Friday, October 30, 2009

Classroom Education Clinches Second

Yes, Washington County students are all in their respective classrooms today, but if their minds are wandering away from the grand pursuit of knowledge, it is to be expected. Educators and parents take note, for this is only a temporary lapse. It is week #9 of Washington County high school football, what more needs to be said?

Benjamin N. Marasco

Pittsburgh university accused of "fat list" for dancers

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh university denies it had a “fat list” of dance majors who needed to lose weight.
Point Park University’s student newspaper, The Globe, wrote about the list in a recent article about dancers’ weight and nutrition.
The paper said a list was posted in 2008 naming students that assistant professor Peter Merz wanted to see. The list became known as the “fat list.”
Merz tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he doesn’t know who made or posted the list and he didn’t ask for it to be posted. He says he can’t discuss conversations with students, though he didn’t dispute weight was a topic.
Merz says aspiring dancers must realize that “certain body weights are necessary to become employable.” He also says dancers not in shape are vulnerable injury.

Labels:

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Projects afford day out for children



Children from Child's Way had the chance to go on a hayride and pick a pumpkin at the Spring House this week. Child's Way is a day care for medically fragile children. Find out more about their fun day here.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fort Cherry eyes its own cyber school

By Dawn Goodman
Staff Writer
dgoodman@observer-reporter.com
McDONALD - Fort Cherry School District is considering running its own cyber school.
Superintendent Robert Dinnen told the school board Monday that there are a number of options the district can consider. Intermediate Unit 1 is investigating creating a cyber school for its participating schools.
However, Fort Cherry administrators envision the district running its own virtual school, Dinnen said. He said that could change if more review determines that is not the best option for the district.
The board already has some cyber foreign language classes taught by an outside agency, he said.
Next year, the district would like to have an extension of the traditional class, which would allow students to take traditional classes online if they can’t be in the classroom when the learning takes place. Dinnen said that could happen when there are scheduling conflicts for classes or in the alternative school.
By the 2011-12 school year, the district would like to have extra classes that are online. Dinnen said that would expand the curriculum offerings of the district.
By 2012-13, the district would like to have all classes online for those who want a cyber school option. Dinnen said that would allow students who attend other cyber schools to come back to the district for their education. It would also resolve scheduling conflicts and give for options for alternative education, he said.
Board member Elmo Cecchetti said he would like to see the program be implemented. However, he questioned if students would be prepared to take classes online instead of sitting in a classroom.
Board member James White said his children have taken the cyber foreign language classes and they spent time at the beginning learning how to take courses online.
Dinnen said the district would do that with other online courses.
Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://orbehindthedesk.blogspot.com.

Labels:

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Allegheny Teacher named Teacher of the Year

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A high school math instructor from the Pittsburgh suburbs who hails from a family of educators was honored Tuesday as Pennsylvania’s teacher of the year.
Michelle S. Switala, head of the Math Department at Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, beat out 11 other finalists to collect the award from the Pennsylvania chapter of the National State Teachers of the Year organization.
Student Tom Robinson, who introduced her at the award ceremony in Harrisburg, said Switala was known for her sense of humor and called her “one of those teachers I’ll never forget.”
She held weekly after-school study sessions that helped him get through Algebra 2.
“In my class, if someone didn’t grasp the material, she retaught it in different ways until they got it,” Robinson said.
Switala’s parents and six siblings are teachers, and Switala is pursuing a doctorate in math education at the University of Pittsburgh.
“Not only does she expect her students to learn and grow, she also expects it of herself,” Robinson said.
The 40-year-old Switala said she loves her profession and thanked her students for what they have taught her.
“You challenge me, you frustrate me, you make me laugh,” she said. “Sometimes you make me cry. I’ve only broken down twice during the day and just started bawling. You know, not recently.”
Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said Switala and the finalists, chosen from about 150,000 educators across the state, will serve as examples for their fellow teachers.
“For the teacher who wins, this is a year of excitement and a year where that teacher will touch other educators over and over and grow, exponentially, the ideals that good teaching is all about,” Zahorchak said.
Switala will represent the state next year in the 2010 national teacher of the year competition.
© 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Labels:

