The caption contest is still open! Come up with a better title for the Friday national education news round-up than, well, the Friday national education news round-up. The prize is my gratitude, and perhaps your name in the title, if you can find a clever way to work it in.
The Round-up
- San Diego teachers, schools argue about teacher quality
- Don’t eat the peanut butter!
- St Paul faces a $25 million deficit — expect layoffs, the board is told
- Education Week (sign-in required) on the future of ELL education
- T-Paw suggests an increase in education funding — if schools sign onto his pet program that some have criticized in the past as a union-busting measure
- The Washington Post has the transcript of Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s confirmation hearing
- National Public Radio’s education podcast
In local news, a memorial service will be held at 2pm at St Paul’s Como Park Pavillion for Kathy Kinzig, the much-beloved founder of EcoEducation who died in December after a long battle with bone cancer. She was 43.
From the announcement:
“Kathy was the person who figured out that kids didn’t need to go into the woods to learn about the environment — it’s in your own back yard. The Urban environment’s flora and fauna include workers, residents, business, colleges, dogs and cats, boulevard trees and weeds asserting themselves through the cracks in the sidewalk, which all leave their mark on the health and well being of the city’s eco system.
“Eco Ed serves students and teachers in grades 5-12 at about 14 public and charter schools in the two cities, with a waiting list as long as your arm. It provides a couple of curriculums which can be taught across disciplines, or through social studies, science and humanities classes, called “City Connections” and “Urban Stewards.” The programs teach kids how to identify problems they want to solve in their communities and then gives them the tools (through community resource volunteers, buses, equipment, materials) to go forth and make change. Kids even do grantwriting and make presentations to Eco Ed staff to make their case for additional dollars. “
Filed under: Announcements, National, Arne Duncan, Budget Crisis, Education, Education Funding, ELL, Minnesota, National Issues, Secretary of Education, Teacher Quality, Tim Pawlenty
