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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Education Admin Web Advisor - September 4, 2012


 
Issue 6 · September 4, 2012
 
Welcome to Education Administration Headlines + More!

This free weekly newsletter offers education leaders and administration professionals a speedy and authoritative source of information needed to run a modern teaching and learning enterprise, from pre-K to university, from small school to multi-level system. Our mission is to help you stay on top of the kaleidoscope of issues that confronts you every day in a busy, constantly moving educational institution. Human resources management, student achievement, teacher performance, technology and innovation, financial management, regulatory and standards compliance, community dialog, and risk mitigation -- we cover it all. Our editors follow what's happening daily and bring it to you in a concise and easy-to-read format. Plus! we follow legal developments in our "Education in the Courts" feature and provide insights from leading thinkers and experts in the field of education. In addition, we notify you of online learning opportunities tailored to the incredibly diverse, day-to-day challenges you encounter as a school administrator. We invite you to see for yourself with this complimentary first edition of Education Administration Headlines + More!

Just sign up by clicking the link below, and you'll begin receiving your free weekly education administration update every Monday morning in your e-mail inbox.
 
 


Headlines
 
Teacher Leave Policies All Over the Map
Vacation time for teachers coincides with holidays and summer breaks, but teachers also need time-off during the school year for sick leave and personal matters. A study found substantial variability among states and school districts in what the leave is called, what it covers, and how it is counted and compensated.

Mixed Bag: Americans' Attitudes on Public School Issues
An annual survey reveals broad agreement on some issues, like charter schools and bullying prevention; a pretty even split on some issues, like school vouchers and benefits for children of illegal immigrants; general satisfaction with hometown schools; and a big gap in how Americans perceive the President's record on education.

Education Jobs Loss Unprecedented, White House Says
The President is using his "bully pulpit" to advocate for a 2013 federal budget that gets the hundreds of thousands of teachers who have been laid off back in the classroom.

Preparing to Surpass -- China and India Investing Heavily in Education
Education is a top national priority in China and India, and both countries are spending big money to reach their goals. The report gives even more urgency to efforts in the United States to improve educational outcomes for a broader swath of students.

School Lunch & Breakfast Nutrition Standards and Meal Patterns Begin
More fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free/low-fat milk, less sodium and fat, and portions aligned with children's caloric needs are on the menu for the 2012–2013 school year.
 
 
Online Briefings for Education Leaders Begin ...
Sign Up Now!
 
School Bullying: How to Build a Bully-Free Campus and Staff
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern
About one-third of students are bullied each year, and even adults can be bullied in a school setting, as evidenced recently by the school bus monitor who was brought to tears by her young tormentors. This briefing will examine the nature of bullying and describe the steps that visionary schools are taking to become no-bully zones.

Managing Disabilities in the School and University Setting: How New ADAAA Requirements Affect Section 504
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern

You have expansive new responsibilities to identify, accommodate, and protect students with disabilities, including those with medical and psychiatric disabilities. Learn from an education law expert what the laws and regulations now require of educational institutions.
 
International Student Visas & Transitions to Work Visas and Green Cards: How Administrators Can Help Students
Wednesday, October 3, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern

Foreign students who earn their degrees from U.S. institutions often want to stay and work here -- and they look to their college or university for assistance. To help you be responsive, join this webinar to learn about Optional Practical Training, the H-1B visa process, alternatives to the H-1B visa, and related student and graduate work issues.

The Use of Social Media by Schools, Students, and Staff: Know the Risks and How to Reduce Your Potential Liability
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern
Social media has infiltrated schools at all levels, and its implications range from screening employees to disciplining students, from privacy to bullying, from staff communications to free speech. Let an attorney familiar with social media law help you mitigate these new risks.

How to Write an Effective Anti-Harassment Policy and Related Procedures to Include
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern

An effective anti-harassment policy must encompass all types of harassment (including sex- and race-based), all channels (from face-to-face to social media), and all types (student-to-student, staff-to-student, staff-to-staff, and student-to-staff). Get guidance on how to capture all these situations in a comprehensive policy that defines your responsibilities and lowers your legal risks.
 
Constitutional Protections of Employees During Misconduct Investigations
Thursday, November 1, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern

Understand how to investigate alleged employee misconduct without violating the employee's constitutional rights -- particularly in situations where law enforcement becomes involved in the investigation. Learn about the scope of free speech rights, due process, and other relevant legal and constitutional principles.
 
No Time Now?
All Webinars Will Be Accessible on CD!
 