Monday, October 26, 2009

Top 10 foundations involved in education

The top 10 foundations making grants for elementary and secondary education programs in 2007, the latest data available.
1. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: $192,874,244
2. Walton Family Foundation, Inc.: $57,738,432
3. W. K. Kellogg Foundation: $40,473,023
4. Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation: $37,214,020
5. The HCA Foundation: $33,405,068
6. The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation: $25,667,463
7. The Wallace Foundation: $23,920,000
8. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation: $23,636,000
9. J. Bulow Campbell Foundation: $23,560,000
10. Peter R. & Cynthia K. Kellogg Foundation: $19,207,919
© 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
———
Source: The Foundation Center

Labels:

Gates sways government dollars

WASHINGTON (AP) — The real secretary of education, the joke goes, is Bill Gates.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been the biggest player by far in the school reform movement, spending around $200 million a year on grants to elementary and secondary education.
Now the foundation is taking unprecedented steps to influence education policy, spending millions to influence how the federal government distributes $5 billion in grants to overhaul public schools.
The federal dollars are unprecedented, too.
President Barack Obama persuaded Congress to give him the money as part of the economic stimulus so he could try new ideas to fix an education system that most agree is failing. The foundation is offering $250,000 apiece to help states apply, so long as they agree with the foundation’s approach.
Obama and the Gates Foundation share some goals that not everyone embraces: paying teachers based on student test scores, among other measures of achievement; charter schools that operate independently of local school boards; and a set of common academic standards adopted by every state.
Some argue that a private foundation like Gates shouldn’t partner with the government.
“When you team up with the government, you compromise your ability to be critical of the government, and sometimes you compromise your ability to do controversial and maybe unpopular things with your money,” said Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank. The institute, is among the many that have received money from the Gates Foundation.
Another concern is that as a private foundation, Gates doesn’t have to disclose the details of its spending like the government does.
The big teachers’ unions dispute some of the goals shared by Obama and the foundation. They say student achievement is much more than a score on a standardized test and that it’s a mistake to rely so heavily on charter schools.
“Despite growing evidence to the contrary, it appears the administration has decided that charter schools are the only answer to what ails America’s public schools,” the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union, said in comments about the grant competition submitted to the Education Department.
The NEA added: “We should not continue the unhealthy focus on standardized tests as the primary evidence of student success.”
The American Federation of Teachers submitted similar comments. Together the unions have 4.6 million members.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan welcomes the foundation’s involvement.
“The more all of us are in the game of reform, the more all of us are pushing for dramatic improvement, the better,” Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Duncan’s inner circle includes two former Gates employees. His chief of staff is Margot Rogers, who was special assistant to Gates’ education director. James Shelton, assistant deputy secretary, was a program director for Gates’ education division.
Rogers said she joined the administration because she was inspired by the its goals for helping kids graduate from high school and finish college.
The administration has waived ethics rules to allow Rogers and Shelton to deal more freely with the foundation, but Rogers said she talks infrequently with her former colleagues.
Bill Gates said his foundation is not the government’s partner in the new grant program, which the government has called the “Race to the Top.”
“It’s no secret the U.S. education system is failing,” Gates said. “We’re doing all kinds of experiments that are different. The Race To The Top is going to do many different ones. There’s no group-think.”
Gates stepped away last year from his daily role at Microsoft, the software company he co-founded, to focus on the work of his foundation.
Vicki Phillips, the Gates Foundation’s director of education, said it originally offered help to states and school districts that it was working with and that that are in agreement with many of the foundation’s goals. She said the foundation shares Obama’s priorities and sees itself as part of a larger reform effort.
The foundation’s rising profile comes as the recession has gutted state and local budgets, which spend more money on education — roughly 35 percent — than anything else. Many states and districts can’t keep all their teachers on the payroll, let alone spend money on a high-stakes application for federal money that includes some 44 pages of rules.
In Minnesota, more than a dozen education department staffers are working with consultants from the McKinsey & Co. global consulting firm to prepare the state’s application, using about $250,000 in Gates Foundation money, spokesman Bill Walsh said.
When the foundation offered to help states apply for the grant money, it initially offered the $250,000 to only 15 states.
Officials in other states complained when they learned of the plan. The governors and chief school officers groups pressed the foundation to expand its offer, and it has now agreed to help any state that meets eight criteria, including a commitment to the common standards effort and the ability to link student data to teachers.
The foundation also is helping some districts that are eligible for a share of the money if they are working in partnership with nonprofits such as the Gates Foundation.
Not all the states are willing to discuss the help from Gates or their applications for the federal grants. In more than half a dozen states, education officials did not return phone calls seeking interviews about the applications.
Those who receive money from the Gates Foundation often are reluctant to talk about their work for fear of upsetting their benefactor.
© 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Labels:

