District Administration articles from September 2005

District Administration archives from September 2005

Ohio Career and Technical School taps into online writing program: Vantage Learning's MY Access! 6.0 boosts writing performance via immediate and personalized scoring and feedback.
September 1, 2005... Blending technology into practical instructional formats is par for the course at Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) in Clayton, OH, says Lona P. Bowman, MVCTC Humanities Supervisor, and the English and Social Studies curricula are...

Getting to know Rudy Crew.(Editor's Letter)(Editorial)(Biography)
September 1, 2005... Quite obviously, I'm a word person. After 20 years as a journalist, I'm certainly most comfortable expressing myself like this, by sitting down and writing. When I saw Rudy Crew recently, I realized he isn't a word person. That's not to...

Governors devise graduation rate plan.(Update: NEWS, STATS AND FAST FACTS)
September 1, 2005... It took a few forums and several years of discussion, but 45 governors and 12 national organizations agreed this summer to comparable high school graduation numbers and student progress indicators. Graduation Counts: A Compact on State High...

Achievement is slightly up: is it time to celebrate?(Update: NEWS, STATS AND FAST FACTS)
September 1, 2005... When the Nation's Report Card results from 2004 recently showed that American students were generally reading and doing math better than they were four years ago and three decades ago, particularly in the South, many people celebrated. But...

Henrico County chooses Dell over Apple for one-to-one initiative.(Update: NEWS, STATS AND FAST FACTS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... One of the leading education proponents of one-to-one computing is changing brands. Henrico County Public Schools has contracted with Dell computers to provide a laptop to every teacher and student in sixth through 12th grade beginning this...

NEA's six-point covenant.(Update)(National Education Association )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The National Education Association has a new covenant with the nation to support public schools for every child. President Reg Weaver lays out these points: 1. Parental involvement: Children need devoted and interested parents. 2....

Fast facts.(Update)(Ohio is tripling the size of its school voucher program)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Ohio is tripling the size of its school voucher program, making it the nation's largest since it was found constitutional to use public money for private school. Source: Dayton Daily News

California plan gets negative feedback.(Update)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $117.5 billion state plan includes $3 billion more for schools, but educators, particularly the California Teachers Association, are booing, saying it robs schools of an additional $3 billion. The...

Textbooks dry up in Arizona H.S.(Update)(Vail Unified School District )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A high school at Vail Unified School District in Arizona is the state's first all wireless, all laptop public school this fall. Instead of textbooks, the 350 students will use electronic and online articles as part of the teacher lesson plans....

Tutoring services see business boom.(Inside the Law)
September 1, 2005... While districts are struggling meet what many say are unfunded mandates of NCLB one industry is booming under the landmark education act. Tutoring services across the nation are growing rapidly as they tap into a potential $2 billion market of...

Connecticut governor backs NCLB lawsuit.(Inside the Law)(No Child Left Behind Act of 2001)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Connecticut Gov. M Jodi Rell has backed the state's intent to sue the federal government over the No Child Left Behind act. Rell, a Republican, signed legislation in July authorizing the suit that would present the first challenge to the act by...

DOE asks court to dismiss NEA suit.(Inside the Law)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The federal government is asking a U.S. District Court to dismiss a landmark case filed by the nation's largest teacher's union that seeks to force the federal DOE to pay for all the provisions in NCLB. In a response to the suit, which was...

AFT Campaigns to Fix No Child.(American Federation of Teachers, No Child Left Behind act)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Instead of suing like it's counterpart NEA, the American Federation of Teachers has launched an intense campaign aimed at fixing what it considers unfair and unworkable aspects of the No Child Left Behind act. The campaign, "NCLB-Let's Get...

Reading is fundamental.(Administrator Profile: Catherine Ciarlo)
September 1, 2005... Catherine Ciarlo is an icon in Cranston Public Schools. Having grown up in Providence, she was born, baptized, raised, educated and has been employed in Rhode Island her whole life. And like athletes who dream as kids of starting and ending...

