High School Network http://hsnet.posterous.com High School Updates for Tulare County posterous.com Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:22:00 -0700 Video http://hsnet.posterous.com/video http://hsnet.posterous.com/video

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Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:20:21 -0700 More photos http://hsnet.posterous.com/more-photos http://hsnet.posterous.com/more-photos

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Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:12:00 -0700 Achievement Gap Study http://hsnet.posterous.com/achievement-gap-study-0 http://hsnet.posterous.com/achievement-gap-study-0

The stereotype of the nation's lowest-performing high schools is that of large schools located in big cities, but a brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education says this is not the whole story. Lowest-performing schools are scattered throughout the country, in every state in the nation and in nearly 350 congressional districts. Twenty-two percent have four hundred students or fewer, and 29 percent have between four hundred and one thousand total students. More than 150 of them, or one in eleven, are charter schools. Their common attribute, however, is the high number of poor and minority students attending them. In all, 28 percent of the nation's students of color are enrolled in one of these high schools, making minority students six times more likely to attend a lowest performer than their white counterparts. Eighty-four percent of these schools are high-poverty. In the view of the authors, federal policymakers have an obligation to prioritize these schools for massive transformation: "Effectively performing legislative triage now will yield economic benefit to the nation and to the millions of individual students who will graduate from high school with a diploma that prepares them for success in college, careers, and life."

Source:http://www.all4ed.org/publication_material/issue_policy_briefs

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Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:11:00 -0700 When college dream derails, time for Plan B http://hsnet.posterous.com/when-college-dream-derails-time-for-plan-b-0 http://hsnet.posterous.com/when-college-dream-derails-time-for-plan-b-0

 A recent survey by the Junior Achievement/Allstate Foundation found that 63 percent of the high school students questioned said the economy has forced them to change their college plan.

Kids are working more to cover costs, opting for an in-state school, choosing a community college or even delaying the start of college for a year, according to the survey of 1,000 students 12 to 17. In other words, they've moved to Plan B.

Parents, teachers and counselors agree that students should aim for college, says Joyce Smith, chief executive officer of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, "because we all know the benefits of an educated society."

But, she points out, "the reality is that more and more families are concerned about affordability. ... Last year we were monitoring the stories about those families, and they could not begin to fathom talking about college to their child when their lives were so uncertain."

Still, she says, friends involved in college admissions tell her that applications are up. "There certainly are more students and more student applications going through the process," she says.

California and Florida may be having problems handling the number of students in the pipeline because of budget problems. But others -- she cited Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas and some New England states -- are trying to attract out-of-state students, offering another Plan B talking point.

Of course, before looking at Plan B, you need a Plan A.

Julie Hartline of Campbell High School in Smyrna, Ga., was named 2009 school counselor of the year by the American School Counselor Association. She says that from their first meeting with freshmen, Campbell counselors stress that everyone can go to college. But college doesn't always mean a four-year school.

"It could be a technical college, a two-year school. We set that mindset from the beginning," Hartline says. "It's like I tell the kids, the guy who does my heating and air makes a lot more money than I do in education. He did a one-year certificate program, probably. We try to work with students and parents to help them understand a four-year university isn't necessarily for everybody."

Another benefit of certificate programs: They let a person experience the work force. But it's an option that should be discussed, not just a case of leaving high school for a job flipping burgers.

One thing to remember: Even in an uncertain economy, parents and students shouldn't panic. "The scary part is, if most families have ruled out the opportunity because of job loss or fear, that's unfortunate because there are so many ways institutions are trying to help families," Smith says. Exacerbating the problem, she adds, is that these families have always thought those programs were for somebody else's children.

By William Hageman (c) 2010, Chicago Tribune.

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Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:01:00 -0700 Creativity: What Is It, Anyway? http://hsnet.posterous.com/creativity-what-is-it-anyway http://hsnet.posterous.com/creativity-what-is-it-anyway

People talk about creativity in all sorts of contexts—it’s used in reference to everything from ”scrap booking” to advertising, sculpture to physics, writing to teaching.

We know the value of creativity. We know its fruit when we see it. But we’re so loose with our application of the word that sometimes I wonder if we really know what it is.

When we’re bombarded with caveats to be creative by everyone from Sandra Lee on “Semi-Homemade” to Tony Robbins, it would be wise to be sure we’re all talking about the same thing. Knowing exactly what creativity is is the first step to finding it and fostering it in our own lives.

 

(C) Elizabeth King

I think when many of us talk about creativity, we think of the creative idea as something elusive and removed from “the regular stuff of life,” so to speak.

In other words, we associate creativity with an “otherness” that gives the impression that the creative idea isn’t grounded in anything in particular—like it’s floating around out there and we have to find it (or worse, invent it).