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Panel approves Keystone exams

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State regulators signed off Thursday on tougher graduation requirements for Pennsylvania students, a move designed to improve the value of a high school diploma that critics called costly and unnecessary.
The Independent Regulatory Review Commission voted 4-1 to approve the Keystone Exams, although the new rules allow local school boards to substitute alternatives.
“Even in hard economic times, this is a warranted investment in accountability and delivering results and giving kids tools for the future,” Joe Torsella, chairman of the State Board of Education, said after the vote.
Education experts say test scores showed about 57,000 Pennsylvania students graduated last year without adequate math, writing or reading skills. Fewer than half the state’s high school students enroll in college the next year.
The new system will not require students to pass any given test in order to graduate, but the Keystone Exams, phased in over time, will count as a third of participating students’ final grades in a range of core subjects.
By 2014-15, most students who graduate will have demonstrated proficiency in English composition, literature, Algebra I and biology. Two years later that list will include English composition and literature and a selection from among Algebra I, Algebra II, geometry, biology, chemistry, American history, world history and civics and government.
The state has a $176 million contract with Data Recognition Corp. that runs through 2015 and covers the exams, a model curriculum and diagnostic tools. Pennsylvania spends more than $21 billion annually to educate 1.8 million public school students.
The regulators’ vote followed more than five hours of public comment, including criticism from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, which said the tests should not count for a full third of students’ grades and that students who do not reach the “basic” level on the tests should not get a zero, as called for.
Elliott Seif, an education consultant and former Temple University professor, called the regulations unduly complicated and bureaucratic, and said there was no evidence they will be effective.
“What guarantee do we have that the state is going to come up with quality exams?” Seif said. “Maybe they’ll come up with exams for the lowest common denominator.”
The commission voted with little final comment. The lone “no” vote was cast by Silvan B. Lutkewitte III, who declined comment afterward.
The regulations must undergo a technical review by the attorney general’s office, and Torsella said he expects they will be published — and become law — in about two months.
If the federal government gives its approval, the Keystone Exams will replace the 11th grade Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests that students currently take.
School districts can develop their own assessments as long as they meet certain standards, and they can also allow students to substitute advanced-placement or International Baccalaureate exams if the content is similar to the Keystones.
© 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Labels:

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Peters Township hires armed officer

McMURRAY - Peters Township School Board entered into an agreement Monday with a private security firm to provide an armed officer at the high school mainly during school hours.

Superintendent Nina Zetty said the action was not in response to any specific event but, rather, was intended to be proactive.

Labels:

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Architects plan for new Ringgold elementary school

Architects expect to convert Carroll Middle School into an elementary school by August 2011, said Ringgold Superintendent Gary Hamilton.
Over the past year, the board decided to send Carroll students to Finley Middle School, creating Ringgold Middle School at that facility until a new middle school is built. The board also decided to convert Carroll Middle into a southern elementary school.
Hamilton said the architects reviewed the plan for completion with the school board Monday night. They showed plans for what rooms would look like and how many levels there would be, he said.
The project is estimated to cost about $13.5 million. Construction is expected to start in May 2010.
He said the district will have a special meeting regarding the building. It’s tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at the administrative building.

