New Podcasts From TASA

Coming tomorrow TASA Midwinter 2010 DIstinguished Lecture Podcasts
Stay tuned, tomorrow we will be posing podcasts of the Midwinter 2010 dinstinguished lecture series. To go to the TASA Podcast Library, click here.

Report: Microsoft may launch new Office cloud license
www.computerworld.com February 5, 2010
Under a new license called "union, Microsoft would charge enterprises the same for software whether it is hosted on-premises or in the cloud, according to a report in SDTimes earlier this week that quoted unnamed Microsoft channel partners who had been told of the program. No prices were listed. The new license would help reduce complexity for large companies with workers with widely varying degrees of software usage. Heavy and regular users of a Microsoft app might require an on-premise server version, while light users can make do with a hosted version from Microsoft.

National Robotics Week is coming
www.techlearning.com February 5, 2010
The first annual National Robotics Week will be held from April 10-18, when a series of events and activities is aimed at increasing public awareness of the growing importance of “robo-technology” and the social and cultural impact that it will have on the future of the United States.

Austin school board to discuss financial emergency
(Austin American-Statesman © 02/08/2010)
School board to discuss The Austin school district board members tonight will discuss whether they should declare the district in a state of financial crisis, as well as get details on a proposed time line in dealing with its multi-year low performing schools.

Local educators react to plans for revamping NCLB
(Brownsville Herald © 02/08/2010)
School districts in the Rio Grande Valley are used to change, and however the federal government revamps its omnibus law that assesses student achievement, they will adapt. Last week, the Obama administration proposed replacing the current benchmark in assessing schools’ success — Adequate Yearly Progress — with another system that would look at how well teachers are preparing ...

Gonzales exhausts TEA appeals route
(Brownsville Herald © 02/08/2010)
Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott has taken no action on former BISD superintendent Hector Gonzales’ motion for a rehearing, effectively ending Gonzales’ appeal route with the Texas Education Agency. The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees fired Gonzales effective Sept. 18.

BISD releases legal fees
(Brownsville Herald © 02/08/2010)
The Brownsville Independent School District spent at least $298,447 prosecuting its case against former superintendent Hector Gonzales, according to records released last week by the district. BISD’s internal auditing department compiled the records at the request of Trustee Catalina Presas-Garcia, who chairs the board’s internal audit committee.

Big urban districts: Tom Luce shares his idea about spreading progress
(Dallas Morning News © 02/08/2010)
Tom Luce, the Dallas attorney who heads the National Math and Science Initiative, is the second guest blogger to weigh in on our discussion about what it takes to spread progress across a big urban school district. A former assistant secretary of education under George W. Bush, Luce had these thoughts: The comment I encounter most often when talking about education across the ...

White, Shami bash Perry on education
(Dallas Morning News © 02/08/2010)
The two main Democratic candidates for governor are punching hard. But Bill White and Farouk Shami are attacking Rick Perry as much as each other – particularly on education.

Departure of Grapevine-Colleyville superintendent likely puts bond issue on hold
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 02/08/2010)
A new bond proposal was the original agenda item for tonight's Grapevine-Colleyville trustee meeting.But the surprise announcement last week of Superintendent Kay Waggoner's impending departure for Richardson has likely tabled the bond issue for now. It was originally planned for a vote in the May 8 election.

Keep politics out of class
(Amarillo Globe-News © 02/07/2010)
Politics can seep into many walks of life. Sometimes it's expected, even welcome. Public school curriculum, though, is one area where politics should remain far, far away. That's not what is happening with the Texas State Board of Education, which comprises some members who want to politicize the social studies curriculum offered to public school students.

Former Austin district assistant superintendent joins TEA
(Austin American-Statesman © 02/07/2010)
Ann Smisko, who left the Austin school district in December, has joined the Texas Education Agency as associate commissioner for school support and improvement. Smisko, who spent the past four years as the Austin district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, will take her post Feb. 16.

State's new standardized test must avoid pitfalls of TAKS
(Beaumont Enterprise © 02/07/2010)
Once again public schools in Texas will have a new standardized test. Once again, parents and educators will be hoping it avoids the mistakes of previous versions and finally accomplishes the intended goal. The latest acronym in the alphabet soup of Texas testing is STAAR - the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness.

New name, same old test pressure
(Corpus Christi Caller-Times © 02/07/2010)
The state test students pass to advance to another grade level will have a different name, but essentially it will be the same concept, education officials believe, with the same pressure and high stakes for students and educators. And some aren’t sure enough changes will be made to better measure academic progress.

Communities in Schools Dallas Region celebrates 25 years of helping teens
(Dallas Morning News © 02/07/2010)
Communities in Schools Dallas Region, which is celebrating its 25th birthday this year, is justly proud of the results of its one-on-one policy for preventing at-risk high school students from dropping out.

Mesquite ISD adds grade points for students in AP classes, removes minimum-grade requirement
(Dallas Morning News © 02/07/2010)
While many other districts are emphasizing dual-credit classes offered in partnership with local colleges, Mesquite ISD is working to keep students in Advanced Placement classes.

Changes in Garland graduation requirements may be confusing
(Dallas Morning News © 02/07/2010)
New graduation guidelines are likely to be "overwhelming for counselors and bewildering for parents," Garland Superintendent Curtis Culwell told the school board Thursday.

Lewisville ISD proposal to streamline buses would change school hours, save money
(Dallas Morning News © 02/07/2010)
The Lewisville school district will discuss a proposal Monday that would save $500,000 to $720,000 by adding more bus routes to drivers' schedules.