What if you have a time conflict and can't participate in a webinar of interest on its scheduled date and time? Don't worry. You can still take advantage of our CD option. Soon after completion of each webinar, the program will be available on CD. Click here for the complete listing and future ordering information.
 
Education in the Courts
 
Church Sanctuary Is No Place for Public High School Graduation

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled en banc (the entire bench of judges) that a Wisconsin school district violated the First Amendment's constitutional separation between church and state. The case arose when a group of nine past and present students and their parents (collectively, the "Does") sued the Elmbrook School District over its practice of holding high school graduations and related ceremonies at the Elmbrook Church for many years. The Elmbrook School District has two major high schools, Brookfield Central and Brookfield East, in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield, Wisconsin.
 
In 2000, in the case of Brookfield Central, and in 2002, in the case of Brookfield West, the Elmbrook Church was rented for graduation. This practice continued through 2009 and, in some of those years, Brookfield Central also rented the church's chapel for senior honors night. Previous graduations were held in the high school gymnasium, but in 2000, senior class officers of Brookfield Central broached the idea of moving graduation to the church, arguing that the gymnasium with its bleacher seating and lack of air conditioning was too cramped and uncomfortable. The idea was presented to the principal and district superintendent who concurred with the switch after first putting the proposal to a vote of the entire senior class, which ruled overwhelmingly in favor of it. Two years later, Brookfield West went through a similar process, with the same outcome.
 
Elmbrook Church is a nondenominational, evangelical Christian church. Complaints about using the church for graduation ceremonies began soon after being relocated there. The plaintiffs, who are not Christians, said the religious setting made them ill at ease and upset. Plaintiffs' complaints included the display of a large cross that church officials refused to cover. Another complaint was the presence of Bibles and hymnals in the pews where graduation attendees sat.
 
In 2010, Central and East moved their graduation ceremonies to a newly renovated gymnasium and newly completed field house. The school district, however, refused to rule out holding graduations at the church in the future.
 
The Does lost the initial round of their lawsuit, with a lower court granting the school district's motion for summary judgment and finding that the district did not act unconstitutionally when it held secular high school ceremonies at Elmbrook Church. The Does appealed and a three-judge panel of the appeals court concluded that the Does' case was "justiciable" (liable to trial in a court of justice), even though the district no longer held high school ceremonies at the church. The case then went to the full court, which concluded that, for the ceremonies at issue, having them take place in a nondenominational Christian church violated the Constitution. "An unacceptable amount of religious endorsement and coercion occurred when the District held important civil ceremonies in the proselytizing environment of Elmbrook Church," Judge Joel M. Flaum wrote in the 7-3 majority opinion in John Doe, et al. v. Elmbrook School District. The ruling indicates that the judges believed they must "do our level best to overcome our individual perspectives" and deliberately try "to see the situation from others' points of view."
 
The court said that the ruling should not be construed as an outright rejection of governmental use of church spaces. In this case, however, the presence of a cross and religious materials at a public school graduation ceremony had the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion and thus violated the Constitution.
 
 
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In This Week's Issue
Headlines
· Education administration, innovation, and compliance news

Informative Webinars Start Soon
· Bully-free school zone
· Accommodating students with disabilities post-ADAAA
· Assisting international students who stay to work
· Social media use by schools, students, and staff
· Comprehensive school anti-harassment policy
· School employee misconduct investigations: constitutional issues

Education in the Courts
· Church sanctuary no-go for high school graduation
What Counts
 
Hungry Schoolchildren

62% -- Percentage of teachers who say they have students in their classrooms who regularly come to school hungry
80% -- Percentage of hungry students who arrive at school hungry at least once a week
53% -- Percentage of teachers who sometimes purchase food for hungry students in their classrooms
10% -- Percentage of teachers who buy food for hungry students every week
$26 -- Average amount spent each month by teachers who buy food for hungry students in their classrooms
 
-- Source: Hunger in Our Schools, No Kid Hungry campaign, Share Our Strength Teachers Report 2012. Read
 

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EduDemic: Online vs In-Person Learning: Which Is Actually Better? & MORE!

www.edudemic.com



Posted: 03 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT
learning
When students were asked who they turn to first for trustworthy academic advice, a whopping 61 percent said it was a professor. When asked who their college mentor is, 46 percent said it was also a professor. It looks like students put a lot of trust in their instructors, but do students take their advice on study and research?

