SPPS IN THE NEWS:

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OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE NEWS:
Bullying Laws Give Scant Protection
Laws meant to protect youngsters from playground bullies are largely ineffective, according to an Associated Press review, and several students' recent suicides have parents and advocates calling for tougher measures.
9/15/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/14/299614usbullyinglaws_ap.html?tkn=MUXFuFN3E76O5IAaoxlEm9rfdnFQ1C33udQI

MPS to hold Changing School Options town hall meetings
At the meetings, participants will have the opportunity to learn more about school changes recommended for the 2010-2011 school year, ask questions and share comments.
9/15/2009
Insight News
http://www.insightnews.com/education/4853-mps-to-hold-changing-school-options-town-hall-meetings

A New Meaning for Cutting Classes
The band class at Public School 48 on Staten Island is no more. At Middle School 189 in Queens, the after-school program credited with raising math and reading scores has vanished. And that end-of-the-year steak dinner for high achievers at Public School 273 in Brooklyn? Gone, too.
9/15/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/education/15cuts.html?ref=education

Schools Look Abroad to Hire Teachers
Some American school districts have turned increasingly to overseas recruiting to find teachers willing to work in their hard-to-staff schools, according to a new report by a national teachers union.
9/15/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/education/15teach.html?_r=1&ref=education

Anoka-Hennepin student's lawyer demands teachers' firings; teachers deny harassment
The lawyer representing a former Anoka-Hennepin school district student demanded today that school officials fire two teachers accused of sexually harassing the student.
9/15/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13335694.html

Student's lawyer says two teachers should be fired over alleged harassment
He says 'silence' one, remove other
9/15/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13338000.html

'Possible confrontation' reported between bus driver, 6-year-old girl
Minneapolis police are investigating what they are calling a "possible confrontation" between a school bus driver and a 6-year-old girl.
9/15/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/59291862.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

Teacher: 'I was railroaded' by harassment charge
Diane Cleveland said "there's no joy left in my life," while Jodi Merritt, the student's mother, rejected accusations that the story had been made up.
9/15/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/59268092.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

Minneapolis Changing School Options
After a summer's revisions, Superintendent William Green presented the district recommendation for Changing School Options to the Board of Education on September 1, with a round of town meetings following.
9/15/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/14/minneapolis-changing-school-options

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.
9/15/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/14/teachers-accused-harassment-say-alleged-victim-made-it

MISC. NEWS:
Growth Model
Long criticized for the short duration of its training, Teach For America has invested heavily in the professional development of its teacher corps.
9/15/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/11/03tfa_ep.h29.html?tkn=QXUFvfd%2Bq7kvomM6PSQM1nomIsy7ZJQp7tz3

How Obama’s Pep Talk Became a Publicity Headache
What started as a simple question on a suggested lesson plan tied to President’s Barack Obama’s national pep talk to students ended up as the first major political misstep for a recently minted U.S. Department of Education team that’s launched an aggressive campaign to reform K-12 schools.
9/15/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/16/03speechflap.h29.html?tkn=XLUFqlt%2F8CwVvrH6FQVqCx4F0bskDpxWC333

Community questions St. Paul Urban League leadership, direction
Is the St. Paul Urban League (SPUL) still in business?  Who is the CEO and who are the staff? What services are being offered?  What’s really going on?  These questions make you wonder: when was the last time you heard ANYTHING about SPUL?
9/15/2009
Insight News
http://www.insightnews.com/commentary/4899-community-questions-st-paul-urban-league-leadership-direction

Concert on ice awakens students’ racial awareness
Deneane Richburg, project director and choreographer. Photo Jaccues Jean Tiziou
Ridder Ice Arena on the U of M campus will come to life on the morning of September 17 as more than 1,000 students from high schools throughout the metro area fill the seats to participate in an educational experience --- exploring their own racial and cultural identity and the impact toxic conditioning (or branding) has had on the creation of their own personal identity.
9/15/2009
Insight News
http://www.insightnews.com/community/4908-concert-on-ice-awakens-students-racial-awareness

Larry Anderson appointed president of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees today appointed Larry Anderson as president of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet.
9/15/2009
Insight News
http://www.insightnews.com/education/4904-larry-anderson-appointed-president-of-fond-du-lac-tribal-and-community-college

New report says Black-White reading and math achievements improve - but racial gap remains
Reading and math scores have increased for both Black and White students, but the hope of closing the racial achievement gap is still a strenuous work-in-progress.
9/15/2009
Insight News
http://www.insightnews.com/education/4892-new-report-says-black-white-reading-and-math-achievements-improve-but-racial-gap-remains

Newly Empowered Education Panel, Looking Like the Compliant One of Old
It had been derided as a committee of puppets, a rubber-stamp board with no clear power or purpose. So when word came from Albany over the summer that the Panel for Educational Policy would have greater power over the New York City schools, some thought things might be different.
9/15/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/education/15panel.html?ref=education

Mankato music scholar gets second Fulbright
An online music instructor at Minnesota State University in Mankato has been named U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar in Panama for the 2009-2010 academic year.
9/15/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13340416.html

From "Put Up Your Dukes" to "Please Don't Shoot"
From the 2009 KFAI Youth News Initiative, Danielle Jenkins is 17 years old and lives in Minneapolis. Her story tackles the nature of gun violence today, particularly in North Minneapolis.
9/15/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/10/put-your-dukes-please-dont-shoot