Education News Roundup: March 26, 2012 ? UtahPublicEducation.org

Gov. Herbert signs the federal lands bill.

Utah State Board of Education Representative Tami Pyfer offers a perspective on the legislative session.

Lone Peak baseball coach resigns following audit.

How rampant is classroom cheating?

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TODAY?S HEADLINES

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UTAH

Herbert signs bill demanding feds relinquish lands in Utah

Politics ? Legislation seeks state takeover of millions of acres of public lands.

Pyfer: 2012 legislative session was relatively good for education

Study says Utahns? biggest concern is the economy

Audit of Lone Peak baseball led to coach?s resignation

Parents fear more money was raised than is accounted for

Teens compete in robot competition

Hungry kids at Salt Lake City, other Boys & Girls sites seeing smaller snacks

Hunger ? Donations decline as need soars for children who rely on food to tide them over until morning.

Experts offer tips on picking a preschool in Utah

Experts offer tips to parents on finding the right program.

Kindergarten redshirts: What we know about holding back a 5-year-old

BYU Spanish interpreters helping community

Utah school gives to family of girl killed in crosswalk

Tragedy ? Kids, parents, teachers at SLC?s Whittier raise cash for funeral expenses.

Syracuse High School library caught on tape with creative artwork

Students experience culture shock at World Language Fair

Uintah County students, community unite to read for 1 million minutes

RSL players discuss importance of reading

Layton students have fun reading with Road to Success

American Fork students vying for spot in Service Club

Two Davis district students earn perfect ACT score

Morgan establishing simpler district schedule with early-out, late-start changes

School board sets schedule for public use of new facility

Jr. high students sell bracelets to benefit Guatemalan children

Fire crews extinguish flames inside high school gym

Kearns High cleaning up after high CO readings

Teacher asks students to write the F-word in class

Kids coming to University of Utah engineering week

Parowan High School offers study hall

Weber libraries offer help to kids after school

Entries due for entrepreneur award

OPINION & COMMENTARY

Veto the Pledge bill

Short takes on issues

Another canary

Thumbs up, thumbs down

Beehives and Buffalo Chips

Who?s in charge of education in Utah?

Behind The Lines: Sex-ed sound and fury

There is a difference between standing up for oneself and complaining

Yes, kids, get ready to go back to school with earbuds

The scariest sex ed is no sex ed

Utah education: The wrong culprit

The document that defines us

PCE 2012 Legislative Report Card Reflects a Weak Year for Education Innovation and Reform

Most efficient schools

Taking back Utah?s public lands

Replace me with a computer? Part one

Prom from two perspectives ? Her view:

Prom from two perspectives ? His view:

Sex 101

Fed land chimera

Debate team a big commitment

School District Told to Replace Web Filter Blocking Pro-Gay Sites

Study: Math Anxiety Changes Brain Function in Kids

NATION

Cheating our children: Suspicious school test scores across the nation

Latest NCLB Waiver Hopefuls Learned From First Round

Spring break for seniors: community service

In South Korean classrooms, digital textbook revolution meets some resistance

Blackboard makes pair of acquisitions

Children help first lady plant White House garden

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UTAH NEWS

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Herbert signs bill demanding feds relinquish lands in Utah

Politics ? Legislation seeks state takeover of millions of acres of public lands.

??????? Gov. Gary Herbert signed legislation Friday demanding that Congress turn over roughly 30 million acres of federal land within Utah?s borders ? a move that proponents acknowledge could lead to a court battle.

??????? ?It?s a difficult fight. This is the first step,? said Herbert before signing the measure, ?but it?s a fight worth having.?

??????? Supporters of the effort contend the federal government made a promise to Utah and Western states to dispose of hundreds of millions of acres of federal land, just as it had done in states east of the Rockies.

??????? But it never happened and now Herbert and others say the inability to control federal lands has hampered the state?s economy. Herbert said that the director of the Bureau of Land Management has more control over the state than the governor.

Pyfer: 2012 legislative session was relatively good for education

??????? The Utah legislature was relatively good to public education during its 2012 session. That word from Tami Pyfer, a member of the State Board of Education and candidate for re-election. On KVNU?s Crosstalk show Thursday, Pyfer said there was not a ton of money but there was more money available and the lawmakers were able to fund new growth, something they hadn?t done for the last three years.

