Out-of-School Time Opportunity: IKEA is having a Bring a Friend Day

If it takes a village to raise a child (including corporate "villagers"), and out-of-school-time is supposed to be productive, then here's a family outing that might be worth your time.

On March 9^th IKEA is hosting a day of "Bring friends to a local IKEA store."  there is supposed to be some special perks & rewards.

Here's the link to the coupons:  http://www.thelifeimprovementproject.com/byof-coupon.pdf

Here's information about the event:  http://www.thelifeimprovementproject.com/byofevents/bring-friends-to-a-local-ikea-store-for-a-day-of-special-perks-and-rewards-1407

When you got prosecutors spewing prejudices...

A Texas prosecutor stood before a jury and asked them to make logical connections based on prejudices of what African-Americans and Hispanic people would do with a bag of money.

Have no idea where I was when this story first broke, but I'm reading about it now and it sickens me on sooo many levels.  Usually, I just list the link and ask readers to explore, but because of the gross miscarriage of power that has been entrusted in a prosecutor (presumably a representative of the people to seek justice), here's the text of the story.

I would make my own comments, but Justice Sotomayor has made the points that I feel in a way that is much more thoughtful that I would probably put together.  I've highlighted her comments in purple.

More after the break...

Code much?

What if schools taught students to code?.

Click the link, watch the video.

Contest for High School Students -- Law Day Art Contest

Law Day Art Contest for U.S. Students Grades 9 through 12
Group and individual entries welcome.

2013 Theme: Realizing the Dream: Equality for All.

Submission: Students should create an art piece that can be represented in two dimensions (including, but not limited to, drawings, paintings, films, photographs, graphic novels, comics etc.) that highlights the theme “Realizing the Dream: Equality for All.” The submission must comply with the terms of the Law Day Art Contest Rules which may be found on the contest website (www.ambar.org/lawday). 

Eligibility: All U.S. students grades 9 through 12.

Entry Deadline: April 1, 2013

Recognition and Awards: Four prizes will be awarded.  Runners-up for both the individual and team categories will receive prizes with a value not to exceed $250 and winners for both the individual and team categories will receive prizes with a value not to exceed $750 in addition to a party hosted by the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division in the winners’ hometowns. 

For a flyer, see here: Law Day Art Contest Flyer

For questions, contact:
Public Service Team Lead, Leslie Need or ABA YLD Office Administrator, Tara Blasingame at Tara.Blasingame@americanbar.org.

APS "Top-Lawyer" moves to Michigan

Reporting of the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal has mostly subsided.  I am probably in the minority of people with long memories on this and a desire to still know what's going on.

That said, today's reporting in the AJC (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) speaks of APS's "Top-Lawyer" ("top" being the woman-in-charge) moving to Michigan to take up a similar post.

And, part of the first reporting (see paragraph #2) includes her paycut -- from Atlanta Public Schools salary of $211,000 to Grand Rapids Public Schools salary of $115,000.  I'm not particularly sure why this being reported first struck me.  But it did.

The article goes on to report "She was Hall’s chief of staff for about 10 years before Davis appointed her to the interim general counsel position when he took over in July 2011."  Moreover, Superintendent Davis "barred" her from being involved in the cheating scandal stuff once he came on.

And, as I just indicated at the onset -- there have been no indictments.  None.  

"No one has been indicted, and Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard has declined to comment on the investigation."

StudentsFirst grades States: Georgia and Massachusetts get D+

Did you ever think you'd see the day when the shining beacon on a hill, Massachusetts, would get a state education ranking equal to that of Georgia???  I didn't.

Well, this is what StudentsFirst is proclaiming with its new State Policy Report Card.  If I list out all the states in which I've gone to school, worked, or otherwise have a remarkable connection to, here's what I find:

• Georgia, D+
• Massachusetts, D+
• Virginia, D-
• Mississippi, D
• Michigan, C-
• Florida, B-
• District of Columbia, C+

More after the break...

