., case to resolve a long-running, hotly contested national dispute, ruled today that the nation's school systems are not legally obliged to prove the adequacy of individualized educational programs set up for disabled children.
Rather, the court said, it is up to individual parents, when dissatisfied, to demonstrate a program's inadequacy."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Rather, the court said, it is up to individual parents, when dissatisfied, to demonstrate a program's inadequacy."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Article
Article: "he Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) announced new research today that helps document the connection between standards-based vocabulary instruction and future academic achievement. The findings are based on an evaluation study of ASCD's Building Academic Vocabulary program, a six-step process for vocabulary instruction in the major disciplines for all grade levels through high school."
The findings were particularly encouraging for two subgroups: English language learners (ELLs) and students on free and reduced lunch. Both groups were represented in large numbers in the experimental (those using the Building Academic Vocabulary program) and control groups.
"ELL and students on free and reduced lunch programs demonstrated gains in achievement after using the vocabulary program," said researcher Robert Marzano. "This is a particularly significant finding because the program is low cost and easy for schools and districts to implement." Marzano created the vocabulary program based on his book Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement.
Use the link to read the entire article.
The findings were particularly encouraging for two subgroups: English language learners (ELLs) and students on free and reduced lunch. Both groups were represented in large numbers in the experimental (those using the Building Academic Vocabulary program) and control groups.
"ELL and students on free and reduced lunch programs demonstrated gains in achievement after using the vocabulary program," said researcher Robert Marzano. "This is a particularly significant finding because the program is low cost and easy for schools and districts to implement." Marzano created the vocabulary program based on his book Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
States should invest in preschool | csmonitor.com
States should invest in preschool | csmonitor.com: "NEW YORK – Millions of middle-class and wealthy American parents assume preschool to be an important part of their 3- and 4-year-old children's lives, but that's far from the reality of this nation's working poor. At a time when the diversity of languages, educational backgrounds, and economic status among families is rapidly widening in almost every state in the nation, a massive expansion of affordable preschool is ever more essential yet still far from being realized in too many states.
One of every 4 children under age 6 in the United States today is a child of immigrants, an extraordinary increase from just a decade ago. More than half of these children are from poor families, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute. These are exactly the families and children who can benefit most from strong early-education programs."
Use the link to read the entire article.
One of every 4 children under age 6 in the United States today is a child of immigrants, an extraordinary increase from just a decade ago. More than half of these children are from poor families, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute. These are exactly the families and children who can benefit most from strong early-education programs."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
DailyBulletin.com - News
Of the 1.6 million students in California classified as Limited English Proficiency (LEP), just 175,000 are immigrants who arrived in the past three years. Because those who were born here are not counted as "foreign-born" in the U.S. Census or other studies, they are considered by some to be one of the "invisible" impacts of immigration.
Overwhelmingly, students born to immigrant parents in the United States require special attention to learn English because their primary language at home is usually the parents' native language. That's where special programs like the one at Monte Vista come in.
"The program has made an extraordinary difference for children of immigrant families," Ford said. "But the program is open to all the students immigrants or not."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Overwhelmingly, students born to immigrant parents in the United States require special attention to learn English because their primary language at home is usually the parents' native language. That's where special programs like the one at Monte Vista come in.
"The program has made an extraordinary difference for children of immigrant families," Ford said. "But the program is open to all the students immigrants or not."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Tolerance.org: Mix It Up: Mix It Up at Lunch
Take the Challenge. Bring down the walls that divide your school!
On Tuesday, November 15, 2005, join millions of students in a national event to challenge and bring down the walls that divide our schools.
Let’s do this! Organize a Mix It Up at Lunch Day at your school on November 15, 2005!
How To Mix It Up
Organize
* Pull together a group of students who also want to challenge the social boundaries at school and form a planning committee.
* Reach out to your favorite teacher or coach and to clubs, sport teams and other school groups.
* Ask administrators to put Mix It Up at Lunch Day on the school calendar.
* Make an announcement at a faculty meeting and ask teachers to support the day by using some of the Mix It Up classroom activities.
* Order a Mix Day starter pack.
Use the link to learn more.
On Tuesday, November 15, 2005, join millions of students in a national event to challenge and bring down the walls that divide our schools.
Let’s do this! Organize a Mix It Up at Lunch Day at your school on November 15, 2005!
How To Mix It Up
Organize
* Pull together a group of students who also want to challenge the social boundaries at school and form a planning committee.
* Reach out to your favorite teacher or coach and to clubs, sport teams and other school groups.
* Ask administrators to put Mix It Up at Lunch Day on the school calendar.
* Make an announcement at a faculty meeting and ask teachers to support the day by using some of the Mix It Up classroom activities.
* Order a Mix Day starter pack.
Use the link to learn more.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Guess Who?
"You, you . . . you AARAB," she shouted at me, her body shuddering, "GO HOME."
Two well-dressed little girls clung to the angry woman, looking frightened. Their mother screamed on and on, and people stopped to stare. I was stunned. Since when did "Arab" become a four-letter word? I am not Arab, but whatever it is she saw as she glared at me through my windshield, she was convinced that I was. I have lived here for two decades, and I am keenly aware that racism still exists in the United States (as it does everywhere else in the world). But only recently, in our post-9/11 world, have I felt that skin colors like mine (neither black nor white) are not comfortably invisible anymore.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Two well-dressed little girls clung to the angry woman, looking frightened. Their mother screamed on and on, and people stopped to stare. I was stunned. Since when did "Arab" become a four-letter word? I am not Arab, but whatever it is she saw as she glared at me through my windshield, she was convinced that I was. I have lived here for two decades, and I am keenly aware that racism still exists in the United States (as it does everywhere else in the world). But only recently, in our post-9/11 world, have I felt that skin colors like mine (neither black nor white) are not comfortably invisible anymore.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Arundel School Closes Achievement Gap
Arundel School Closes Achievement Gap
Over the past three years, this Anne Arundel school has achieved a goal that eludes most of the nation's public schools. It has closed the achievement gap between black and white students.
Among black students at North Glen, third-grade proficiency on the statewide test rose from 32 percent in 2003 to 94 percent this year, placing the campus among the top schools in Maryland for black students' performance. Across the third and fourth grades, a grand total of three black students, out of 37 tested, failed to attain proficiency. Blacks now outperform whites on several measures at the racially diverse campus, and white students perform very well.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Over the past three years, this Anne Arundel school has achieved a goal that eludes most of the nation's public schools. It has closed the achievement gap between black and white students.
Among black students at North Glen, third-grade proficiency on the statewide test rose from 32 percent in 2003 to 94 percent this year, placing the campus among the top schools in Maryland for black students' performance. Across the third and fourth grades, a grand total of three black students, out of 37 tested, failed to attain proficiency. Blacks now outperform whites on several measures at the racially diverse campus, and white students perform very well.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Theories on Why Black Students in Fairfax Trail Virginia Peers
Theories on Why Black Students in Fairfax Trail Virginia Peers
Admission to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology depends in large part on academic achievement ["In Jefferson's New Class, Incomes Seem to Count," Extra Credit, Sept. 29], but achievement for black students in Fairfax is lagging that of blacks in other Virginia districts.
A study by Maria Casby Allen, a Fairfax school system parent, found that on the 2004 fifth-grade Standards of Learning test in reading, pass rates for black students were 85 percent in suburban Chesterfield County outside Richmond and 79 percent in Richmond and Norfolk. Only 74 percent passed in Fairfax County.
On the math test, 80 percent of black students passed in Chesterfield County, 75 percent in Richmond, 70 percent in Norfolk and 63 percent in Fairfax.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Admission to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology depends in large part on academic achievement ["In Jefferson's New Class, Incomes Seem to Count," Extra Credit, Sept. 29], but achievement for black students in Fairfax is lagging that of blacks in other Virginia districts.
A study by Maria Casby Allen, a Fairfax school system parent, found that on the 2004 fifth-grade Standards of Learning test in reading, pass rates for black students were 85 percent in suburban Chesterfield County outside Richmond and 79 percent in Richmond and Norfolk. Only 74 percent passed in Fairfax County.
On the math test, 80 percent of black students passed in Chesterfield County, 75 percent in Richmond, 70 percent in Norfolk and 63 percent in Fairfax.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Minding the Gap in Gifted and Talented Programs
Minding the Gap in Gifted and Talented Programs
At board meetings and public appearances, Superintendent Jerry D. Weast speaks often about closing the achievement gap, but a recent report on the system's gifted and talented program demonstrates that the school system still has a ways to go if it hopes to ensure that all students have access to the kind of higher-level courses that are important to their success in school.
The issue of minority representation in gifted and talented, or GT, programs surfaced earlier this year when a group of black parents began asking why so few black and Hispanic students were identified as gifted and talented. Members of African American Parents of Montgomery County said school officials needed to rethink their identification process.
Use the link to read the entire article.
At board meetings and public appearances, Superintendent Jerry D. Weast speaks often about closing the achievement gap, but a recent report on the system's gifted and talented program demonstrates that the school system still has a ways to go if it hopes to ensure that all students have access to the kind of higher-level courses that are important to their success in school.
The issue of minority representation in gifted and talented, or GT, programs surfaced earlier this year when a group of black parents began asking why so few black and Hispanic students were identified as gifted and talented. Members of African American Parents of Montgomery County said school officials needed to rethink their identification process.