??????? ?They did fund the new 12,500 students that will be coming in to our schools this year,? Pyfer said. ?They did give us an increase in the Weighted Pupil Unit, or the WPU.

Study says Utahns? biggest concern is the economy

??????? A new study indicates that the biggest issue on Utahns? minds right now is the economy.

??????? The results of the 2012 Utah Priorities Survey were released on Friday. The survey first ask voters about their worries, then the Utah Foundation compiled the answers, condensed the list of topics and then had others rank their concerns.

??????? Jobs and the economy rank at the top of Utahns? minds. In second place is K-12 education.

A copy of the report

Audit of Lone Peak baseball led to coach?s resignation

Parents fear more money was raised than is accounted for

??????? HIGHLAND ? Mike LaHargoue no longer coaches for Lone Peak High School, but an investigation into how he managed the finances of the school?s baseball program continues nine months after he resigned.

??????? An audit was initiated by the Alpine School District after a group of 10 parents asked for an accounting of money they?d either paid through fees or raised through fundraisers since LaHargoue took over the baseball program in 2008.

??????? LaHargoue is the second successful high school coach to be disciplined over financial discrepancies in recent months. Earlier this month, Timpview High football coach Louis Wong was suspended after an audit raised questions about how the coach managed the Provo high school?s money.

??????? Six parents who spoke to the Deseret News on condition of anonymity said they helped raise $224,000 at Lone Peak High through fundraisers, including a dinner and silent auction.

Teens compete in robot competition

??????? WEST JORDAN, Utah ? Hundreds of teens from around the state got together to learn, create and explore in the name of technology and engineering.

??????? Junior high and middle school students competed in the Technology Student Association? competition on Friday at the Jordan Campus of Salt Lake Community College.

Hungry kids at Salt Lake City, other Boys & Girls sites seeing smaller snacks

Hunger ? Donations decline as need soars for children who rely on food to tide them over until morning.

??????? The elementary kids crowd around the table in the late afternoon to snack on string cheese and juice.

??????? Later, they?ll eat a taco and corn dinner at this Capitol West Boys & Girls Club in Salt Lake City.

??????? With nearly all of them living at or below poverty-level incomes, most of these children don?t eat food at home. Their parents may not have the money to prepare the meals, or they don?t have time if they work more than one job, said club director Maren Miller.

??????? ?Most of our kids do eat school breakfast and lunch, and they eat dinner here,? Miller said. ?We have parents that call and say, ?If you have any leftover food, can you please send some home with the kids????

??????? The dinners are provided through the Utah Food Bank?s Kids Cafe program, which feeds hot meals to children at 29 locations up to five days a week.

??????? And while the food bank also offers food for snacks, it?s harder for this club and others to rely on the program because donations of dry goods to the food bank have dropped.

Experts offer tips on picking a preschool in Utah

Experts offer tips to parents on finding the right program.

??????? Want your toddler to study modern dance? There?s a preschool for that. How about learn Spanish, or celebrate the Jewish High Holy days? There are preschools for those, too.

??????? Utah parents have a dizzying array of options for early childhood education, but what criteria should they use to choose?

??????? ?It will certainly vary depending on the needs of the family and what they are looking to achieve,? said Janis Dubno, early childhood education policy analyst for Voices for Utah Children.

Kindergarten redshirts: What we know about holding back a 5-year-old

??????? The term ?redshirting? originally referred to postponing the start of a college athlete?s participation in games for one year to give him extra time to grow and practice with the team, hopefully improving a player?s skills for future seasons. But college athletes aren?t the only ones who can redshirt.

??????? Academic redshirting refers to postponing entrance into kindergarten for age-eligible children. Much like redshirting in sports, the idea is that holding children back allows extra time for socioemotional, intellectual or physical growth.

BYU Spanish interpreters helping community

??????? PROVO ? At the last census close to 11 percent of Utah County residents were Hispanic, and one group of students at BYU is working to make sure those residents fit in and are understood.

