| Still much to learn about merit of performance pay for teachers
WHO'D WANT to be a teacher? Whether it's back to basics, a national curriculum, or payment by results, politicians are forever drawing up new schemes designed to help teachers do their job better. Payment by results, apparently up for discussion at a summit convened by Education Minister Julie Bishop next month, is particularly insulting. The inference is that teachers aren't being paid to deliver results at the moment. Of course not everyone finds such an idea insulting. Australia's chief executives, among them those whose performance has been the worst, seem to love it. A few years back I was at the annual general meeting of Bluescope Steel, at the time chaired by Peter Smedley who was lorded as a business genius for his stewardship of the Mayne health and logistics group, which has since broken up.
Hearings begin tonight on schools budget proposal
County public school administrators spent hours last month commenting on the superintendent's $178 million budget proposal for the 2007-08 school year.Now it's the public's turn.The Cecil County Board of Education is holding a special hearing in Charlestown Tuesday night to give teachers, parents and taxpayers an opportunity to ask questions and offer opinions on the proposed spending plan.Numerous new positions, initiatives and programs are proposed as a part of the $16 million in spending increases Superintendent Carl Roberts has requested for the 2007-08 school year.Roberts' spending plan calls for the hiring of approximately 60 additional teachers, 33 more paraprofessionals, 23 new instruction-related positions and 11 more administrators.About 70 of the new positions are needed, according to administrators, to support the school system's expanding special education program.Additional positions are also needed to teach 45-minute special courses being offered at the county's 17 elementary schools, as well as expanded foreign language programs in the middle schools and academic intervention at the high school level, according to administrators.One potentially controversial initiative Roberts proposed is an expansion of the school year at Thomson Estates by 10 days, while also reducing the length of annual holiday breaks.
Fitch Teleconf Tomorrow: Examining the US Student Loan Industry in ...
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch will hold a conference call tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. ET) to examine the student loan industry in light of changes and recent growth. Analysts will focus on the legislative risk inherent in the industry, growth in private education loans and associated credit risks, and student loan funding diversity and necessary credit enhancement levels. Fitch believes consistent increases in tuition costs and enrollment levels have combined to produce substantial growth in the U.S. student loan industry over the last decade. Moreover, participants in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) have benefited from this trend, but private education loan providers have experienced even greater growth as student borrowers increasingly seek private loans to fund the growing gap between federal aid and college expenses.
Online casino funded Malawi school opens
Classes have begun at the rural African school built by popular online casino and mobile slot machine site, Slotland.com. It's not only changing the lives of the children of Juma, Malawi - the project is now reaching out to bring new hope to surrounding villages as well. "In Europe and America and everywhere Slotland.com games are played, we take basics like education and food and water for granted," said Hannah Morante of Slotland.com. "Slotland feels obliged to share our bounty." A little more than a year ago, Slotland.com began collaborating with local villages in Malawi to build and operate the elementary school. Classes have now begun and hundreds of villagers are involved in maintaining the school and the demonstration gardens that feed its 116 students. "These people don't know what an online slot machine is and they've never seen a mobile phone, never mind played video poker on one," said Slotland's local project coordinator.
Upperclassmen can skip physical education
Weymouth High School upperclassmen can apply for a waiver from taking physical education during the 2007-2008 academic year if they participate in an approved fitness activity. The school committee unanimously agreed on Feb. 15 to include a provision in the school’s curriculum to allow juniors and seniors to sidestep gym class. "The waiver should be offered to juniors and seniors," Vice Chairman Karen Berry said. "A lot of kids are in after school sports activities and not offered a waiver. I can support granting a waiver." Committee Member Diana Flemer said that approval of a waiver gives students flexibility with their academic schedule. "I’d like to see a waiver in the program of studies, and I make a motion for the waiver," she said.
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