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January 31, 2007

Michigan Schools Tweak Curriculum

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 12:05 pm

Michigan Schools have decided that changes need to be made in the statewide Special Education curriculum. Recent updates to federal laws require the Michigan Schools to comply with new rules and requirements. Students with disabilities are depending on the schools that they attend to attain the required standards. Without changes, the programs will be forced to shut down. At the news of change, many are concerned that current services will be compromised. However, Michigan Schools have assured children and parents that special education programs, such as the Extended School Year Program, will remain intact. Public hearings on the matter will be held in upcoming weeks.

The updates in special education curriculum are one in a series of changes that Michigan Schools are experiencing. The state content expectations in both social studies and science classes have been recently revised. The new requirements will be enacted in 2007-2008 and are popular with parents. Expectations in social studies now include the study of eastern countries, current issues, and an increased level of social awareness. The standards were set by a collaboration of educational committees.

The new standards follow in a trend of the Michigan Schools. Student preparedness for the real world has become a focal point for Michigan Schools. Concern that graduating students are not adequately prepared for the work environment prompted the change. Studies show that only 32 percent of the freshman in the United States will graduate fully prepared for college. In an effort to improve this situation, Michigan Schools created enhanced statewide graduation requirements in 2006. The governor was directly responsible for enacting the requirements, known officially as the Michigan Merit Curriculum. Michigan Schools have the rare benefit of being governed by a legislative branch, executive branch, and board of education that are in rare agreement on this subject. The objectives achieved by these groups help Michigan Schools stay focused. Notably, Michigan Schools have the most ample requirements of any state in the country.

The Michigan Merit Curriculum operates under the belief that the skills needed to succeed in the workplace are not any different than those needed to succeed in college. Therefore, by preparing students for the college experience, they have achieved two things: a preparation for real life work situations, and the confidence and ability to succeed in college. Student preparation measures include improving the quality of high school courses. The issue of quality has even trumped concerns over test scores in Michigan Schools. Because students have been proven to find success when they are challenged, Michigan Schools have decided to set new educational standards. There is not dramatic a overhaul set in place, but the Michigan Merit Curriculum in Michigan Schools is a working initiative.

January 30, 2007

Middle School May Be Pass

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:21 pm

The middle school model was conceived in the 70s and implemented throughout the 70s and 80s across the nation. It was thought that middle schools would provide a nurturing bridge between the early elementary school experience and high school. Unfortunately, many education experts now consider the experiment a failure with their poor performance and uprooting children twice during their turbulent and challenging adolescent years. Middle schools now are being viewed as the weak link in the educational chain by many.

Prior to the implementation of middle schools, these grades were either part of the elementary school experience or an expanded high school environment. Now, education leaders across the nation (including the Boston schools) are looking to return to those earlier models.

Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Model

With this model, the Boston schools would expand their elementary schools to include kindergarten through eighth grade. Many Boston schools educators believe this would deliver a supportive structure that would foster longer-term relationships between the teachers and their students. The thought is to use the earlier school experience to extend the nurturing that the middle school model was suppose to provide but hasn’t.

The push to integrate the middle schools with the elementary Boston schools is gaining momentum. Parents are especially in favor of the K-8 model for the Boston schools, wary of sending their children to the current middle school environment &ndash especially within the urban areas.

Many Boston schools leaders and educators are familiar with the middle school struggle to raise achievement levels. They believe the K-8 model will keep the students and their families not only involved with their Boston schools but also connected on a more positive level.

Upper Grades Model

Others support the upper grades model of integrating the middle schools with the secondary Boston schools. The largest proponents of this model are the high school teachers, especially those teaching ninth graders. These Boston schools teachers currently must hustle to get new ninth graders, who are not prepared, up to par for the high school experience. They would like to have these students earlier.

Many educators believe the upper grades model creates a consistent environment from seventh through twelfth grade and more accountability for student outcomes. This potential model for the Boston schools emulates some of the elite private and public schools, offering the best opportunity for students from lower income families where college is not generally presumed. With a rigorous six-year curriculum and encouragement, more of these students are hoped to continue their education at a college or university.

The upper grades model is currently gaining more traction than the K-8 for the Boston schools, since some schools are expressing interest in expanding their schools to include both middle and high school grades. Two high schools that are considered to be better achieving Boston schools would like to include middle school grades under their roof and control. Additionally, a Boston schools middle school also has expressed interest in expanding its curriculum to include high school students.

