“Enjoyment” by ohdearbarb/cc/flickr
Today’s Top Picks:
Common Core opponents hold meetings in Utah.
http://goo.gl/X57fy (SLT)
and http://goo.gl/aDr5M (DN)
or Brenda Hales’ piece on UtahPublicEducation.org http://goo.gl/NWzkO
Granite District passes a new donations policy.
http://goo.gl/L6WUU (DN)
Fourth Circuit Court upholds academic credit for released time programs.
http://goo.gl/8Ve4e (DN)
or a copy of the ruling
http://goo.gl/VY6s1
Muskegon Heights, MI, converts all its schools to charter schools.
http://goo.gl/Z1ap5 (NRP)
and http://goo.gl/fS8BD (Muskegon Chronicle)
North Carolina takes up the issue of money and schools.
http://goo.gl/NqVr2 (Greensboro News & Record or http://goo.gl/ksB6M (N&R editorial)
And, finally, it’s taken more than 10 years of news roundups, but, by golly, Barry Manilow at last has appeared in ENR.
http://goo.gl/qCois (AP)
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
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UTAH
Common Core foes meet with guv, lawmakers, public
New Granite donor policy passes, despite community objections Issue could go before Utah Legislature
Failing grades land Utah teen in juvenile detention Utah legislator is out to ban lockup as teens’ potential penalty for bad grades.
Released-time academic credit upheld by federal court
Utah refugees form cultural exchange with Ute tribe Education » Field trip to reservation gave refugee students a chance to learn about Utah’s tribe.
Jordan school board to apologize for high school play
Utah ranks 2nd in ‘Top States for Business’
Art, science and teachers merge during artsFUSION workshop
Iraqi and Utah students work together to close culture gaps
Juan Diego student dies after falling from roof
A school for the arts
Grade school students say work is ‘too easy,’ according to new report
Mountain America Credit Union Joins Ken Garff as Title Sponsor of Keys to Success Program
OPINION & COMMENTARY
More graduates
Move 9th grade to high school
Utah’s Core Standards, Assessments and Privacy Regulations
The Online High School Graduation That Was: My View From The Trenches
Public schools really for you?
More Than 100,000 Teachers Lost Their Jobs in the Last Year
A cautionary tale
Love is scary
Alarms Sounded As Federal Ed. Cuts Loom
Study: ’21st Century Learning’ Demands Mix of Abilities
In NAACP Speech, Romney Emphasizes Education Reform
Critique of Khan Academy Goes Viral
NATION
Struggling Michigan City Privatizes Public Schools
Special Educators’ Use of Restraints, Seclusion Topic of Senate Hearing
Montlieu, Wiley test scores soar
McGraw-Hill Education Plans $600 Million Debt as Split Nears
Mid-South teachers hired extras to take certification tests, feds in Memphis say
Parents of autistic boy sue Leander district, alleging bullying, sexual abuse by peers
While other states opt out, Alabama plans to keep cursive in the classroom this fall
Barry Manilow donates piano to Ky. school district
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UTAH NEWS
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Common Core foes meet with guv, lawmakers, public
The nation’s top education official says it’s not true.
State education leaders say it’s false.
And the governor does not believe Common Core academic standards are bad for Utah or mean a loss of local control.
But a group of Utah conservatives are determined to show that despite all those assurances, the Common Core is part of a federal takeover of education from which Utah will not be able to escape. And powerful people in Utah are hearing them out.
The governor met with a group of Common Core foes Monday afternoon. The group, the Utah Education Coalition, then bought lunch for at least a dozen lawmakers, including some legislative leaders, to whom they also preached their points, on Tuesday. The coalition is led by Rep. Keith Grover, R-Provo, and made up of a number of conservative groups including the Utah Eagle Forum, Standard of Liberty and the Salt Lake County Republican Assembly.
Four national Common Core opponents, invited to Utah by the group, spoke to the lawmakers Tuesday afternoon during the private lunch, which a Salt Lake Tribune reporter was not allowed to attend. They then spoke Tuesday evening at a public event in Sandy, attended by a standing-room-only crowd of hundreds that included a number of lawmakers.
http://goo.gl/X57fy (SLT)
http://goo.gl/aDr5M (DN)
New Granite donor policy passes, despite community objections Issue could go before Utah Legislature
MURRAY — The Granite Board of Education unanimously approved a new donations policy Tuesday night, despite protests and pleadings from many in the Cottonwood High community.