??????? The BYU Spanish Interpreters Club consists of more than 130 members who spend their free time volunteering at schools, churches and hospitals as interpreters for those who need it.

Utah school gives to family of girl killed in crosswalk

Tragedy ? Kids, parents, teachers at SLC?s Whittier raise cash for funeral expenses.

??????? Mindy Tueller started with just one empty mayonnaise jar.

??????? She expected the kids in each class might toss in a few cents to help the family of Ambrosia Amalathithada, the first-grader who was struck and killed by a car as she walked with her mother in a crosswalk near her school last week.

??????? But by the end of the day, Tueller, of the Whittier Elementary PTA, had collected more than $1,500 from teachers, parents and students ? many of whom come from low-income families ? to help the family pay for the girl?s funeral. More than half of the school?s students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

Syracuse High School library caught on tape with creative artwork

??????? SYRACUSE ? A crowd of life-size three-dimensional figures made of packing tape may be the quietest group ever seen in the Syracuse High School library.

??????? Thirty-six tape sculptures decorate the library. Some lounge about on the stacks reading books, while others snowboard through the bookcases or hang from the ceiling, or even look strikingly similar to Spiderman.

??????? The sculptures are the brainchild of art instructor Dallas Bradbury, who wanted to inspire his students, though he admits he is not the first to create such pieces. He patterned the project after the work of George Segal, an American painter and sculptor known for creating life-size cast figures made of plaster bandages.

Students experience culture shock at World Language Fair

??????? PLEASANT VIEW ? Students across the Top of Utah traveled the world Thursday night. The bonus? They didn?t have to leave the commons area of Weber High School.

??????? More than 2,500 junior high and high school students, along with their families, attended the annual World Language Fair sponsored by Weber School District.

Uintah County students, community unite to read for 1 million minutes

??????? LAPOINT, Uintah County ? The chanting inside the gym at Lapoint Elementary School grew louder and louder Friday as students watched Jessica Wright scrunch up her face, twitch her nose, and flex her jaw muscles.

??????? One Oreo had already slid off the kindergarten teacher?s cheek and hit the floor, barely missing her open mouth. Wright let out a brief squeal, tipped her head back and began working another Oreo from her forehead to her mouth without her hands.

??????? Her successful second attempt at completing the ?Minute to Win It?-inspired contest brought the students to their feet, cheering and clapping as Wright busted out a short celebratory dance.

??????? The contest was one of eight held during a special assembly to reward students, teachers and the community for reaching a goal set by the Lapoint Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization at the start of the school year.

??????? That goal? To read for a total of 1 million minutes.

RSL players discuss importance of reading

??????? SALT LAKE CITY ? It was a very special afternoon at the Dual Immersion Academy (DIA), a bilingual elementary school located in the Glendale neighborhood of Salt Lake City. It was the final day of reading week which concluded with the theme of ?Make reading your goal!?

??????? Two of Real Salt Lake?s newest players, Sebastian Velasquez and Enzo Martinez, visited with the kids to share their favorite books.

Layton students have fun reading with Road to Success

??????? Students and parents at Ellison Park Elementary came to school early this week to read their favorite books together as part of the Road to Success program.

??????? Students who?ve read consistently for the past seven weeks got to pick out a book. The program hopes to get kids interested in reading.

American Fork students vying for spot in Service Club

??????? Service is a way of life for many students at Shelley Elementary School.

??????? The Service Club is four years old and getting bigger. This year there are 80 participants, all from the fifth and sixth grades.

??????? Students apply to be in the club. Adviser Kristin Kukahiko decides who to accept.

Two Davis district students earn perfect ACT score

??????? FARMINGTON ? In the last year, nearly 3,000 students in Davis School District took the ACT, a standards-based test used to assess college readiness.

??????? Two of those students ? Helena Ma, a junior at Davis High School in Kaysville, and Landon Willey, a senior at Viewmont High School in Bountiful ? achieved a score of 36, the highest score possible.

Morgan establishing simpler district schedule with early-out, late-start changes

??????? MORGAN ? The Morgan County School Board has unanimously approved a late start for Morgan High School and Morgan Middle School, as well as an early out for both district elementary schools on Wednesdays starting in the 2012-13 school year.

