CUBE Edge 6-15-08

CUBE
Council of Urban Boards of Education

June 15, 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.

News from the Field

Seattle Grapples with Resegregation
CUBE has spent a great deal of time on the topic of integration since last June's Supreme Court decision.  The critical issue has played out in many districts and Seattle has been at the forefront of racially based school assignment since the beginning.  School Board members in Seattle speak out, as well as experts on the topic (who have presented at recent CUBE meetings), in the next chapter of the desegregation battle.  The Seattle Times has a series of articles on the topic.  
Link 1 to Seattle Times 6/1/08
Link 2 to Seattle Times
6/3/08
Link to CUBE's resources on the Supreme Court decisions 

Durham Reaches for Technology to Aid Teacher Shortage
A science and math magnet school in Durham is working on a solution to an increasing problem, qualified teachers to teach a handful of students.  Due to a shortage of math and science teachers in North Carolina, this school is using web based courses for high school students.  The use of the web is not new to the school, but they plan to expand the use of the web to maximize the effectiveness of the teachers they have available.  It may a solution that reaches beyond Durham and impact the rest of the state as well.        
Link to News and Observer Story 6/5/08

A Look Ahead 

21st Century Learning
Students with cell phones, video games, and Facebook pages, all accessible from their school desk...what's next?  In an article by Marc Prensky, students give their real opinions of school and how they see technology impacting their education.  It's sometimes too much information (for example, the candid comments on boredom), but as educators and policy-makers, it's worth listening to what Mr. Prensky's student panels have to say.   
Link to Edutopia Story 6/3/08

Teacher Peer Review in Toledo 
For more than 20 years, teachers in Toledo have been reviewed by their peers and teachers overwhelmingly support the program.  The peer review program has been so well received that the policy has spread to over 70 districts in Ohio, California, and Connecticut.  Can this be duplicated in other places?  National Public Radio (NPR) tells the story.
Link to NPR summary
Link to NPR audio 
6/9/08 

Philadelphia Tackles Fitness
CNN's medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta covers how Philadelphia school's interventions have helped reduced obesity.  In this short piece, Dr. Gupta reinforces what CUBE districts have heard from CUBE and NSBA's School Health Department, what students eat at school can be linked to achievement. 
Link to CNN 6/6/08 

Blog-Watch

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) runs a blog called "Inservice."  Like NSBA's own award-winning BoardBuzz, they tackle more than just the items that suit their own membership.  Some of the more recent postings cover teachers, the presidential candidates, dropout rates, and policy (just to name a few).  We hope you'll find it's worth a look.
Link to ASCD Inservice

You Can Help!

NSBA's Legislative Center is updated regularly.  There's always a need for school board members and educational advocates to let our lawmakers know that education is a priority.  This week's highlights include how to contact your representatives about topics like education funding and Medicaid, as well as how to purchase your own copy of NSBA's "How to Lobby" DVD.
Link to NSBA Legislative Page

Disclaimer

Links on the Urban Edge are subject to change or become inactive after a period of time.  Please be aware that CUBE has no control over links to other organizations or entities.

 

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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