***SPPS IN THE NEWS:
Changes at St. Paul's Humboldt School are more than cosmetic
Welcome to the new Humboldt, in which the old junior high on St. Paul's West Side has moved in next door with the senior high, and all grades have a new focus on environmental studies and college and career prep.
9/17/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13353257.html
St. Paul / Arson fire destroys school playground
A fire this week that began in broad daylight on the grounds of a St. Paul elementary school engulfed a plastic playground — resulting in melted slides, lopsided ladders and more than $100,000 in damage.
9/17/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13354346.html
Arsonists destroy St. Paul school's hard-won playground equipment
The fire, possibly set by boys, ruined equipment that students in St. Paul raised money to buy.
9/17/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/59521817.html?elr=KArks:DCiUoaW_eEO7UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
***OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE NEWS:
Mendota Heights / Council rejects cannon at game
A request by St. Thomas Academy High School to fire a Civil War-replica cannon at next month's homecoming football game was shot down Tuesday by the Mendota Heights City Council.
9/17/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13354206.html
Sauk Rapids teacher charged with providing alcohol to students
A Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School teacher has been charged with providing alcohol to students.
9/17/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_13357150.html
Charity distributes free uniforms to students in north Minneapolis
A charity is handing out more than 2,000 uniforms to students at five north Minneapolis elementary schools.
9/17/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/59565557.html?elr=KArks:DCiUoaW_eEO7UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
Teacher charged in liquor purchase
Several teens told Sauk Rapids police that if they "wanted something," all they had to do was call Scott Richards.
9/17/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/59567917.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
Teachers accused of harassment say alleged victim made it up
Two Anoka-Hennepin School District teachers accused of harassing a student denied the allegations, the Pioneer Press reported Monday, saying they were fabricated by the student, Alex Merritt. Jodi Merritt, Alex's mother, says the claim by Diane Cleveland and Walter Filson - that her son falsified the harassment in retaliation against the teachers - is a lie.
9/17/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/14/teachers-accused-harassment-say-alleged-victim-made-it
Transit as a teaching tool
Free bus passes for Minneapolis summer school students drew heavy use during a 3-1/2-week experiment in July and lavish praise from both school and Metro Transit officials.
9/17/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/15/transit-teaching-tool
Wage freezes now on the negotiating table
Teachers in the Eden Prairie school district agreed last week to freeze their wages for the next two years. They join a handful of bargaining units that have agreed to a wage freeze, while tens of thousands of Minnesota teachers in hundreds of school districts consider the same decision.
9/17/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/15/wage-freezes-now-negotiating-table
***MISC. NEWS:
Expected Turnaround Aid Has Districts Eager, Wary
As the U.S. Department of Education prepares to throw $3 billion in one-time money on the table to improve perennially foundering schools, a gulf is emerging between what federal officials would like to see done with the funds and what many districts say is their capacity—and inclination—to deliver.
9/17/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/16/04title1-stim.h29.html?tkn=SUUF2PcfLoqIXKnl7AJZjjat3%2BQXWYcPHUrd
Panel Urges Attention to Adolescent Literacy
Leading figures in education policy, academia, and philanthropy called today for a “re-engineering” of the nation’s approach to adolescent literacy, saying nothing short of a “literacy revolution” is needed to keep students in school and ensure that they are able to learn the complex material that college and careers will demand of them.
9/17/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/15/03literacy.h29.html?tkn=[QLFb73PMhUkCwRQl5UufUHpICD6E6fR48Yb
'Two Million Minutes' Film Profiles Charter School
While it may not match a big-budget Hollywood sequel for hoopla, a follow-up documentary to a 2007 film about the challenges facing U.S. schools seems likely to draw broad attention from educators and policymakers, judging from reaction to the first installment.
9/17/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/16/04global.h29.html?tkn=LWWFFoMiGG8MQWJiubT%2FKHJdgBjl1%2Bsggz0Q
Circus Juventas to resume classes Saturday
Circus Juventas will resume classes Saturday after a bleacher collapse at an Aug. 16 performance sent more than 420 spectators crashing to the ground and seven people to the hospital.
9/17/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13353259.html
St. Paul gets good news (surprise!) on finances
St. Paul's financial picture got a boost Wednesday with the approval of a settlement worth $900,000 and a series of debt-related maneuvers that will save more than $3 million over a number of years.
9/17/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13354566.html
Franken recognizes Minnesota’s need for school counselors
Sen. Franken’s call echoes a report released two weeks ago by Minnesota 2020 and the Minnesota School Counselors Association, “Minnesota’s School Counseling Crunch,” that recognized Minnesota’s desperate need for school counselors and how this shortage is affecting our students.
9/17/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/hindsight/franken-recognizes-minnesota%E2%80%99s-need-school-counselors
New GI Bill makes college affordable for veterans
Each year student veterans apply for educational aid, and each year some struggle to stretch their finances to cover all the expenses an average student incurs.
9/17/2009
Washington Post
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/08/new-gi-bill-makes-college-affordable-veterans
........................................................................