Use the link to read the entire article.
School Segregation Is Back With 'Vengeance,' Author Says
School Segregation Is Back With 'Vengeance,' Author Says
In a Connecticut Avenue bookstore, a bespectacled white man sounded an alarm yesterday evening about the public schools that serve black children in Washington and elsewhere. Segregation, he said, is alive and well a half-century after Brown v. Board of Education , depriving many urban black children of opportunities routinely afforded white students.
This divide, he said, compelled him to write "The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America."
Use the link to read the entire article.
In a Connecticut Avenue bookstore, a bespectacled white man sounded an alarm yesterday evening about the public schools that serve black children in Washington and elsewhere. Segregation, he said, is alive and well a half-century after Brown v. Board of Education , depriving many urban black children of opportunities routinely afforded white students.
This divide, he said, compelled him to write "The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Minority students are closing gap in math and reading - baltimoresun.com
Minority students are closing gap in math and reading - baltimoresun.com
Black and Hispanic students are narrowing the achievement gap with whites in reading and math, but overall the nation's progress is small or slipping.
The 2005 scores for grades four and eight come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the most respected measure of how students perform nationwide. The results are noted in both academic and political circles because they cover math and reading - the two building-block subjects that schools are scrambling to improve.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Black and Hispanic students are narrowing the achievement gap with whites in reading and math, but overall the nation's progress is small or slipping.
The 2005 scores for grades four and eight come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the most respected measure of how students perform nationwide. The results are noted in both academic and political circles because they cover math and reading - the two building-block subjects that schools are scrambling to improve.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Parents' Involvement Not Key to Student Progress, Study Finds - Los Angeles Times
A new study examining why similar California schools vary widely in student achievement produced some surprising results: Involved parents and well-behaved youngsters do not appear to have a major effect on how well elementary students perform on standardized tests.
But four other factors seemed to count a lot more, at least when combined in schools, according to EdSource, an independent group that studies state education issues.
The study of lower-income schools found that the strongest elements in high-performing schools are linking lessons closely to state academic standards, ensuring there are enough textbooks and other teaching materials, carefully and regularly analyzing student performance and putting a high priority on student achievement. The study's authors say that these criteria show that poverty and other challenges need not keep students from doing well.
Use the link to read the article.
But four other factors seemed to count a lot more, at least when combined in schools, according to EdSource, an independent group that studies state education issues.
The study of lower-income schools found that the strongest elements in high-performing schools are linking lessons closely to state academic standards, ensuring there are enough textbooks and other teaching materials, carefully and regularly analyzing student performance and putting a high priority on student achievement. The study's authors say that these criteria show that poverty and other challenges need not keep students from doing well.
Use the link to read the article.
The Seattle Times: Education: Racial tiebreaker will stand
The Seattle Times: Education: Racial tiebreaker will stand: "he 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld Seattle Public Schools' use of race as a tiebreaker in assigning students to popular high schools, and the plaintiffs vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling comes on the heels of decisions by federal appellate judges in the 1st and 6th Circuits upholding local school authorities' use of race as a factor in student-assignment plans in Massachusetts and Kentucky. Plaintiffs in all three cases sued on the basis that the school districts' plans violated their individual rights to equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Seattle suspended its use of the racial tiebreaker after the 2001-02 year because of the litigation."
Use the link to read the entire article.
The ruling comes on the heels of decisions by federal appellate judges in the 1st and 6th Circuits upholding local school authorities' use of race as a factor in student-assignment plans in Massachusetts and Kentucky. Plaintiffs in all three cases sued on the basis that the school districts' plans violated their individual rights to equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Seattle suspended its use of the racial tiebreaker after the 2001-02 year because of the litigation."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
USATODAY.com - Hospital inequalities widen the care gap
Studies by Bach and others suggest a different explanation: The USA's health care system remains as divided by race as its neighborhoods, schools and other aspects of American life.
"African-Americans live in very different places than whites, and in general they get treated at lousy hospitals," says Amitabh Chandra, an assistant professor at Harvard University and co-author of a new paper about health disparities.
The study, published today in the journal Circulation, suggests that black patients are concentrated in a small number of poorly performing hospitals. Nearly 70% of black heart attack patients went to only about 20% of medical centers, according to the study, which examined more than 1 million Medicare recipients from 1997 to 2001. At hospitals treating the most blacks, death rates for all heart attack patients were 19% higher than at the facilities that saw only white heart attack victims.
Use the link to read the entire article.
"African-Americans live in very different places than whites, and in general they get treated at lousy hospitals," says Amitabh Chandra, an assistant professor at Harvard University and co-author of a new paper about health disparities.
The study, published today in the journal Circulation, suggests that black patients are concentrated in a small number of poorly performing hospitals. Nearly 70% of black heart attack patients went to only about 20% of medical centers, according to the study, which examined more than 1 million Medicare recipients from 1997 to 2001. At hospitals treating the most blacks, death rates for all heart attack patients were 19% higher than at the facilities that saw only white heart attack victims.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Office Stereotyping and How It Stifles
Office Stereotyping and How It Stifles: "A few weeks ago, Neil French, a well-known advertising executive, told 300 people that women 'don't make it to the top because they don't deserve to.' He elaborated, saying that women are apt to 'wimp out and go suckle something.'
Just about the same time, a new survey announced that gender stereotypes still exist in the workplace.
Use the link to read the entire article.
"
Just about the same time, a new survey announced that gender stereotypes still exist in the workplace.
Use the link to read the entire article.
"
From a Seat on the Bus to the Seat of Government
Come nightfall today, the elderly and fearless Southern lady -- whose eyes had seen the glory of desegregation and freedom before she died, who had seemed to come out of nowhere and everywhere back in 1955 -- will begin a two-day rest in this city.
Rosa Parks is "going home," as the church folk have been saying. And the inference has been that her direction is heavenward.
She will lie tonight and part of tomorrow morning inside the Capitol Rotunda, the first woman accorded such an honor. At 1 p.m. tomorrow, there will be a memorial service at Metropolitan AME Church.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Rosa Parks is "going home," as the church folk have been saying. And the inference has been that her direction is heavenward.
She will lie tonight and part of tomorrow morning inside the Capitol Rotunda, the first woman accorded such an honor. At 1 p.m. tomorrow, there will be a memorial service at Metropolitan AME Church.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
CNN.com - Rosa Parks to lie in honor at Capitol - Oct 28, 2005
CNN.com - Rosa Parks to lie in honor at Capitol - Oct 28, 2005: "In death, Rosa Parks is joining a select few, including presidents and war heroes, accorded a public viewing in the Capitol Rotunda. It's the place where, six years ago, President Clinton and congressional leaders lauded the former seamstress for a simple act of defiance that changed the course of race relations.
On Sunday, Parks becomes the first woman to lie in honor in the vast circular room under the Capitol dome.
"
On Sunday, Parks becomes the first woman to lie in honor in the vast circular room under the Capitol dome.
"
CNN.com - Georgia's only black engineering program set to close - Oct 28, 2005
CNN.com - Georgia's only black engineering program set to close - Oct 28, 2005: "Yemaya Stallworth came to Clark Atlanta University to get an engineering degree at a school where her teachers and classmates looked like her: black.
But that option may soon disappear -- if not for her, then for the students who come after her.
The historically black university has decided to eliminate the engineering department in May 2008 as part of a cost-cutting move at financially troubled Clark Atlanta. The department is Georgia's only black engineering program."
But that option may soon disappear -- if not for her, then for the students who come after her.
The historically black university has decided to eliminate the engineering department in May 2008 as part of a cost-cutting move at financially troubled Clark Atlanta. The department is Georgia's only black engineering program."
Friday, October 28, 2005
Rosa Parks and today's white youth - The Boston Globe
BEFORE RUSHING off to school, my seventh-grade daughter sat at the breakfast table scanning a newspaper story about Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who died at age 92.
"Did you know who she was?" I asked. "Oh, Mom, what do you think?" she replied, a pre-teen's too-cool-for-you way of saying "yes."
Anna told me she learned about Parks at school, during "that holiday for black people" — which turned out to be not Kwanzaa, but Black History Month (February). "You should write about her," she said, "because, you know, there is still segregation."
Do you mean that black and white people don't live in the same neighborhoods and don't hang out together? I asked. "Yeah, write about that," she said.
This unexpected morning conversation proves that white suburban school children do learn about the contributions of courageous Americans like Rosa Parks. However, they learn about them in a bubble of time and space — within the context of a specific month, and often in schools with zero or few nonwhite classmates.
"Did you know who she was?" I asked. "Oh, Mom, what do you think?" she replied, a pre-teen's too-cool-for-you way of saying "yes."
Anna told me she learned about Parks at school, during "that holiday for black people" — which turned out to be not Kwanzaa, but Black History Month (February). "You should write about her," she said, "because, you know, there is still segregation."
Do you mean that black and white people don't live in the same neighborhoods and don't hang out together? I asked. "Yeah, write about that," she said.
