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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
Common
standards debate endures
Lawmakers and education department officials are
talking again about the concept of national
standards for American schools. NSBA and other
education organizations are generally against this
idea, since it would take away local control for
setting curriculum for students.
Representative George Miller (D-CA), says that
national standards would help bridge the achievement
gap in the U.S. and the gap that exists between the
U.S. and other nations. As anyone in the world
of education would imagine, there are a wide range
of opinions on the topic. Below you'll find
the link to one article and two blogs that discuss
the issue.
Link
to eschoolnews
5/4/09
Link
to BoardBuzz post on standards (NSBA's blog)
Link
to ASCD's blog on standards
America runs with Duncan
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is out
criss-crossing America conducting a listening tour
to gather ideas, hear what America's schools are
facing, and come back to Washington with a little
more knowledge than he left with. The idea is
unique for education secretaries, and several news
outlets have been going along for the ride to hear
what's being said. Below you'll find several
links from different parts of the country.
Link
to Washington Post
(West Virginia school) 5/5/09
Link
to San Francisco Chronicle 5/13/09
Link
to Dayton Daily News (AP) 5/8/09
In other Department of
Education news, Secretary Duncan recently issued a
press release that announces a new focus on Title I
schools and the ARRA money. He states that the
funds allocated for education should be focused
where there are educational inequalities.
ED
press release The
password is, vouchers
One unspoken truth in many urban areas is
that there are a group of mostly young, black, politicians
that support school vouchers. Cory Booker, the
mayor of Newark, NJ, and Kevin Johnson, the mayor of
Sacramento, CA are on board, as are other
lawmakers. President Obama has recently
weighed in on the issue in Washington, DC, which
brought a critical eye on him as other urban
districts around the nation are discussing the
options regarding vouchers. Despite the talk,
a very small percentage of students in America's
school are impacted by vouchers, and the research
showing any academic gains in these schools are
considered minor.
Link
to USA Today 5/13/09
Link
to NSBA's Vouchers site
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
students learn to grow
Students in middle and high school in the
Charlotte area have taken the initiative to start
their own garden. In what was an empty field,
the 31 12 to 18 year old boys in the MALES program
decided to put some sweat equity into a 1,500 square
foot area where they will plant fruits and vegetables.
The neighborhood is thankful and the boys are
learning a lot more than just how to plant
seed. "I like the idea that we're doing something
to help the community," one of the 16 year old
boys said.
Link
to Charlotte Observer 5/8/09
Program helps
students rap to better academics
A program that has been used in Cleveland and
Chicago has found its way to Denver, thanks to two
different organizations and one teacher. He
found that in urban districts, the arts were often
cut from student's lives. "Rap to
Roots" has helped students get motivated and
stay interested in a range of academic topics, even
if it's not their favorite. "So many kids
are just trying to make it, to be heard...if that's
a dream that will continue to motivate kids to
learn, then what you need to do is at least give
them a chance."
Link
to Denver Post 5/11/09
NSBA
News
Leadership Insider:
Practical Perspectives on Law & Policy,
a newsletter for NSBA National
Affiliate school districts, has gone the way of
the Christian Science Monitor and the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer. Leadership Insider
henceforth will be published and circulated in
electronic form only.
The first issue to go forth into this brave
new world—the May 2009 issue, which focuses
on legal literacy in school districts—can be
accessed by signing up below.
Subscribers who previously received Leadership
Insider in hard copy and would like to ensure
individually that they continue to receive future
electronic issues can enter their names and e-mail
addresses here.
That subscription function can
be found, along with past issues of Leadership
Insider and the collection of related online
resources that accompanies each issue, at this link:
www.nsba.org/leadershipinsider
CUBE
Award for Excellence
The CUBE Annual
Award deadline was Monday May 4. The award is
a chance to show how your district has progressed
over a period of time and offers ALL of CUBE
an opportunity to self-assess your governance team,
as well as showcase the good things happening in
your district. Click here
for a list of the districts that applied, the finalists
will be announced over the summer.
Meetings
Minute
CUBE's
Issues Seminar Hotel Cut Off Date-May 27, 2009
CUBE's Issues Seminar will focus on urban education
reforms and how they are shaping federal
policy. We head to Chicago, June 25-28, to
look at some of the reforms Chicago has developed
recently and how they may provide guidance to the
rest of the country as Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan proposes his ideas on a federal level.
For more information, see the brochure
(may take a few moments to download) or email cube@nsba.org.
As an added bonus, we will be in Chicago during the
annual Taste
of Chicago.
Interested
in presenting at NSBA's Annual Conference in 2010?
Last
Chance!
The application process for presentations has opened
up for NSBA 2010 in Chicago. If your school
district has something to share with other
districts, consider putting in a proposal to present
and share your knowledge and experience with board
members and superintendents from around the
country. NSBA's proposal page has all the
information you need. Click here
for more information. The deadline for
submissions is June 1, 2009.
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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