Labels:

Monday, October 19, 2009

This isn't your mother's PTA ...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Colleen McKerley of Mount Lebanon may not be on the payroll at nearby Jubilee Christian School of the South Hills, a few miles southwest of downtown Pittsburgh, but she says serving the school is almost a full-time job.
McKerley is the co-chairwoman of the school’s parent-teacher group, which has volunteers who log more than 7,000 hours a year doing everything from helping in the library and school buses to assisting with the academic curriculum. The association is involved with an annual school program each March that teaches the students about a particular foreign country, which will be Russia this year. McKerley’s organization is helping the teachers plan the projects, and members are doing research on different aspects of the country, like Russian games.
The parent group even helped interview candidates for a new principal recently, says McKerley, 43. It’s a long way from the parent groups she remembers from her own childhood.
“For the most part, (the club) at that point was probably a lot more social,” she says. “There were some social things and maybe a little bit of fundraising. Now, it’s more on the academic side, like helping the teachers.”
Parent-teacher school groups, some of which are affiliated with the National Parent Teacher Association, or PTA, have evolved significantly from their simple room-mother image of yesteryear, says Michele Morrow, president of the Pennsylvania PTA.
“We are certainly not the cupcake-selling, cookie-baking PTA” that our mothers had, says Morrow, a resident of Bath, about 10 miles north of Allentown and Bethlehem and 60 miles north of Philadelphia.
Actually, with the National PTA — which has more than 6 million members — the role of the association hasn’t changed that much since it began in 1897, Morrow says. What has changed, rather, is the public’s perception of the organization, which always has worked on legislative issues and been a national advocate for children and education. Not that PTA members don’t like cupcakes, she jokes.
“It’s fun,” she says. “Of course, we like to eat.”
The most notable change in the past two decades has been technology: with e-mail, computers, the Internet and the like, PTA members can connect and communicate much more easily, Morrow says.
Another great change that has been happening in recent years is the increase in male PTA membership, Morrow says. Traditionally, the PTA has been comprised of mostly middle-aged, middle-class, white women. Yet now, fathers are getting more involved. Even the PTA national president, Chuck Saylors, is male.
One such dad is George Stash III of Connellsville, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The single father is the parent-teacher group president at Dunbar Township Elementary School, where his two children — Elizabeth, 8; and George IV, 6 — attend. Stash says that, as a male, he still is in the minority, but that more dads are participating.
In his organization, Stash and his fellow volunteers put on activities that aim to get students involved outside the classroom. For instance, pictures submitted by students are on display in the school’s main lobby. It shows activities the kids did during the summer. The Dunbar PTO sponsors fundraisers, including one in the fall that collects as much as to $10,000 in catalog sales of jewelry, magazines, and more.
Being an active PTO volunteer, particularly as president, is a huge time commitment, Stash says. He is self-employed with a lawn care business, but spends a lot of time at Dunbar in the mornings, where he attended school years ago.
“I’ve been there not every day, but pretty much every other day, since school has begun,” says Stash, 33. “It works out pretty well for me.”
Susan Kline also says her involvement as president of the parent-teacher group at Cardinal Maida Academy in Vandergrift — the school her 10-year-old daughter Ariel attends about 25 miles northeast of Pittsburgh — is time consuming, but very rewarding. Kline’s organization sponsors numerous activities throughout the year, including an Italian Heritage Day, a Cash Bash, and a dinner and dance gala with a silent auction. The fundraisers help keep tuition costs down, she says. Kline, 54, also works part-time at Cardinal Maida as a kindergarten aide.
When school began, Kline says her husband, Patrick, told Ariel: “Well, we may as well say goodbye to mom now for another 9 months.”
The biggest reward of her group involvement, Kline says, is what it does for the kids.
“Everything is geared for the kids,” says Kline, a resident of Parks, a few miles north of Vandergrift. “It brings everybody together.”
Kline says she doesn’t remember even having a parent-teacher group in her elementary school.
“My mother never went to a single meeting,” she says. “Compared to what I had — which was nothing — to what I do here, it was light years away.”
McKerley agrees.
“It’s definitely my mission in life right now to be there for the kids and support their education,” she says.
By being involved in the parent group, McKerley says, she is investing in the education of her children: Nathan, 14, Kate, 12, and Seth, 9.
“They know that this is something that is valuable for you,” she says. “Not only are you writing a check every month, you’re also investing your own time and energy.”
Amy King Allegra of Scottdale, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, says that most of the people in her parent-teacher group at Verna Montessori School in nearby Mount Pleasant work full time, and the professionals include a podiatrist, a Web site designer and a professor. Despite busy schedules, they find time to volunteer for the group’s activities, like planning fundraisers for the school’s enrichment programs.
“We truly have professionals who give an incredible amount of hours,” says Allegra, 41, who is on the group’s publicity committee. Her kids are Joshua, 9, and Brianne, 4.
The adults are “giving a tremendous amount of commitment for the betterment of the school.”
© 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Labels:

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Beth-Center opes up memories from past


A 50-year-old Beth-Center time capsule was opened Friday. Find out what was in it here.

