Friday Churn: Wrong track?

May 28th, 2011

The report, from the National Center on Education and the Economy, sets out an agenda for improving American schools based on efforts undertaken in those countries whose students score the highest on international assessments.

Among the steps: less frequent standardized testing and a greater emphasis on the professionalization of teaching.

“We’ve been unwilling to pay teachers at the level of engineers, Marc Tucker, NCEE president, told Education Week. We’ve been solving our problems of teacher shortages by waiving the very low standards that we have. We have been frustrated by low student performance, and now, we’re blaming our teachers for that, which makes it even harder to get good people.”

Read the EdWeek article and see the full report, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.

A community campaign will keep Jefferson Countys outdoor lab program open through 2011-12, district officials announced Thursday.

Closing the program, a popular rite of passage for Jeffco sixth-graders since the early 1960s, was part of a budget reduction package announced by the states largest school district in March.

But supporters of the Mt. Evans and

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Voices from Iraq: “The occupier is still here.”

May 27th, 2011

In the end, after the Americans go, history will come to see their presence here as a curse on this country. But this is a curse we can bear. Gradually we will heal the wounds. Already as an Iraqi you can have a sense of self-respect in looking at other countries in the Middle East. None of them have endured what we have. The problem now is that we are still not free despite all the sacrifices. The occupier is still here.

Despite all of the suffering that I have seen in the past six years, I believe life is better now than it was during the time of Saddam Hussein. You want to know why? I’ll explain. I’ll put it to you in very simple terms. You always had one thing over these past years since the invasion that you never had in Saddam times. Throughout all the violence of the last six years, all the explosions and all the murders every day for months all around, you could always go to your bed and sleep in peace each night no matter what happened during the day. You

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Tags: Iraq, Iraq “the

Join us Thursday to Kick Off a new Managed Services Webcast Series

May 27th, 2011

Youre invited to join MSP University and Autotask as we team up to deliver a new 8-part Webcast series to help you improve your Managed Services Practice success!

Each month, MSP Universitys and Autotasks Len DiCostanzo and Steve Noel will cover a topic central to developing your Managed Services practice and adding recurring revenue to your bottom line.

This important kick-off session on Thursday, May 26 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT will introduce:

  • The benefits end-user clients receive from Managed Services
  • The minimum requirements necessary to deliver Managed Services effectively
  • How to leverage Managed Services to become the Trusted Advisor
  • How to easily sell solutions to clients and dramatically increase sales

By the end of this webinar, youll know:

  • The 3 key deliverables necessary for a successful Managed Services practice
  • The primary reasons Solution Providers are becoming Managed Services Providers
  • Initial steps you can take now to prepare your business for the transition

Be sure to mark your calendar for the other 7 sessions now, and watch your inbox for invitations to register for each upcoming event:

  • Part 2: Pricing Managed Services by Device -Thu., June 16 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT
  • Part 3: Pricing Managed Services on Value – Thu., July 14 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT
  • Part 4: Managed Services Agreements – Thu., August 11 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT
  • Part 5: Marketing Managed Services – Thu., September 22 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT
  • Part 6: Selling Managed Services – Thu., October 27 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT
  • Part 7: Onboarding new Managed Services Clients – Thu., November 10 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT
  • Part 8: Delivering Managed Services Thu., December 15 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT

Tags: Managed Services, Series, Webcast Series

Only the Fool Knows

May 26th, 2011

Steve Kelly of the Seattle Times recently wrote of the ruling on pink whistles by the Washington Officials Association czar Todd Stordahl A number of football referees, it seems, decided to officiate games in October while wearing pink whistles in support of the Susan G Komen Foundation in that groups ongoing battle against breast cancer Since the refs hadnt cleared the move with him, this martinet Stordahl got his panties in a wad and brought the whole force of his office down on these individuals who acted as a group (Just who do they think they are?) He suspended them from playoff participation and placed them on probation for three years I can imagine him yelling PROBATION in their faces and (Animal House-style) the spit just flying

Stordahls ruling makes no sense Anything that can be done to bring attention to the fight against this terrible disease should have been welcomed with open arms, not a closed heart I feel especially strongly about this because my wife died of cancer (albeit uterine cancer, not breast) at the age of 41 She fought valiantly to live long enough to be in the auditorium and witness our sons graduation from high school I live in fear of the same disease striking my daughter or my two granddaughters

Commissioner Stordahl, you were wrong on so many levels and for so many reasons that it must have occurred to you that maybe you acted out of haste The firestorm you ignited (Ive been reading the feedback to Steve Kellys article People dont appear to like you very much) must have left you with at least a tiny, nagging question concerning your actions Faced with your situation, what would a real man (or woman) do?

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Personal Finance: Mira Loma High teens learn to handle money

May 26th, 2011

Who says teens aren’t smart about money?

In Chad Posner’s economics classes at Mira Loma High school, his students are scoring off the charts when it comes to financial savvy.

On a recent national financial literacy exam, nearly half of his 84 students scored in the top 10 percent. One of those, 18-year-old Angela Liu, scored a perfect 100 percent on the 40-question online test, whose results were released last month by the U.S. Treasury.

Liu, whose parents are Chinese immigrants, said many of the test questions are “common-sense” subjects that go beyond textbook economics. The senior said personal finance is “not just memorizing facts” but learning “real life” skills that everyone should know.

Apparently, she and her classmates know them well. Combined, Posner’s classes scored 86 percent, compared with 69 percent for U.S. teens overall.

Despite its clunky-sounding name, the National Financial Capability Challenge has a clear-eyed goal: to increase high schoolers’ knowledge and impress upon teachers, parents and students the need for deeper understanding of basic financial concepts.

Last fall, in launching a financial literacy push, FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair said, “Teaching young people how to handle their finances …

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Tags: Loma High, Mira Loma, Mira Loma High, Money

AMHA to build Summit Lake center

May 25th, 2011

Akron’s federal housing agency won a $4 million grant to build an Early Childhood/Adult Learning Center in the Summit Lake neighborhood.

Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority was one of only 10 agencies in the country to receive one of the grants totaling $34 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

”I’m still sort of in shock about all of this,” said Christine Yuhasz, AMHA Community Relations Director. ”This is so unbelievable that we’ve been able to get this. We actually didn’t get the official notice from HUD until today.”

The Summit Lake Family Opportunity Center will be built next to the Summit Lake Community Center, which serves the neighborhood just south of Interstate 77-76 near Manchester Road.

AMHA operates the 241-unit Summit Lake Apartments, which is next door to the city-operated community center.

The new family center, which will be available to anyone in the neighborhood, will help children prepare for kindergarten and also provide services to their parents and to other adults who need help with learning computer skills, obtaining a GED and finding a job.

Yuhasz said there is no formal preschool available to parents in that neighborhood.

City offers land

The city of Akron will provide the land for the new building.

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Tags: Center, Summit Lake