This unexpected morning conversation proves that white suburban school children do learn about the contributions of courageous Americans like Rosa Parks. However, they learn about them in a bubble of time and space — within the context of a specific month, and often in schools with zero or few nonwhite classmates.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
ETS and Pearson Longman ELT Launch Powerful New English-Language Learning Program
ETS and Pearson Longman ELT Launch Powerful New English-Language Learning Program
PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2005--ETS, creators of the TOEFL(R) test, the world's leading test of academic English, and Pearson Longman, the leading publisher of English-Language Teaching programs, today unveiled a powerful instructional program to help people learn English and build the skills tested on the next generation TOEFL Internet-based test (TOEFL iBT). TOEFL iBT is a breakthrough in testing that emphasizes integrated skills and communicative competence and allows students to demonstrate the English skills needed for academic success."
Use the link to read more about the program.
PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2005--ETS, creators of the TOEFL(R) test, the world's leading test of academic English, and Pearson Longman, the leading publisher of English-Language Teaching programs, today unveiled a powerful instructional program to help people learn English and build the skills tested on the next generation TOEFL Internet-based test (TOEFL iBT). TOEFL iBT is a breakthrough in testing that emphasizes integrated skills and communicative competence and allows students to demonstrate the English skills needed for academic success."
Use the link to read more about the program.
Charlotte Observer | 10/22/2005 | Middle school closes urban achievement gap
Charlotte Observer | 10/22/2005 | Middle school closes urban achievement gap: "The founders of one of the most successful middle schools in America were two of this year's recipients of the UNC Chapel Hill General Alumni Association's Distinguished Young Alumni Awards. Dacia Toll and Doug McCurry, Morehead Scholars who graduated in 1994, opened Amistad Academy, a public charter school in New Haven, Conn., six years ago. They wanted to see if a school tailored to the needs of disadvantaged urban children could close the achievement gap.
It can and it does.
In August 2004 the school was a subject of a PBS documentary which illustrates Amistad's success. Amistad is a school that is 97 percent African American and Latino, 84 percent who qualify for free lunch. Most students enter the fifth grade scoring an average of two years below grade level, yet by the end of their eighth-grade year, they are not only scoring as well as the wealthiest suburban students, in some cases they are even surpassing them."
Use the link to view the entire article.
It can and it does.
In August 2004 the school was a subject of a PBS documentary which illustrates Amistad's success. Amistad is a school that is 97 percent African American and Latino, 84 percent who qualify for free lunch. Most students enter the fifth grade scoring an average of two years below grade level, yet by the end of their eighth-grade year, they are not only scoring as well as the wealthiest suburban students, in some cases they are even surpassing them."
Use the link to view the entire article.
The Thread That Unraveled Segregation
Civil Rights Icon Dies at Age 92
Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday, Oct. 24, 2005. She was 92.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday, Oct. 24, 2005. She was 92.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
80% of Poor Lack Civil Legal Aid, Study Says
80% of Poor Lack Civil Legal Aid, Study Says: "At least 80 percent of low-income Americans who need civil legal assistance do not receive any, in part because legal aid offices in this country are so stretched that they routinely turn away qualified prospective clients, a new study shows.Roughly 1 million cases per year are being rejected because legal aid programs lack the resources to handle them, according to the study, 'Documenting the Justice Gap in America,' by the Legal Services Corp. (LSC), which funds 143 legal aid programs across the country."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Education
Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Education
CARROLLTON – Even kindergartners are bringing iPods to class these days. But schools in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch district aren't confiscating the portable music players. They're paying for them.
The district's kindergartners jack up Apple iPods during class to help master vocabulary. In all grades, English as a second language students use the devices to learn the language.
Use the link to read the entire article.
CARROLLTON – Even kindergartners are bringing iPods to class these days. But schools in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch district aren't confiscating the portable music players. They're paying for them.
The district's kindergartners jack up Apple iPods during class to help master vocabulary. In all grades, English as a second language students use the devices to learn the language.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Painkillers Understocked in Minority Neighborhoods, Study Says
Painkillers Understocked in Minority Neighborhoods, Study Says: "Pharmacies in black neighborhoods are much less likely to carry sufficient supplies of popular opioid painkillers than those in white neighborhoods, a new study has found, leading researchers to conclude that minorities are routinely undertreated for chronic pain.
The study found that the disparity between what is available to patients in majority-black neighborhoods compared with majority-white areas had little to do with income levels, as pharmacies in wealthy black neighborhoods were no more likely to carry the prescription painkillers than those in poorer black neighborhoods. In wealthy white neighborhoods, however, pharmacies were far more likely to carry sufficient stock than in poor white communities."
Use the link to read the entire article.
The study found that the disparity between what is available to patients in majority-black neighborhoods compared with majority-white areas had little to do with income levels, as pharmacies in wealthy black neighborhoods were no more likely to carry the prescription painkillers than those in poorer black neighborhoods. In wealthy white neighborhoods, however, pharmacies were far more likely to carry sufficient stock than in poor white communities."
Use the link to read the entire article.
newsobserver.com | Education
newsobserver.com | Education: "Fear of 'acting white' is 'not the issue'
By PATRICK WINN, Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL -- Fears of being mocked for 'acting white' don't cause many black students to avoid good grades or advanced classes, according to a new study.
But too often, the study says, educators use the 'acting white' excuse as a cop out, an explanation for why black students don't score as well on average as whites.
Straight-A students of all races are equally susceptible to the 'geek' or 'stuck-up' label, according to the report, published in August in the American Sociological Review."
Use the link to read the entire article.
By PATRICK WINN, Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL -- Fears of being mocked for 'acting white' don't cause many black students to avoid good grades or advanced classes, according to a new study.
But too often, the study says, educators use the 'acting white' excuse as a cop out, an explanation for why black students don't score as well on average as whites.
Straight-A students of all races are equally susceptible to the 'geek' or 'stuck-up' label, according to the report, published in August in the American Sociological Review."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Identifying ‘achievement gap’ just the beginning
Identifying ‘achievement gap’ just the beginning: "Cindy Kerr has seen firsthand how low expectations and prejudice can play out in the county’s public schools.
Several years ago, she attended a parent-teacher conference for a student who was having trouble in school.
The teacher asked if Kerr, who is white, was there because she was the school’s PTA president. He was ‘‘flabbergasted,” she said, to learn that the student who was having trouble was her nephew, the product of a mixed-race family.
‘‘From the way he dresses I thought he was one of them,” Kerr recalled the teacher saying.
‘‘One of them?” she asked.
‘‘A thug,” the teacher replied.
‘‘He didn’t know he [my nephew] came from a good family,” said Kerr, who is president of the county council of PTAs. ‘‘[My nephew] had been labeled and didn’t have the same expectations because he dressed different or looked different.”
The conversation was emblematic of the complex challenge the public school system faces in addressing the growing achievement gap between black and Latino students and their white and Asian classmates."
Use the link to read the complete story.
Several years ago, she attended a parent-teacher conference for a student who was having trouble in school.
The teacher asked if Kerr, who is white, was there because she was the school’s PTA president. He was ‘‘flabbergasted,” she said, to learn that the student who was having trouble was her nephew, the product of a mixed-race family.
‘‘From the way he dresses I thought he was one of them,” Kerr recalled the teacher saying.
‘‘One of them?” she asked.
‘‘A thug,” the teacher replied.
‘‘He didn’t know he [my nephew] came from a good family,” said Kerr, who is president of the county council of PTAs. ‘‘[My nephew] had been labeled and didn’t have the same expectations because he dressed different or looked different.”
The conversation was emblematic of the complex challenge the public school system faces in addressing the growing achievement gap between black and Latino students and their white and Asian classmates."
Use the link to read the complete story.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Schools, Public Schools, School Districts - SchoolMatters
Schools, Public Schools, School Districts - SchoolMatters: "Helping All Students Learn: Identifying School Districts Across the U.S. that are Significantly Narrowing Achievement Gaps
Introduction
In far too many classrooms across America, the academic performance of black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students is more likely to lag behind that of their white or more well-off classmates.
It is no mystery that these longstanding achievement gaps exist; they have been well documented by researchers for decades, and their closure is one of the most persistent challenges in American education. In fact, narrowing and ultimately closing achievement gaps on states' reading and math tests is one of the explicit goals of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, and the impetus behind many school improvement efforts across the nation.
Yet the challenge of narrowing achievement gaps is a more complex undertaking than is often realized. For example, where racial achievement gaps are concerned, it is not enough to simply decrease the difference in the average proficiency rates between white and minority students, because the gap can narrow as the result of one group's falling or static test scores. This is illustrated when a higher-performing group's scores decline, while a lower-performing group's scores remain stable. The result: a narrowed gap without any improvement in achievement. Therefore, a narrowing achievement gap is most significant when the average proficiency rates of both groups being compared increase .
Equity in achievement levels between different student groups is a critically important goal that is receiving well-deserved attention by educators and policymakers alike. However, casual observers of racial achievement gaps may erroneously infer that low academic performance is a problem primarily among minority children. While it is true that when compared to white students, a higher percentage of black and Hispanic students fail to demonstrate 'proficiency' on many states' reading and math tests, a higher number of whites fail to do so in many states. In other words, whites, not minorities, frequently make up the greatest number of students lacking proficiency in reading and/or mathematics compared to any other racial group. Moreover, Asian students-themselves a minority group in most American communities-are more likely than any other racial group to meet or exceed performance standards on many states' tests. "
Use the link to read the entire report.
Introduction
In far too many classrooms across America, the academic performance of black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students is more likely to lag behind that of their white or more well-off classmates.