??????? The move makes way for implementation of Professional Learning Communities, as well as simplified scheduling districtwide.

??????? ?The purpose of these communities is to establish time for teachers and administrators to work together for staff and curriculum development,? said Superintendent Ken Adams.

??????? Schools would be in session for a half-day on late-start, early-out days.

??????? Both elementary schools currently have an early Thursday release, while the middle school has a late Wednesday start. The high school does not have either right now.

School board sets schedule for public use of new facility

??????? MORGAN ? The Morgan County School Board has decided on tentative hours for public use of the new Trojan Century Center when it opens April 15.

??????? ?Let the public in,? board member Neil Carrigan said. ?They are excited.?

??????? The 46,000-square-foot facility features a two-lane rubberized track, a full-sized composite court, a turf field, two classrooms, offices, a conference room and storage areas. The facility will be equipped for basketball, volleyball, tennis, wrestling, badminton, dodge ball, soccer, softball, flag football and track.

Jr. high students sell bracelets to benefit Guatemalan children

??????? SPANISH FORK ? Instead of enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving dinner last year, one Spanish Fork student and her mother were spending their holiday in humanitarian service to the people of Guatemala. Yvonne Bass, 13, and her mother, Anna-Marie, joined the Whiting family and spent 10 days in Guatemala delivering boxes of food and clothing, working in a children?s center and painting a school.

Fire crews extinguish flames inside high school gym

??????? ALTAMONT, Duchesne County ? A high school gym that is scheduled for demolition caught fire Friday in Duchesne County.

??????? Firefighters from Altamont and Roosevelt were called to put out the flames at the old Altamont High School gym. There was no damage to the rest of the school or to the new campus that is going up next door.

Kearns High cleaning up after high CO readings

??????? Unified Fire crews are investigating the cause of high carbon monoxide readings at Kearns High School.

??????? Firefighters received a call at around 12 p.m. Sunday reporting a strange odor at the school. Officials say that when they arrived, they found high carbon monoxide levels in a boiler room and on the roof.

??????? Questar technicians arrived, found a malfunction with some of the equipment and shut that equipment down.

Teacher asks students to write the F-word in class

??????? SALT LAKE CITY ? A teacher used an unusual method to catch the student writing the F-word all over classroom books, desks and equipment.

??????? On Tuesday a second grade teacher at Washington Elementary asked all the boys in her class to write the F-word. The teacher even wrote the F-word on the chalk board for the children to copy.

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??????? Even though a representative from the school district has confirmed that the teacher has been reprimanded and feels remorseful, the concerned grandparent feels the teacher should be suspended for her actions.

Kids coming to University of Utah engineering week

??????? SALT LAKE CITY ? The University of Utah is bringing an estimated 2,000 elementary school students to campus to build towers out of drinking straws, construct marshmallow catapults and design clay fish.

??????? The five-day, annual event designed to introduce young students to engineering begins Monday and runs through Friday.

Parowan High School offers study hall

??????? PAROWAN ? Parowan High School announces it now has a study hall to help students. Study hall is available from 6 to 8 p.m. each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the Parowan High School library.

Weber libraries offer help to kids after school

??????? OGDEN ? The Weber County Library system offers a free after-school program to help kids learn skills in math, science, technology and crafts.

??????? The program is designed for elementary-aged children and is offered at these locations:

Entries due for entrepreneur award

??????? SANDY ? Utah high school student and high school graduate entrepreneurs are invited to compete for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.

??????? Nominations and applications are due Tuesday, and should be submitted through?www.GSEAutah.org.

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OPINION & COMMENTARY

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Veto the Pledge bill

(Provo) Daily Herald editorial

??????? A bill that ratchets up the frequency of the Pledge of Allegiance for junior high and high school students through a daily ceremony is now before Gov. Gary Herbert. The idea behind SB 223 is that more repetition of the Pledge will stir hearts to greater heights of patriotism.

??????? It won?t work, and the governor should veto the measure.

??????? Under existing law, the Pledge is required daily only in elementary schools and once weekly at junior highs and high schools. That is sufficient, and it?s been working fine.