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 10:30 AM PDT
jaws-3-D
It's like the stuff from the Back to the Future movies. When I hear the term 'augmented reality,' images of Marty McFly running around the futuristic world of the year 2015 (I think we're going to fall short of expectations, by the way) pop into my head. But in reality (pardon the pun), there are apps that let you add a digital layer to what you see around you.

Posted: 03 Sep 2012 05:15 AM PDT
dd_social
The world of edtech is abuzz this week thanks to a smattering of exciting news. First, we had Stanford creating an entirely new position and office for online learning. Now something that signals a seismic shift in the edtech world.


 

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ICCAT' 2013 & ICCMA' 2013 COMMITTEE - Winter Conferences CALL FOR PAPERS


Winter Conferences Announcement
&
Call For Papers
ICCMA' 2013
International Conference on Computer Medical Applications  
ICCMA'2013 , January 20-22
Sousse,Tunisia
 
ICCMA 2013 Computer Medical Applications discusses the latest developments in the field of computational medicine, biomedical informatics and related fields. ICCMA' 2013 is concerned with bioengineering research, featuring a unique concentration of several scientific, cultural and educational events. ICCMA 2013 Program Committee encourages the submission of original unpublished work. The conference accepts two forms of submissions, Full Papers or short papers. Authors should submit their work by November 1st, 2012. ICCMA 2013 will consist of regular sessions with technical contributions reviewed and selected by an international programme committee, as well as keynote talks and tutorials given by leading experts in their fields. The conference provides a mechanism for the exchange of ideas and technologies between academics and industrial scientists, and attracts a worldwide audience. Regular and special track presentations will cover a broad range of issues, visit http://iccma.net/CFP.htm .for details.
ICCAT' 2013
International Conference on Computer Applications Technology
ICCAT'
2013 
January 20-22
Sousse,Tunisia
 
 
ICCAT 2013 Computer Applications Technology is the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in an end-user environment in order to provide solutions to real-life situations. Computer Applications Technology comes from and forms part of the broader knowledge domain of ICTs.
ICCAT 2013 Program Committee encourages the submission of original unpublished work describing research, technologies and experiences in all fields related to Computer Applications Technology. The conference accepts two forms of submissions, Full Papers or Abstracts. Authors should submit Abstracts or Full papers by November 1, 2012. Papers will be peer reviewed, and acceptance will be based on quality, relevance and originality. For the list of topics visit http://iccat2013.org/CFP.htm . 
 
Conferences Organizing Committee
Sousse, 4012

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Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Obama Courts College Students Returning to Campus

 
 

August 29, 2012
by Julie Pace and Ken Thomas

As college students return to campus, President Barack Obama's campaign will be there waiting for them.

Obama aides sees college campuses as fertile ground for registering and recruiting some of the more than 15 million young people who have become eligible to vote since the 2008 election. As Republicans hold their party convention in Florida this week, the president will make a personal appeal to college voters in three university towns: Ames, Iowa; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Charlottesville, Va.

Obama's victory four years ago was propelled in part by his overwhelming support among college-aged voters, and polls show him leading Republican rival Mitt Romney with that group in this year's race.

But the president faces an undeniable challenge as he seeks to convince young people that he is the right steward for the economy as they eye a shaky postgraduation job market.

Seeking to overcome that economic uncertainty, Obama's campus staffers and volunteers are touting the president's positions on social issues, like gay rights, that garner significant support among young people. Obama has stressed his effort to freeze the interest rates on new federal student loans, a pitch he personalizes by reminding voters that he and the first lady were once buried under a "mountain" of student loan debt after law school.

They also see a fresh opportunity to court students and their parents following Romney's pick of Paul Ryan as his running mate. Democrats say Ryan's budget would cut funding for Pell Grants, the federal need-based program for students, and Obama's campaign is running television advertisements in battleground states trying to link Romney to that plan.

Campaigning last week at Capital University in Ohio, Obama told students that Romney's economic plan "makes one thing clear: He does not think investing in your future is worth it. He doesn't think that's a good investment. I do."

Obama was scheduled to speak Tuesday at Iowa State University and Colorado State University. The University of Virginia rejected his campaign's request to hold an event on campus Wednesday, saying it would cause the cancellation or disruption of classes on the second day of the semester. The event was instead being held at an off-campus pavilion in Charlottesville.

White House and campaign officials were closely monitoring Tropical Storm Isaac as it barreled toward the Gulf Coast, but as of late Monday, there were no plans to cancel the president's trip.

Romney's campaign sees an opportunity to cut into the president's support among young people by pushing a three-pronged economic argument focusing on the nation's high unemployment rate, the soaring cost of college and the national debt.

