***SPPS IN THE NEWS:
Candidate for St. Paul school board paid $12,000 to resign from teaching job
John Krenik is running for the St. Paul school board. The reasons behind his departure from the district are unclea
10/12/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/63975677.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
***OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE NEWS:
'Striving Readers' Tough to Measure
Shirley Bester, a literacy-intervention teacher at Edward Coles Model for Excellence World Language Academy in Chicago, tests Nathaniel Smith on his reading skills.
10/12/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/14/07read_ep.h29.html?tkn=QPTFaG%2FrwJTlggntcb7OVRlirNuq3BJgErPP
A Success Story Despite Recent Cuts In Education Funding Throughout Minnesota
HOPE Community Academy, the First Hmong-Focused Charter School Celebrated 10 Years of Academic Excellence on September 26th.
10/12/2009
Hmong Times
http://www.hmongtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=190&ArticleID=2123&TM=37815.91
Red Wing school administrators denounce racially insensitive event
More than 60 white students at Red Wing High School wore doo rags, ball caps cocked to one side, oversized sports jerseys and shorts, and low-slung pants to school last Wednesday -- saying it was "Wigger Day" -- prompting a rebuke from school administrators.
10/12/2009
MinnPost.com
http://www.minnpost.com/politicalagenda/2009/10/08/12309/red_wing_school_administrators_denounce_racially_insensitive_event
It’s a Fork, It’s a Spoon, It’s a ... Weapon?
Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy. But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mother’s fiancé by his side to vouch for him.
10/12/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?ref=education
Lakeville / Closing of an elementary school looks unlikely
Despite facing a likely $6 million budget shortfall for the 2010-11 school year, Lakeville is not likely to close an elementary school, officials said.
10/12/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13520202.html
School changes the dynamics of recess
Positive Playground reduces bullying
10/12/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13541173.html
Two South St. Paul elementary schools to get counselors
A state grant has enabled two elementary schools in South St. Paul to hire part-time counselors for this school year.
10/12/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13520203.html
Former treasurer of Lakeville PTO accused of stealing $15,000
With $15,000 missing from Oak Hills Elementary PTO, Lakeville police investigate the organization's former treasurer, Lisa Miller.
10/12/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/63886922.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr
Students at Blake School revisit Laramie Project
The two students at the Blake School, a private school in Minneapolis, didn't hear at the time about the murder of Shepard, a gay, 21-year-old University of Wyoming student whose brutal beating became an international story highlighting violence and hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
10/12/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/63974892.html?elr=KArks:DCiUoaW_eEO7UiacyKUUr
Superintendent Jennings says he's retiring -- for real
Eastern Carver County's school chief, who had tried to retire earlier this year, now says he's leaving next June.
10/12/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/63868202.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr
Education secretary stresses need for strong new teachers
"Education is the civil rights issue of our generation," says Arne Duncan. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan appealed Friday for a new generation of extraordinary teachers, calling education the civil rights cause of our time.
10/12/2009
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-10-09-duncan-calls-for-teachers_N.htm
Few teachers are black men
Only about 2% of teachers nationwide are African-American men. But experts say that needs to change if educators expect to reduce minority achievement gaps and dropout rates.
10/12/2009
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-10-09-black-male-teachers_N.htm
Lunch debts piling up for school districts
More children are getting into school lunch lines without being able to pay, creating a financial burden for school districts.Students at Daniel Webster School 46 get lunch in June. All of the kids at this Indianapolis school get free or reduced lunch.
10/12/2009
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-10-08-lunch-debt_N.htm
Schools' Parking Fee Dents Loudoun Teens' Lifestyles
When Loudoun County high schools raised the cost of parking permits from $25 to $200 this fall, students saw not only huge bills but also a blow against an inalienable right of suburban teenage life.
10/12/2009
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/11/AR2009101102016.html
***MISC. NEWS:
International Teen Club and Hmong Youth Circle Offer Hmong Teens Opportunities to Volunteer
Hennepin County Library's International Teen Club and Hmong Youth Circle already have the Hmong New Year on their minds. Since the beginning of summer and through the fall, the teens are making 200 fabric balls for a traditional Hmong "get acquainted" game and to be handed out at New Year festivities at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
10/12/2009
Hmong Times
http://www.hmongtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=190&ArticleID=2121&TM=37606.5
New Books Offer Educational Options for Hmong
Patrick Vang grew up in a refugee camp in Thailand. He spoke Hmong and Lao, like the majority of the Hmong there. While in the camp he learned to speak Thai as well. At the age of 8 his family moved to France where he picked up French.
10/12/2009
Hmong Times
http://www.hmongtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=190&ArticleID=2125&TM=37815.91
School Can’t Do It All
More than 40 years of education research proves that when families and community members are involved in the work of educating children, those children succeed. They receive better grades, have fewer discipline problems, choose harder courses, graduate, and continue their educations at higher rates. 10/12/2009
Hmong Times
http://www.hmongtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=190&ArticleID=2122&TM=37606.5
Obama Becomes Japan’s English Teacher
A CD of President Barack Obama's inaugural speech has sold a half million copies in Japan, leading publishers to flood the market with over a dozen language-learning titles centered on his oratory.
10/12/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/business/global/12iht-speech.html?ref=education
Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts
On any given day, about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates, according to a new study of the effects of dropping out of school in an America where demand for low-skill workers is plunging.
10/12/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/education/09dropout.html?_r=1&ref=education
Editorial
The uneducated American
10/12/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_13527843.html
Hispanic students aspire to higher education but face barriers
WASHINGTON — Nearly nine in 10 Hispanics say it's "necessary" to get a college education to get ahead in life — more than any other ethnic or racial group in the USA. But Hispanic students' plans to get an actual diploma fall well below those of other groups, a survey finds: Fewer than half of Hispanic 18- to 25-year-olds say they plan to get a bachelor's degree, well below the 60% of all young people who say the same.
10/12/2009
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-10-07-hispanic