Short takes on issues

Another canary

Salt Lake Tribune editorial

??????? Utahns for decades have pointed with pride to the accomplishments of their schoolchildren despite the low state investment in education. Legislators boasted that Utah knows how to ?do more with less.? But no more. Now it?s indisputable that Utah schools are doing less with much less. The state?s dead-last rank in state spending per pupil drops even further every year below the investment made by whatever is the next-lowest state. And there is new evidence that the lack of resources is hurting. The Beehive State is among just 10 states where high school graduation rates declined from 2001 to 2009, while the national average rose 3.5 percentage points. Nevertheless, Utah legislative purse strings remain double-knotted against public schools.

Thumbs up, thumbs down

(Ogden) Standard-Examiner editorial

??????? Thumbs down: To the MPPA movie rating agency, which has slapped an ?R? rating on the documentary film, ?Bully,? which provides important information on the bullying, its consequences, and how to prevent it. We need teens to see this important film, and fewer will due to its rating. It needs to be a PG-13.

??????? Thumbs up: To Pleasant View?s Gaitha Butterfield, who does a great job tutoring students at Green Acres Elementary. We applaud all local school tutors, but we?ve singled out Gaitha because we admire the fact she?s doing it as she approaches the century mark in age.

Beehives and Buffalo Chips

(Provo) Daily Herald editorial

??????? Beehive to American Fork?s Dennis Moss, Barratt Elementary School PTA president, who promotes greater involvement of men in the schooling of their children. That doesn?t mean just homework or parent-teacher conferences. He has lots of other ideas to involve men, including tutoring, chaperoning on field trips, leading clubs, volunteering in classrooms, and low-key ideas such as walking to school with the kids or joining them for lunch. If you need an idea, ask Moss.

Who?s in charge of education in Utah?

Deseret News commentary by columnist John Florez

??????? Do we need a state school board? Utah already has 104 legislators running our schools each with their own ideas that change every legislative session. They do as they please with no one to stop them. So, who is in charge of public education and where does the buck stop?

Behind The Lines: Sex-ed sound and fury

Salt Lake Tribune commentary

??????? Welcome to Behind the Lines, a weekly conversation with Salt Lake Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley and BYU economist Val Lambson.

??????? Lambson: So the governor?s veto of the sex-ed bill means that, at least for now, the debate has been full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. I would rather that policies change systematically in the direction of more liberty ? not just in education, but in everything. That failing, I?ve gotta love gridlock.

??????? Bagley: This wasn?t a debate about nothing. Honest sex education bears directly on the health, safety and well-being of our children.

There is a difference between standing up for oneself and complaining

Deseret News commentary by columnist Amy Donaldson

??????? LEAMINGTON, Millard County ? The story begins with two brothers heading out on a country road for a training run.

??????? Dane and Tyler Nielson live in Leamington, which is about 20 miles from Delta. The teenage twins are competitive, driven and determined ? so understandably, neither wants to be the first to turn and head for home. The boys, who are three-sport athletes at Delta High, continue pushing each other until they have traversed the 20 miles from their hometown to the high school track where they compete each spring.

??????? Once there, they decide they are so close to the 26.2 miles required by a marathon, they jog to the track and finish their own personal race.

??????? It?s a story that has become legend among Delta residents who repeat it as an anecdote about how tough the residents of this tight-knit community are.

??????? Tyler Nielson confirms it isn?t true. It is something the brothers have discussed, maybe even something they?ll attempt. But the truth of the story doesn?t matter to those who call Millard County home.

Yes, kids, get ready to go back to school with earbuds

(Ogden) Standard-Examiner commentary by columnist Mark Saal

??????? Today?s column is specifically written for you younger, school-age readers in the 11th grade or below. And you might want to sit down for this next part:

??????? Hey, kids! So, how was your summer? Ready to hit the books again?

??????? No?

??????? Well, you?d better get ready. Because here at the Standard-Examiner, believe it or not, we?ve already received our first back-to-school advertisement rumblings.

