| Textbook rental program honored
A textbook rental program that has saved students thousands of dollars at two San Mateo County community colleges has received a national award and will be highlighted as an innovative program before Congress in May. The program, which kicked off at Redwood City's Canada College in 2005, will receive the Innovation Achievement Award in March from the National Association of College Stores in Orlando, Fla. The district was one of 32 collegesthat applied for the award and will receive $5,000 for the honor. Furthermore, it will be used as a good example in a congressional study looking at how to make textbooks more affordable for students. The program offers textbook rentals for several classes at Canada and is available for some books in Skyline College's Early Childhood Education program.
Kurdistan offers women second chance at education
Chamchamal, Iraq - Schools in the Kurdish north are encouraging adult education for women who never had a chance to go to school when they were young. Until three months ago, Miryam Majeed's early morning routine involved feeding her two children and starting on the day's chores. But now there is a new task that gets her out of bed and fills her with enthusiasm - she has gone back to school. Now 29, Majeed from Chamchamal, 60 kilometers (37.5 miles) south of Sulaimaniyah in Iraq's Kurdish region, never received an education as a child. "My father did not let me go to school," she explained. Now she carries her books to classes four days a week and spends several hours studying at home. Majeed counts herself lucky that her husband has backed her in her desire to get an education. "Illiteracy is like being blind," she said.
Bits and Pieces Bait and Switch Some People Never Learn Tipped Off ...
Passage of the state lottery bill in 2005 took more than shady dealings by former House Speaker Jim Black. It also took some traditional political horse-trading in the General Assembly. Black collected votes by spreading out the lottery proceeds to several education programs. During his many years as a district attorney and attorney general, Gov. Mike Easley no doubt prosecuted someone for "bait and switch." Now he's trying to pull the trick himself. He's proposing to take prize money away from college scholarships and new school construction and put it, instead, into his early childhood education program. As for legislators who might feel that they got swindled by voting for the lottery so there'd be more scholarship money for the poor, well, they just have to figure they got bluffed out of their vote.
Some UD Ph.D programs rank among best in US
Some of the University of Delawares doctoral programs have been deemed some of the best in the nation.
The annual Faculty Scholarly Productivity index produced by the Academic Analytics research group found four programs that were among the top ten -- horticulture (fifth); animal science (ninth); soil science (tenth); and kinesiology and exercise science (tenth). The schools agricultural sciences program was ranked 14th.
Featured in the Jan. 12 issue of Chronicle of Higher Education, the index primarily measures the productivity of faculty members, grants won and awards received. The study reviewed 177,816 faculty members at 354 universities. Contact Eric Ruth at eruth@delawareonline.com or 324-2428. .
Côte d'Ivoire: Children and youth call for status and safeguards
Conflict's highest toll is often exacted on a country's most valuable and vulnerable resource, its children. Recent United Nations Security Council Resolutions have put Cte d'Ivoire on track for elections late next year and extended the UN peacekeeping mission, but have provided little help in improving the every day life for millions of children and youth at risk due to Cte d'Ivoire's continuing conflict. The impact of conflict on children can be injury, loss of parents, separation from loved ones, displacement, exploitation and abuse, an end to education and healthcare, recruitment into fighting forces, and sometimes the loss of an effective nationality. The presence of an ongoing conflict does not absolve state or non-state actors from their obligations under humanitarian law to protect children.
Charleston schools meet federal NCLB standard
CHARLESTON -- There appears to be only a single blip on the screen with the Charleston school district's state test scores this year, and Darryl Taylor thinks he might be able to get the screen cleared anyway.With the exception of special education students at Charleston High School, the district's schools scored well enough to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.Taylor, who oversees curriculum as the school district's associate superintendent, said he plans to try to appeal the CHS results because the school did show progress."I believe we're on the right track," Taylor said. "We're looking for student performance to show higher levels of student learning." The district recently received its AYP report from the Illinois State Board of Education from tests students took last spring in reading and math.
New Student Loan Bill Awaits Vote of Approval in House
With supporters citing lower costs to taxpayers and opponents alleging the start of an inefficient government monopoly, the Student Aid Reward Act (STAR) must garner more bipartisan partners if it is to dance through Congress. If the recently introduced bill passes, colleges and universities would be encouraged to provide financial aid loans using the Direct Loan Program, rather than the Federal Family Education Loan Program. The government would allocate more money for student aid - such as in the form of Pell Grants - to schools that agree to switch, using the money that will be supposedly saved from dropping the direct loan program. "At a time when our federal government is facing an extreme deficit, this is a win-win bill for students, families and taxpayers," Congressman George Miller (D-CA), one of the bill's authors, said in a statement.
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