It is no mystery that these longstanding achievement gaps exist; they have been well documented by researchers for decades, and their closure is one of the most persistent challenges in American education. In fact, narrowing and ultimately closing achievement gaps on states' reading and math tests is one of the explicit goals of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, and the impetus behind many school improvement efforts across the nation.
Yet the challenge of narrowing achievement gaps is a more complex undertaking than is often realized. For example, where racial achievement gaps are concerned, it is not enough to simply decrease the difference in the average proficiency rates between white and minority students, because the gap can narrow as the result of one group's falling or static test scores. This is illustrated when a higher-performing group's scores decline, while a lower-performing group's scores remain stable. The result: a narrowed gap without any improvement in achievement. Therefore, a narrowing achievement gap is most significant when the average proficiency rates of both groups being compared increase .
Equity in achievement levels between different student groups is a critically important goal that is receiving well-deserved attention by educators and policymakers alike. However, casual observers of racial achievement gaps may erroneously infer that low academic performance is a problem primarily among minority children. While it is true that when compared to white students, a higher percentage of black and Hispanic students fail to demonstrate 'proficiency' on many states' reading and math tests, a higher number of whites fail to do so in many states. In other words, whites, not minorities, frequently make up the greatest number of students lacking proficiency in reading and/or mathematics compared to any other racial group. Moreover, Asian students-themselves a minority group in most American communities-are more likely than any other racial group to meet or exceed performance standards on many states' tests. "
Use the link to read the entire report.
Are You a Racist? With the Cast of 'Crash'
Are You a Racist? With the Cast of 'Crash': "Racism is a system in which we all participate, says Professor Ray Winbush, race relations expert and Director of the Institute for Urban Affairs at Morgan State University. Use the link to answer the questions and see how your results compare."
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Making Schools Work with Hedrick Smith | PBS
Making Schools Work with Hedrick Smith | PBS: "PBS WILL BROADCAST MAKING SCHOOLS WORK WITH HEDRICK SMITH
AS A PROGRAM OF NOTE
NATIONWIDE, PRIME TIME, OCTOBER 5, 9-11 PM No topic worries American families more than the quality of our schools. MAKING
SCHOOLS WORK with Hedrick Smith offers a rare and often surprising look at success
in unexpected places, with enormous implications for public schools nationwide."
AS A PROGRAM OF NOTE
NATIONWIDE, PRIME TIME, OCTOBER 5, 9-11 PM No topic worries American families more than the quality of our schools. MAKING
SCHOOLS WORK with Hedrick Smith offers a rare and often surprising look at success
in unexpected places, with enormous implications for public schools nationwide."
High Court to Hear Md. Special-Ed Case
High Court to Hear Md. Special-Ed Case: "Jocelyn and Martin Schaffer realized their son Brian was having trouble learning when, as a toddler, he was slow in beginning to speak and didn't like to color or draw. When he was old enough, they put him in a private school, but soon the teachers there told the Potomac family that Brian needed even more help.
The family turned to the Montgomery County school system, which developed a special education plan for Brian, who by then was in seventh grade. But the Schaffers thought the plan was inadequate, and when the county would not alter it, they went to court to try to get it changed."
With more than 6.4 million school-aged children in the United States receiving special education, such disputes are not uncommon. How to settle them has been the difficulty. And now, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide.
The justices will hear oral arguments today on who bears the burden of proof in such legal disputes, parents or school systems, with the outcome likely to have a significant impact on the country's schools and special education.
Use the link to read the entire article.
The family turned to the Montgomery County school system, which developed a special education plan for Brian, who by then was in seventh grade. But the Schaffers thought the plan was inadequate, and when the county would not alter it, they went to court to try to get it changed."
With more than 6.4 million school-aged children in the United States receiving special education, such disputes are not uncommon. How to settle them has been the difficulty. And now, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide.
The justices will hear oral arguments today on who bears the burden of proof in such legal disputes, parents or school systems, with the outcome likely to have a significant impact on the country's schools and special education.
Use the link to read the entire article.
AERA.net
AERA.net: "Second Annual Brown Lecture in Education
Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 6 p.m.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Washington, D.C.
Claude M. Steele has been selected to present this special AERA lecture, which focuses on equality and equity in education research. A Stanford University psychologist, Professor Steele has conducted research which has changed how social scientists think about prejudice and stereotypes. On September 1, Professor Steele becomes director of the prestigious Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, an independent organization dedicated to advancing knowledge about human behavior through research. The center is located in Stanford, California."
Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 6 p.m.
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Washington, D.C.
Claude M. Steele has been selected to present this special AERA lecture, which focuses on equality and equity in education research. A Stanford University psychologist, Professor Steele has conducted research which has changed how social scientists think about prejudice and stereotypes. On September 1, Professor Steele becomes director of the prestigious Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, an independent organization dedicated to advancing knowledge about human behavior through research. The center is located in Stanford, California."
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Top Graduates Line Up to Teach to the Poor - New York Times
Top Graduates Line Up to Teach to the Poor - New York Times: "Lucas E. Nikkel, a Dartmouth graduate, wants to be a doctor, but for now he is teaching eighth-grade chemistry at a middle school in North Carolina, one of nearly 2,200 new members of Teach for America.
'I'm looking at medical school, and everybody says taking time off first is a good idea,' he said. 'I think I'm like a lot of people who know they want to do something meaningful before they start their careers.'"
For a surprisingly large number of bright young people, Teach for America - which sends recent college graduates into poor rural and urban schools for two years for the same pay and benefits as other beginning teachers at those schools - has become the next step after graduation. It is the postcollege do-good program with buzz, drawing those who want to contribute to improving society while keeping their options open, building an ever-more impressive résumé and delaying long-term career decisions.
This year, Teach for America drew applications from 12 percent of Yale's graduates, 11 percent of Dartmouth's and 8 percent of Harvard's and Princeton's. The group also recruits for diversity, and this year got applications from 12 percent of the graduates of Spelman College, a historically black women's college in Atlanta.
All told, a record 17,350 recent college graduates applied to Teach for America this year. After a drop last year, applications were up nearly 30 percent. Teach for America accepted about a third of this year's Ivy League applicants, and about a sixth of all applications.
Use the link to read the entire article.
'I'm looking at medical school, and everybody says taking time off first is a good idea,' he said. 'I think I'm like a lot of people who know they want to do something meaningful before they start their careers.'"
For a surprisingly large number of bright young people, Teach for America - which sends recent college graduates into poor rural and urban schools for two years for the same pay and benefits as other beginning teachers at those schools - has become the next step after graduation. It is the postcollege do-good program with buzz, drawing those who want to contribute to improving society while keeping their options open, building an ever-more impressive résumé and delaying long-term career decisions.
This year, Teach for America drew applications from 12 percent of Yale's graduates, 11 percent of Dartmouth's and 8 percent of Harvard's and Princeton's. The group also recruits for diversity, and this year got applications from 12 percent of the graduates of Spelman College, a historically black women's college in Atlanta.
All told, a record 17,350 recent college graduates applied to Teach for America this year. After a drop last year, applications were up nearly 30 percent. Teach for America accepted about a third of this year's Ivy League applicants, and about a sixth of all applications.
Use the link to read the entire article.
DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS
DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS: "A persistent achievement gap between black and Latino students and their white and Asian classmates permeates Colorado schools - from the wealthiest, top-rated districts to the poorest and most rural - newly released state data show.
There were a few exceptions to that rule. But from Boulder Valley, which had some of the largest gaps in the state, to top-ranked Cherry Creek High, to the Yuma School District, data from the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests indicate many schools are struggling to bring all their students to the same performance level.
At Cherry Creek High, for example, 82 percent of the white ninth-graders were at least proficient on last school year's writing test and 41 percent of Latino ninth-graders could write at grade level.
At Manhattan Middle School of Arts and Academics in Boulder, 88 percent of white students were proficient in sixth-grade writing, but only 24 percent of the Hispanic students were.
'The achievement gap exists on all economic levels,' said Glenn E. Singleton, executive director of the California-based Pacific Educational Group and a consultant for the Cherry Creek Schools."
Use the link to read the entire article.
There were a few exceptions to that rule. But from Boulder Valley, which had some of the largest gaps in the state, to top-ranked Cherry Creek High, to the Yuma School District, data from the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests indicate many schools are struggling to bring all their students to the same performance level.
At Cherry Creek High, for example, 82 percent of the white ninth-graders were at least proficient on last school year's writing test and 41 percent of Latino ninth-graders could write at grade level.
At Manhattan Middle School of Arts and Academics in Boulder, 88 percent of white students were proficient in sixth-grade writing, but only 24 percent of the Hispanic students were.
'The achievement gap exists on all economic levels,' said Glenn E. Singleton, executive director of the California-based Pacific Educational Group and a consultant for the Cherry Creek Schools."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
NEA: NEA Today: October 2005 Up Front
NEA: NEA Today: October 2005 Up Front: "
What's not in a name
Expect More from Ebony
Do you think Ebony is as smart as Emily? Unfortunately, the answer might be no.
A University of Florida (UF) professor, who examined academic data on more than 50,000 students with identifiably African-American and Caucasian names, found that Demetrius and Deja paid a price for those handles. When teachers and administrators selected students for gifted programs, a 'Jake' was more likely to get the nod than a 'Jamal'?even if they had identical test scores.