The scariest sex ed is no sex ed

Salt Lake Tribune op-ed by George Chapman, a retired engineer and a delegate to the Salt Lake County Republican convention

??????? A week ago in this section, Sutherland Institute president Paul Mero defended HB363, the non-sex education bill that the Legislature passed and the governor vetoed. Mero claimed that the bill was ?the only just, rational and consistent way to influence the choices of youth in public schools about proper and healthy sexual relations.?

??????? Even if students did not exist in a world of easy access and fascination with Internet porn, R-rated cable TV and films and contraception, the argument by the bill?s backers seems to be that ignorance about sex is bliss.

??????? Tens of thousands of Utah parents rejected that notion, pressuring the governor to veto the legislation, which would have allowed public school districts to drop all sex education, or to offer abstinence-only instruction and nothing more.

Utah education: The wrong culprit

Salt Lake Tribune op-ed by David Garbett, a staff attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

??????? The Utah Legislature passed a bill demanding that the federal government transfer all federal lands to the state ? with a few exceptions, such as national parks and designated wilderness areas.

??????? If this misguided effort were successful, Utahns could one day see ?No Trespassing? signs or the scars of mineral development on some of their favorite public lands.

??????? None of the arguments for this brazen attack holds water on closer examination. Even the Legislature?s own lawyers dubbed the escapade almost certainly unconstitutional.

??????? Despite the claims of HB148?s Republican sponsor, Rep. Ken Ivory, Utah was never ?promised? at statehood that the federal government would sell all land within the state?s borders.

??????? In fact, the Utah Constitution says in no uncertain terms that we ?forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries hereof.?

The document that defines us

Salt Lake Tribune op-ed by Kip Sayre, a retired Utah high school teacher of American government and debate

??????? As a high school teacher of government, history and debate, I used to begin each semester by asking my students to describe an American. It didn?t take long for them to realize that a physical description of an American is impossible.

??????? They eventually came to realize that an American is not a person as much as an idea. I would spend the rest of the semester helping them learn about this ?idea? called an American.

??????? They already knew we are the most powerful nation on Earth. But why do our economy and culture seem to work so well? When I suggested the difference between us and the rest of the world is our Constitution, I got a lot of raised eyebrows. After all, how can a mere document make such a difference?

??????? It is clear that too many Americans have no understanding of the importance of the U.S. Constitution. Most know we have one but very few have read it.

PCE 2012 Legislative Report Card Reflects a Weak Year for Education Innovation and Reform

Parents for Choice in Education commentary

??????? Parents for Choice in Education?s newly released 2012 Legislative Report Card reflects that little got done to innovate or reform Utah?s public school system this year. While multiple states across the nation have recently enacted bold school choice policies and education reform measures, here in Utah we clung to the status quo this session. Perhaps it was the fact that it is an election year. Perhaps it was the influence of a teacher?s union fearful of the major union reforms sweeping the nation and still stinging from the monumental, student-centric policy victories last year such as School Grading, Statewide Online Education Program, annual evaluations for all teachers, and the end of taxpayers paying union employee salaries through the reform of District Leave Policies.

??????? Noticeably absent from PCE?s report card is Senate Bill 64. A curious omission on the surface, but not once the covers are peeled back unveiling the realities of this so-called ?collaborative? legislation.

A copy of the report card

Most efficient schools

Commentary by Charter Solutions President Lincoln Fillmore

??????? This is the first post in a series analyzing the financial data of charter schools.

??????? Schools have to spend money on administration, even though none of them have administration as one of the goals of their charter.? But, like janitorial work, administration is something that has to be done?for compliance, efficiency, and a consistent vision.

??????? The premise of this post is that the schools that run effectively that spend the least on administration are the most efficient schools.

??????? Using data from schools? Annual Financial Reports and the Superintendent?s Annual Report, I analyzed spending on the administrative functions of each charter school on a per student basis.? The findings are interesting, if you?re a little nerd like me.

Taking back Utah?s public lands

Sutherland Institute commentary by Alexis Young, multimedia reporter

??????? Governor Gary Herbert has signed HB 148, a bill aimed at restoring public lands to Utah for the benefit of public schools throughout the state. Watch this video report to learn more about what this bill would mean for Utah; it includes interviews with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Representative Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Representative Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan), and Stan Rasmussen, Sutherland Institute?s director of public affairs:

Replace me with a computer? Part one

Deseret News commentary by columnist Mary McConnell

??????? One of the pleasures of blogging is the excuse it gives me to free associate. This morning three strands of personal experience and reflection wove together in my mind.