The policy prevents people who donate more than $500 to a school in a year from participating in any decision-making role in any school program. It also more clearly informs donors that anything given to a school becomes the property of the district and the donor has no control over how it is used.
Granite School District Superintendent Martin Bates said it was difficult for the board to vote for the change in the face of overwhelming opposition.
“But they’re not the only people we heard from (on this issue),” he said of those in attendance Tuesday night. “That’s not the whole Cottonwood community. This wasn’t unexpected.”
http://goo.gl/L6WUU (DN)
Failing grades land Utah teen in juvenile detention Utah legislator is out to ban lockup as teens’ potential penalty for bad grades.
It started in a school bus.
Early in 2006, 13-year-old Tanner Passarella was riding home from his Carbon County middle school when his pants came down. The boy’s father says it was another child who pulled them down, but Tanner Passarella was charged with lewdness.
A year later, Tanner Passarella was caught with a pack of gum in his pocket as he left a gas station, and he was charged with theft. The boy was placed on probation. He was required to perform community service. And he was ordered to keep his grades up.
So when the boy’s report card came back with no absences but six F’s and a D, the Carbon County Attorney’s Office issued a summons, and 7th District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen sent the teen to juvenile detention for what would be the first of several periods of incarceration in the juvenile justice system.
“That’s really when he went into the system,” said the boy’s father, Fred Passarella, “because he couldn’t [get passing grades].”
School attendance and performance are often included in boilerplate court orders for juvenile offenders. And juvenile justice experts say performance in both categories are good signs for predicting recidivism, although it is rarely the sole basis for incarcerating a juvenile.
http://goo.gl/x1bDX (SLT)
Released-time academic credit upheld by federal court
A federal appeals court ruled unanimously Friday that students in public schools can appropriately receive academic credit for released-time religious classes taught during school hours.
The decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., upheld a South Carolina program that allows students to receive elective school credit for religious courses taken off-campus during school hours. The program was challenged in 2009 by a group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which claimed that the program is a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”).
“The program properly accommodates religion without establishing it, in accordance with the First Amendment,” the ruling states. “(The program) accommodates the ‘genuine and independent choices of parents and students to pursue (religious) instruction.’”
http://goo.gl/8Ve4e (DN)
A copy of the ruling
http://goo.gl/VY6s1
Utah refugees form cultural exchange with Ute tribe Education » Field trip to reservation gave refugee students a chance to learn about Utah’s tribe.
Refugee students from Congo, Somalia, Sudan and Nepal who are attending Cottonwood High School don’t always share stories about their own heritage while immersing themselves in the ways of the American school system.
It’s a conundrum social worker Chris Mockli, who works with refugee students in the Granite School District, wanted to solve by finding a way to encourage students from other parts of the world to teach classmates about the unique aspects of their cultures.
So Mockli, along with other educators who work with the school’s 320 English language learners (ELL), brainstormed an idea to form a cultural exchange with students on The Uintah and Ouray Reservation of the Ute tribe, located in the Uintah Basin 150 miles east of Salt Lake City.
About 50 of Mockli’s students recently visited the reservation near Fort Duchesne, where they learned about the history of the Ute Tribe and took part in an annual tradition called the “Bear Dance.”
http://goo.gl/Gm9UN (SLT)
Jordan school board to apologize for high school play
West Jordan • The Jordan Board of Education on Tuesday clarified the school district’s stance on the death penalty, made plans to apologize for a Bingham High production of “Dead Man Walking” performed last spring and discussed changing its policy for how high school plays are selected.
The board engaged in a lengthy discussion at a study session before its regularly scheduled meeting in West Jordan, where several members said they received e-mails from parents who were shocked by what the play depicted and suggested future productions need to better reflect the community’s values.
The play is based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean, a nun who counseled a condemned killer before he was executed, and several parents weren’t aware that their children would be performing a storyline that contained violence and adult themes until attending the play, said board member Carmen R. Freeman.
Others who attended the production were upset it wasn’t “family friendly” and scary for younger children, he said. Freeman called for more parental involvement in the process to select high school plays.
http://goo.gl/E9xLU (SLT)
Utah ranks 2nd in ‘Top States for Business’
SALT LAKE CITY — The Beehive State has taken a giant leap toward the nation’s business elite, according to a CNBC report released Tuesday.
Utah moved up six slots from eighth place last year to rank No. 2 in CNBC’s annual “America’s Top States for Business” study. Texas topped the list.
The 2012 study lauds Utah’s strong workforce, effective transportation and low cost of doing business.