The upper grades model is not new to the Boston schools, which has two such schools in operation for several years and are quite successful. Also, there are three competitive admission exam Boston schools that use the model, offering college preparatory curriculum for Boston’s top scoring students. One is the renowned Boston Latin School, whose students have the expectation that they will continue on to college or another higher form of education after graduation.

This only reinforces proponents’ belief that if it is good to focus on academic achievement from sixth through twelfth grades for the elite students within the Boston schools, then educators and parents should have the same high expectations for all students.

Whatever model is chosen by the Boston schools, the city is ready for the discussion. Last fall, the Boston schools named a 17 member Middle Grades Task Force. Their recommendations are expected to be delivered to the Boston schools leaders in the spring.

The middle school years are very difficult for Boston schools students at such sensitive ages of adjustment from children to young adults. Regardless of which model educators, leaders and parents back for the Boston schools’ students, they all agree that any transition should take place either before or after these years &ndash not both.

Microsoft excel tutorial in easy to follow videos

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 4:29 pm

Do you want to learn Excel fast but are tired of reading thick manuals or attending expensive courses? Well, there is a much better solution - the ExcelSecret Video Course. This is a Quick And Easy-To-Follow Excel Video Course that will take you through each and every useful function within the extensive program of more than a hundred videos.

This is by far the easiest way to learn Excel..

The Excel Secret Video Course does not require you invest days or weeks in a classroom sitting or reading thick manuals. You can go through the videos as detailed or fast as you’d like to..

The Excel Secret Video Course includes all the information needed to learn and master Excel Fast!.

As you can see, it’s quite a comprehensive course consisting of both the very basic and advanced special features of Excel.

By simply watching how to use each function in the videos, learning all these will be a breeze!

Introduction To Excel

Basic Terminology

Create New Worksheet From Template

Saving Workbook

Types Of Data

Inserting Symbols

Copying Across Separate Worksheets

Formatting Multiple Worksheets Simultaneously

Inserting And Deleting Cells

Editing Cells and Undoing Changes

Introduction To Formulae

Simple Functions

Statistical Functions

PMT Functions

What-If Analysis

Linking Formulae

Text Alignment

Colors And Patterns

AutoFormat

Inserting Drawings, Clip Arts And AutoShapes

Plus Much More Advanced Lessons !

In fact, not only will you pick Excel up fast, you’ll quickly be showing others how to use it better like an expert. This is possible because you learn only features that matter and are the most efficient.

These skills help set you apart from other people and increase your value tremendously. This will help increase job security and chances of promotion in your current work.

This also helps if you are seeking new employment. Once you demonstrate your exceptional knowledge of Excel to potential employers, they will take special note of you and give better job offers. Master Microsoft Excel like a true pro in no time. It’s really that simple.

Microsoft Excel Training - Numerical Excellence For All

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 11:59 am

Identifying a need for training

Do you need an easier way to manage your household budget? How about finding an efficient way to create mailing lists? Perhaps you need to create financial forecasts or analyse sales figures for your work? Or maybe you are a student needing to analyse and present your research data? No longer do you require a pen and paper, time to scratch your head and a place to store numerous paper copies for future reference. Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet program used in the management of data. It can show you the relationship between X and Y and apply formulae to large quantities of data. Although many people have a good understanding of the program, Microsoft Excel training is often required to master the more advanced functions.

Microsoft Excel training will enable you to organize and calculate financial, scientific, personal or business related data in tabular format. For you and your target audience to more easily understand the relationship between the data, the information can subsequently be presented and analysed in a variety of graphical formats.

Benefits of Microsoft Excel Training

Whether you work in the financial world as an accountant or as a statistician in the world of research, Microsoft Excel Training can contribute towards personal and professional success. As new versions of the software are introduced, you may need to update your skills to ensure that you can keep pace with the competition. Effective data management skills can contribute to a more informed decision making process and thereby improve outcomes. This increased efficiency can save you and your business time and money.

Microsoft Excel can be used to store data. This can be useful when it comes to comparing figures from previous years and when trying to identify trends. It is also much more convenient than having to hunt through filing cabinets to find the information you require.

If you are involved in the international business market, consider the fact that numerical data does not need to be translated into another language. Microsoft Excel can therefore be a useful way of presenting data to a wide audience.

Options for Training

Microsoft Excel training can be tailored to suit your needs. There are four levels of Microsoft Excel training: introduction, intermediate, advanced and Visual Basic / VBA. Having identified your level of knowledge, the next step is to select an appropriate training method. One option is to sign up for a self-directed learning program; either paper based or computer based. A popular alternative is to consider instructor-led training at a training centre or in-house. This can be conducted by Microsoft Certified Trainers in a group format or on a one-to-one basis.