??????? The first strand was a friendly jab from one of my frequent commentators/contributors, who knows that I am (guardedly) enthusiastic about the potential of online learning.

Prom from two perspectives ? Her view:

(Ogden) Standard-Examiner commentary by Allison Foster, a senior at Fremont High School

??????? Wake Up: A smile spreads across your face as you realize today?s the day.

??????? Day Date Prep: Here?s the trick, you want to look as nice as you can without going all out, because you want to save the wow factor for tonight.

Prom from two perspectives ? His view:

(Ogden) Standard-Examiner commentary by Robert Stewart, a senior at Fremont High School

??????? Night Before Prom: Hang out with a ton of friends and maybe go to a few parties. The one rule about Prom is you?ve got to start the party before the party starts.

??????? Morning: Wake up for the day date and think to yourself, ?Why did I ever sign up for this??

Sex 101

Salt Lake Tribune letter from Stephanie Christian

??????? It is important to have comprehensive sex education classes in our schools. I know teens who already have a sexually transmitted disease. Nevertheless, parents need to decide what is important for schools to teach their children.

??????? I think it is OK for schools to teach about the reproductive system in males and females, as well as what contraceptives are and how to use them to prevent unwanted pregnancy and diseases. Clearly, this type of information is needed, and teachers can provide it so students can make educated decisions.

??????? However, if ?comprehensive sex education? has to include teaching about homosexuality, etc., then do we also include information on being bisexual and transgender and information on incest, rape, sexual abuse, morals and warnings to beware of people who say they are sterile just so you will have sex with them? The list could go on and on.

??????? Should we expect teachers to teach everything there is to know about sex? No.

Fed land chimera

Salt Lake Tribune letter from JC Smith

??????? We know that two-thirds of our state is owned by the feds, and some people keep telling us that?s the reason we have such a horribly underfunded education system. After all, half our taxes go to pay for schools. If we could only develop all that land the feds owe us, we could be like North Dakota. (Does anyone really want that?)

??????? OK, time for truth telling. We don?t give adequate support to schools for two reasons. First, we don?t pay enough taxes. Believe it or not, lots of states pay more than we do, and other states with large federal land holdings give decent support to schools. Second, we have too many kids per taxpayer, and we grant exemptions for each kid, so those with the most kids pay the least taxes.

Debate team a big commitment

(Logan) Herald Journal letter from Linda Gillespie

??????? Thanks for the article recently about the Sky View debate team?s win for the 10th year in a row. I would like to share some further information about the team and what goes on ?behind the scenes.?

School District Told to Replace Web Filter Blocking Pro-Gay Sites

New York Times commentary by columnist MICHAEL WINERIP

??????? CAMDENTON, Mo. ? Students using the computers at Camdenton High School here in central Missouri have been able to access the Web sites for Exodus International, as well as People Can Change, antigay organizations that counsel men and women on how to become heterosexual.

??????? But the students have not been able to access the Web sites of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

??????? They have been able to read Bowers v. Hardwick, the 1986 Supreme Court ruling that upheld a Georgia statute criminalizing sodomy. But they have been blocked from reading Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 Supreme Court ruling that held that laws criminalizing sodomy were unconstitutional.

??????? They have been given access to scores of antigay sites, but not to those supportive of gay people.

??????? A clear-cut case of censorship?

??????? Actually, not so clear.

??????? It does not appear that the school superintendent or the librarians or board members or the district Web master made these decisions.

??????? Instead, the district?s Web filter determined which sites would be open to students and which would be blocked.

Study: Math Anxiety Changes Brain Function in Kids

Education Week commentary by columnist Julie Rasicot

??????? Those of us who aren?t that confident when it comes to math know well that feeling of anxiety when faced with a problem requiring complex calculations.

??????? That anxiety, it turns out, is more than just a case of jitters. A new study by a team of scientists at Stanford University?s School of Medicine shows that the brain function of young elementary school kids who suffer from math anxiety differs from those who don?t, according to a report on the university?s website.