Labels:

Friday, October 16, 2009

Canon-Mac officials wants district to take new tack on risky debt structure

CANONSBURG - Canon-McMillan School District is considering whether to get independent financial advice to unwind itself from risky transactions.

Earlier this decade, the district sold bonds and then did a "swap agreement." Because the interest rate on the bonds was higher than what the district wanted, Canon-McMillan entered into the swap agreement with a variable rate, said Joni Mansmann, Canon-McMillan director of business and finance. The idea was that the variable rates would be lower than the fixed rate.

She discussed the issue at Monday night's school board meeting and answered more questions Tuesday.

The district also piggybacked two more swaps on top of the original swaps, said Mansmann, adding that the agreements were approved before she was hired at the district. As a part of those agreements, Canon-McMillan received roughly $5 million up front.

The problem is that the two original swaps are significantly "underwater," meaning Canon-McMillan would have to pay additional money to get out of the agreement because the rates on the bonds are negative for the district, she said. How much extra money the district will have to pay will depend on when it ends the agreement, she said.

The district could get almost $500,000 by ending the swaps for the two piggybacked agreements, she said. Mansmann is recommending that the board get out of those two agreements and hire an independent financial firm to help determine how the district can get out of the remaining two agreements while losing as little money as possible.

"I don't think we will come out positive on all four," she said.

One of the underwater swaps comes due Dec. 1, 2010. If the board doesn't end the agreement by that day, it will have a variable rate until the end of the contract, she said. It can't be refinanced, she said.

The second underwater swap comes due Dec. 1, 2012, and also has to end by that date or face a variable rate until the end the contract without the possibility of refinancing.

She said she will likely recommend that the district end the agreements before those dates, even though she expects a loss. She said ending the agreements will take away the risky investment.

"Why have any risk on the table of taxpayers' money?" she said. "I'm trying to have a potentially bad situation have a better ending."

The board still has $3.1 million of the $5 million from the original swap agreements in its budget. The district set aside $200,000 more this year to help rebuild the original amount. If Canon-McMillan gets the $500,000 from ending the two piggybacked agreements, Mansmann said, she would like to set that aside as well in case it's needed to end the other two swaps.

The school board is expected to vote Monday on ending the piggybacked swap agreements and to hire the firm Boenning & Scattergood to give financial advice.

Board member Kathy Smith said the firm made a reasonable offer and was recommended by attorneys and neighboring schools.

"I'd be happy to hire someone to get that risk off the books," she said.

Join the Observer-Reporter's conversation about education at our blog at http://orbehindthedesk.blogspot.com.

Copyright Observer Publishing Co.

Labels:

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Suspended boy back in school

The New York Times reports that the 6-year-old who was suspended for taking a camping tool that included a fold-out knife to school is back at school.

Labels:

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Canon-Mac students help build pond


By Dawn Goodman
Staff Writer
dgoodman@observer-reporter.com
CANONSBURG - Brandon Lucot moved rocks from the pond.
Lauren Harbaugh helped lay down the tarp, put mulch around the pond and plant flowers.
Hayden Smutney was a self-described “wheelbarrower.” He moved the soil and rock out of the way to where it needed to be.
On Tuesday, the three sophomores were among those celebrating the dedication of the Politan Pond at Canon-McMillan High School.
A $15,000 state grant paved the way for the pond, which replaced the pond that was filled in when the school was renovated a decade ago.
The pond is 50 feet by 30 feet and includes 36 tons of river rock that were carried in by hand. The area also includes two smaller, 40-gallon ponds that can be used for experiments.
Joe Politan, the science teacher who coordinated the effort to get the pond, said students helped with all the work.
“It’s amazing what 13-, 14-year-olds will do if you give them a purpose,” he said.
Sophomore Emma Chase said the pond turned out really well.
“It’s cool that kids will be able to use it for experiments,” she said.
Every ninth-grader will use the pond during Pennsylvania science class, said high school science coordinator Deborah Steinmiller. She said AP biology classes will also use the pond. She said it will be open to all other classes and that it will be used to help emphasize different environmental careers.
When the school started its Pennsylvania science class about eight years ago, teachers thought that a pond would help with hands-on experiences.
Politan is excited about the potential.
“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “We’ve been working on this for several years.”
He plans to use it for experiments about nitrate and phosphate levels. Politan also plans to use to for dissolved oxygen experiments and to help kids test whether they can treat acid mine drainage.
“We want to look at the environmental problems faced here,” Politan said.
Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://orbehindthedesk.blogspot.com.

