| Web Site To Allow Parents To Track Teachers' History
TALLAHASSEE - Information about disciplinary action taken against a teacher's state certificate will be made available to parents through an online database in the fall, education officials said Friday. Only final actions taken against a certificate, ranging from a reprimand to revocation, will be listed on the site, www.MyFloridaTeacher .com. The site will not include allegations that have been dismissed or deemed unfounded, nor cases that remain under investigation. The site also will not include local disciplinary action. "One of the best ways to protect students is by making sure that accurate information is available to parents, principals and school districts," acting Education Commissioner Jeanine Blomberg said. She said school districts are the first line of defense.
Free Childcare Rollout Disaster, Say Nats
National is calling Labour's 20-hours free preschool education policy a disaster after education officials could not tell MPs today how many parents and centres will take it up.The 2004 Budget promise to offer three- and four-year-olds 20 hours of free early childhood education comes into force in July. Last June Labour said it would benefit around 92,000 children.Many preschool centres complain the funding will not be enough to cover their costs and some are threatening not to sign up rather than charge parents top-up fees.Officials briefed Parliament's education and science select committee today on how the scheme would work but said it would be May before they had an idea of how many centres would be taking part.National MPs Katherine Rich and Paula Bennett, party spokespeople for education and early childhood education respectively, protested when officials could not tell them how many children and parents would be getting the free hours in July and how many centres would sign up.“That's a bit of a disaster given this scheme is rolling out in a matter of months," Ms Rich said.
Patrick wants higher minimum dropout age in schools
WORCESTER, Mass. -- It's too easy for students to drop out of school in Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick told educators on Monday, advocating for lawmakers to raise the minimum age. Students can drop out of school at age 16, which Patrick said is two years too soon for such a life-altering decision. He said he would support legislation to raise the minimum age. "Permitting young kids to drop out at 16 is another example of an antiquated education policy," Patrick said. Historical reasons for allowing 16-year-olds to drop out are no longer valid, he said, citing teenagers in the past leaving school to work on farms. Patrick spoke at a gathering called the "Graduation Rate Summit" at the DCU Center in Worcester. Nearly half of Hispanic high school freshmen and more than a third of black, urban and low-income freshmen in 2002 failed to graduate four years later, according to data released last month by the state Department of Education.
Woman Stuck with Student Loans, Bad Degree After School Closes
A Gary woman who attended a long-defunct trade school that defrauded the federal government of millions of dollars in financial aid is still struggling to recover financially. Seventeen years after she received a computer programming degree from Midland Career Institute, Jo Ann Brand still has college loans totaling more than $22,000. She's been rejected for several computer-related positions because would-be employers maintain that her Midland degree is invalid because the school wasn't a lawful institute. The owners of the long-defunct school have already served prison time for defrauding the federal Department of Education between 1989 to 1994. Federal officials say the school's owners illegally obtained Pell grants and Guaranteed Student Loans and used some of the money for personal use.
Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing Regional ...
The Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing (ADPCN) will be holding a two-day Regional Conference to address major concerns confronting nursing education in the country. The conferences, to begin today until tomorrow and on March 13 to 14, for the Cordillera and other Luzon regions and the National Capital Region, respectively, will be held at the historic landmark Manila Hotel. For the Visayas and Mindanao Regions, the ADPCN has scheduled the regional conferences in between the Luzon and National Capital Region Conference.
The Regional Conferences will deal with the various Department of Health priority programs and projects. The topics to be discussed include Child Survival Strategy, Reproductive Health Program, Expanded Program on Immunization, and the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness.
FileMaker Showcases K-12 Solutions at Texas Computer Education ...
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The latest FileMaker Pro 8.5 database solutions supporting No Child Left Behind and other innovative approaches for improving teacher and student skills will be presented by FileMaker during the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) Convention & Exhibition, Booth # 1716, February 5-9, Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX http://www.tcea2007.org/. On Thursday, February 8, 4:30 -- 5:15 p.m., Greg Walker, Data Solutions Administrator for Pinellas County Schools in Largo, Florida, and Bob Barboza, Resource Specialist for the Paramount Unified School District, Paramount, CA, will co-present "Stepping Up Student Information Systems to Ensure No Child Left Behind." The presentation will describe how the Pinellas County School System has implemented a FileMaker database system to interact with its Student Information System (SIS) to analyze individual and grade level performance results.
University of Dubuque Theological Seminary Announces Distance ...
The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS) has been approved by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) to provide a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree with courses offered primarily via the Internet. Applications are now being accepted for this new program, with classes beginning in August 2007.
"We are excited to be the first Presbyterian (PCUSA) seminary to offer this option," stated President Jeffrey Bullock. "The overall goal our seminary is to strengthen the church by providing quality theological education that helps to prepare faithful pastors. As part of our Mission and Vision, UDTS has led the way in the development and implementation of distance learning opportunities for the church."
UDTS has a strong track record for successful distance learning programs.
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