Fortunately, creativity is not the act of make something out of nothing. In fact, I particularly liked opera singer Dan Klein’s explanation of creative work: “Creativity is the ability or process in which someone identifies the rules or traditions of a set paradigm and then goes about interpreting, breaking, or bending them to bring about a new or previously unexplored connection.”

This comes as a great relief to me, because, unless you’re the Originator of the Big Bang, those moments of utterly noncontextual creation are pretty few and far between. It’s great news: creativity doesn’t

come from nothing. New creative ideas are grounded in ideas and knowledge you already have

Simply understanding that creatively solving problems is making new connections between older ideas can kickstart your creative process and help you develop your creative capacities, no matter what you’re working on. It’s absolutely something you can cultivate.

 

(c) Elizabeth King

 

 

For fun, practice drawing connections between two seemingly unrelated people or objects using the knowledge you already have. Or, consider comparing an object and a person, like your spouse and your coffeemaker. The point is simply to start you thinking about things carefully, so that you take the time to really assess what you know about each object or person. Creativity is often found in the overlooked details.

You may also want to play with the effects changing a routine has on your thinking, like driving to the grocery store on a different route or eating something unusual. Alternately, there is scientific legitimacy to the Eureka phenomenon many people experience when doing things habitually–those activities that we do without thinking about them–like showering or mowing the lawn, so making an effort to preserve those moments may amplify your ability to subconsciously make new connections. (Thank you, Archimedes.)

It’s the same attention to detail that we’d use to compare objects and people that we use to think creatively about resolving issues as large as education of girls, hunger, and homelessness.

The benefits of developing your ability to draw connections and strengthen your creative mind are twofold. First, better creative thinkers experience enhanced problem-solving skills, which naturally promotes work productivity, life, and relationships. Second, seeing connectivity allows you to more adequately assess connections being presented to you. Your creative mind sharpens your analytical capacities—you’ll know when you’re being presented with inaccurate or incomplete information.

Truly, creativity is the natural reciprocal of critical thinking.

 

by elizabethonline on May 7, 2010

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Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:47:00 -0700 Program connects city youth with college http://hsnet.posterous.com/program-connects-city-youth-with-college http://hsnet.posterous.com/program-connects-city-youth-with-college

But he and 31 other seniors from Philadelphia public high schools already have marked another important milestone: completing a pioneering program developed by White-Williams Scholars that helped catapult them onto college campuses in three states.

"Little did I know that filling out that four-page application would help to change my life," said Werder, who is the oldest child of a North Philadelphia single mother and is heading to Harvard University.

He was in the first cadre of ninth graders who signed up in January 2007, when the venerable nonprofit announced College Connection, an intensive program designed to make sure that talented low-income students not only get to college but have the academic, social, and emotional skills they need to survive, excel, and graduate.

The program, which the teens call C2, "has helped us to broaden our minds to the idea that we can do whatever we set our minds to, no matter where we have come from or the issues we have had to face in our lives," Werder, 18, said during a recent celebration at Temple University.

All but five of the ninth graders who signed up for C2 with Werder made it through the rigorous program. They showed up three times a month for intensive English and math instruction, leadership development exercises, and sessions to hone their study skills. They mentored younger students, received individual college and career counseling, and survived up to four weeks each summer in dormitories on campuses acquiring independent-living and college-survival skills. They learned yoga and tips for reducing stress.

"It was a big-time commitment at first," said Angela Turner, 18, a senior at Franklin Learning Center who was raised by her grandmother in South Philadelphia.

"I committed because I knew what the benefits would be. The people you meet and the connections you make will last a lifetime," said Turner, who will attend Voorhees College, an historically black school in Denmark, S.C.

White-Williams Scholars traces its roots to 1800, when it was called the Magdalen Society. Every year it helps more than 1,000 high-achieving public school students from low-income families prepare for college. The nonprofit offers weekend enrichment activities, as well as academic support. Students, who must earn A's and B's, receive stipends to help cover expenses so they can focus on academics and not have to work part-time.

But a few years ago, White-Williams decided it needed to become more involved in the scholars' lives because many were not completing college.

"They were prepared to enter, but they did not have all the skills they needed to succeed," said Amy Holdsman, the program's executive director.

Only 24 percent of Philadelphia high school students who enter college graduate from four-year schools within six years, according to district data. That number is far below the national and state rates. Researchers have found that 53 percent of U.S. college students graduate within six years from the schools they entered as freshmen. In Pennsylvania, the graduation rate for students who entered four-year colleges in 2001 was 64 percent; in New Jersey, 57 percent.

With the financial support from Pew Charitable Trusts and others, White-Williams created College Connection and made it an option for students accepted into its scholars' program.

Karen Campbell, who was hired as a program director, helped develop C2 based on successful models, including the now-defunct Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engineering (PRIME).

