Comprehensive Educational Platform

State panel targets school discipline

July 26th, 2011

Zero tolerance policies came in for a lot of criticism Wednesday at the first meeting of a legislative study committee assigned to review discipline methods in Colorado schools.

Such policies have lead to criminalization of students who commit minor infractions, exploding suspension and expulsion rates, increased dropout rates and reduced student achievement, witnesses told the Legislative Task Force to Study School Discipline, meeting at the Capitol.

Witnesses repeatedly used the phrases “school to prison pipeline” and “school to jail track” to describe the effect of zero tolerance policies, increased use of suspension and expulsion and rising numbers of student referrals to police. The use

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Tags: Discipline

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Akron schools to seek levy, cut spending

July 26th, 2011

The Akron school board will ask voters for new money in November, but plans to make budget cuts as well to keep the levy small enough to pass.

Treasurer Jack Pierson gave the board two extreme scenarios on Monday for eliminating an $11.6 million deficit in the 2012-13 school year, which balloons to more than $100 million two years later.

The first extreme option was taxes only, with no more cuts. That would require passing a 10.3-mill levy in November that would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $315 a year. If the board puts it off another year, it would need a 14.5-mill levy costing the same homeowner $444.

The second extreme option was cuts with no new taxes. That would require slashing the budget by $45 million by the 2014-15 school year, with $32 million chopped in the 2013-14 year alone.

Instead, the board announced that it will pursue a combination of taxes and cuts guaranteed to cause pain all around. Taxpayers will have to pass some kind of levy in November, balanced by cuts that could include school closings, layoffs and reduction of employee medical benefits.

The board will meet Aug.

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Tags: Cut, Cut Spending

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At-risk teens find life skills in summer program at Sacramento City Hall

July 25th, 2011

Newspaper and limited tape were provided, a task clearly laid out. Build a 2-foot-tall tower, the teacher said. The structure must be able to be transported and support 2 pounds.

The clock was ticking.

Christina Keller had been given deadline and team building assignments like this in the past. But, the Meadowview teen said, this time it was different. She is different.

“That’s when I found out that even though life is stressful and there are distractions, I built that tower,” Keller said. “And I realized I can make it.”

Every teacher strives for this kind of epiphany, where a student suddenly sees the embedded metaphor of limited tape representing money.

It’s the kind of realization Keller and other students said they had during Summer at City Hall, a program launched in June that introduced 32 teens to city government, taught them communications skills and showed them the value of volunteering.

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Green schools superintendent promotes savings

July 25th, 2011

GREEN: The Green Board of Education has approved eight contracts totaling almost $428,000, but expenditures are less than previous years.

Superintendent Michael Nutter said Monday night’s action by the board amounted to notable cost savings.

“We’re trying to do things so our kids can excel while [at the same time] being fiscally responsible,” he said.

Three contracts were for reading and language arts materials, which Nutter explained are important to enhance students’ education, with much being Web-based, reducing the number of textbooks needed.

The board approved a $175,555 contract to purchase Read 180 Next Generation and System 44, comprehensive, Web-based Tier II and Tier III intervention programs for students in fourth through 12th grades.

Also adopted was another $98,520 contract for Expert 21, language arts texts, ancillary teacher materials and Web-based resources for grades six through eight.

Another $21,457 contract was for the Scholastic Reading Inventory for students grades three to 12.

A $9,373 replacement contract with SchoolWires of State College, Pa., for website services was at a 32 percent savings over last year.

A $2,685, one-year contract with Ohio School Comp of Cleveland for services related to workers’ compensation represents a $300 savings.

The district’s $400 agreement with Ohio Schools Council for participation in a cooperative purchasing program, Nutter said, saved about $5,000 last year alone.

The board’s contract with Rachel Wixey & Associates of Toledo for substitute teachers, Nutter said, represents a $4,000 savings.

The board also approved a $119,968 contract, covered through other tax sources, for two case managers from Child Guidance & Family Solutions of Akron to perform services in assisting the lead teacher in developing appropriate behavioral interventions for individual students.

Tags: Green, Green Schools

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Garcia upbeat on chances for R2T grant

July 24th, 2011

Colorado is preparing to enter a third round of competition for federal Race to the Top funds, and Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia is hopeful the state’s luck will change this time around.

“We think Colorado is well positioned” for the R2T early-childhood competition, said Garcia, the Hickenlooper administration’s point person on education issues, in a recent interview with Education News Colorado. The state came up short in two previous competitions for larger R2T programs.

The state is planning to apply for two R2T grants, the Early Childhood Challenge program whose rules were announced on July 1 and a separate “consolation” grant open to the nine states that lost out in round two of the main R2T competition last August. The total amount of federal money available is $700 million $500 million for ECE and $200 million for the other program. Colorado could receive $60 million from the early childhood program.

Garcia said the state is getting organized quickly on the ECE application, working first to consult with interest groups and early childhood leaders for advice on how the state should pitch its application. The federal

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Tags: Garcia, Garcia Chances

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Local contingency plans in works as federal default looms

July 24th, 2011

Many area organizations and businesses dependent on federal support are developing contingency plans in the event that the government defaults on obligations after Tuesday.

They include doctors, hospitals and elderly patients who are dependent on Medicare payments, universities whose students are on federal grants and nonprofit organizations.

What could happen next week is that the country runs out of borrowed money and is forced to live on in-coming cash from tax revenues. The president will choose which obligations to pay, and which will have to wait.

As one independent analysis showed, the treasury would have to choose from among 80 million monthly payments so that 40-45 percent of the bills are not paid.

Failing that, a default could have a tremendous impact on investments, such as retirement accounts and stocks.

Here’s how some area organizations are preparing.

Seniors andnonprofits

Bob Kulinski, president of United Way of Summit County, expressed doubt that the government will allow a default, and his worst-case scenario is a delay of payments.

“Since they always pay nonprofits late, in terms of reimbursement for services, it really won’t make that much of a difference,” Kulinski said.

What worries him most is the emotional impact.

“What I think is unconscionable is the scary rhetoric that is making people on Social Security nervous. I don’t a

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Tags: Contingency Plans, Default

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