Member of the Tea Party wave now House Chair of K-12 Education subcommittee

In 2010, the Tea Party ushered in a number of Representative to the U.S. House.  One of them was Mr. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.).  Now, I must admit, I need to begin my homework on this man.  So far, I've just done preliminary searches and uncovered what Education Week has to say about him (like that he wanted to reduce the number of federal employees in the U.S. Department of Education) and what he says about himself (like being the former secretary of state for Indiana and working as a pro-business, health care consultant).

What I care about is that the 113 Congress House Education and Workforce Committee has appointed him subcommittee chair for K-12 matters, named the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.  And from just this one snippet he supplied:

“As a parent of two young boys myself, I know firsthand how important our education system is. I look forward to working with Chairman Kline, ranking member Miller and my other fellow members of the committee to advance key reforms in the next Congress”  -- Mr. Rokita.

I'm getting a headache. 

More after the break...

In light of the Fiscal Cliff discussion...

Some people are worried that Congress won't pass the legislation necessary to halt cuts to important spending.  Many are also worried that tax rates will increase if the Bush-Era cuts are not extended.  

Though both of these are more about budget priorities than fiscal policy, I thought I might inject a quick clip of the Moral Limits of the Market, from Professor Michael Sandel.  Here he is appearing on the Colbert Report (back in May) with a quick synopsis of his points. 

The Moral Limits of the Market.

As a general note, I enjoy lots of these published "Episodes" of Professor Sandel's course on Justice at Harvard University.  Here's a arsenal of others: JUSTICE WITH MICHAEL SANDEL.

Another Atlanta district is on suspension -- UGH!

A few years ago in 2008, the  Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ("SACS") pulled the accreditation of a metro Atlanta school district, Clayton County.  (I wrote about the governance problems in an a co-authored article, "Getting on Board:  How to Make School Districts Represent Students.") Today, it put that same district on "notice" that it still faced major problems with governance. See here.

AND

To add to the community's frustration, another metro Atlanta school district -- neighboring DeKalb County-- has been put on probation.  Yep.  As of today, the school board of DeKalb earned the district a disgraceful mark because of its financial mismanagement.

And, who can forget the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal -- a topic which has consumed many of my posts.

That makes 3 districts of the 6 school systems that many would say form the heart of Atlanta (i.e. Fulton Co, DeKalb Co., Clayton Co., Cobb Co., Gwinnett Co. Atlanta Public Schools).

Clayton County
Atlanta Public Schools
DeKalb County

Begs the question:  what the hell is going on?

[Summer Opportunity] 2013 Policy Leaders Fellowship

Colorado State Senator Mike Johnston is offering an opportunity to attend the 2013 Policy Leaders Fellowship.

According to several sources of information (MikeJohnston.org, Denver St-Cloud Public Schools website, and Ga Tech advertisement):

Seeking Undergraduates, 1L and 2L Law Students, and Graduate Students for 30-50 paid (stipend will be approx. $2000), 6-week Urban Leader Fellowships in Denver, Memphis, and possibly other areas.  

Hiring projections are for 20-25 Fellows in Denver; 6-10 Fellows in Memphis; and possibility of 6-10 Fellows in additional regions.  Fellows will work half-time on high-level policy projects with an elected official.  They will also work half-time alongside community partner organizations.

Denver fellowships are available in 6 areas:  Education, Energy, School Finance, Health, Judiciary, and Transportation, and past community partner organizations have included  Denver School of Science and Technology, Denver Public Schools, Colorado Department of Education, Prodigal Son Initiative (anti-gang violence non-profit), Education Reform Now, Teach for America, Stand for Children. 

Memphis Fellows work on a project-basis, typically in areas such as affordable housing, urban blight, and community engagement; past community partner organizations have included Stand for Children, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Tennessee Department of Education, and Achievement School District. 

Fellows’ assignments during community partner placement will vary, but all work will be substantive and meaningful for organization.  Fellows working at a school site might run a summer school program or conduct data analysis of student outcomes, while Fellows at non-profit might draft strategic plans for a project or conduct a special research project.  Candidates may indicate location preferences (if any) and issue area preferences during the application process.

There it is, go tell someone.