It's about low expectations, says UF's David Figlio?and eventually it translates into lower test scores for the kids. When checking into sibling pairs, one with a 'regular' name and the other with a 'racial' name, he found the kids who had names associated with low socioeconomic status scored lower in reading and math. Meanwhile, siblings with Asian-sounding names did better than their Anglo-sounding sisters and brothers!
What's not in a name
Expect More from Ebony
Do you think Ebony is as smart as Emily? Unfortunately, the answer might be no.
A University of Florida (UF) professor, who examined academic data on more than 50,000 students with identifiably African-American and Caucasian names, found that Demetrius and Deja paid a price for those handles. When teachers and administrators selected students for gifted programs, a 'Jake' was more likely to get the nod than a 'Jamal'?even if they had identical test scores.
It's about low expectations, says UF's David Figlio?and eventually it translates into lower test scores for the kids. When checking into sibling pairs, one with a 'regular' name and the other with a 'racial' name, he found the kids who had names associated with low socioeconomic status scored lower in reading and math. Meanwhile, siblings with Asian-sounding names did better than their Anglo-sounding sisters and brothers!
NEA: Priority Scholarships
NEA: Priority Scholarships: "The Foundation and the National Education Association believe that pre-K through 12 curriculum should be taught by licensed teachers. We recognize that in certain urban, suburban, and rural communities not every teacher is licensed. In an effort to help teachers become fully licensed, the Foundation and NEA have agreed to join forces to assist teachers who desire to gain full licensure.
The Foundation and NEA are offering financial assistance and professional development assistance to help teachers who are working under provisional certification and teacher candidates. Assistance is offered in the following areas:
* Tuition
* Books
* Support for preparing to take a state teacher licensure examination
To be eligible for this program you must be currently employed as a teacher in a K-12 public school, or currently enrolled in an accredited school of education. Scholarship winners must commit to teach a minimum of three years in identified communities, to be locally determined.
Scholarships will be made through Historically Black Colleges and Universities in selected areas throughout the United States. If you are interested in participating in this program, please fill out the attached short questionnaire and we will determine your eligibility and an appropriate local HBCU for you to work through.
"
The Foundation and NEA are offering financial assistance and professional development assistance to help teachers who are working under provisional certification and teacher candidates. Assistance is offered in the following areas:
* Tuition
* Books
* Support for preparing to take a state teacher licensure examination
To be eligible for this program you must be currently employed as a teacher in a K-12 public school, or currently enrolled in an accredited school of education. Scholarship winners must commit to teach a minimum of three years in identified communities, to be locally determined.
Scholarships will be made through Historically Black Colleges and Universities in selected areas throughout the United States. If you are interested in participating in this program, please fill out the attached short questionnaire and we will determine your eligibility and an appropriate local HBCU for you to work through.
"
New Orleans's Black Colleges Hit Hard
New Orleans's Black Colleges Hit Hard
Concern is growing among black educators about the future of New Orleans's three historic African American universities, which were hit much harder by Katrina -- and have fewer resources with which to recover -- than the city's other major colleges.
Dillard University, Xavier University of Louisiana and Southern University at New Orleans got smacked with at least $1 billion in flood and fire destruction -- by far the worst damage of all the city's institutions of higher education.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Concern is growing among black educators about the future of New Orleans's three historic African American universities, which were hit much harder by Katrina -- and have fewer resources with which to recover -- than the city's other major colleges.
Dillard University, Xavier University of Louisiana and Southern University at New Orleans got smacked with at least $1 billion in flood and fire destruction -- by far the worst damage of all the city's institutions of higher education.
Use the link to read the entire article.
New principal gets kids involved in RAP
New principal gets kids involved in RAP
Andrew Winter has just begun as the new principal at Greencastle Elementary in Silver Spring, but he’s already ushering in new academic programs and initiatives to get parents and community involved in the school.
Monday morning, the school held its first classes of the new extracurricular program, Realizing Academic Potential. The RAP program allows students to receive extra schooling in math and reading — two core skills tested by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
‘‘Based on the projected enrollment, the number of students this might affect is about 25 percent, including students who just miss the proficient level on the [Maryland State Assessment tests],” he said. ‘‘It’s not a homework club — it’s a program to give them an extra hour of instruction for reading and math each day.”
The program, which serves students whose parents opt-in, is scheduled for four days each week before and after school.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Andrew Winter has just begun as the new principal at Greencastle Elementary in Silver Spring, but he’s already ushering in new academic programs and initiatives to get parents and community involved in the school.
Monday morning, the school held its first classes of the new extracurricular program, Realizing Academic Potential. The RAP program allows students to receive extra schooling in math and reading — two core skills tested by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
‘‘Based on the projected enrollment, the number of students this might affect is about 25 percent, including students who just miss the proficient level on the [Maryland State Assessment tests],” he said. ‘‘It’s not a homework club — it’s a program to give them an extra hour of instruction for reading and math each day.”
The program, which serves students whose parents opt-in, is scheduled for four days each week before and after school.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Friday, September 30, 2005
The Heartland Institute - Early Intervention Program Aims to Keep Kids out of Special Ed - by Wendy Cloyd
The Heartland Institute - Early Intervention Program Aims to Keep Kids out of Special Ed - by Wendy Cloyd: "
A Colorado Springs, Colorado school district is implementing a pilot program to address one of the greatest challenges classroom teachers face: meeting struggling students' needs as soon as they appear.
Since federal rules and regulations for the revamped Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act have not been sent to the state level yet, Colorado Springs School District 11 is launching a pilot project using a new special education model called Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI).
New Model
Under the RTI model, educators begin giving extra help to struggling students as soon as a potential learning problem is identified, long before a child qualifies for special education. While RTI does not exclude entry into special education at a later date, in many cases special education becomes unnecessary because of early intervention, analysts say.
The National Research Council on Learning Disabilities, a project of the U.S. Department of Education, is currently conducting research on alternative methods of identifying learning disabilities. RTI will be an important part of the evaluation, according to the group's Web site.
Patty Luttrell, special education staffing coordinator at Colorado Springs' Stratton Elementary School, is excited about the RTI pilot program because, she says, it will allow the school to help needy students while providing classroom teachers with much-needed support. Training in the model will be given to all teachers in the school; special education teachers will be used for early intervention and helping regular education teachers identify students' needs.
'We used to have to wait until at least third grade to test them to see if they needed academic or behavioral support,' Luttrell said. 'RTI will allow us to provide research-based interventions before we look at using all the time and money it takes to assess a student for special education services.'
Use the link to read the entire article.
"
A Colorado Springs, Colorado school district is implementing a pilot program to address one of the greatest challenges classroom teachers face: meeting struggling students' needs as soon as they appear.
Since federal rules and regulations for the revamped Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act have not been sent to the state level yet, Colorado Springs School District 11 is launching a pilot project using a new special education model called Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI).
New Model
Under the RTI model, educators begin giving extra help to struggling students as soon as a potential learning problem is identified, long before a child qualifies for special education. While RTI does not exclude entry into special education at a later date, in many cases special education becomes unnecessary because of early intervention, analysts say.
The National Research Council on Learning Disabilities, a project of the U.S. Department of Education, is currently conducting research on alternative methods of identifying learning disabilities. RTI will be an important part of the evaluation, according to the group's Web site.
Patty Luttrell, special education staffing coordinator at Colorado Springs' Stratton Elementary School, is excited about the RTI pilot program because, she says, it will allow the school to help needy students while providing classroom teachers with much-needed support. Training in the model will be given to all teachers in the school; special education teachers will be used for early intervention and helping regular education teachers identify students' needs.
'We used to have to wait until at least third grade to test them to see if they needed academic or behavioral support,' Luttrell said. 'RTI will allow us to provide research-based interventions before we look at using all the time and money it takes to assess a student for special education services.'
Use the link to read the entire article.
"
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
ASCD
Research Matters / Creating Culturally Responsive Schools
Barbara Bazron, David Osher and Steve Fleischman
During the last 10 years, U.S. schools have experienced a rapid growth in ethnic and racial diversity. In the near future, the young people now filling classrooms will be paying taxes, working in the public and private sectors, and consuming the goods and services that fuel our economy. Given the increased diversity of the student population, how can schools ensure that all students master the social, emotional, intellectual, and technical competencies necessary to fulfill these essential roles?
Use the link to read the entire article.
Barbara Bazron, David Osher and Steve Fleischman
During the last 10 years, U.S. schools have experienced a rapid growth in ethnic and racial diversity. In the near future, the young people now filling classrooms will be paying taxes, working in the public and private sectors, and consuming the goods and services that fuel our economy. Given the increased diversity of the student population, how can schools ensure that all students master the social, emotional, intellectual, and technical competencies necessary to fulfill these essential roles?
Use the link to read the entire article.
Program lets children "live" slavery - Education - MSNBC.com
ALPINE, Ala. - The girl stares at the ground, the man looming beside her. Directly ahead is a path for escape. Others stand rigidly with eyes cast downward.
“They’re runaways, ain’t they? You don’t even have a concept of freedom, do you?” the man barks at her face. “You a slave, girl?”
She nods, a few others sniffle.
The 50 children, only one of whom is black, were experiencing the cruelties inflicted upon slaves who tried to escape north through the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves had to go through that every day and I only did it for an hour,” said 11-year-old Nicole Wallis, who was so frightened that she left the living history program halfway through.