…
Despite all the positive attributes, Utah did suffer from one of the worst education rankings in the country, finishing 45th.
The report cited large class sizes, low spending and mediocre test scores as issues of concern.
http://goo.gl/CPNQj (KSL)
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47818860
Art, science and teachers merge during artsFUSION workshop
CEDAR CITY — Elementary school teachers throughout Utah met to participate in the annual summer artsFUSION workshop. The event, which was on the Southern Utah University campus Monday and Tuesday, provided the educators with artistic ideas for making the Utah core curriculum come alive for their students.
Carrie Trehnholm, endowed chairwoman for the SUU arts education department, said the theme for this year’s workshop was Night and Play. She said the teachers learned how to instruct children about several areas of physical and natural science such as constellations, phases of the moon and the differences between animals that are active during the day and those that are active at nighttime.
Trenholm said the workshop tied instruction together with a project in which the teachers created shadow puppets for a performance Tuesday afternoon using stories they wrote as they worked together in teams. They also learned about shadow puppets that are created in other countries throughout the world, such as in Indonesia and China.
http://goo.gl/6mraU (SGS)
Iraqi and Utah students work together to close culture gaps
SALT LAKE CITY — A thoroughfare filled with murals had previously attempted to connect the Jackson and Gadualupe neighborhoods in Salt Lake City. It is now being used to build a bridge of peace and understanding between two countries.
The program Bridge over Barriers invited Iraqi high school students and their host families Tuesday to participate in painting a mural design under the bridge at 300 N. 700 West, in hopes of combating stereotypes and closing the gap between cultures.
“As you know, the American society is the open minded people (and) there’s a lot of needs in my society, yet I want to learn more from the American society and copy this experience to my community,” said 16-year old Abdullah, who along with the rest of the students asked that their last names not be used.
The Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy and the Iraqi Youth Leaders Exchange Program chose 64 English-speaking Iraqi students to participate in a four-week youth leadership exchange program that started in Washington D.C. and later placed them in seven cities throughout the country.
Salt Lake City participated for the first time by hosting 10 students and placing them with families of Salt Lake high school students, who gathered to work together and get to know each other while painting the mural Tuesday.
http://goo.gl/zCcTd (DN)
http://goo.gl/CLy21 (KSL)
Juan Diego student dies after falling from roof
SALT LAKE CITY – After more than a week in the hospital, Adam Colosimo, a sophomore at Juan Diego Catholic School, died Tuesday evening.
Colosimo was playing around with family members on his roof when he was shocked and fell off. His cousins called 911 and resuscitated him until help arrived. Colosimo was rushed to the hospital where his days-long fight began.
The entire front lawn of Juan Diego was packed with people Tuesday evening. Molly Dumas was mourning the loss, along with friends and family.
http://goo.gl/XuzFU (KTVX)
A school for the arts
A new charter high school for performing arts is now accepting students.
Based in Thanksgiving Point, Pioneer High School for the Performing Arts is Utah’s first charter high school focused on performing arts.
http://goo.gl/BvBQW (PDH)
Grade school students say work is ‘too easy,’ according to new report
SALT LAKE CITY — Are you smarter than a fifth grader? According to a recent study by the Center For American Progress, many grade school students report that their work is “often” or “always” too easy, due to boredom or a lack of rigorous courses and materials, among other things.
“You might think that the nation’s teenagers are drowning in schoolwork,” Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal wrote in their report. “Images of sullen students buried in textbooks often grace the covers of popular parenting magazines, while well-heeled suburban teenagers often complain they have to work the hours of a corporate lawyer in order to finish their school projects and homework assignments. But when we recently examined a federal survey of students in elementary and high schools around the country, we found the opposite: Many students are not being challenged in school.”
http://goo.gl/xldpL (DN)
Mountain America Credit Union Joins Ken Garff as Title Sponsor of Keys to Success Program
West Jordan, Utah – Mountain America Credit Union has joined the Ken Garff Automotive Group as co-title sponsor of the Success in Education Foundation’s “Keys to Success” program.
The Keys to Success program recognizes Utah high school students for improving academically or setting and reaching goals with their teachers. Recognized students receive Key Cards, which can be redeemed online for a variety of prizes, including the chance to win one of five new cars during a KUTV News broadcast.
http://goo.gl/Mm3f7 (PRWeb via Digital Journal)
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OPINION & COMMENTARY
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More graduates
Move 9th grade to high school
Salt Lake Tribune editorial
Granite School District is considering a proposal from the principal of Granger High School to move ninth grade students from middle school into the high school.