It only remains to be said that you must find your own formula for success.

January 28, 2007

Middle School Science Fair Projects

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 4:21 pm

Who said Science fair projects are boring and a chore? With a little bit of imagination you can come up with a winning science fair topic that will not only be interesting but one that you will enjoy doing.

Yes, a middle school science fair project can be a really exciting time for all middle school children. Having fun working on a science fair project while learning different aspects of scientific spectrum is a great and fun way to teach all children and students that the sciences are, contrary to popular belief not a boring chore but can be a lot of fun, which is something far too many schools seem to neglect telling pupils these days.

Below is a fun and interesting middle school science fair project. This example is intended to give you an idea on how to help your child with his or her science fair project. The example is merely a blue print which can easily be built upon.

Four Eyes? Oh Please!

Everyone knows someone who wears glasses. All you need for this science project is a friend or two who wear glasses. Then before the fair, a poster board could be made with a picture of the eye, the different parts (Retina, cornea, etc) labeled, and a brief description on how we see things.

Take a pair of your friend’s glasses and hold them at arms length, does what you’re looking at look smaller? Or does it look Larger? If the view looks smaller, it means your friend is nearsighted also referred to as short sighted. They can see things that are close to them, but may not be able to see things that are far away, this would be a likely indication that their eyeballs may be too long. On the other hand if the view that they see is big, or even upside down, then they are farsighted also known as long sighted. In other words they can see things that are far away, but not when things are closer up to them, the probable of this is that their eye ball is too short.

Advice to Parents.

Have your child to do some research on the eye itself, for example they could find out why it is that some people need glasses? And in what way do glasses help? The local library should have plenty of information geared up for middle school students that would help.

Let Them Create Their Own Ideas.

Of course, you could read dozens of different science fair projects, but none would be as fun or as personal as you and your child working together to come up with some ideas, you may even be surprised at the ideas that your child can come up with. When thinking of ideas you could take into consideration his or her likes and dislikes, and imagine how such a project could be fun and exciting, as well as educational.

I’m sure that when you and your child sit down and really think about it, the two of you could come up with a topic that blows everything else out of the water.

Remember that this is your child’s science fair project, not yours, and he or she needs to complete it. Not you, so left him or her take the lead.

January 26, 2007

Milwaukee Schools Claims Right Direction

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 6:33 pm

Schools come up with action plans every day. In fact, the Milwaukee Schools recently announced the adoption of an action plan that is designed to make its students competitive with some of the best schools in the country. The plan, designated “Working Together, Achieving More,” was adopted by the board of Milwaukee Schools in July 2007. But gauging whether a plan means real change, or just a good press release isn’t always easy. The Milwaukee Public Schools plan is meant to be acted on immediately, but it claims to provide for years of improvement. In it the school board lays out benchmarks for success for the years 2007 through 2012.

Entire Community Bands Together to Improve Milwaukee Schools

The committee that researched and designed this new plan was not made up of a bunch of academics with little experience in the classroom or the “real world.” In fact, input was asked for from many different areas. Educators, administrators, researchers, business leaders, families and many others worked together to come up with a plan designed to put Milwaukee Schools on the map. I’d say that this is a point in their favor.

Milwaukee Schools Dedicated to Doing “Whatever it Takes.”

The new plan, “Working Together, Achieving More” takes some direction from No Child Left Behind and similar acts that are aimed at reaching every student. The plan’s mission statement is that all students of Milwaukee Schools will achieve success in higher education and career, and more importantly will become responsible citizens of Milwaukee and the world at large. Mission statements are always well intended. It’s accomplishing the mission that’s the hard part.

In order to become a high performing urban school, Milwaukee Schools has set certain goals for itself. Some of these include:

1. Meeting or exceeding the standards set by the state. This would be calculated by scores on state exams and by certain benchmarks in reading and math.

2. Becoming real communities of learning and building upon the idea of PLC or Professional Learning Communities. This allows educators planned time to work together within disciplines and across disciplines in addition to work outside of the school with community members and leaders.

3. Continued improvement and professional development for ALL staff of Milwaukee Schools, not just teachers. Administrators and bus drivers would be held to certain standards of improvement as well.

4. Being accountable for any shortcomings. This would include action plans for addressing those weak points. This is where the ideas of NCLB come in.

5. Being supportive of families. This includes all staff of any particular school and the district as a whole. This is designed to make families feel like a welcome and important part of the public schools.

