CUBE Edge 4-30-08

CUBE
Council of Urban Boards of Education

April 30, 2008

News and Resources on Urban Education

Welcome!

What is Urban Edge?
Urban Edge is a new membership service that provides CUBE with relevant information to help your district become aware of education issues around the country. We will glean news sources, blogs, research studies, and NSBA's wide range of expertise for timely information that guides CUBE districts in making sound decisions.

In the Field

TCU and Fort Worth Team Up for Teachers
Most teacher prep programs look to undergraduates to begin the conversation about teaching in urban districts, but in Fort Worth, the Center for Urban Education has created "the Aspiring Educators Initiative," which asks high school juniors and seniors to consider a teaching career.  The program is hoping to fill the gaps created in the next few years when many teachers are of retirement age.   
Link to TCU Story 4/15/08

Syracuse Gives Grad Students a Break in Tuition
Because of the high cost of graduate school, and due to the fact that N.Y. teachers must earn a master's degree to be certified in the state, many prospective teachers face a difficult decision about whether to go into education at all.  Syracuse made that decision less challenging financially for prospective teachers when they opened up a program to recent Syracuse graduates who earned their degree in the last five years, giving them one-third off their tuition.  The program is designed for teachers only, not prospective administrators, and focuses on urban, rural, and arts education especially. 
Link to Syracuse Daily Orange 4/18/08 (free registration)

Reform

AT&T Opens Their Purse
Like many other companies and foundations, AT&T threw their hat into the high school reform movement by committing to give $100 million to prevent high school dropouts.  One piece of the plan is to give money to non-profit organizations as grants for high school improvement programs, as well as creating a job-shadowing program for 100,000 students.  AT&T joins other big givers like Dell, State Farm, GE, and Boeing, to name a few.      
Link to Ed Week Story 4/28/08

Seattle Looks at Ways to Include Special Ed Students
Seattle is trying a new approach to teaching special education students at one school, and they hope to emulate the plan at other Seattle schools in the near future.  Including more special education students in general education classrooms and keeping special education students in their neighborhood schools are among the new ways to place students.  Balancing the least restrictive environment and the special needs of students is challenging, but Seattle hopes that co-teaching is a way to tackle the issue.  
Link to Seattle Times 4/30/08

Advocacy

U.S. Department of Education to Hold Regional Meetings for NCLB Updates
Four regional meetings will occur in May to discuss proposed NCLB regulations that were released last week.  The meetings will occur in Massachusetts, Georgia, Missouri, and Washington (state).  NSBA and CUBE encourages you to participate in this important process on the impending legislation.  For more information, click here or contact Kathleen Branch in NSBA's Office of Advocacy at kbranch@nsba.org.

On Deck...

CUBE's Issues Seminar is coming up June 19-22, 2008 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami, Florida.  Join us for this important discussion on Family Involvement throughout the weekend as we welcome inspirational Karen Mapp, Miami Superintendent Rudy Crew, and N.E.A. President Reg Weaver as our key speakers.  For more information, check out the brochure.

CUBE Staff Katrina Kelley, Director, kkelley@nsba.org
Jessica Bonaiuto, Senior Manager, jbonaiuto@nsba.org
Kevin Scott, Membership Services Manager, kscott@nsba.org
Krista Freer, Coordinator, kfreer@nsba.org

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