Labels:

Monday, October 12, 2009

Christopher Columbus gets his day in court



By Dawn Goodman
Staff writer
dgoodman@observer-reporter.com
McDONALDChristopher Columbus: Guilty as charged.
That’s what a Fort Cherry fourth-grade jury decided earlier this week after a trial to determine whether Columbus was guilty of abusing his position, misrepresenting the crown and stealing gold.
In advance of Columbus Day, Laurie Crawford’s class staged the trial, which included everything from opening statements to closing arguments. Historical witnesses testified, including Columbus, sailors who were on voyages with Columbus and Queen Isabella of Spain.
One sailor testified that Columbus stole items from the natives and that he didn’t return all of the gold he had to the Spanish king and queen. Another said Columbus was a good guy.
Queen Isabella, portrayed by Grace Lipscomb, said she and King Ferdinand were outraged. She said they provided Columbus with three of their best ships, and he promised to sail to find the Indies and return with spices, gems, silk and gold. He failed, she said
“As you can see, his route did not take him to China,” she said. “He brought back parrots, fruit and some gold, but I know he did not turn it all over to the crown.”
The last witness to testify was Columbus himself, portrayed by Alyssa Ersek.
“This is scandalous! I am a hero and should be treated as such,” she said. “I risked my life for the Crown.”
During closing arguments, the prosecutor, portrayed by Cameron Schaub, said Columbus mistreated natives by taking more gold than what he traded trinkets for, that he kept gold for himself.
“Based on the charges we heard today, I think Columbus took advantage of his position, stole from the Crown and misrepresented Spain,” he said. “I hope that you can find it in your hearts to charge him and make him pay for the injustices that he has done.”
The defense attorney, portrayed by Megan Cottrill, said the prosecution witnesses were lying.
“I tell you that all we heard today are exaggerations of mean and jealous people,” she said, adding that all the queen was really worried about was her spices, gems and gold. “Based on that fact, who is the greedy person here? Who is really guilty of misrepresenting their power or place in society? Columbus or the Crown? You decide.”
With that, the jury walked out into the hallway and discussed the possibility. The jury members returned a few minutes later with a 9-3 guilty verdict.
Heather Martin, Crawford’s student teacher, was the judge. She sentenced Columbus to life in prison.
Jury member Gabby Nissly said she thought he was guilty. For her, it was simple. He said he would give the king and queen all of the gold and he didn’t.
Jury member Riley Carter had the opposite point of view. Columbus didn’t take gold from the natives; he traded trinkets for gold, Carter said.
In the end, the lesson was fun, said fourth-grader Taiya Godwin. The students aren’t done yet, though. They still must participate in a Web quest scavenger hunt about Columbus and answer essay questions about him.
“We got to learn what court was like and about Christopher Columbus,” she said.

Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://orbehindthedesk. blogspot.com.

Labels: ,

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Teacher health care at a premium

Find out if teachers in your school district pay health insurance premiums. See their contracts here. Fort Cherry's newest contract will be posted as soon as it is available.

Labels:

Friday, October 9, 2009

Do teachers in your district pay monthly premiums for health insurance?

Ten of the 19 school districts in Washington and Greene counties will require teachers to pay monthly premiums for health insurance this year.
Find out the details of each contract in Sunday's Observer-Reporter.

