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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
Race to the Top (round two) "winners" announced
The big news from Washington continues this summer, and just on the heels of the Education Jobs Bill being signed, nine states and the District of Columbia were awarded billions in funding as part of the Race to the Top (RttT) incentives. In the first round, just two states, Delaware and Tennessee were granted the monies, and just two CUBE districts were impacted. But in the more recent announcement, about a dozen CUBE districts will be impacted in the nine states. States did a lot of juggling by passing new policies (including changing teacher evaluation techniques and allowing more charter schools) and in many cases changed policy to earn more points on the scoring of the grants. The hope is that the states who "won" will provide a model for other states around the country.
Link to Associated Press story 8/24/10
Charlotte re-examines dropout prevention measures
Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools in North Carolina are looking closely at their efforts to stop high school students from dropping out, and they are going all the way back to elementary schools to spot patterns that may begin there. By creating some alternative schools called Performance Learning Centers (PLC), the district is able to work with teachers and other adults who develop relationships with students that are meaningful, something that the students were not getting in the "regular" public school. Using counselors from non-profit groups who specialize in community building, students are carefully monitored and guided as they work their way to a diploma. It may not be the traditional way to earn a high school diploma, but the district and the student wind up with a positive result.
Link to Charlotte Observer 8/29/10
Los Angeles teacher data stirs debate
The Los Angeles Times recently published the teacher evaluation information about thousands of the teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) tying it to student performance on standardized tests. Many teachers and other district staff members were upset about the searchable database on the newspaper's web site, but Secretary Duncan commented that this data should be used by administrators and teachers alike so that teachers can perform better in the future. This began a debate that has been circulating about whether teacher evaluation information should be shared beyond school officials, not to mention printed in a newspaper or website. While the debate continues, several links below cover the story.
Link to eSchool News 8/26/10
Link to L.A. Times summary includes all links
Link to L.A. Times follow up from union leaders 8/19/10
Five years later
Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact is still being felt across the gulf coast region, and beyond. In fact, the population movement that occurred has had a lasting impact on many CUBE districts in the area, including Texas and other nearby states. With many news agencies covering the anniversary of the storm, it was common for the discussion about New Orleans to drift toward the public schools, the Recovery School District (RSD), and the big changes in test scores there since the hurricane. In addition, a new report recently came out from the Fordham Institute that highlights the best (and worst) cities for school reform, and New Orleans leads the pack of the "best." NSBA's blog, BoardBuzz, also covered the anniversary, including a look back at many of the stories over the last five years and how school boards, school boards associations, and local districts tried to help those who were effected.
Link to Christian Science Monitor 8/29/10
Link to Fordham Institute report 8/24/10
Link to NSBA's Board Buzz 8/30/10
Grant Opportunity: Community Gardens
According to an article in USA Today, the USDA will be awarding grants to help high poverty schools start community gardens. As part of the Let's Move campaign, First Lady Michelle Obama has brought a great deal of attention on helping urban students have healthier foods, and this is an opportunity to help students in urban districts learn more about how to grow fruits and vegetables to eat. The hope is to tie the gardens into science and math curriculums as well.
Link to USA Today 8/25/10
Link to USDA Press Release 8/25/10
Blog Watch
One of the most read blogs on the web is the Huffington Post, and a recent blog about charter schools caught our attention. The topic is charter schools, and the importance of finding what the author calls "blended models" of charters. In many CUBE districts, these schools are making some good gains in closing the achievement gap, as well as changing the way charters will function in coming years. As CUBE has covered in the Edge, programming at conferences, calls for information, and within NSBA, we constantly seek more information about how charters are playing out in districts around the country.
Link to Huffington Post 8/31/10
Link to original Washington Times article 8/29/10
CUBE News
Hotel Cut-Off this FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3!
CUBE's Annual Conference is coming to Baltimore, Maryland, September 30- October 2. Registrations are now being accepted and the full brochure can be found below. We have an exciting lineup of speakers, sessions, and the CUBE Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence, will be awarded to a winning district. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award will also be given to a deserving individual. Click here (.pdf file, may take a few moments to download) for more information.
CUBE is on Twitter-Follow CUBE_Edge (CUBE_Edge) for daily updates on what's happening in urban education around the country.
NSBA News
Beginning October 4, 2010, the National School Boards Association will be modifying our nsba.org and asbj.com website procedures to require National Affiliate participants to login using their email address and a password. Your password will be either your NSBA I.D. number (printed on the top line of your American School Board Journal mailing label, to the right of your subscription expiration date) or your chosen password if you have logged on previously and changed your password. If you cannot remember your password, our “Forget My Password” functionality will send you an email with a link that will allow you to change your password. Once logged in, you will be able to access information in both the NSBA and ASBJ password-protected areas of the sites without logging in again, and make updates to your contact information. If you have any questions about this procedure, please contact webmaster@nsba.org. This change is a first step in a series of enhancements being made to NSBA’s sites to streamline access and improve your online experience. Look for additional enhancements to the site in the coming months.
NSBA's Technology Learning Network (TLN) has announced its 2010 Salute Districts who will be showcased at the T+L Conference in Phoenix this fall. Among the three recognized districts, CUBE member district, Jefferson County (Louisville, KY) was selected and will share some of the good things happening in their district regarding executing technology efforts and implementation. More information about the conference can be found below.
Registration and housing are now open for NSBA’s annual T+L Conference, the premier technology and learning conference for school leaders. This year’s event, to be held Oct. 19 to 21 in Phoenix, will focus on change and the tools and programming you need. Go here for more information, or here to register.
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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