|
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
Task Force established to battle childhood obesity
As CUBE has focused on the issue of childhood obesity at conferences and in print, we have emphasized the importance of nutrition in urban schools. First Lady Michelle Obama announced the establishment of a new task force that will reach across many different government entities, including HUD and the Department of Education. The ultimate goal is to reduce the rate of childhood obesity in America from its current point of 20 percent to five percent by 2030. The task force will join "Let's Move," which was created in February to battle childhood obesity and promote more physical activity in schools, and will set clear benchmarks for measuring progress over time.
Link to Washington Post 5/12/10 (free registration)
Link to NSBA's statement on White House Task Force
Is separating Black and Latino boys from girls the answer?
A study released last week examines the impact of single-gender schools on achievement in urban districts. The study, led by Dr. Pedro Noguera (who will be presenting at CUBE's Issues Seminar in June), says that in some cases boys do better academically than their peers in mixed gender classrooms. But Dr. Noguera is also quick to point out that this isn't the answer. There are schools that still perform well with mixed gender students and the goal of the study is to find out what works well in single gender classrooms and replicate that in all classrooms to help educate black and Latino boys anywhere.
Link to Education Week article 5/5/10
Link to complete study 5/5/10
Duncan looks to increase the number of minority teachers
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been busy criss-crossing the country listening to educators, parents, and students seeking ways to improve education in the U.S. His most recent trip to New Orleans centered around the number of minority teachers, and he wants to increase the number of teachers who serve as mentors for students. In fact, research shows that black students perform better on standardized tests when they have a black teacher for at least a year. Pairing up with respected education advocate Marian Wright Edelman, Duncan hopes that the number of black teachers will jump from eight percent nationwide.
Link to New Orleans Times-Picayune 5/8/10
The charter debate goes on
Charter schools have been the focus a lot of debate among school leaders and the public in recent years, but an academic debate is also occurring. The Civil Rights project, which is well known to CUBE districts, has written a rebuttal to a charter school study and discusses the possibility of resegregation of schools under the charter school emphasis. While many tout charter schools as the answer to many of urban school district's challenges, the debate about their effectiveness and fairness continues. This blog entry from EducationNext, a non-partisan education reform organization, gives some history to the debate.
Link to EducationNext blog entry 5/13/10
NSBA News
National School Climate Survey 2010: To help district officials understand the importance of school climate and its relationship to educational outcomes, NSBA is supporting the efforts of Dr. Brian K. Perkins, principal investigator for the National School Climate Survey 2010 survey. CUBE districts are already familiar with the first three school climate studies he conducted, which can be found here. Perkins will host a series of informational webinars on the survey which will provide data to participants to help make decisions on ways to improve school climates, including student, administrator, teacher, and parent perceptions of school climate, and student academic achievement and school performance indicators. Register for a webinar on one of the following days:
May 20 at 4 p.m. EDT; June 1 at 4 p.m. EDT; or June 23 at 4 p.m. EDT.
Webinar: Health Care Reform 101: How It Will Impact School District Employee Benefit Programs
On Friday, May 21 from 12:30 -2:00 p.m. EDT, NSBA will be offering a webinar – Health Care Reform 101: How It Will Impact School District Employee Benefit Programs. Participants will learn how the newly passed health care reform laws - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 will impact school districts.
The legal team from Ballard Spahr, LLP, a national law firm that has been actively involved in the legislation, will present information that will help school boards and administrators prepare for short- and long-term changes to group health plans. Ballard Spahr’s legal team will discuss collectively bargained agreements, state exchanges, reporting requirements, and other health care reform provisions. Participants can register for a “site” which is one computer line for a cost of $50. The registration form can be found here.
Is you district interested in showcasing what you've done at NSBA's Annual Conference next year in San Francisco? The deadline for submissions is fast approaching--June 4, 2010. For more information, click here to get everything you need to apply.
CUBE News
Register today for the 2010 CUBE Issues Seminar, Serving the Learning Needs of Today's Urban Students, June 24-26, Los Angeles, CA - Hotel cutoff date is May 26, 2010
Join CUBE’s 2010 Issues Seminar to discuss how urban school board members can become advocates for 21st century teaching and learning. The Issues Seminar will consider the need to respond to demographic shifts and meet the diverse needs of all children; realities and challenges of charter school reform; Federal reforms and the changing realities for urban school governance; redefining a system of public schools focused on individualized learning; and utilizing social media to engage
diverse communities. Click here to download and print the registration brochure. Please be patient, it may take a few minutes to download.
CUBE is on Twitter-Follow CUBE_Edge (CUBE_Edge) for daily updates on what's happening in urban education around the country.
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.
|