It’s a good idea, and other high schools that have not made the change already should put it into their plans for the not-too-distant future.
Putting the ninth grade into senior high school has long been a no-brainer, since ninth-grade courses and grades are counted as high school when college admissions officers look at a student’s record to determine whether that person meets the school’s requirements or needs remedial classes.
http://goo.gl/IdZHV
Utah’s Core Standards, Assessments and Privacy Regulations UtahPublicEducation.org commentary by Associate State Superintendent Brenda Hales
A recent press release from the Utah Education Coalition contains errors and misinformation about Utah’s core standards, assessments and privacy regulations. Here are my responses to this release:
http://goo.gl/NWzkO
The Online High School Graduation That Was: My View From The Trenches Education Week commentary by Robyn Bagley, Board Chair of Parents for Choice in Education
Utah Connections Academy (UCA) Inaugural Graduating Class of 2012 – eight eager faces, eyes sparkling with a sense of pride and accomplishment – for many of them an accomplishment that would not have happened without the transforming powers of digital learning.
There is a lot of back and forth about the merits of online learning. As it builds momentum and begins to find it’s place in the public education system, it is coming increasingly under fire; the reasons of which are the topic of a whole different discussion and not the focus of my column today. I have read the studies and reports. There are claims about quality, socialization, personal interaction, the role of the teacher, attrition of students and, frankly, a lot of ridiculous notions that merely demonstrate naivety to the various ways that technology can individualize learning and empower students. My information is firsthand and comes from actual feet on the ground. I’m in the trenches.
I’m a pioneer of sorts, an early believer in the power of digital learning http://goo.gl/ELJ4b
Public schools really for you?
(Logan) Herald Journal op-ed by Brannon King of Logan
Dear lovers of public education,
Imagine a world where the middle class send their children to private schools and teach them at home. Suppose most poor people educate their children in schools sponsored by churches. Suppose apprenticeships are an option. Suppose public education, if necessary, picks up a small remainder.
Now that you’re offended, let me state that I, too, was once educated in the public school system. Indeed, I highly prized the education I received. I had no thought there was anything better. I accorded the common conjecture, “public education has done great things for our nation.” Without my own out-of-school studies, I would not have ever reconsidered. Please, in your most humble hat, ponder these questions:
http://goo.gl/hM8mO
More Than 100,000 Teachers Lost Their Jobs in the Last Year Utah Policy commentary by columnist Bryan Schott
Woah! Local governments across the country have eliminated 130,000 teaching jobs over the last year.
Think Progress breaks down the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2011, there were 7.9 million teachers employed by local governments. This year, that number is below 7.8 million.
http://goo.gl/uzg8X
A cautionary tale
Commentary by Charter Solutions President Lincoln Fillmore
The city of San Bernardino, California is going bankrupt. There are two lessons from this: 1) don’t live in California; and 2) Don’t act like the San Bernardino city council. From the L.A. Times:
…
There’s a lesson here for boards of school districts and charter schools. You hire staff, and that staff gives you a report of your finances. You’ve probably hired honest people who will let you know if you’re rolling towards a cliff. But it’s the Board’s responsibility to know that, even if the staff won’t tell you.
http://goo.gl/hL4jF
Love is scary
Salt Lake Tribune letter from Peter Litvack
Re “Mia Love’s budget plan: Do her deep cuts go too far?” (Tribune, July 5):
The cuts that Republican congressional candidate Mia Love says she would make if elected just reflect how extreme and scary this lady is. Love wants to cut $750 billion, which would take away $2 billion of federal spending in Utah. And these cuts would come from the poor, students and retirees.
She wants to cut school lunch programs, special education and to end student subsidized loans (of which she took advantage). She admits that she needs additional time to understand the Defense Department before suggesting cuts.
http://goo.gl/oK05b
Alarms Sounded As Federal Ed. Cuts Loom
Education Week commentary by columnist Alyson Klein
A pair of new reports out today raise dire warnings about the impact on school districts and federal education programs from the sweeping, across-the-board spending cuts set to hit all federal agencies in early January if Congress doesn’t act to head them off.
The reports, from the American Association of School Administrators and the National Education Association, take a close look at the threat posed by what’s known as sequestration, the automatic budget cuts that loom as a result of the deal last August to raise the federal debt ceiling.
Almost every area of federal spending, from education to the military, would see cuts ranging from 7.8 percent (according to the Congressional Budget Office) to 8.4 percent (according to analysts from the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which works on fiscal policy ).
