***SPPS IN THE NEWS:
School Board OKs capital projects
The St. Paul school board, acting as a committee, unanimously approved $23 million worth of capital projects Tuesday for this school year.
9/2/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13250061.html

St. Paul to consider changes in school-choice plan
The St. Paul School District is again setting a course to alter its school-choice plan, which currently lets students attend schools all across the district.
9/2/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/56680527.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiacyKUUr

Four candidates vie for Conlon’s old seat on St. Paul School Board
Four candidates are vying to serve the two years remaining in former St. Paul School Board Tom Conlon’s term.
9/2/2009
The Villager
Not available on-line Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Page 7

Four challengers join three incumbents in School Board race
Voters have less than two weeks to decide among the seven candidates vying for the three four-year seats on the St. Paul School Board.
9/2/2009
The Villager
Not available on-line Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Page 6

Voters to choose top candidates for mayor and School Board Sept. 15
St. Paul voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, September 15, to choose the top candidates for mayor and for four seats on the school board.
9/2/2009
The Villager
Not available on-line Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Page 5

***OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE NEWS:
Government scholarships support Mandarin Chinese language study
The United States government recognizes Mandarin Chinese as a “critical language” for the 21st century. However, many people are left wondering how the U.S. government’s interest in U.S.-China relations translates into scholarships and intensive language study options for American students.
9/2/2009
China Insight
http://www.chinainsight.info/education/37-education/320-government-scholarships-support-mandarin-chinese-language-study.html

Students from Lodi No. 1 Middle School visit Eden Prairie High School
This group of students is the second that has visited Eden Prairie. The first group came in 2007 as the result of an accord that both schools signed in 2006 establishing a sister school relationship that incorporated an alternating educational/cultural exchange at each other’s school. Students from Eden Prairie High School visited Lodi in 2008 and are scheduled again in 2010.
9/2/2009
China Insight
http://www.chinainsight.info/education/general/317-students-from-loudi-no-1-middle-school-visit-eden-prairie-high-school.html

Top-Notch Teachers Found to Affect Peers
Teachers raise their games when the quality of their colleagues improves; according to a new study Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader offering some of the first evidence to document a “spillover effect” in teaching.
9/2/2009
Edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/01/03peer.html?tkn=LYVF3lX255G%2FKg7xA%2BWBH%2FpsDa0DDhkWpLft

Minnehaha Academy president a new model for leadership
Nationally prestigious Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis thrives as a quintessential prep school. Since 1913, the faith-based institution, preschool through grade 12, holds as its mission to promote excellence and provide high-quality education, integrating Christian faith and learning.
9/2/2009
Insight News
http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/article/article.asp?NewsID=98468&sID=4&ItemSource=L

Mpls students clear a path for Junior Olympians
What did you do on your summer vacation? A proud group of 10th and 11th graders from Minneapolis North, Patrick Henry, Edison, Washburn and South High Schools can return to school this fall with stories about their having paved the way for Junior Olympians.
9/2/2009
Insight News
http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/article/article.asp?NewsID=98612&sID=4&ItemSource=L

This Time, City Says It’s Ready for Swine Flu
Students will get free vaccinations. Health clinics will turn into “flu centers” to relieve hospitals. Emergency room statistics will be reported on the Web every day. And schools will close only as a last resort.
9/2/2009
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/nyregion/02swine.html?_r=1&ref=education

Cops say 31 Memphis-area students staged fights
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn.—Police in suburban Memphis say they will charge 31 high school students with holding organized fistfights that were recorded and posted online.
9/2/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/national/ci_13252259.html

Teachers’ accused of ridiculing "gay" student won't start school year
The two Anoka-Hennepin school district teachers accused of making disparaging remarks about a student's perceived sexuality will not be in the classroom when classes resume Tuesday.
9/2/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_13250359.html

Anoka-Hennepin teachers in gay mocking case on leave
Two teachers accused of repeatedly mocking a student they believed was gay are on leave from their jobs, Anoka-Hennepin School District officials said Tuesday.
9/2/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/56667647.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU

Change ahead for city schools
Minneapolis schools tweak downsizing plan
9/2/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/56660567.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Eager, tired, excited, Minneapolis students and faculty go back to school
Most of the students in the Minneapolis Public Schools started school today, a week before most other schools in the state.
9/2/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/56609767.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMcyaL_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

New high school built for students and community alike
St. Michael-Albertville High features multipurpose facilities that will serve students and the wider public
9/2/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/56092097.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

New school, new philosophy
Chanhassen High School opens next week, ready to support a 21st-century curriculum redesign.
9/2/2009
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/55894442.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

Holocaust education faces cuts in recession
The middle school teacher in Smyrna, Tenn., is the unofficial coordinator of about 12 teachers trying to help the Tennessee Commission on Holocaust Education fulfill its core mission — making sure Holocaust victims are remembered and the public receives and grasps lessons about hate and human rights.
9/2/2009
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-30-Holocaust-education-cuts_N.htm

N.J. teacher accused of selling grades
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey social studies teacher has been charged with accepting cash from students looking to improve their grades.
9/2/2009
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-31-new-jersey_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

***MISC. NEWS:
Free school supplies with dental screening
Open Cities Health Center will offer free school supplies to all children who receive a free dental screening at the Lao Family Center on Friday, September 4, from noon to 3:00 p.m. at Lao Family Community Center, 320 University Avenue, St. Paul. Children ages 0 to 18 years are eligible for the screening and school supplies.
9/2/2009
Asian American Press
http://www.aapress.com/aapress.com/Education/Entries/2009/8/30_Free_school_supplies_with_dental_screening.html

Phillips Scholars reach out to Hmong Families
A senior next fall at Concordia University, Mao Lor has worked this summer with Hmong immigrant families to strengthen parent and children relationships through a program called “Kev Sib Raug Zoo” (Better Relationships).
9/2/2009
Asian American Press
http://www.aapress.com/aapress.com/Education/Entries/2009/8/30_Phillips_Scholars_reach_out_to_Hmong_families.html

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities State Fair Booth Highlights Information for Displaced Workers
9/2/2009
Asian Pages
http://www.asianpages.com/

State High School League honors MSR sportswriter
McDonald, who has covered prep sports for the MSR since 1996, received the award for his years of dedicated service and contributions to interscholastic athletics. He is a long-time member of the Twin Cities’ only group of Black sports columnists.
9/2/2009
Insight News
http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/article/article.asp?NewsID=98611&sID=4&ItemSource=L

Minnesota's School Counseling Crunch
How Kids are Caught Between Shrinking Investment & Increasing Demand on their Counselors
9/2/2009
Minnesota 2020
http://www.mn2020.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BE59C93D4-3D5D-4A09-B8F5-970861ED270F%7D

Hamas leaders worry U.N. schools will teach Holocaust
U.N. officials say they are only discussing changes to a school program on human rights and have not commented directly on whether any new curricula will reference the Holocaust. But Hamas leaders, saying any such reference would "contradict" their culture, are moving quickly to head off the possibility.
9/2/2009
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13248718.html

Minnesota school levies triple
Education Fellow John Fitzgerald recently described the pressure that Minnesota school districts are under due to increase voter-approved referendum levies. As a matter of fact, school referendum market value levies have nearly tripled during the tenure of the Pawlenty administration even after adjusting for inflation.
9/2/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/2009/08/20/minnesota-school-levies-triple.html

School flu preparations
New hand soap dispensers, extra tissue boxes, warnings about staying home from school when sick, hand sanitizers and surgical masks -- Minnesota schools are preparing this fall for the expected onslaught of H1N1 novel influenza (the flu formerly known as swine.)
9/2/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2009/08/24/news-day-school-flu-preparations.html

VIDEO: Minnesota's school counselors speak
Minnesota's school counselors speak about what they do for students and what our low student-to-counselor ratio means
9/2/2009
Twin Cities Daily Planet
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/09/01/video-minnesotas-school-counselors-speak

Transgender Vt. teen wants genderless bathrooms in school
A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms.
9/2/2009
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-08-31-gender-bathrooms_N.htm