Girls and technology.(District Profile: Minot (N.D.) Public School District)
September 1, 2005... Girls and shop don't necessarily mix. The Minot (N.D.) Public School District transformed its stereotypical guy zone' vocational building into a more equitable space by launching programs to recruit girls for nontraditional programs like auto...

Gifted education: deceived, denied and in crisis: why gifted ed still matters and what you can do to improve your district's offerings.(TREND WATCH)
September 1, 2005... With her eldest daughter about to enter her senior year of high school at age 14, Carolyn Kottmeyer has experienced just about every aspect of gifted education American schools have to offer. She's done acceleration--three times with her...

Rudy Crew is breaking the mold: from New York City to Miami, he is one of the most highly regarded--and highly paid--superintendents in the country.
September 1, 2005... The summer of 2004 saw two high-profile and highly anticipated arrivals in Miami--Shaquille O'Neal to the struggling Miami Heat basketball team and Rudy Crew to the beleaguered Miami-Dade school district. While part in restoring the Heat to...

Call forwarding: VoIP goes from possibility to reality. Plan wisely now and prevent trouble in the future.(voice over internet protocol)(school districts implementing technology)
September 1, 2005... Thanks to the availability of more affordable networking technology, voice over Internet Protocol is becoming one of the hottest discussions in school districts throughout the country. Not only does VoIP put a phone in every classroom, but it...

Early intervention: learn what smart districts are doing to identify students' learning disabilities and enhance instruction in pre-k.(EARLY EDUCATION)
September 1, 2005... Assessment is everywhere. Even in places where you might not expect to find it. "We could not have a pre-k program without assessment," says Janice Royals, coordinator of the pre-kindergarten program for Atlanta Public Schools. In Atlanta, and...

Overhauling education: Edison's CEO Chris Whittle know how to dramatically improve public schools.(BOOK EXCERPT)
September 1, 2005... STEP ONE: Ask much more from educators STEP TWO: Double or triple everyone's salary Chris Whittle says the idea to create Edison Schools, the nation's largest for-profit public and charter school management company, took off after he...

Cyberbullying: online bullying affects every school district.(The Online Edge)
September 1, 2005... Three honors students in a Louisiana school were recently arrested and suspended after one created a "biggest queer" Web site targeting a fellow student, who retaliated by launching a graphically violent site directed at his so-called "prep"...

Global thoughts: lessons learned abroad.(Speaking Out)(Column)
September 1, 2005... Seoul, South Korea... I write this column as my family sleeps and giant televisions flicker on buildings below me. It is the beginning of the final week of our month-long trip around-the-world. Philadelphia, Pads, Johannesburg, Cape Town,...

Helping english-language learners.(Problem/Solution)
September 1, 2005... Problem: An ever growing number of English-Language Learners entering the Salida Union School District in California had school officials trying to find a way to raise students' academic performance scores. Administrators were challenged to do...

Effective instructional strategies.(Research Corner: EDUCATION DATA AND RESEARCH ANALYSIS FROM EDVANTIA (FORMERLY AEL))
September 1, 2005... Tiger Woods wouldn't win many tournaments if he used a 5 iron r every shot. Part of golf is knowing when to use which club. Likewise, effective teachers can select and use instructional strategies that move individual students closer to the...

Students' history day project contributes to conviction.(Curriculum Update)
September 1, 2005... Reinvestigating the 1964 murders of three civil rights activists allegedly slain by the Ku Klux Klan, the student-produced documentary, Mississippi Burning, the same name as the movie, began as an extracurricular National History Day project....

Estuaries Day online Sept. 24.(Curriculum Update)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... To educate the public of the fragility of estuaries, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and the U.S. EPA's National Estuary Program launched National Estuaries Day: Sept. 24. Estuaries are water bodies along coasts that are formed...

New data due abstinence program.(Curriculum Update)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A highly anticipated report indicates that children ages 12-18 who undergo the controversial Abstinence-Until-Marriage education programs support abstinence. However, it is questionable if the youths in the program will actually abstain from...

