|
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.
Politics
Weigh In on Education
Dallas
Looks for Collaboration
Mayoral takeovers and school board accountability
dominate many conversations around CUBE districts,
but many cities work well with their mayor. At
CUBE's Issues Seminar, a special session was
dedicated to good relationships with CUBE members
and their mayors. In Dallas, Mayor Tom Leppert
and school superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa work
together on common problems revolving around making
their city stronger. This article appeared in
the Dallas Morning News
Link
to Dallas Morning News 6/16/08 The
Education President?
With the presumptive candidates from both
parties locked in now, many other politicians (or
former politicians) are calling for more attention
on education. Former governor and L.A. school superintendent
Roy Romer held a forum in Florida, along with Jeb
Bush and Margaret Spellings to discuss education as
a major presidential topic. Regardless of the
party, the discussion was designed to put pressure
on the future president to make education a high
priority.
Link
to Florida Times Union 6/19/08
Experts
Disagree
NCLB
Helps Narrow "the Gap"
According to a new report by the Center on
Education Policy, math and reading test scores are
up since 2002. The supporters of NCLB say that
the intention of the law was to reduce the
achievement gap, but critics say that the results of
the narrowing is nothing more than
coincidence. USA Today looks at the numbers
and points out the highlights from the report.
Link
to USA Today 6/25/08
Alternative
Assessment
In Ohio, some districts are finding that NCLB
and standardized testing are not the best way to
measure a student's learning. Many experts
consider portfolios or other mechanisms of
assessment valuable to students and teachers, and in
Cincinnati, assessments "are seen as energizing
rather than depressing," according to one
teacher.
Link
to The Plain Dealer 6/16/08
Two
Million Minutes
What do American, Indian, and Chinese students all
have in common? A love of pop-culture, but
other than that, there are a lot of
differences. While the mainstream media like
to compare students internationally, it's not so
easy to compare students internationally. In
the film Two Million Minutes (the length of
time a student spends in high school), a filmmaker
follows two American students, a Chinese student,
and an Indian student. This article in the
L.A. Times gives a synopsis of what was discovered
and some of the criticism surrounding the film.
Link
to L.A. Times Story 6/16/08
Coming
Soon to CUBE
CUBE's
Issues Seminar was a huge success in Miami last
weekend. Here's a great follow-up article from
the New York Times about helping get parents
involved. It's one of the messages attendees
heard all weekend long.
Link
to N.Y. Times (Free Registration) 6/22/08
The
initial feedback we received in Miami was excellent
and soon we will have all conference materials
posted to the CUBE
website. Our next meeting will be the CUBE
Annual Conference in September. We head to Las
Vegas to focus on 21st Century Learning and what it
means for urban students. Registration is open
now - For more information, click here.
You
Can Help!
Your Advocacy Action Plan –
School board members need to continue to keep the
pressure on Congress this summer and fall to take
action on some key education issues before they
adjourn for the Presidential election. NSBA
created an online toolkit (www.nsba.org/advocacy/actionplan)
to help you with your advocacy efforts. Last
week they held a webinar with legislative updates
and advocacy actions school board members can take.
If you missed the webinar, you may watch it online
now. Other upcoming events include:
July 4th Congressional
recess—Speak with your members of Congress when
you see them at home in the district/state during
the week of July the 4th.
Mid-Summer call-in day on July 9th—Join
school board members across the country in calling
your members of Congress to talk with them about
education issues.
For more information, check NSBA's
Legislative Website.
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.
|