The reenactment at the YMCA’s Camp Cosby, about 45 miles east of Birmingham, is one of several nationwide, but uniquely intense. Camp counselors attempt to give a realistic perspective about slavery to fourth- and fifth-grade students by dressing as slave traders, bounty hunters and abolitionist and sending students on a risky journey through the dense woods surrounding the camp.
Use the link to read the entire article.
“They’re runaways, ain’t they? You don’t even have a concept of freedom, do you?” the man barks at her face. “You a slave, girl?”
She nods, a few others sniffle.
The 50 children, only one of whom is black, were experiencing the cruelties inflicted upon slaves who tried to escape north through the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves had to go through that every day and I only did it for an hour,” said 11-year-old Nicole Wallis, who was so frightened that she left the living history program halfway through.
The reenactment at the YMCA’s Camp Cosby, about 45 miles east of Birmingham, is one of several nationwide, but uniquely intense. Camp counselors attempt to give a realistic perspective about slavery to fourth- and fifth-grade students by dressing as slave traders, bounty hunters and abolitionist and sending students on a risky journey through the dense woods surrounding the camp.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Authors Challenge Schools to Challenge Students
Authors Challenge Schools to Challenge Students: "wo new books on how to teach students of divergent abilities seem at first to have been written on different planets.
But Deborah L. Ruf's 'Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind' and a new edition of Jeannie Oakes's 'Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality' eventually reveal a similar frustration. Both want children to be given more individual attention and more of an academic challenge than they are getting in most schools."
Use the link to read the entire article.
But Deborah L. Ruf's 'Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind' and a new edition of Jeannie Oakes's 'Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality' eventually reveal a similar frustration. Both want children to be given more individual attention and more of an academic challenge than they are getting in most schools."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
MindOH! Foundation - Initiatives > Thinking it Through
MindOH! Foundation - Initiatives > Thinking it Through: "Resources for Hurricane Katrina
Earlier this week Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast states. It was one of the most powerful hurricanes in recorded history. Many lost their homes and businesses. Others experienced emotional or physical injuries, and some lost their lives. Thousands need shelter, food, water, and medical supplies.
Thought-Provoking Activities for Young People
The MindOH! Foundation has created lesson plans and activities that can be used in classrooms, youth groups and families. These tools will help young people explore topics ranging from finding the good that can come from a bad situation, to the importance of putting good character into action by serving those in need."
Use the link to access the activities.
Earlier this week Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast states. It was one of the most powerful hurricanes in recorded history. Many lost their homes and businesses. Others experienced emotional or physical injuries, and some lost their lives. Thousands need shelter, food, water, and medical supplies.
Thought-Provoking Activities for Young People
The MindOH! Foundation has created lesson plans and activities that can be used in classrooms, youth groups and families. These tools will help young people explore topics ranging from finding the good that can come from a bad situation, to the importance of putting good character into action by serving those in need."
Use the link to access the activities.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
CNN.com - Oldest elementary school pupil tours NYC - Sep 14, 2005
CNN.com - Oldest elementary school pupil tours NYC - Sep 14, 2005: "NEW YORK (AP) -- Kimani Ng'ang'a waited more than eight decades for his first day of school. The Kenyan villager wants to make sure nobody else has to wait that long.
The 85-year-old man, billed as the world's oldest elementary school pupil, toured Manhattan Tuesday to promote a global campaign urging assistance for an estimated 100 million children denied an education because of poverty.
Kimani only started his formal education in January 2004.
'Look what school has done for me so far,' said Kimani, standing in Battery Park with the Statue of Liberty behind him. 'Here I am in New York.'
As part of his visit, Kimani traveled around Manhattan in a yellow school bus to spread his message about education for needy children."
Use the link to read the entire story.
The 85-year-old man, billed as the world's oldest elementary school pupil, toured Manhattan Tuesday to promote a global campaign urging assistance for an estimated 100 million children denied an education because of poverty.
Kimani only started his formal education in January 2004.
'Look what school has done for me so far,' said Kimani, standing in Battery Park with the Statue of Liberty behind him. 'Here I am in New York.'
As part of his visit, Kimani traveled around Manhattan in a yellow school bus to spread his message about education for needy children."
Use the link to read the entire story.
Friday, September 09, 2005
SAT Scores Still Differ for Whites, Blacks
SAT Scores Still Differ for Whites, Blacks: "The achievement gap between white and black students on the SAT is five times as large at Annapolis High School as at Southern High School in Harwood, illustrating that the goal of racial parity may be more easily attained in some parts of the county than others.
The SAT achievement gap is essentially unchanged in Anne Arundel County over the past three years, based on a review of scores from 2003 to 2005 for white and black students. The gap has narrowed at four schools in that time span, but it has widened at six others, among the 10 high schools with sufficient numbers of black students to warrant a comparison."
The SAT achievement gap is essentially unchanged in Anne Arundel County over the past three years, based on a review of scores from 2003 to 2005 for white and black students. The gap has narrowed at four schools in that time span, but it has widened at six others, among the 10 high schools with sufficient numbers of black students to warrant a comparison."
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Hear JONATHAN KOZOL
Hear JONATHAN KOZOL
acclaimed author of
SAVAGE INEQUALITIES,
on the release of his new book,
THE SHAME OF THE NATION:
THE RESTORATION OF APARTHEID SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
Saturday, September 17, 2005
2-4PM
Blair High School Auditorium
51 University Boulevard, Silver Spring, MD 20901
BOOKS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE TO BE SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
This event is brought to you by the
Center For Teacher Leadership
and co-sponsored by the
Equity in Education Coalition in Montgomery County
Montgomery County Education Association
Progressive Maryland
NAACP Parents Council
Blair Students for Global Responsibility
Montgomery County Education Forum
EXCERPTS:
Many Americans who live far from our major cities and who have no firsthand knowledge of
the realities to be found in urban public schools seem to have the rather vague and general
impression that the great extremes of racial isolation that were matters of grave national
significance some thirty-five or forty years ago have gradually but steadily diminished in more
recent years. The truth, unhappily, is that the trend, for well over a decade now, has been
precisely the reverse. Schools that were already deeply segregated twenty-five or thirty years
ago are no less segregated now, while thousands of other schools around the country that had
been integrated either voluntarily or by the force of law have since been rapidly resegregating.
* * *
'I went to Washington to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations,' said President Bush in
his campaign for reelection in September 2004. 'It's working. It's making a difference.' Here we
have one of those deadly lies that by sheer repetition is at length accepted by surprisingly large
numbers of Americans. But it is not the truth; and it is not an innocent misstatement of the facts.
It is a devious appeasement of the heartache of the parents of the black and brown and poor,
and if it is not forcefully resisted it will lead us further in a very dangerous direction.
* * *
Whether the issue is inequity alone or deepening resegregation or the labyrinthine intertwining
of the two, it is well past the time for us to start the work that it will take to change this. If it
takes people marching in the streets and other forms of adamant disruption of the governing
civilities, if it takes more than litigation, more than legislation, and much more than resolutions
introduced by members of Congress, these are prices we should be prepared to pay.
* * *
Teachers and principals should not permit the beautiful profession they have chosen to be
redefined by those who know far less than they about the hearts of children. When they do this,
as in schools in which the principals adopt the borrowed lexicons of building managers or
CEOs, they come out sounding inauthentic, self-diminished, and they end up diminishing the
human qualities of teachers. Schools can probably survive quite well without their rubric charts
and numbered standards-listings plastering the walls. They can't survive without good teachers
and, no matter what curriculum may be in place, whether its approved by state officials or by
Washington or not, they are no good at all if teachers are unable to enjoy the work they do and
be invigorated by its unpredictables.
* * *
'ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN' the advocates for the agenda say hypnotically, as if the tireless
reiteration of this slogan could deliver to low -income children the same clean and decent
infrastructure and amplitude of cultural provision by experienced instructors that we give the
children of the privileged.
* * *
'There is no misery index for the children of apartheid education. There ought to be; we measure
almost everything else that happens to them in their schools. Do kids who go to schools like
these enjoy the days they spend in them? Is school, for most of them, a happy place to be? You
do not find the answers to these questions in reports about achievement levels, scientific
methods of accountability, or structural revisions in the modes of governance.
acclaimed author of
SAVAGE INEQUALITIES,
on the release of his new book,
THE SHAME OF THE NATION:
THE RESTORATION OF APARTHEID SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
Saturday, September 17, 2005
2-4PM
Blair High School Auditorium
51 University Boulevard, Silver Spring, MD 20901
BOOKS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE TO BE SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
This event is brought to you by the
Center For Teacher Leadership
and co-sponsored by the
Equity in Education Coalition in Montgomery County
Montgomery County Education Association
Progressive Maryland
NAACP Parents Council
Blair Students for Global Responsibility
Montgomery County Education Forum
EXCERPTS:
Many Americans who live far from our major cities and who have no firsthand knowledge of
the realities to be found in urban public schools seem to have the rather vague and general
impression that the great extremes of racial isolation that were matters of grave national
significance some thirty-five or forty years ago have gradually but steadily diminished in more
recent years. The truth, unhappily, is that the trend, for well over a decade now, has been
precisely the reverse. Schools that were already deeply segregated twenty-five or thirty years
ago are no less segregated now, while thousands of other schools around the country that had
been integrated either voluntarily or by the force of law have since been rapidly resegregating.
