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Welcome!
What is
Urban Edge?
Urban Edge is a service that provides CUBE districts
with relevant information to help your awareness 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. Around
the nation
Now
on tour
Yesterday, Rev. Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich
joined together in Philadelphia to begin a tour of
America's cities to push for educational changes,
especially to urban districts. The money that
is being spent through the ARRA (stimulus) funds and
newly announced Race for the Top grants is more than
any other administration has seen for education
spending. While critics of the plans are from
both sides of the political spectrum, the strange
partnership is intended to show Americans that big
changes need to occur in schools in order for
students to compete globally.
Link to Wall Street
Journal 9/30/09
NCLB? ESEA?
Which will be the focus of the ED?
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) may be re-vamped,
or it may go away. But in what is being called
a "campaign style speech," Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan is pushing new focus on the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
In a speech last week, Mr. Duncan rallied around the
idea that the talk of the last several decades is
not serving the students of America well, and action
needs to happen now. "And to those who
say that we can't do this right now-we need more
time to prepare and study the problem-or the timing
and the politics isn't right-I say that our kids
can't wait and our future won't wait," he said.
For more:
Alliance
for Excellent Education article
9/28/09
Full
text of speech
Math program credited for higher
scores
In Orange County California, a new math
program is making a speedy impact on scores and is
being called "fun" by some students.
MIND Research Institute's math program incorporates
technology and games into the math curriculum, but
more importantly, it is giving students a boost on
California's state math assessments. English
Language Learners especially gain from this program
and in the 71 schools that used it last year, math
scores improved 12.8 percent on average.
Link to Orange County Register 9/15/09
Link
to eSchool News story 9/16/09
Text books take a back seat to firsthand
history
Many districts nationwide are looking for
ways to save money. Textbooks, especially in
certain subject areas, are sometimes seen as a waste
of money since there are other sources that can be
useful to students and teachers. In Des
Moines, Iowa, the district is using grant money to
teach students who failed a required history course
by utilizing local citizens to teach the
content. Instead of reading about immigration,
students can talk to local immigrant families about
the experience. About 35 schools and hundreds
of students will participate this year.
Link
to Des Moines Register 9/28/09
Leadership matters
A principal in CUBE's Chula Vista Elementary
School District is gaining accolades for leading his
school off of the federal 'watch' list for failing
schools. In fact, this is the second school
Matthew Tessier had steered off the list. The school
he is currently principal of has had problems with
gangs, drugs, and poverty but he believes that all
of his students can achieve well. His hands-on
approach with teachers, students, and the community
is key to his success, and he meets with other
principals from other high-poverty schools to
exchange ideas.
Link to San Diego Union Tribune 9/19/09
New
Report on Urban Teachers
A
new report from the International Journal of
Education Policy and Leadership discusses what
incentives work for urban teachers. As more
emphasis is put on teacher quality, especially in
urban districts, this report may help districts
determine what the best incentives are to recruit
and maintain teachers. For more information,
see the full report.
Link
to International Journal of Education Policy and
Leadership
Article
from Houston Chronicle about teachers getting up to
$20,000 bonus to transfer to troubled middle school
9/20/09
CUBE
News
Are
you following your favorite celebrity, sports star,
or political candidate on Twitter? Have
you succumbed to the pressure to tweet? CUBE
has entered the fray, and we hope that you will
follow us for regular updates on items impacting
urban education. Think of this as a way to
stay in touch between editions of the Urban
Edge. Follow CUBE_Edge
on Twitter!
CUBE
announces finalists and special recognition
districts for the CUBE Annual Award for Urban School
Board Excellence. This year, Atlanta, Georgia,
and Broward County, Florida were named finalists for
the CUBE award, while Baltimore City, Maryland,
Jefferson County (Louisville), Kentucky, and Wake
County (Raleigh), North Carolina will receive
special recognition awards for their governance
progress and commitment to diversity,
respectively. To see NSBA's full press release
about the awards, click here.
The NFL is accepting applications to
revitalize and create football fields in urban
markets across the country, including many CUBE
districts. If you would like more information
about these grants, contact Kevin Scott (kscott@nsba.org)
for the details. The deadline for proposals is
October 29, 2009.
Meetings
Minute
CUBE's
Annual Conference will be in Austin, Texas next
week. We would like to thank our sponsors for
their support at this important meeting. They
include:
Apple
Inc.
Aramark
Education
Chartwells
Scholastic
Classroom and Library
School-Link
Technologies
Sodexo
Program
Note
Did
you know that all previous editions of the Urban
Edge are available on CUBE's web site? If
you missed an issue, wanted to go back to find a
link to a research study we referenced, or need some
information about what other districts are doing,
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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