Pretty much no one in Congress wants to see the cuts happen, but so far, lawmakers have been unable to come up with a plan to avert them.
http://goo.gl/m3mIa
Study: ’21st Century Learning’ Demands Mix of Abilities Education Week commentary by columnist Sarah D. Sparks
The modern workplace and lifestyle demand that students balance cognitive, personal and interpersonal abilities, but current education policy discussions have not defined those abilities well, according to a special report released this afternoon by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science in Washington.
A “who’s who” team of experts from the National Academies’ division of behavioral and social sciences and education and its boards on testing and on science education collaborated for more than a year on the report, intended to define just what researchers, educators and policymakers mean when they talk about “deeper learning” and “21st-century skills.”
http://goo.gl/MQMOi
A copy of the report
http://goo.gl/tUoBL
In NAACP Speech, Romney Emphasizes Education Reform National Review commentary by columnist Katrina Trinko
From Mitt Romney’s remarks as prepared for delivery for his speech to the NAACP today:
“Charter schools are so successful that almost every politician can find something good to say about them. But, as we saw in Massachusetts, true reform requires more than talk. As Governor, I vetoed the bill blocking charter schools. But our legislature was 87 percent Democrat, and my veto could have been easily over-ridden. So I joined with the Black Legislative Caucus, and their votes helped preserve my veto, which meant that new charter schools, including some in urban neighborhoods, would be opened.
“When it comes to education reform, candidates cannot have it both ways – talking up education reform, while indulging the same groups that are blocking reform. You can be the voice of disadvantaged public-school students, or you can be the protector of special interests like the teachers unions, but you can’t be both. I have made my choice: As president, I will be a champion of real education reform in America, and I won’t let any special interest get in the way.”
http://goo.gl/HM4Q7
Critique of Khan Academy Goes Viral
Education Week commentary by columnist Katie Ash
By now, you’ve probably heard of Sal Khan, the educator who began by creating videos to explain math to his cousins, which has grown into a library of over 3,000 assorted educational clips with more than 150 million views on YouTube. The resulting Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide students with free access to all those resources, has received grant funding from educational philanthropy giants like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
However, not everyone is thrilled with the concept. In June, two associate professors from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.,—Dave Coffey and John Golden—posted a video in the satirical style of Mystery Science Theater 3000 critiquing a Khan Academy video explaining how to multiply and divide negative and positive integers. The professors criticized Khan’s inconsistency with positive and negative signs in the video, and pointed out areas where he could improve his pedagogy, generally poking fun at the Khan Academy and its trove of videos.
The professors’ video went viral and is now up to over 20,000 views on YouTube.
http://goo.gl/z106w
A copy of the video
http://goo.gl/ChcsQ
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NATIONAL NEWS
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Struggling Michigan City Privatizes Public Schools NPR All Things Considered
The emergency manager in Muskegon Heights, Mich., announced on Monday that he’s turning over the entire school district to a for-profit charter operator. Like many struggling districts in the state, Muskegon Heights is low-performing and deeply in debt. Unlike the others, though, the elected school board voted for the emergency manager. Now, will they and the public support privatizing the public schools?
http://goo.gl/Z1ap5
http://goo.gl/fS8BD (Muskegon Chronicle)
Special Educators’ Use of Restraints, Seclusion Topic of Senate Hearing Education Week
In one of Kaye Otten’s early years as a teacher, she was granted emergency certification to teach special education in a Nebraska classroom where one of her 2nd grade students was large, aggressive, and always hungry as a result of a rare genetic disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome.
“He knew he could use his size to get what he wanted,” Ms. Otten recalled. “He would pull chunks of hair out of my head.”
The plan to help him calm down didn’t always work, leaving the untrained Ms. Otten and her colleagues to stop the student’s behavior by holding the boy or isolating him from other students, or both, in scenarios that repeated themselves multiple times that school year. But by the time the student was in 5th grade, Ms. Otten and her colleagues had to restrain the student only once all year.
Now, more than 20 years later, as a behavior and autism specialist for schools in Lee’s Summit, Mo., Ms. Otten credits that reduction in the use of restraints and seclusion to analyzing why and when students’ behavior goes off track and intervening when signs of trouble arise. Better training on the use of restraints and seclusion also helped.
Educators’ use of restraints, seclusion, and alternative strategies for managing disruptive student behaviors are scheduled to be the focus of a first-of-its-kind hearing Thursday before the Senate education committee.
http://goo.gl/bO1E1
Montlieu, Wiley test scores soar
Greensboro (NC) News & Record
HIGH POINT — School officials credit an influx of money from a federal grant and privately funded classroom technology for significant test score gains at two elementary schools.