If Milwaukee Schools really want to be competitive they have a long way to go. Any urban school district faces a lot of problems from overcrowding to under-funding to drugs to disinterested parents to…By committing to a long-term action plan, Milwaukee Schools has taken an important step. If they truly put their money where their mouth is, this district might achieve its ultimate goal: to make Milwaukee Schools the first choice of every parent.

Montessori Home Schooling

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — admin @ 5:27 pm

The Montessori home schooling method was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early 1900s to educate children from poor families in San Lorenzo Rome. Dr. Montessori developed a method of teaching children as children, rather than smaller adults. Instead of pigeonholing children into the common institutionalized methods such as grading and testing, the Montessori home schooling method allows children develop their talents, takes note of weaknesses, and encourages children to develop both their weaknesses, and natural talents in their own time.

The Montessori home schooling method is taught to children from as early as birth, and can go as high as year 12 education. Rather than grading, feedback and analysis is usually provided in the form of a list or narration of the child’s talents, and weaknesses. An emphasis on and an approach to improving the child’s weaknesses are then taken, as education progresses.

The wonderful thing that the Montessori home schooling method offers a child is a focus on what the child needs as an individual, rather than pre-set needs for the class as a whole. Learning is done at the child’s own pace, and teachers take the role of a guide rather than a lecturer. One of the main goals that this method uses is to encourage children to keep their natural joy of learning, without pressuring them to compete with each other and learn when they are not yet ready, or mature enough.

Through this method of teaching, children are encouraged to be independent, and are given freedom with some set limits and responsibilities that come with having freedom.

The entire approach used in Montessori home schooling method is that children learn in an entirely different way than adults. Lessons are specially structured to children’s needs, and the natural way that they learn to give children the best advantage in both an academic, and social learning environment.

Montessori Method Lessons

The Montessori method ensures that a child is never given an activity without being shown how it is of use to them. After the activity has been demonstrated, the child is then given the freedom to use this newly acquired knowledge with no limits, other than their own imagination, or when the materials or child has a risk of being a danger to themselves or those around them.

Each activity is carefully selected, and will pave the way for later activities, and concepts. Children are encouraged to repeat an activity as many times as they want to, until they become bored with it. At this stage, it is a sign that the child is ready to start the next activity.

There is never a prescribed time table, or period in which children are meant to learn certain concepts, or lessons, the speed that these are learned will depend entirely on the child, and when they feel ready to move on. However, there is a set sequence of learning activities that are used for lessons. The Montessori home schooling method was originally designed as a schooling system, but it is a very popular method that is often scaled down and used by parents for home schooling.

Millions In Cuts For Cleveland Schools

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 3:00 pm

The Cleveland Board of Education approved a new budget with millions of dollars in cuts. The cuts are so drastic that there are some employees of the Cleveland Schools who don’t know if they have jobs next school year. Some non-instructional union employees, such as cleaners, custodians and clerical workers, will most definitely see job cuts. Other non-union jobs are also at risk.

Chief of Staff, Lisa Marie Ruda, said specific numbers won’t be known until early next week, when district officials finish adding up positions already lost to retirement or attrition. In the recent weeks, over 500 teachers and paraprofessional educators throughout Cleveland Schools have received layoff notices; some effective immediately and others in the fall. These recent cuts are reflective of $35.4 million in salaries and benefits from last school year. Last month the Cleveland Schools voted to close 22 schools in order to save money. Over the past three years there have been over $100 million in cuts. And on August 2nd voters will be asked to approve a tax increase that could raise an additional $48 million for the Cleveland Schools.

The Cleveland Schools CEO, Barbara Byrd-Bennett,blamed the slashes on the state cuts. Cleveland Schools could lose as much as $6 million in Medicaid monies which are used to provide speech, hearing and occupational therapists for needy students. Another $6 million in general funds from the revised state budget will also be lost to Cleveland Schools.

The state Senate changed its proposed two-year education budget in May. Cleveland Schools would have received a half-percent increase in state aid in 2006 and 1.2 percent more in 2007 under the originally proposed budget. However the revised plan that Gov. Taft must approve does not provide any increases for Cleveland Schools at all.

There are two sets of employee groups within the Cleveland Schools who will be saved from layoffs. Bus drivers, who had about 130 lay-offs last winter, will be among those. Also the Cleveland Schools will not cut security officers because they are needed to keep students in the high schools safe and secure. The bus system itself is being looked at carefully. An outside company hired by Cleveland Schools, TransPar Group, will be looking into the district’s transportation program. This is a move to privatize the management of this department after it was involved in a number of complaints and scandals. The Cleveland Schools had to repay $729,000 to the state because school bus counts were wrong. This is hardly something a district undergoing severe cuts can afford to do. TransPar will be paid $50,000 to audit and evaluate the current system.