Eyewitness accounts of Holocaust horrors.(Curriculum Update)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Two recent documentaries are helping students understand the history of the Holocaust and what it means today through the eyes of those who were there. Testimony of the Human Spirit, a film and teacher's guide produced by the Westchester...

Sympodium DT770: SMART Technologies, Inc.(New Products: THE LATEST OFFERINGS IN BOOKS, HARDWARE, INTERNET AND SOFTWARE)
September 1, 2005... www.smarttech.com Software, $3,999 This interactive pen display uses dual-touch DViT technology that allows users to touch the screen with their finger to navigate room-control menus and automatically switch to using a battery-free,...

Twist: Tech4Learning, Inc.(New Products: THE LATEST OFFERINGS IN BOOKS, HARDWARE, INTERNET AND SOFTWARE)
September 1, 2005... www.tech4learning.com, Software, $44.95 This dual-platform, vector-based drawing tool is designed for all age groups. Some of its features include adjustable shapes and curves, text that can be filled with patterns, pictures or gradients, a...

WXGA LCD Displays: Sampo Professional.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.sampoamericas.com Hardware, $1,499-$3,999 These 26-inch, 32-inch and 42-inch displays enable users to remotely control their digital displays through an existing network infrastructure. They offer standard NTSC tuners. advanced audio...

NEC WT610: NEC Solutions, Inc.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.necvisualsystems.com Hardware, $6995 This projector uses a patented lensless mirror design to attain a short throw distance. It projects a 40-inch image from only two inches from the screen and a 100-inch image from only 26 inches from...

MVC-5: Meyer Sound.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.meyersound.com, Hardware, $11,000 This graduated vertical coverage loudspeaker is a self-powered, multiple element, curvilinear array with fixed splay angles, housed in a single compact enclosure. The system was designed for voice...

Unitedstreaming video servers: Discovery Education & CDW-G.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.discoveryeducation.com Hardware/Service, starts from $3,000 plus subscription This partnership offers customized video servers to districts nationwide. Local hosting enables schools to access content via onsite servers. More than 4,000...

SR-DVM70U: JVC.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... pro.jvc.com, Hardware, $1,795 This video recorder/player combines a MiniDV, DVD and Hard Disk Drive Recorder with a 160 GB capacity that offers high storage capacity and long recording times with selectable recording rates. When dubbing,...

Thunder: PolyVision Corp.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.polyvision.com, Hardware, $50,000 This electronic flip chart replaces one-dimensional tools, such as flip charts or videoconferencing, with an environment in which local and remote users can collaborate live by sharing, annotating,...

STI Curriculum Manager: STI.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.sti-k12.com, Software, $3 and up per student This software helps educators tie assessment and student information data with district curriculum assets. It integrates with STI's Web-based assessment management platform ($12 and up per...

Generation Tech: Generation YES.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.genyes.com, Curriculum, first year pricing starts at $1,200 The updates include eight major units that offer teachers a leveled, multi-semester curriculum: communication and documentation; hardware from components to networks; software;...

System Integrator: Extron Electronics.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.extron.com, Hardware, $135-$495 These seven speakers were designed for A/V system integrators and are optimized for smooth, accurate reproduction of music and voice for both low and high power delivery applications. The series includes...

Mediasite 440 Series: Sonic Foundry, Inc.(New Products)
September 1, 2005... www.sonicfoundry.com, Hardware, $22,250-$24,950 This series includes three rich media recorders: the VL440 videoconferencing recorder; the rack-mountable RL440, which supports the MediaSite Control Interface Protocol for programmable...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
September 1, 2005... OCTOBER 2005 CEFPI Council of Educational Facility Planners International 82nd Annual Conference October 1-3 San Antonio, Texas www.cefpi.org ASBO Association of School Business Officials 91st Annual Meeting and...

Technology in Schools.(By the Numbers)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The top 5 technology investments planned for 2006 1. Computers for student use 62% 2. Upgrades to network/infrastructure 41% 3. Software for instruction 29% 4....