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Welcome!
What is
Urban Edge?
Urban Edge is a 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. Looking
for New Ideas
"Where
We Stand" Re-Debuts
In a new documentary that debuts tonight, PBS will
look at American education in three Ohio districts
in an attempt to put more attention on education in
this year's election. Using Walter Cronkite's
title from 50 years ago when education had become a
primary issue for Americans after the Russians
launched Sputnik, PBS will look at America's schools
compared to China and Finland with a focus on 21st
century skills. Former Colorado Governor Roy
Romer says, "This represents a call to action
not just for candidates and elected officials, but
for all Americans."
Link
to Marketwatch Story 9/10/08
Link
to PBS 9/10/08
The High School Debate
Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews often
seeks out alternatives and solutions to many of the
problems facing American schools. Recently, he
challenged a California high school teacher to
examine the current high school structure and come
up with a new format for high schools. The
result was an article that provides a unique look at
ideas that might shape an improved model for
America's high schools.
Link
to Washington Post 9/1/08
(free registration)
News
from CUBE Districts
Houston
Area Schools Go After Dropouts
When school began in the Houston area,
volunteers and community leaders did not accept that
some students had dropped out, instead, they went
looking for those students to bring them back to
school. Cypress-Fairbanks Schools is the third
largest district in Texas with over 100,000 students
and has the highest graduation rate of the 50
largest school systems in the U.S. (89% graduation
rate). Along with Houston Independent Schools
and additional CUBE districts like El Paso,
San Antonio, Dallas, and others, the message that
education is important to everyone is clear.
Houston's mayor said, "We need these kids to
get their high school diplomas and more..."
Link
to Houston Chronicle 9/6/08
Milwaukee
Welcomes Student Input
The idea seems simple--allow students to tell
the school board and administration what is and
isn't working through other avenues, rather than at
a live school board meeting. Milwaukee has
begun using the social networking phenomenon to
provide students a chance to openly discuss what
they think needs improvement by using milwaukee.studentsspeakout.org,
which was created by school board member Danny
Goldberg. "This is a way of organizing
students and giving them the tools to be listened
to," he said.
Link
to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 9/7/08
Chicago
Shows Huge Jump in AP Scores
Students who are taking AP courses in
Chicago's high schools have jumped more than 100
percentage points in the last four years. More
than 12,000 students took an AP exam last year and
students who take the exam and receive a score of 3
or better have also improved, in some cases
outpacing state and national averages.
Link
to Chicago Tribune 9/10/08
Resource
Corner
CUBE has been
having an ongoing discussion on race. One of
our sources of expertise is the Civil
Rights Project at UCLA. Their web site has
great information about networking, research, news
from around the country, and publications that can
help your district. They also have a
newsletter, The
Integration Report, which you can read online and subscribe to if you would like more
information.
Gallup News Poll
has released the results of a new survey that
examine parental satisfaction with education in the
U.S. The study shows that Americans are
somewhat spilt on how they feel about public
education, with parents of school age children
differing from those adults who do not have children
in schools. To see the results, click here.
CUBE
Annual Award for School Board Excellence
CUBE
Award Finalists Named
CUBE has
announced three finalists for its Annual
Award for Urban School Board Excellence.
The Chula Vista Elementary School
District in Calif., the Brownsville Independent
School District in Texas, and the School District of
Omaha in Neb. have been selected as
finalists for CUBE’s prestigious annual award
that honors urban school districts demonstrating
progress in educating children and serving as role
models for excellence in school board governance in
large urban districts. The winning district
will be announced on September 27, 2008 at an award
ceremony during the annual
CUBE conference in Las Vegas.
Meetings
Minute
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. For more information, click
here.
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.
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