"My goal has always been to replicate what I got when I was in that program," Campbell said. She credits PRIME with altering her life through its personalized attention, academic enrichment, and summers spent on college campuses.

"Somebody looked at me when I was in seventh grade and said: 'You know what? We think that girl is going to do something, and if given the opportunity, can go to college,' " said Campbell, a graduate of Carver High School for Engineering and Science and Temple. "It afforded me every opportunity I've had in my life."

The 32 seniors who completed College Connection came from 16 district high schools and are heading to 20 colleges, including Temple, Pennsylvania State University, Ursinus College, Moore College of Art, and Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Seniors and their relatives said the program was crucial to their success.

"They have been a godsend," said Maria Werder, who is sending her son to Harvard in the fall. "They really have been, because I have no clue. I never went to college. . . . It's exciting to me for him to take this big step."

Jenny Hua, 17, a Central senior from Southwest Philadelphia, plans to attend the University of the Sciences. "They have made such a difference in my life," she said.

Hua said C2 staffers were always there to support and encourage her when she felt discouraged. She could even count on Alisha Berry, the college and career adviser, to answer her 2 a.m. phone calls. "This helped me through," Hua said.

Arazi Pinhas, 17, who lives with his single mother in Fairmount, calls his experience with College Connection "life-changing."

Pinhas said he had difficulty adjusting to Central when he arrived from Israel in ninth grade. The culture was so different, and he was used to learning in Hebrew.

"I had a pretty tough time learning in English," said Pinhas, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania and likely major in physics. "C2 was always there. They had my back and supported me."

His grandmother, Vicki Krase, added: "It was a whole different world that opened up for these kids."

Even after the C2 students are in college, they will remain connected. At the celebration at Temple, Campbell and other White-Williams staffers said they will continue to provide help and will track their progress via social media.

Berry, the adviser, promised: "We are still going to be on this journey with you."

By Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer

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Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:45:00 -0700 Teacher has a wall of fame boasting about his college ‘kids' http://hsnet.posterous.com/teacher-has-a-wall-of-fame-boasting-about-his-0 http://hsnet.posterous.com/teacher-has-a-wall-of-fame-boasting-about-his-0

Casey Weeks has no children of his own, but the Norcross High language arts teacher is as proud as a new college parent could ever be.

And he doesn’t hesitate to brag about his “kids.”

He’s got one at Harvard University. Another headed to Boston University. Several others at Georgia Tech and UGA.

Weeks flies their college pennants in his classroom. Collecting them has become a hobby.

“I have had at least 800 kids go to college so far,” said Weeks, a teacher for 12 years. “I love going to their high school graduations. I get to live through them, be proud of them and have a little taste of what it’s like to be a parent.”

His collection of colorful pennants create a collegiate border around his classroom, reminding students left behind that what they do in class has a direct connection to their future. He has 89 in all, with more promised. The numbers increase as seniors in his classes make up their minds about the colleges they want to attend and present Weeks with a pennant.

Melissa Sineway, 18, dreamed of the day she would be able to leave her mark on the wall of fame. She was a student of Weeks during her sophomore and senior years.

“I would look at [the pennants] when I was younger, and it was like ‘I can’t wait until I go to a really nice college and put my flag on the wall,’ " she said.

Sineway finally got her chance this week. She presented her teacher with a pennant from the University of Texas, Weeks’ home state.

“None of his students have gone to the University of Texas before,” Sineway said. “I thought it would be really cool to go to a college from his home state. Mr. Weeks would always tell us childhood stories.”

Weeks began his flag collection in 2004 when a student named Vicky Chau suggested the idea and presented him with a pennant from Amherst College. "For an entire year, I had only one pennant on the wall," he said.

Then, Weeks came up with an idea to increase his numbers. Every time a student asked him to write a college recommendation letter, Weeks would request a pennant in return to share in the joy of their college acceptance. Since then, the flags have been pouring in from students who got letters and even those who didn’t ask for recommendations.

Weeks hangs pennants from trade schools, duplicate colleges. He enjoys them all. Some have come as a total surprise.

“I recently got one from Harvard from a student who was in the Ph.D. program,” Weeks said. “He graduated in 2004, came back and gave me a pennant. I was shocked. It was very sweet of him to remember me.”

By D. Aileen Dodd - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:14:00 -0700 Foundations offer $506M for education innovation http://hsnet.posterous.com/foundations-offer-506m-for-education-innovati-0 http://hsnet.posterous.com/foundations-offer-506m-for-education-innovati-0
(AP) – Apr 28, 2010

SEATTLE — A coalition of wealthy foundations is offering up to half a billion dollars to match federal grants meant to encourage education reform, taking the pressure off schools scrambling to find the matching dollars they need to get the money.

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