Now is the time:

http://www.youtube.com/

These letters provide a status of No Child Left Behind cornerstones with respect to each state. In addition, a state status chart and a fact sheet on state standards and assessments are available, as are previous NCLB policy letters to states.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/cornerstones/index.html

55 YEARS LATER…

By fourth grade black and Latino students are, on average, three years behind their white and Asian counterparts???

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051602265.html

Let’s work together to close the education gap…

May 13,2009
$$$ Obtain Funding for Your Class Project Ideas $$$

Wish you had lots of money so you could make all your great classroom-project ideas a reality?

DonorsChoose.org provides an avenue for public school teachers to submit project requests for funding of materials to make it happen! Donors choose which projects to support and once funded, materials are delivered directly to your school. All they ask is that in return is that you submit photos of the project and thank-you notes from students, for the vendors. And to make it even better – The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match donations 1 for 1 if your project is specifically geared towards helping kids go on to college!

Go to www.donorschoose.org to make your brilliant ideas come true!

Here are some tips from the website that might help attracts donors:

• Give your project a great title and your essay a snazzy first line.
• Keep your project cost to less than $400.
• Speak from the heart when writing your essay.
•  Check your project essay for spelling and grammar.

May 6,2009
Closing the Graduation Gap
The Urban vs Suburban Education Gap – still widening…

Every 29 seconds a high school students drops out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/education/22dropout.html?ref=education

“…the average high school graduation rate in the nation’s 50 largest cities was 53 percent, compared with 71 percent in the suburbs.”

Cleveland, Baltimore and New York show the greatest divide between urban and suburban highs school drop out rates.

Americas Promise Alliance, headed by Alma Powell and her husband, Colin L. Powell, the former secretary of state, is devoted to shrinking high school drop out.

How can you help?

Go here to find out: http://www.americaspromise.org/APAMini.aspx?id=5854

April 29,2009
CA Teachers Want to Know – How does Prop 1B Affect Me?

Proposition 1B May’s ballot could provide $9.3 billion for California schools… Educators say Proposition 1B is crucial for the state's schools who this year have warned of possible 30,000 + layoffs of teachers, nurses and administrators..

How should you vote?: http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-prop1b22-2009apr22,0,777252.story?track=rss

April 22,2009
In Order To Inform Our Students, We Must First Inform Ourselves…

With Federal funds being released all over the country to improve education, schools and create teaching jobs, teachers need to stay on top of the news more than ever to ensure they take advantage of these incentives…stay informed.

http://www.ed.gov/teachers/landing.jhtml

April 15,2009
Need Help Coming up With High Quality Lesson Plans?

Arts & Music, Health And Phys Ed, Language Arts, Math, Science, World Studies, U.S. & History Topics

http://www.free.ed.gov/

has it all. And it is really, really good stuff!