* * *
'I went to Washington to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations,' said President Bush in
his campaign for reelection in September 2004. 'It's working. It's making a difference.' Here we
have one of those deadly lies that by sheer repetition is at length accepted by surprisingly large
numbers of Americans. But it is not the truth; and it is not an innocent misstatement of the facts.
It is a devious appeasement of the heartache of the parents of the black and brown and poor,
and if it is not forcefully resisted it will lead us further in a very dangerous direction.
* * *
Whether the issue is inequity alone or deepening resegregation or the labyrinthine intertwining
of the two, it is well past the time for us to start the work that it will take to change this. If it
takes people marching in the streets and other forms of adamant disruption of the governing
civilities, if it takes more than litigation, more than legislation, and much more than resolutions
introduced by members of Congress, these are prices we should be prepared to pay.
* * *
Teachers and principals should not permit the beautiful profession they have chosen to be
redefined by those who know far less than they about the hearts of children. When they do this,
as in schools in which the principals adopt the borrowed lexicons of building managers or
CEOs, they come out sounding inauthentic, self-diminished, and they end up diminishing the
human qualities of teachers. Schools can probably survive quite well without their rubric charts
and numbered standards-listings plastering the walls. They can't survive without good teachers
and, no matter what curriculum may be in place, whether its approved by state officials or by
Washington or not, they are no good at all if teachers are unable to enjoy the work they do and
be invigorated by its unpredictables.
* * *
'ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN' the advocates for the agenda say hypnotically, as if the tireless
reiteration of this slogan could deliver to low -income children the same clean and decent
infrastructure and amplitude of cultural provision by experienced instructors that we give the
children of the privileged.
* * *
'There is no misery index for the children of apartheid education. There ought to be; we measure
almost everything else that happens to them in their schools. Do kids who go to schools like
these enjoy the days they spend in them? Is school, for most of them, a happy place to be? You
do not find the answers to these questions in reports about achievement levels, scientific
methods of accountability, or structural revisions in the modes of governance.
Teaching for Change Multicultural Diversity & Anti-Bias
Teaching for Change provides teachers and parents with the tools to transform schools into socially equitable centers of learning where students become architects of a better future. Teaching for Change is a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, DC.
Busboys and Poets Books, operated by Teaching for Change, is Washington, DC's newest source for books and films that encourage children and adults to question, challenge and re-think the world beyond the headlines. The bookstore is in the Busboys and Poets restaurant, performance space, and coffeehouse, which features a dynamic events schedule. Busboys & Poets is a new venture of peace activist Andy Shallal of Mimi's and Cafe Luna.
Busboys and Poets Books, operated by Teaching for Change, is Washington, DC's newest source for books and films that encourage children and adults to question, challenge and re-think the world beyond the headlines. The bookstore is in the Busboys and Poets restaurant, performance space, and coffeehouse, which features a dynamic events schedule. Busboys & Poets is a new venture of peace activist Andy Shallal of Mimi's and Cafe Luna.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
New stamps commemorate milestones
New stamps commemorate milestones: "WASHINGTON -- The Civil Rights and Voting Rights laws, the Freedom Riders and the Montgomery bus boycott are among the events commemorated on a set of stamps dedicated Tuesday by the U.S. Postal Service.
The 10 37-cent stamps commemorate milestones in the civil rights movement and were dedicated at ceremonies in several cities across the country.
The set, titled 'To Form a More Perfect Union,' includes stamps commemorating the 1955 boycott against Montgomery, Ala.'s segregated bus system, the executive order integrating the armed forces and the march on Washington in 1963 in which thousands demonstrated for jobs and equality and Martin Luther King Jr. made his 'I Have a Dream' speech."
The 10 37-cent stamps commemorate milestones in the civil rights movement and were dedicated at ceremonies in several cities across the country.
The set, titled 'To Form a More Perfect Union,' includes stamps commemorating the 1955 boycott against Montgomery, Ala.'s segregated bus system, the executive order integrating the armed forces and the march on Washington in 1963 in which thousands demonstrated for jobs and equality and Martin Luther King Jr. made his 'I Have a Dream' speech."
Inside Higher Ed :: Half Empty or Half Full?
Inside Higher Ed :: Half Empty or Half Full?: "Enrollments of American Indian and Alaska Native students more than doubled in the 25 years prior to 2002, when there were almost 166,000 such students enrolled — or about 1 percent of total enrollment. Those data are from a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics. The report provides an overview on numerous issues related to American Indians in all levels of education.
While the report noted the tremendous gains of the last 25 years, it also noted numerous ways — such as college-going and graduation rates — in which Native Americans lag behind other ethnic groups in higher education.
Besides growing, Native American enrollments have changed in other ways since 1976. Until 1994, more Native American students were enrolled in community colleges than at four-year institutions, but since that year, a majority of the students were enrolled at four-year institutions. Also in 1976, enrollments of male and female Native American students were relatively equal. But enrollments of women have grown at a much faster rate, such that there are just over 100,000 female Native Americans enrolled but only 65,700 men.
Enrollment has also been growing at tribally controlled colleges. Nearly 16,000 students were enrolled at these institutions in 2002, up 17 percent in five years. While only 8 percent of all Native American college students are enrolled at these institutions, these are the colleges with the largest proportions of Native American students.
Despite all of these increases, the Education Department data show that Native American students are less likely than other students to be enrolled in or to graduate from college. Of Native Americans between 18 and 24 years old, only 17.7 percent are enrolled in colleges and universities — lower than the national average of 37.8 and the figures for every other ethnic or racial group. (Asian Americans lead at 60.3 percent.)
The data also suggest low graduation rates for Native Americans in higher education. The Education Department analyzed “likely postsecondary participants” (based on transcripts and other information) who were seniors in high school in 1992. By 2000, 15 percent of Native Americans in the group had a bachelor’s degree, compared to a national average of 45 percent. The Native American percentage was the lowest for any racial or ethnic group, with Hispanics the closest, at 24 percent."
Use the link to read the entire article.
While the report noted the tremendous gains of the last 25 years, it also noted numerous ways — such as college-going and graduation rates — in which Native Americans lag behind other ethnic groups in higher education.
Besides growing, Native American enrollments have changed in other ways since 1976. Until 1994, more Native American students were enrolled in community colleges than at four-year institutions, but since that year, a majority of the students were enrolled at four-year institutions. Also in 1976, enrollments of male and female Native American students were relatively equal. But enrollments of women have grown at a much faster rate, such that there are just over 100,000 female Native Americans enrolled but only 65,700 men.
Enrollment has also been growing at tribally controlled colleges. Nearly 16,000 students were enrolled at these institutions in 2002, up 17 percent in five years. While only 8 percent of all Native American college students are enrolled at these institutions, these are the colleges with the largest proportions of Native American students.
Despite all of these increases, the Education Department data show that Native American students are less likely than other students to be enrolled in or to graduate from college. Of Native Americans between 18 and 24 years old, only 17.7 percent are enrolled in colleges and universities — lower than the national average of 37.8 and the figures for every other ethnic or racial group. (Asian Americans lead at 60.3 percent.)
The data also suggest low graduation rates for Native Americans in higher education. The Education Department analyzed “likely postsecondary participants” (based on transcripts and other information) who were seniors in high school in 1992. By 2000, 15 percent of Native Americans in the group had a bachelor’s degree, compared to a national average of 45 percent. The Native American percentage was the lowest for any racial or ethnic group, with Hispanics the closest, at 24 percent."
Use the link to read the entire article.
Inside Higher Ed :: Demographic Dislocation
Inside Higher Ed :: Demographic Dislocation: "What if the Supreme Court had banned affirmative action? What if colleges moved away from the use of affirmative action on their own?"
A new study by two Princeton University researchers uses admissions data from elite colleges to portray what would happen in such a world without affirmative action. In short, black and Latino enrollment would tank, while white enrollments would hardly be affected. The big winners would be Asian applicants, who appear to face “disaffirmative action” right now. They would pick up about four out of five spots lost by black and Latino applicants.
Use the link to read the entire article.
A new study by two Princeton University researchers uses admissions data from elite colleges to portray what would happen in such a world without affirmative action. In short, black and Latino enrollment would tank, while white enrollments would hardly be affected. The big winners would be Asian applicants, who appear to face “disaffirmative action” right now. They would pick up about four out of five spots lost by black and Latino applicants.
Use the link to read the entire article.
Inside Higher Ed :: Chicano Ph.D. Pipeline
Inside Higher Ed :: Chicano Ph.D. Pipeline: "Community colleges have long been seen as key institutions in the push to get more minority students into higher education. A new study suggests that for one minority group — Chicanos — the importance of community colleges extends up through the production of doctorates."
Nearly one-fourth of Chicanos with doctorates started their higher education at a community college, according to a new report by the Chicano Studies Research Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. The report found that the proportion of Chicano doctorate holders who started out at a community college (23 percent) is more than twice that of doctorate holders who are white (11 percent), black (10 percent), Puerto Rican (6 percent) or Asian American (3 percent).
The only ethnic or racial group to come close to Chicanos in this regard is Native Americans (19 percent).
“For Chicana and Chicano students, the community college is the most critical gateway to postsecondary education,” said Daniel Solórzano, a professor of education at UCLA and associate director of the Chicano Studies Research Center.