Milwaukee Public Schools Say Hello To Life Without Cell Phones

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 11:27 am

Cell Phone Ban in Milwaukee Public Schools

It’s hard to imagine a world without cell phones. Next to the Internet it’s probably the single most important invention that has affected the maximum number of lives around the globe. People run entire businesses through their stylish gizmo fitted cell phones and it’s normal to find a family with each member sporting his or her individual phone.

But, students in Milwaukee Public schools won’t be among those yakking on their cell phones this year. The reason &ndash Milwaukee public schools have enforced a ban on cell phones on campus. From January 2007 onwards, students in Milwaukee’s122 schools are banned from using cellphones in classrooms.

Fear of Violence Leads to Cell Phone Ban in Milwaukee Public Schools

The catalyst that triggered this ban was a brawl involving students outside the gates of a Milwaukee school. Female students who got into the fight used their cell phones to summon help from family members. At least 20 family members turned up and matters got really ugly before the Milwaukee school authorities and police managed to step in. Although nobody was seriously injured in the brawl, Milwaukee school authorities were stunned into action. This wasn’t the first such instance in Milwaukee schools. Earlier two students had been caught using their cell phones to summon others to a fight outside campus.

Milwaukee Schools Join a Growing Number of School Districts in Banning Cell Phones

Milwaukee public schools are by no means the only school district taking, what some consider, this extreme measure. New York and Los Angeles do it too, albeit for different reasons. The Columbine shooting in 2001 and the attacks of September 11 had many schools all over the country lifting their bans on cell phones as parents expressed their desire to stay in touch with their children in what they saw as an increasingly dangerous environment around the country. That trend has definitely been turned now and more schools are scrambling to enforce similar bans in their schools. Reasons given for these bans in schools around the country range from using cell phones for cheating to taking inappropriate pictures.

The issue of whether the ban will have any positive effects on curbing the levels of violence in Milwaukee schools is debatable. It seems simplistic to think that banning cell phones will curb any tendencies to fight. Students who want to fight will do so regardless of who they can or can’t summon to their cause. It seems more appropriate to beef up security around campus to deal with issues of school safety. In these days of working moms and kids who are forced to be independent, a cell phone is a powerful tool for communication. To take away this tool might be the equivalent of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

January 24, 2007

Minneapolis Public Schools Lose Students To Charter Schools

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 3:45 pm

Students are Fleeing Minneapolis Schools

Minneapolis schools are being faced with the prospect of empty school buildings as more and more students flee the system to charter schools in the district. Minneapolis schools’ enrollment figures have plummeted to just 36,000 this year - that’s almost half its capacity of 50,000 students. Schools in the north side have felt the pinch the hardest with a 44 percent drop in enrollment over the past five years. All indications are that there is no stemming this tide and Minneapolis schools have already announced plans to close 5 schools leaving more than 2000 students in the lurch, desperately scrambling to find new schools.

The Exodus of Blacks and Minorities from Minneapolis Schools

A bulk of the students that chose to leave Minneapolis public schools belongs to high poverty black neighborhoods and other minority communities. The statistics reveal a strong yet disturbing trend. In the ’99-’00 academic year, more than 48,000 black students sought admission in Minneapolis schools. Compare this to the bleak picture painted for 2008 when enrollment from black students is expected to touch barely 33,500.

Most black students prefer to enroll at charter schools in the district which have perceived higher standards than public Minneapolis schools. This problem of “black flight” is, authorities agree, a serious problem for Minneapolis schools. Surveys in the African American community show that black parents in general tend to be dissatisfied with the quality of education in Minneapolis public schools. Not that they have any reason to feel differently. In 2005, barely 29 % of black students in the eighth grades in Minneapolis schools managed to pass basic math tests and just 47% could manage to scrape through the reading tests. Graduation rates for black students at Minneapolis schools were some of the lowest at fifty percent. Besides blacks, Asian students are joining the growing movement out of Minneapolis schools.

Moves to Stem the Tide at Minneapolis Schools

The success of charter schools can be traced to a number of factors. School sizes are smaller, and it is generally believed that teaching staff are more in tune with students’ requirements and are better able to meet these needs. Minneapolis schools have begun to realize that immediate steps have to be taken to avoid the current migration of students. School authorities have proposed initiatives that require schools in the district to offer additional emphasis on music, arts, and language besides improving their core academic curricula. It’s hoped that raising the bar on academic learning will stem the growing tide. Even if the schools do not succeed in attracting students back to their fold, one hopes that at the very least they will be able to stop students leaving in masses.

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