Wiley Elementary saw its passage rate for state end-of-grade reading, math and science tests jump 18.7 points to 70.7 percent for 2011-12, according to preliminary results released Tuesday.
Montlieu Academy of Technology achieved a 12.8-point gain in its composite score to 72.1 percent.
“These numbers show clearly what can happen when a group of people, both in the district and the community, make a strong commitment to our students,” Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green said.
http://goo.gl/NqVr2
http://goo.gl/ksB6M (N&R editorial)
McGraw-Hill Education Plans $600 Million Debt as Split Nears Bloomberg
McGraw-Hill Education Inc., the textbook-publishing company that’s being split off from its parent, will have about $2.4 billion in assets and $600 million in debt, according to a regulatory filing.
The textbook spinoff will sell $400 million of bonds, borrow $200 million with a term loan and take out a $350 million revolving credit line, McGraw-Hill Education said today in the filing. The publishing company, which would have lost $63 million in the quarter ended in March, will also pay a dividend of as much as $500 million to McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP)
McGraw-Hill Cos., the owner of Standard & Poor’s, said Sept. 12 it will break into two companies, one focused on financial information and the other on educational publishing. The company remains on track to complete the split by the end of the year, it said today in a statement.
http://goo.gl/UakB0
Mid-South teachers hired extras to take certification tests, feds in Memphis say Memphis Commercial Appeal
Since 1995 dozens of teachers and aspiring teachers in Memphis, Arkansas and Mississippi paid a broker from $1,500 to $3,000 to have others take their licensing exams.
That broker, federal authorities say, was guidance counselor Clarence Mumford, who arranged for stand-ins by having the teachers send him their drivers’ licenses and Social Security numbers, then hiring Memphis City Schools employees or former employees to take the tests.
Mumford was named in a 45-count indictment Tuesday charging him with conspiracy to defraud the United States, document fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges carry penalties of from five to 20 years in prison.
http://goo.gl/do6oq
Parents of autistic boy sue Leander district, alleging bullying, sexual abuse by peers Austin (TX) American-Statesman
The parents of a child with autism are suing the Leander school district, saying the district didn’t do enough to protect their son from repetitive bullying and alleged sexual abuse by his peers.
The child, whose name is withheld because he is a minor and an alleged victim, attended Mason Elementary School in Cedar Park. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Austin, states that the parents reported the bullying to school leaders in April 2007 and continued to notify the district of various incidents through April 2011.
The lawsuit says students called the child names, made fun of him, laughed at him and pushed him, and once, a student “punched (him) in the face.”
The suit also alleges that teachers daily sent the child to the bathroom with known bullies, even when the child did not need to go, and that the “bullies would yank (the child) out of the stall with his pants down, and make him touch his penis.” One boy touched the child’s genitals as well, according to the suit.
http://goo.gl/e96T5
While other states opt out, Alabama plans to keep cursive in the classroom this fall Montgomery (AL) News
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — While it’s hard to imagine a future where signatures are written in block print, those days may be straight ahead.
Alabama is distinguishing itself as among only a few states that will continue to keep cursive writing in its public school curriculum.
Parents, historians and educators throughout the United States are voicing their concern about the omission of the writing style in the Common Core Curriculum adopted in 46 states, which indicates cursive is no longer a skill needed to succeed in the world. Alabama signed onto the overall curriculum, but officials here say elementary schools will find a way to continue to work in cursive writing training.
http://goo.gl/gNDnO
Barry Manilow donates piano to Ky. school district Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Singer Barry Manilow has donated a new Yamaha piano to launch a music instrument drive at Kentucky’s largest school district and is offering free tickets to an upcoming performance to anyone else who makes a donation.
The instruments will go to help students at Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville.
http://goo.gl/qCois
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CALENDAR
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USOE Calendar
http://tinyurl.com/5x9oh9
UEN News
http://www.uen.org
July 12:
Utah State Charter School Board meeting
250 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City
http://1.usa.gov/Axtt5K
August 3:
Utah State Board of Education meeting
250 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City
http://www.schools.utah.gov/board/Meetings/Agenda.aspx
August 14:
Executive Appropriations Interim Committee meeting
1 p.m., 445 State Capitol
http://goo.gl/E0hoC
August 15:
Education Interim Committee meeting
2 p.m.
http://goo.gl/8WODJ
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