|
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
Secretary
Duncan writes an article for American School Board Journal,
"The Importance of Board and Mayor
Partnerships." You will receive a hard
copy of the magazine soon, but to view the on-line
version, click here.
Newark's
Urban Academy breaks mold
With the philosophy that "one size does
not fit all" students, Newark has opened
several high schools this year that allow students
to graduate through some uncharacteristic
methods. Options include on line classes,
night classes, and internships, to name a few
possibilities that students have to choose from in
Newark. Fellow CUBE districts Indianapolis and
Nashville have also joined the Alternative High
School Initiative, which is partially funded by the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Newark is
taking on several programs to increase their graduation
rate.
Link to Newark Star-Ledger 9/1/09
Obama's speech
took center stage
Last week's speech to school children by
President Obama raised many questions, including
whether the president's address might be a
distraction to the students and staff of schools
nationwide. After the speech, most viewers
agreed that his message encouraged personal
responsibility, hard work, and determination.
One of the items left out of many of the mainstream
media pieces was what he told a group of students in
a smaller group setting prior to the national
broadcast. "Be careful what you post on
Facebook," he told them, "whatever you do,
it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your
life." Obama's discussion also included
his mentors and goals as a high school student.
Link
to eschool News
9/9/09 (preview, free
registration for entire article)
Bill Gates to broadcast on MTV and Nickelodeon
Concerned with the graduation rate in
America's schools, Bill Gates will begin a
partnership with Viacom and celebrities to start a
campaign that focuses on keeping students in school
and high quality teachers. According to the
Gates Foundation, a student drops out of an American
high school every 26 seconds. The "Get
Schooled" campaign began last week and will
continue through the fall.
Link to CBS News 9/9/09
Fort Worth gets green buses
Perhaps the buses will remain yellow, but
some students will be lucky enough to ride one of
the new hybrid buses, which will cost more in the
short term, but provide bigger savings for the district
long term for the Fort Worth schools. Besides
the money factor, these buses will be cleaner and
produce less emissions for the entire
community. Austin began using plug-in hybrid
buses in 2007 and there is hope that with new
federal funding, more districts will look into bus
alternatives in the coming years.
Link
to Star Telegram 9/2/09
Link
to National School Transportation Association
Commentary: Find common ground
Many of the debates going on in education
circles since the Obama administration came into
office include terms like "status quo,
innovation, mayoral takeover, and promise
neighborhoods," to name a few. In this
CNN editorial, Pedro Noguera offers some advice for
educational stakeholders, including those in the
Department of Education. His expertise in
urban education and the multi-faceted issues facing
urban schools give him a unique perspective.
Link to CNN 9/8/09
Blog
Watch
CUBE's
mission is to try and improve public school
education for America's urban students through
school board leadership. With many obstacles
and challenges, this blog looks at the different
ways "experts" define innovation in
education. Think about the popular TV
show, "Extreme Makeover-Home
Edition" and apply it to education.
That's what our friend at Public
School Insights has done with this entry
about how to create a successful school system. 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 is coming October 8-11 to Austin,
Texas. Registration is now open and the full
brochure is available on CUBE's
web site. CUBE welcomes keynote speakers James
H. Johnson and Dr. Peter Negroni, in
addition to ever-popular site visits to local Austin
schools, the CUBE Annual Award luncheon, and
sessions on key topics challenging urban education
today. Please
contact the hotel directly at 1-800- 843-6664.
Since the hotel-cut off deadline for reservations
has passed, reservations will now be made on a
space/rate available basis and will not be
guaranteed at the conference rate.
NSBA's
Technology and
Learning Conference (T+L) takes place in Denver,
Colorado October 28-30, 2009. Among the
presentations and honors, three
districts are recognized with a video salute
showcasing technology initiatives across their
districts during the T+L Conference General Sessions,
including a CUBE district, Newport News, Virginia.
Other CUBE districts will also be presenting-come
join a growing list of educators at T+L to learn more
about what Newport News and other urban districts
have done to make technology work
well for students.
NSBA
News
“Legal
Issues for School Districts Related to the Education
of Undocumented Children,” a 30-page
booklet, has just reached the desk of every
public school district in the country and COSA
members. Thanks to a grant from the NEA who is
distributing 6,000 copies, here is web access to
this important resource. We encourage you to
download the publication and distribute it widely.
Have
you ever wondered how the NSBA advocacy efforts work
for you? As National Affiliate districts, CUBE
benefits greatly from the combined efforts of NSBA's
advocacy staff. A new tool is available for
you to see the how the efforts are paying off.
The new web page can be found here.
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.
|