Labels:

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Have $2 million? Name a stadium

By Dawn Goodman
Staff Writer
dgoodman@observer-reporter.com
CALIFORNIA - California Area School District is auctioning the naming rights to its new stadium.
Starting bid: $2 million.
The stadium doesn’t have a name so why not let someone pay to name it, asked Superintendent Linda Mancini.
“We’re always looking for ways to make money,” she said.
She said she would like a Washington County bidder, but is willing to go nationwide.
The school board will vote on any offers that are made.
Mancini said a high school media class is putting together a marketing video and she also plans to contact a professor at California University of Pennsylvania about whether his class wants the hands-on experience of marketing the sale of naming rights nationwide.
“Imagine what their resume would look like if they could bring $2 million to the district,” she said.
The $4.5 million construction of the stadium was completed this fall. It includes a soccer/football field and track.
“It’s gorgeous,” Mancini said.
She said the district still has work to do on the project, which includes a fieldhouse, roadway and softball dugouts.
Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://orbehindthedesk.blogspot.com.

Labels:

By Dawn Goodman
Staff Writer
dgoodman@observer-reporter.com
A former Navy SEAL used his basketball skills to get the attention of Washington High School students Thursday so he could send them a motivational message.
Charlie Aeschliman, who has won Nike’s national basketball handling championship, showed off those skills during his speech in the high school gymnasium.
At one point, he balanced a spinning basketball on the end of a spoon while he fed pudding to a student. At another time, he performed pushups while spinning a basketball on his thumb.
After he had their attention, Aeschliman told the students that many people told him he would never make it through SEAL training since its the toughest training in the world.
“With a lot of hard work, good decisions and perseverance, those things helped me graduate at the top of the class,” he said.
Everyone has obstacles and people who tell them they can’t make it, he said.
“You know what? Prove them wrong,” he said. “What matters is what you believe you can become not what other people say you are.”
Aeschliman said money and good looks won’t guarantee success. And people don’t achieve by luck, he said. What matters is character, Aeschliman told the students.
“It doesn’t matter where you start,” he said. “It matters where you finish.”
Students said they liked his basketball skills.
“I liked when he was drinking the water and the ball was on it,” said ninth grader Lechiqua King.
His message wasn’t lost on them either.
“It was really nice,” said ninth grader Malia Broughton. “It was motivational.”
Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://orbehindthedesk.blogspot.com.

Labels:

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Pre-paid college programs may fall short

The New York Times has a story about the pre-paid plans struggling because of rising tuition costs and the stock market slump.

Labels:

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Fort Cherry approves teachers contract

MCDONALD – Fort Cherry School Board and the district’s teachers union have approved a five-year contract that makes teachers pay for health insurance for the first time.
The teachers ratified the contract Thursday, while the school board approved it Monday.
Teachers will pay $15 monthly for single coverage and $30 monthly for family coverage, said teachers union President Jeff Delach. Teachers also will see raises of between 3 and 4 percent, he said.
For more information, read Wednesday's Observer-Reporter.

Labels:

Monday, October 5, 2009

Tires, shoes become playground


At Central Christian Academy, they are putting in a new playground made of recycled material. Find out more about it here.

Labels:

Friday, October 2, 2009

No vaccines = no school

PITTSBURGH (AP) — About 2,000 Pittsburgh Public Schools students are expected to miss classes again because they either don’t have proper vaccinations or haven’t proven that they do.
Allegheny County Health Department officials say about 2 percent of the county’s 180,000 students, or roughly 3,600, didn’t provide proof by Thursday’s deadline so they were barred from class. Most of those are in the Pittsburgh Public Schools which still had 2,100 students without vaccines by the end of the day Thursday.
The health department has been vaccinating thousands of students to comply with the deadline.
Pittsburgh school and county health officials are hoping nearly all students will have the vaccinations or proof of them by Monday.
© 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Labels:

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Trinity violinists go the extra mile



When two of Trinity High School's top violinists perform during the Honors Orchestra Festival in November, they'll surely remember that without hard work, determination and perseverance, such an opportunity would not exist.

Junior Alex Stough and sophomore Brian D'Orazio were selected by audition to attend the Pennsylvania Music Educator Association's District I Honors Orchestra Festival Nov. 14 and 15 at Fox Chapel High School.

Find out more about them here.

Labels: