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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
NAEP
results
NAEP, the National Assessment of Education
Progress, is often referred to as the "report
card" of America's schools. New results
came out yesterday for math, and the results show
gains, losses, and plateauing, depending on your
state. For urban districts, some cities
improved, but the achievement gaps seem to be about
the same as they were in 2007. Some experts
say that the stagnation is due to the federal
government getting more involved in education in the
last eight years, while the results show that this
is the first time in 19 years fourth graders showed
no gains.
Link
to Center for Public Education's (CPE) blog, the
EDifier
Link to NAEP home page 10/14/09
Link
to New York Times 10/14/09 (free registration)
Secretary Duncan
says, "don't chase the money"
Education reform has many faces. While
the debate continues about how to change education
for the better in America, Secretary Arne Duncan
repeats that he thinks "adult issues"
shouldn't be the focus of change. In
California this week, a bill was passed to allow
student test scores to evaluate teachers. Other
states have restrictions on such measuring sticks
for teachers, but the administration would like the
states to change their rules on how to evaluate
teachers. Meanwhile, charter schools are
gaining ground in new places as "reform"
and the Secretary has said, "we're
going to invest in those states that aren't just
talking the talk but that are walking the walk...if
folks are doing this to chase money, it's for the
wrong reasons."
Link
to Associated Press
10/13/09
Pittsburgh uses new structure for
human resources
The school board in Pittsburgh is revamping
its human resources department in order to have a
better structure for hiring and evaluating
teachers. One piece of the equation is a state
law in Pennsylvania that requires teachers to be
hired based on a eligibility list, but the new plan
may change how Pittsburgh can hire teachers,
including whether the applicant "demonstrated
distinguished urban teaching experience."
The district is seeking funding from the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, who is encouraging four
other cities to re-vamp their hiring mechanisms for
teachers.
Link to Pittsburgh Post Gazette 10/12/09
Communicating more effectively, and
cheaper, too
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North
Carolina is using a new web tool to share what is
happening with the community, and the result is a
comprehensive and media rich product. Most
districts and organizations rely on an annual report
that is put into a PDF format and not user
friendly. Charlotte-Mecklenburg's report
incorporates news clips, statistics, and the ability
for users to look as deeply as they wish into the
numbers that impact the district. While some
may push-back against this type of report, it is
likely to be a model for other districts facing
budget cuts while having to provide information to
the public at the same time.
Link
to eSchool News 10/5/09
Link
to Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Annual Report CUBE
News
Atlanta
Public Schools wins CUBE's Annual Award for
Urban School Board Excellence. Atlanta's
transformation over the last ten years helped
showcase how a governance team can work together for
the benefit of all students. A special award
edition of the Urban Advocate gives more
details, as does the NSBA
press release. The
2009 Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement
Award was given to John Harding Lucus, Sr.,
of Durham, North Carolina. Dr. John Harding
Lucas, a former school board member in Durham, NC,
received the award at the CUBE 42nd
Annual Conference on October 10, 2009 in Austin, TX.
Lucas served as an education leader in his local
community and nationally for more than fifty years
as a teacher, guidance counselor, principal, school
board member, president of the North Carolina
Education Association, board of director for the
National Education Association, and president of
Shaw University. He has also been recognized
by the North Carolina School Boards Association as a
champion of excellence, equity, and access. CUBE's
Annual Conference in Austin was packed with
important and relevant information for school board
members and school leaders. If you weren't
able to attend, all available presentations are
available on CUBE's Conferences
and Meetings web site.
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! FINAL
NOTICE-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. $373
million is being made available for local
communities to adopt and implement evidence based
policies and programs to improve nutrition, increase
physical activity, decrease overweight and obesity
and decrease tobacco use. The grant comes from
the Health and Human Services Department and
the Centers for Disease Control as part of
the stimulus funding passed this spring. The
grants will be awarded to communities "at
highest risk and where policies and programs will
likely have the greatest impact."
Applications are due December
1, 2009. For more details, contact
Kevin Scott (kscott@nsba.org). For
more information on grants available to CUBE and
National Affiliate districts, check out GrantsQuest. NSBA
Advocacy Update
NSBA
Formal Comments on the Proposed Requirements for
School Improvement Grants (SIG)
NSBA submitted comments
on the proposed requirements for School Improvement
Grants (SIG). While these funds are
significant and provide a one-time opportunity to
support our lowest-achieving schools, NSBA expressed
concern that overly rigid eligibility criteria will
discourage local school districts from seeking
funding or selecting the best turn-around approach
for particular schools – thereby lessening the
effectiveness of the program unless flexibility is
provided through waivers or substantive adjustments. NSBA
also urged the Department of Education to review the
SIG and RTTT (Race to the Top) programs in tandem to
resolve the ambiguities between the two.
For more information, visit NSBA’s Economic
Stimulus Center at www.nsba.org/economicstimulus
Great
News Re: Defeat of Voucher Study in the U.S. House
On October 8, the U.S. House of Representatives
passed a conference report that did not include
private school vouchers in a proposed study on the
educational options for military children. Conferees
removed vouchers from the proposed study that would
examine only public school options and other types
of educational opportunities for military children
who do not attend Department of Defense schools.
NSBA
urges Congress to oppose any efforts to subsidize
tuition or expenses at elementary or secondary
private, religious, or home schools with public tax
dollars. Please
take a moment to thank
your member of Congress if he or she is a member of
the conference
committee. Next step: the
legislation moves to the Senate floor for a vote.
We greatly appreciate those of you reached out
to your members of Congress on the conference
committee.
NSBA's
Federal Relations Network (FRN) Conference is
January 31-February 2, 2010. Contact your
state association or Kathleen
Branch to find out how you can
participate in the FRN Conference. You must be
an appointed FRN member from your state school board
association or a CUBE member to attend the
conference.
Meetings
Minute
CUBE's
Annual Conference was held in Austin, Texas last
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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