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NATIONAL NEWS

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Cheating our children: Suspicious school test scores across the nation

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

??????? Suspicious test scores in roughly 200 school districts resemble those that entangled Atlanta in the biggest cheating scandal in American history, an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows.

??????? The newspaper analyzed test results for 69,000 public schools and found high concentrations of suspect math or reading scores in school systems from coast to coast. The findings represent an unprecedented examination of the integrity of school testing.

??????? The analysis doesn?t prove cheating. But it reveals that test scores in hundreds of cities followed a pattern that, in Atlanta, indicated cheating in multiple schools.

Latest NCLB Waiver Hopefuls Learned From First Round

Education Week

??????? In the latest round of applications for waivers under the No Child Left Behind Act, states seem to have learned lessons from their predecessors and dodged pitfalls that triggered some big revisions from first-round states.

??????? The second-round group of 26 states, plus the District of Columbia, did a better job explaining how they will help English-learners and special education students succeed. And they are not straying as far from the 2002 law?s original emphasis on holding schools accountable for the performance of small groups of students deemed at risk.

??????? Yet the new applicants still have a lot of work to do to create new and more sophisticated accountability systems, an Education Week analysis of their applications suggests.

Spring break for seniors: community service

Washington Post

??????? The pressure is on. With weeks slipping by until senior year ends, Bianca Rodriguez is making a final push to complete the graduation requirement she overlooked for most of high school: community service.

??????? The teenager is only about halfway done with her required 75 service hours ? one of thousands of high school seniors in Maryland and the District being encouraged, prodded and flat-out nagged to find a place to volunteer. To finish up. Now.

In South Korean classrooms, digital textbook revolution meets some resistance

Washington Post

??????? SEOUL ? Five years ago, South Korea mapped out a plan to transform its education system into the world?s most cutting-edge. The country would turn itself into a ?knowledge powerhouse,? one government report declared, breeding students ?equipped for the future.? These students would have little use for the bulky textbooks familiar to their parents. Their textbooks would be digital, accessible on any screen of their choosing. Their backpacks would be much lighter.

??????? By setting out to swap traditional textbooks for digital ones, the chief element of its plan for transformation, South Korea tried to anticipate the future ? and its vision has largely taken shape with the global surge of tablets, smartphones and e-book readers.

??????? But South Korea, among the world?s most wired nations, has also seen its plan to digitize elementary, middle and high school classrooms by 2015 collide with a trend it didn?t anticipate: Education leaders here worry that digital devices are too pervasive and that this young generation of tablet-carrying, smartphone-obsessed students might benefit from less exposure to gadgets, not more.

??????? Those concerns have caused South Korea to pin back the ambition of the project, which is in a trial stage at about 50 schools. Now, the full rollout won?t be a revolution: Classes will use digital textbooks alongside paper textbooks, not instead of them. First- and second-graders, government officials say, probably won?t use the gadgets at all.

Blackboard makes pair of acquisitions

Washington Post

??????? District-based Blackboard finalized a pair of acquisitions today that will allow the education software maker to provide technical and customer support to schools that use open-source software instead of its own products.

??????? The announcement reflects a shift in strategy for Blackboard away from simply generating money through the sale of its software, which many secondary schools and colleges use to augment classroom instruction.

??????? Now the company will provide services to assist schools that use ?open-source? products, which are typically free and serve as competitors to Blackboard?s software. A new division at the company called Blackboard Education Open Source Services will oversee the new line of business.

Children help first lady plant White House garden

Associated Press

??????? WASHINGTON ? Michelle Obama is harvesting vegetables and plants at the White House with children from across the country for the first time.

??????? The first lady was helped by school children from New York, Pennsylvania and North Carolina in planting potatoes, spinach, broccoli, carrots, radishes and onions at her fourth annual spring planting. Children from Washington-area schools, who have helped in previous years, also joined in the harvest of the White House Kitchen Garden.

??????? It is the first vegetable garden at the executive mansion since Eleanor Roosevelt?s Victory Garden.

Source: http://utahpubliceducation.org/2012/03/26/education-news-roundup-march-26-2012/

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