Wrong area to save money
(El Paso Times © 02/07/2010)
Area school districts are discussing a money-savings plan, but it comes at the expense of students and teachers. The plan is wrong. It would overstuff an essential to quality education -- student-to-teacher ratios. The standard is 22 or fewer students per teacher in kindergarten through fourth grade. There is no state standard for grades 5-12.

Fort Bend, Harris appraisal districts have border issue
(Fort Bend Herald Coaster © 02/07/2010)
For most people, the phrase “disputed border” evokes images of places far away in distance or in time: the Gaza Strip, Texas Revolutionary times and the like. But for as many as 1,100 properties along the Fort Bend-Harris County line, a mix-up years in the making has brought that phrase home.

Obama flunks on education reform
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 02/07/2010)
President Obama had been getting high marks in his first year in office for what seemed to be an insightful approach to education reform. Too bad he flunked the final.Give Obama credit for what he got right. Somewhere along the line, perhaps during his stint as a community organizer, he figured out the three great ...

Budget shortfall looms large over governor's race
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 02/07/2010)
Regardless of the outcome of the 2010 elections, whoever winds up in the governor's office next year will confront a monumental task as lawmakers strive to overcome a projected budget shortfall of at least $10 billion in a struggling economy.

Arlington superintendent reflects on his first year on the job
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 02/07/2010)
Jerry McCullough hasn't been one to turn down an invitation in his first year as superintendent, whether it's a PTA meeting or a Rotary Club luncheon. When an event gives him an opportunity to talk about the Arlington school district, its successes and his plans, he tries his best to there.

Key to student achievement? ASPIRE to it
(Houston Chronicle © 02/07/2010)
It is common knowledge that across the nation, students are struggling. Public-school reform has become so commonplace it barely has meaning anymore. What school system is not in the process of trying to improve? To say that technology has improved the way we communicate and do business is an understatement, when in fact technology has transformed our personal lives and created a global economy.

District-wide shuffle
(Longview News © 02/07/2010)
As Longview Independent School District prepares for the August opening of several new or expanded campuses and the closing of schools that have existed for decades, administrators said they are trying to make the transition as smooth as possible for all staff and students.

Social issues drive education race
(San Antonio Express-News © 02/07/2010)
Ken Mercer and Tim Tuggey have a lot in common. Mercer, the incumbent District 5 State Board of Education representative, and Tuggey, the attorney-lobbyist trying to take his seat, both consider themselves conservatives. They're both 54, each with more than 20 years of business experience in the San Antonio area.

RRISD votes to cut four jobs
(Amarillo Globe-News © 02/06/2010)
The River Road Independent School District board of trustees voted during a special meeting Friday to cut four staff positions because of a budget deficit. The board is expected to lay off a fifth employee at a meeting Monday. The jobs eliminated by the school board are the elementary school assistant principal, the middle school assistant principal, one of two band directors, an ...

Judge sends DISD, Oak Cliff preservation group to mediation over razing former church
(Dallas Morning News © 02/06/2010)
A Dallas judge on Friday ordered a reluctant Dallas school district and an Oak Cliff preservation group to mediation in their dispute over the proposed demolition of a former church.

Program helps students get to college
(Houston Chronicle © 02/06/2010)
Thanks to the Spring Branch Independent School District's expansion of its college mentoring program, more high school juniors will get the help they need with their college applications. Starting this month and continuing through senior year, more than 100 juniors from five high schools who have put in requests will be assigned mentors through the district's Collegiate Challenge Mentoring Program ...

Killeen High among elite AVID campuses
(Killeen Daily Herald © 02/06/2010)
Killeen High School is among the elite 3 percent of AVID schools worldwide, a national leader for the educational organization said. The school renewed its status this year as a national demonstration school for Advancement Via Individual Determination following a site visit Tuesday.

Would-be governor talks graduation with PSJA super
(McAllen Monitor © 02/06/2010)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White learned in business to pay attention to details. As Houston mayor, he wanted to make tangible improvements to his city week by week, he said Friday in between campaign stops in the Rio Grande Valley. You've got to look at what's working and what's not working, he said. Then we've got to do more of what's working.

Ingalls wants to fight home-school-style educational neglect
(San Antonio Express-News © 02/06/2010)
Josiah James Ingalls, candidate for State Board of Education, has an interesting story to tell. When he was in third grade, he was yanked out of public school in Maine by his college-educated parents because they were unhappy that sex education was being taught. Ingalls' parents told school officials they would be home-schooling him.

Tyler ISD Student E-Mail Service Approved Friday
(Tyler Morning Telegraph © 02/06/2010)
Three Tyler ISD schools will begin piloting a managed student e-mail service after the school approved the measure at a workshop Friday. Orr Elementary, as well as Hubbard and Moore middle schools, were chosen to pilot the Gaggle.Net program this spring. The board approved a proposal from Gaggle.Net Inc. for more than $25,000.

Learning not to copy China - The Seattle Times
Could it be we worry too much about China? I'd say so if that fretting is contributing to an erosion of our own strengths, an argument I'm hearing often.

School programs at risk as budget decisions draw near - Deseret News
Decked out in his white chef's garb, Kameron Hadlock admits he is a bit worried as he drizzles lemon cream cheese icing onto a flaky pastry. It's not his cooking creation that concerns the Jordan High School senior, who is in his second year of the school's ProStart culinary arts program. It's what could happen to the program amid statewide budget cuts.

Abstinence Education Done Right - The New York Times
The ongoing debate over sex education has been rekindled by a provocative new study suggesting that teaching abstinence can delay the start of sexual activity among inner-city youngsters — if it is freed from the moralistic overtones and ideological restrictions that were the hallmark of abstinence-only programs under the Bush administration.

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