As a result, he said, if educators and policy makers want to have more Chicano professors, they need to pay more attention to community college issues, and especially to efforts to help students at community colleges transfer to four-year institutions. Surveys have found that more than 70 percent of Latino students who enter a community college want to eventually transfer to a four-year institution, but fewer than 20 percent actually do so.
The UCLA findings come at a time that other students have found serious gaps in Ph.D. attainment by Latinos, compared to the rest of the population. For example, Chicanas make up 6.7 percent of the age cohort that typically earns Ph.D.’s, but receive only 1.1 percent of doctorates awarded to women. Chicanos make up 7.9 percent of their equivalent age cohort, and earn only about 1 percent of doctorates awarded to men.
The impact of attending a community college on earning a doctorate appears to vary by discipline. According to the UCLA study, Chicanos who started their educations in community colleges were most likely to earn doctorates in education and the social sciences. Education, for example, was the discipline of 40 percent of Chicano doctorates who started in community colleges and only 26 percent of Chicanos who started elsewhere.
Other fields are more likely to attract Chicano doctorates who didn’t start at two-year institutions. For example, 17 percent of such Chicanos received doctorates in the life sciences, compared to 11 percent of those who started at community colleges.
— Scott Jaschik
Nearly one-fourth of Chicanos with doctorates started their higher education at a community college, according to a new report by the Chicano Studies Research Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. The report found that the proportion of Chicano doctorate holders who started out at a community college (23 percent) is more than twice that of doctorate holders who are white (11 percent), black (10 percent), Puerto Rican (6 percent) or Asian American (3 percent).
The only ethnic or racial group to come close to Chicanos in this regard is Native Americans (19 percent).
“For Chicana and Chicano students, the community college is the most critical gateway to postsecondary education,” said Daniel Solórzano, a professor of education at UCLA and associate director of the Chicano Studies Research Center.
As a result, he said, if educators and policy makers want to have more Chicano professors, they need to pay more attention to community college issues, and especially to efforts to help students at community colleges transfer to four-year institutions. Surveys have found that more than 70 percent of Latino students who enter a community college want to eventually transfer to a four-year institution, but fewer than 20 percent actually do so.
The UCLA findings come at a time that other students have found serious gaps in Ph.D. attainment by Latinos, compared to the rest of the population. For example, Chicanas make up 6.7 percent of the age cohort that typically earns Ph.D.’s, but receive only 1.1 percent of doctorates awarded to women. Chicanos make up 7.9 percent of their equivalent age cohort, and earn only about 1 percent of doctorates awarded to men.
The impact of attending a community college on earning a doctorate appears to vary by discipline. According to the UCLA study, Chicanos who started their educations in community colleges were most likely to earn doctorates in education and the social sciences. Education, for example, was the discipline of 40 percent of Chicano doctorates who started in community colleges and only 26 percent of Chicanos who started elsewhere.
Other fields are more likely to attract Chicano doctorates who didn’t start at two-year institutions. For example, 17 percent of such Chicanos received doctorates in the life sciences, compared to 11 percent of those who started at community colleges.
— Scott Jaschik
Inside Higher Ed :: For Black Men Only
Inside Higher Ed :: For Black Men Only: "At many colleges, “freshman learning communities” have taken hold as a way to make sure more first-year students become second-year students. Participants in these communities live in the same dormitory and take some or all of the same courses. The idea is to integrate students’ academic and non-academic lives, and to create an environment where students will help one another succeed."
The University of West Georgia is among the institutions with such a program. But starting this week, the university is creating a new learning community — for black male students. Typically, freshman learning communities focus on general education or on a specific academic field. At West Georgia, the community for black men is an outgrowth of a professor’s vision for helping black male students improve academically while challenging the negative images of black men that pervade society.
“We have high expectations for students, and we’re telling students not to lower their expectations,” says Said Sewell, an assistant professor of political science who is leading the effort. “This program is about the mentorship of brothers supporting each other.”
Use the link to read the entire article.
The University of West Georgia is among the institutions with such a program. But starting this week, the university is creating a new learning community — for black male students. Typically, freshman learning communities focus on general education or on a specific academic field. At West Georgia, the community for black men is an outgrowth of a professor’s vision for helping black male students improve academically while challenging the negative images of black men that pervade society.
“We have high expectations for students, and we’re telling students not to lower their expectations,” says Said Sewell, an assistant professor of political science who is leading the effort. “This program is about the mentorship of brothers supporting each other.”
Use the link to read the entire article.
Inside Higher Ed :: Women, Minorities and the Sciences
Inside Higher Ed :: Women, Minorities and the Sciences: "National Science Foundation programs aimed at increasing the participation of women and members of underrepresented minority groups in science, mathematics and engineering have produced significant results — but “there is still a long way to go before individuals from underrepresented groups have full access” to those fields, a report by an NSF committee says."
Use the link to read the entire report.
Use the link to read the entire report.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
1.1 million more Americans in poverty in 2004 - Aug. 30, 2005
1.1 million more Americans in poverty in 2004 - Aug. 30, 2005: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. poverty rate rose in 2004, driven by an increase in the number of poor non-Hispanic whites, while the median income for Americans as a whole remained stable, the government said on Tuesday.
The percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.7 percent from 12.5 percent in 2003, as 1.1 million more people slipped into poverty last year, the Census Bureau said in its annual poverty report.
The ranks of the poor rose to 37.0 million, up from 35.9 million the previous year, the report said.
The poverty rate rose for only one group -- non-Hispanic whites -- which had an 8.6 percent poverty rate for 2004 compared with 8.2 percent in 2003. The poverty rate declined for Asians and remained unchanged for blacks and Hispanics, the report showed.
The real median household income in 2004 totaled $44,389, flat from 2003 and marking the second consecutive year in which income showed no change.
Black households had the lowest median income among race groups, at $30,134, while Asian households had the highest, at $57,518. The median-income for non-Hispanic white households was $48,977 and was $34,241 for Hispanic households.
Income was unchanged in each census region except the U.S. Midwest, where it declined 2.8 percent to $44,657, the report said."
The percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.7 percent from 12.5 percent in 2003, as 1.1 million more people slipped into poverty last year, the Census Bureau said in its annual poverty report.
The ranks of the poor rose to 37.0 million, up from 35.9 million the previous year, the report said.
The poverty rate rose for only one group -- non-Hispanic whites -- which had an 8.6 percent poverty rate for 2004 compared with 8.2 percent in 2003. The poverty rate declined for Asians and remained unchanged for blacks and Hispanics, the report showed.
The real median household income in 2004 totaled $44,389, flat from 2003 and marking the second consecutive year in which income showed no change.
Black households had the lowest median income among race groups, at $30,134, while Asian households had the highest, at $57,518. The median-income for non-Hispanic white households was $48,977 and was $34,241 for Hispanic households.
Income was unchanged in each census region except the U.S. Midwest, where it declined 2.8 percent to $44,657, the report said."
Poverty Rate Rises to 12.7 Percent
Poverty Rate Rises to 12.7 Percent: "WASHINGTON -- The nation's poverty rate rose to 12.7 percent of the population last year, the fourth consecutive annual increase, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.
The percentage of people without health insurance did not change."
Overall, there were 37 million people living in poverty, up 1.1 million people from 2003.
Asians were the only ethnic group to show a decline in poverty _ from 11.8 percent in 2003 to 9.8 percent last year. The poverty rate among the elderly declined as well, from 10.2 percent in 2003 to 9.8 percent last year.
The last decline in overall poverty was in 2000, when 31.1 million people lived under the threshold _ 11.3 percent of the population. Since then, the poverty rate has increased steadily from 11.7 percent in 2001, when the economy slipped into recession, to 12.5 percent in 2003.
The number of people without health insurance grew from 45 million to 45.8 million. At the same time, the number of people with health insurance coverage grew by 2 million last year.
The median household income, meanwhile, stood at $44,389, unchanged from 2003. Among racial and ethnic groups blacks had the lowest median income and Asians the highest. Median income refers to the point at which half of households earn more and half earn less.
Regionally, income declined only in the Midwest, down 2.8 percent to $44,657. The South was the poorest region and the Northeast and the West had the highest median incomes.
The increase in poverty came despite strong economic growth, which helped create 2.2 million jobs last year.
The percentage of people without health insurance did not change."
Overall, there were 37 million people living in poverty, up 1.1 million people from 2003.
Asians were the only ethnic group to show a decline in poverty _ from 11.8 percent in 2003 to 9.8 percent last year. The poverty rate among the elderly declined as well, from 10.2 percent in 2003 to 9.8 percent last year.
The last decline in overall poverty was in 2000, when 31.1 million people lived under the threshold _ 11.3 percent of the population. Since then, the poverty rate has increased steadily from 11.7 percent in 2001, when the economy slipped into recession, to 12.5 percent in 2003.
The number of people without health insurance grew from 45 million to 45.8 million. At the same time, the number of people with health insurance coverage grew by 2 million last year.
The median household income, meanwhile, stood at $44,389, unchanged from 2003. Among racial and ethnic groups blacks had the lowest median income and Asians the highest. Median income refers to the point at which half of households earn more and half earn less.
Regionally, income declined only in the Midwest, down 2.8 percent to $44,657. The South was the poorest region and the Northeast and the West had the highest median incomes.
The increase in poverty came despite strong economic growth, which helped create 2.2 million jobs last year.
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