Are Utah public schools failing kids or are kids, parents failing school? OGDEN - Are students being graded fairly in state-mandated testing? The scores are part of what determines whether a school receives an 'A' grade or a failing grade and that often reflects on the performance of teachers and staff. Several schools in Ogden City School District received failing grades from the state last year. This has resulted in the current administration using more forward approaches, including implementing new curriculum and tutoring students double-time to ensure they walk the stage at graduation. "I'll be satisfied when 10 percent of the graduates at Ben Lomond High School and Ogden High School are going to Ivy League schools," said Ogden School District Superintendent Brad Smith. Yet, some critics worry the administration's approaches are not meeting kids halfway. "I'm worried that the thing that most governs Mr. It's a complicated game of numbers. Others feel more skeptical. "We feel concerned on multiple levels," said Stacey Briggs, principal of Ogden High School.
Gregory B. Jaczko Resigns from Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) After Allegations of ‘Personality Conflicts’ (Photo: AP) Gregory B. Jaczko, who was designated Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by Barack Obama in May, 2009, has resigned after a series of what Politico is describing as “personality conflicts” — incidents that seemingly interfered with his work. Though his term runs through June 2013, Jaczko said this morning that he would be quitting upon confirmation of his successor, and denies any charges of wrongdoing. Politico explains: An NRC inspector general report last year referenced several accounts from current and former NRC staff members who said Jaczko’s aggressive behavior created “an intimidating work environment,” in part because he often yelled at his colleagues…His abrupt announcement comes as another NRC IG report is expected soon to delve into those personnel issues. “I can be passionate.
AJC Early Concerns About E-Books' Effect on Reading Comprehension, Researchers Say - Digital Education Philadelphia Digital devices and online reading materials are flooding U.S. schools, but there are some early reasons to worry whether they are helping children better learn to read. That was the message from a husband-and-wife research team from West Chester University who presented two studies here as part of the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association. The first study found that a small sample of students comprehended traditional books at "a much higher level" than they comprehended the same material when read on an iPad, said Heather Schugar, an assistant education professor at the university, located in southeastern Pennsylvania. And the second study found that while students in 18 classrooms were "highly motivated by their interactions" with interactive e-books created using Apple's iBooks Author software, they "often skipped over text, where the meat of the information was." "It's not necessarily that e-books are bad for reading," Ms.
blastContent Services The Salsa Client Services team handles all new client set-ups as well as custom projects such as data clean-up, large-scale content and campaign migration, webpage customization and custom reporting. For more services including everything from strategic consulting to development, we have a community of partners ready to help too. Support The folks in support help you be successful in Salsa in a friendly, clear and efficient manner. Training We provide weekly online training, certification courses and strategic best practices webinars and resources at a variety of levels so you can customize your education the way you need it. AP American History Goes Socialist, Founding Fathers Depicted As Rich White Elites Branco cartoon via Legal Insurrection We have a new set of AP American history standards and it’s only the first out of 33 AP course standards to be written. We can give thanks to the Architect of Common Core and College Board president, David Coleman. He has taken the five page outline currently given to teachers and has turned it into a 98 page Framework. The new standards interpret American History for us. Jane Robbins describes a few problems: “The new Framework inculcates a consistently negative view of American culture. She goes on to note: “A particularly troubling failure of the Framework is its dismissal of the Declaration of Independence and the principles so eloquently expressed there. It has been said that whoever wins gets to write the history and that is true of David Coleman in his war against traditional America and the constitution. Some of the Founding Fathers have been left out of Coleman’s version of American history. He has omitted Ben Franklin from his standards.
NRC Chief Gregory Jaczko Resigns — With a Catch By Steven T. Dennis Roll Call Staff May 21, 2012, 11:44 a.m. Updated: 12:27 p.m. The controversial chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission resigned Monday morning — but with an important caveat. Gregory Jaczko, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and opponent of using the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, announced he would resign Monday morning but made his resignation effective once the Senate confirms a successor. “My responsibility and commitment to safety will continue to be my paramount priority after I leave the Commission and until my successor is confirmed,” Jaczko wrote, adding, “This is the right time to pass along the public safety torch to a new chairman who will keep a strong focus on carrying out the vital mission of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.” Reid issued a statement thanking Jaczko. But Jaczko ignored those attacks in his statement. The White House said the president would quickly nominate a successor. “Dr.
Alleged plot to 'take over' and run schools on strict Islamic principles | UK news Birmingham city council is investigating an alleged plot to oust headteachers in the city, replacing them with people who will run their schools on "strict Islamic principles". A letter, passed to the Birmingham city council late last year as well as various schools in the area, outlines a plan dubbed "Operation Trojan Horse" and claims up to four schools in the city have already been "taken over". The West Midlands counter-terrorism unit said it was aware of the letter and was working with the council to identify whether a police investigation is warranted. A copy of the undated and unsigned letter, seen by the Guardian, offers a five-step plan to take over schools in communities with large Muslim populations with the help of what it calls "hardline" parents who follow the strict Salafi branch of Islam. The letter names four Birmingham schools where they have already had "success": Adderley Primary, Saltley School, Park View School and Regents Park Community Primary School.
NextEra and NRC to continue monitoring ASR degradation at Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant Degrading concrete at a New Hampshire nuclear plant has prompted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to alert all of its facilities and applicants to the same risk elsewhere. The Seacost Online reported on a meeting this week between NextEra Energy, operators of the Seabrook nuclear plant, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday in Bethesda, Md., in which the utility reported that the cause of concrete degradation at Seabrook Station is more pervasive than originally stated, has already brought some of the structures below licensing standards and could further delay the nuclear plant’s effort to extend its operating license to 2050. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission public hearing on 2011 safety assessment of Seabrook Station nuclear power plant When: 6-8 p.m. Where: One Liberty Lane Conference Center, Hampton Information: Call Arthur Burritt, chief of the NRC projects branch, at (610) 337-5069 or e-mail arthur.burritt@nrc.gov Related Articles on Page 2…
Teachers to shred Pearson contract in protest against privatization ALBANY, N.Y. August 8, 2014 - Union leaders from across the state will shred a contract Monday in a grassroots protest aimed at giant testing company Pearson and others who are trying to privatize — and profit from - public education. The protest by leaders of New York State United Teachers will be held Monday, August 11, on the steps of the State Education Department, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. During the protest, teachers will feed the symbolic Pearson contract into paper shredders. NYSUT President Karen E. Click here to learn more about the protest. NYSUT noted that Pearson, for example, holds a $32.8 million testing contract with the State Education Department, which prohibits teachers from talking about test questions or pointing out problems with the exams. New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care.