"These kids haven't even entered the workforce and they already owe the government a bill for the debt Obama has rung up," said Joshua Baca, the Romney campaign's national coalitions director.

Obama campaign officials say the start of the new school year is a particularly crucial time to ramp up college registration and make sure those new voters get to the polls. In many of the battleground states, about 50 percent of the college students register to vote on campus after Labor Day, according to the campaign. And even those who are already registered may need to change their address or other personal details after moving to new dorms.

At the University of Dayton, Daniel Rajaiah encourages his fellow Democrats to carry voter registration forms to class, to parties and around campus in case they find someone who hasn't yet registered. Members of the College Democrats set up tables in the middle of campus a few days a week to catch students walking to class or to the cafeteria.

"Our game plan this fall is to hit voter registration very hard," said Rajaiah, who is president of the College Democrats of Ohio.

Obama's campaign said it registered 10,000 voters on college campuses in Ohio last week and signed up 300 new volunteers at colleges in Iowa.

Four years ago, Obama won two-thirds of the vote among 18- to 29-year-olds, compared with just 32 percent for his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, according to exit polls.

An Associated Press-GfK poll released last week showed Obama again holding a broad advantage among younger voters, with 54 percent of registered voters under 35 saying they would vote for Obama and 38 percent backing Romney.

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Call for Proposals: American Association of Blacks in Higher Education - 2013 National Conference on Blacks in Higher Education

 

                                                                                
                                               Loews Midtown Hotel
                             
Atlanta, Georgia
                        
February 28-March 2, 2013

Please find attached the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education Call for Proposals--2013 -- Pathways to Success within Higher Education.   This year’s conference will focus on the following the following strands:

STRAND 1: Pathways to Leadership – Strategic leadership enables Black professionals to obtain the advantages necessary to succeed and advance in the competitive world of higher education for faculty, staff and administrators. Strategic leadership encourages collaboration and innovation; and helps to “navigate the complexities inherent in institutional change and organizational politics in higher education” which include mentoring and professional opportunities.

STRAND 2: Pathways to Publishing/Research – Engaging in research and other forms of scholarship and disseminating work through peer reviewed publications is a critical factor for a successful academic career. Although teaching and service are important responsibilities for an academic career, the scholarship recognized by peers through publications weighs heavily. The challenge for many academicians is balancing teaching and service while creating opportunities to produce scholarly publications. This strand seeks proposals which illustrate successful strategies for publishing and examples for producing publishable manuscripts from various academic activities (e.g., teaching, research, service.)

STRAND 3: Pathways to Health/STEM – Provide avenues to support, promoting the successful pursuit of studies and careers in STEM fields. This includes the health, natural, physical and social sciences (S) technology (T), engineering (E) and mathematics (M). Various strategies have been implemented to promote awareness and interest, enhance educational preparedness and decrease barriers (financial, social and structural) as a means of increasing the volume and capacity of the educational pipeline into these fields. This strand seeks to explore the success and challenges of past and current strategies as well as provide an opportunity to discuss emerging innovative approaches to increase the number of blacks in all STEM fields and promote their long term success.

STRAND 4: Pathways to advance Diversity/African American Studies – A changing world demands a changing university, curriculum and academic research environment. Proposals are encouraged in two basic areas. First, proposals are encouraged that address best practices, model programs or excellent examples of diversity programs that increase African American enrollment, retention or improve campus life for African Americans on our campuses. Second, proposals are encouraged that address changes in the academic content: e.g. practices that advance African American/Black/Pan African Studies curricula, or programs of research, scholarship or creative productions that are drawn from and deeply serve our community’s needs. Proposals may come from diversity officers, faculty, staff or students addressing transformation in the academic community or canon in the service of African Americans.

STRAND 5: Pathways to the Cultural Arts – Routes to identifying, supporting, promoting, celebrating and documenting the cultural arts through practices and research that stimulate social awareness and honor diverse cultural values. Cultural arts refer to the transformation and collaboration of different art forms. It embodies creative thinking and critique, which encompasses art forms such as visual art, literature, music, theater, film, dance and others. Cultural arts help to explain the world in which we live, and often challenge current ideas, thoughts and practice in higher education and beyond.

Call for Proposals Deadline: September 21, 2012.  For questions contact Jacquelin Gardner gardner@mmc.edu


For guidelines to submit a proposal for the AABHE National Conference go to:
www.blacksinhighered.org


Barbara A. Lofton, Ed.D.

Office of Diversity Programs

Sam M. Walton College of Business

Business Building 343

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR 72701



President of the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education

 

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