Early Education According Senate Dems - Senate Democrats unveiled their education budget Thursday, Like the budget unveiled by House Democrats this week, Senate Democrats are focusing on education for Minnesota's youngest students.

Much of the Senate budget's $356 million in new spending would fund free all-day kindergarten statewide. About two-thirds of the state's school districts currently offer all-day kindergarten, but many of them charge for it. The Senate budget also boosts early learning scholarships for 3- and 4-year-olds, from $3 million a year to almost $50 million.

"We will have students prepared for kindergarten and much more likely to succeed in life," said Sen. Chuck Wiger, DFL-Maplewood.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton also voiced his support for early education in his own budget proposal.

The budget bill passed through the Senate education finance committee on a voice vote, its first stop as both chambers work to nail down financing the state's education for the next two years.

The Senate's bill doesn't address the roughly $850 million that the state owes schools from previous borrowing to balance deficits. House Democrats plan to pay off the entire school shift in the next two years. Legislative leaders have been split on that issue from the start of session.

Wiger said school officials have told him they support the Senate's plan to pay back that shift over time.

The Senate budget adds $52 per pupil to the state's bedrock funding formula, which would bring it to $5,276 per student. The House plan aims to add $209 to that formula.

Another $9 million increase in the Senate bill would go to special education, which the House didn't address.

Senate Democrats are also looking to increase the age at which a Minnesota student can drop out of school — from 16 to 17 — to boost graduation rates.

They also want to retool testing practices to "move the state in a direction of teaching the subject matter, not teaching for the test," said Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, DFL-Minneapolis. By moving college entrance exam preparation up to as early as eighth grade, Torres Ray and other Democrats say schools can help those who need an extra hand and better prepare all students for college. (see HERE)

Republican Sen. Sean Nienow criticized the newer approach, saying that students would graduate regardless of whether they understood the material or earned a passing grade.

Echoing House Republicans, Nienow said he supported several measures of the Senate budget but would rather take money allocated for specific purposes — like all-day kindergarten — and add it to the state's general funding formula.

"That doesn't help schools with their funding concern. Local control is better than a state mandate," Nienow said.

Part of the Senate's budget also buys out old local property tax levies. Sen. Leroy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, said that property owners statewide will see a decrease on their bills, though the structure of those levies makes it hard to guess how big, or small, the relief may be.

But Stumpf said it will also ease school districts' reliance on local property tax increases. School districts in cities and counties where education taxes haven't passed have suffered, leading to a funding gap in which some schools get far more funding per pupil than others.
a $15.6 billion package that would add to the state's basic per-pupil funding formula, increase Minnesota's school dropout age eliminate some local property tax levies. (see HERE)

Source : www.nujournal.com

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Collaboration is Key to School Success - The lack of diversity on the Abilene Independent School District’s board of trustees’ was frequently brought up by the community during the four-plus months the board took to fill its Place 7 vacancy.

With all six current board members being white in a district where 41.6 percent of its students are Hispanic, 40.2 percent are white and 12 percent are black, the need to address the ethnicity issue was pushed to the forefront.

Hardin-Simmons University associate professor and board appointee Kelvin Kelley said it’s disappointing that race played such a large role in the discussion leading up to Monday night’s unanimous vote to name him the board’s seventh member.

Kelley is the first African-American to serve on the board since 2000, only the third to serve in the district’s history and only fifth minority trustee ever.

“It’s disappointing and I acknowledge it for what is, but in reality I don’t have to play by those rules,” said Kelley, Hardin-Simmons’ student diversity programs coordinator. “If your primary goal is student achievement, then it doesn’t matter who the student is. I had Hispanics, Caucasians and African-American students in our (Campus Advocacy) Program.” (see HERE)

Board President Stan Lambert reiterated Tuesday that seeking diversity wasn’t the board’s “main focus” in the appointment.

“We were looking for the best qualified individual,” Lambert said. “(Kelley) had outstanding qualifications and experience and was very eager and willing to jump into a middle of what is very difficult and challenging times for school boards.”

However, trustee Robert Laird said he was looking for a diverse candidate to appoint.

“My desire in the appointment process was to find a candidate with diversity in mind,” Laird said. “He works at Hardin-Simmons, he’s an ACU (doctorate) graduate and the diversity concept is very strong here. I don’t think he has an agenda, he only wants to do what’s best for our kids and I think that’s great.”

Kelley said he indeed doesn’t come into the position — for which he plans to seek election in May 2014 — with an agenda.

“For most of us, we have been influenced by ethnicity and you can’t deny that reality,” Kelley said. “But what you have to do is understand you have to take responsibility for that. If you acknowledge it, then you’re willing to make a decision that’s different from what the constituency demands.

“To make a viable education system, we have to work together; there must be collaboration.”

Kelley said student success is at the heart of his educational philosophies. (see HERE)

“The reality is that the learning space should be conducive to student discoveries,” said Kelley, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Cisco. “What that means is the teacher and instructor, as well as the student, have a responsibility of what’s going on in that environment. We (might) put an onus on the teacher or the student, and the reality is it’s a relationship.”

Along with those philosophies, Kelley also is adamant that people shouldn’t refer to some student populations as “at-risk.”

“I don’t use ‘at-risk students,’ I use ‘underperforming students’,” Kelley said. “Underperforming doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just means you’re not doing it.”

Source : www.reporternews.com

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Detail Overview New York University School of Law 2013 - Founded in 1835, New York University School of Law has a record of academic excellence and national scholarly influence. One of the first law schools to admit women, it has been long committed to welcoming students of diverse backgrounds, people who had been discriminated against by many other institutions.

Located on the University's campus in Greenwich Village, NYU Law has been a leader, and continues to be, in areas such as law and business, clinical education, public service, interdisciplinary colloquia and global studies.

To find out about our academic specialties and the first-rate faculty that teach them-explore the Areas of Focus section. There you can learn about Business, Clinical, Constitutional, Criminal, Environmental, Innovation, Interdisciplinary, International, Procedure, Public Interest and Tax Law.

NYU Law has a range of signature scholarship programs that provide not only full tuition, but also intensive mentoring to develop tomorrow’s leaders. Furman Academic Scholars focus on future legal teaching careers; the Furman Academic Fellowship program allows recent NYU Law graduates to continue that focus even after earning a J.D. Prospective students who want to pursue public interest can apply to the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program. AnBryce Scholars come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and are among the first in their immediate families to seek a graduate degree. (see HERE)

Other flagship programs include the Jacobson Leadership Program in Law and Business, which gives scholarships in amounts up to full tuition to students on non-traditional career paths bridging the legal and commercial worlds, and the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program, which awards a stipend as part of a fellowship for 3Ls wanting a leg up on a public service career focused on civil liberties.

To get the student perspective on daily life at the Law School—and to get a sense of what it's like to live and study in downtown New York—sample the multimedia NYU Law Experience.
Source : www.law.nyu.edu/about/index.htm

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New Lure Technology for Caroline Robins School 2013 - Caroline Robins elementary school is about to get

an $800,000 investment to make it a technological hub. If all goes as planned, by next September the underused Westview-area school will be home to a newly renovated resource centre with computers, tablets, video cameras and other equipment, in an effort to change the way students learn.

"We're really trying to set Caroline Robins up as a bit of a lighthouse school for the system, so we can see what's in the realm of the possible," Saskatoon Public Schools deputy director of education Barry MacDougall said.

Teachers from other schools will be invited in to see how Caroline Robins students not just consume information using tech tools, but are challenged to analyze, evaluate, and create.

"The technology is evolving so rapidly, so we want to get out a little bit in front of it," MacDougall said.

Earlier this week, the public school board approved $700,000 to renovate parts of Caroline Robins. Earlier, the board approved another $100,000 for equipment.

The investment comes to a school that already has one of the highest ratios of computers per student of any school in the division - partly due to previous investments in hardware, and partly because of low enrolment.

MacDougall said the plan is to renovate the school's existing prekindergarten and kindergarten areas to become a modern learning resource centre. The division will then renovate classrooms at the front of the school into a primary years suite, adding a door to a new outdoor play area designed for the tots.

The division has also submitted a proposal to the ministry of education to open a new daycare centre in the school's existing library space, MacDougall said.

Withman Jaigobin, division superintendent for Caroline Robins, says beefing up digital equipment isn't simply meant to move work that could be done on paper onto computers (see HERE).

"That will be impressive, the technology we have, but what we want to be more impressive is the instruction and the learning style, and how the students will be interacting - how the students will be learning, and what they'll be producing in the process, which will look different," said Jaigobin, who is also the superintendent responsible for technology in the division.

The initiative, which will start with a focus on children in kindergarten to Grade 4, will challenge students to express their ideas in ways other than putting pen to paper.

Jay Salikin, educational consultant for technology, says class assignments could be done in the form of a video, or a blog post, or in collaboration with someone in another country.

"We're trying to really change the look of the classroom, from the teacher standing at the front lecturing to 30 students, to having the kids working together collaboratively and creating things, and getting into critical thinking," Salikin says.

The program follows the introduction this year of another experiment at two public elementary schools and Marion Graham Collegiate. Rather than confiscating cellphones at the door, teachers encourage students to use them for schoolwork, and loan out some devices from the libraries.

The division chose Caroline Robins as a test site because it's one of a handful of Saskatoon schools that's so underused, it has empty classrooms. Families from the nearby new suburb of Hampton Village are sending most of their children to Dundonald School, which is now over capacity. Caroline Robins, however, could easily accommodate another 100 students (see HERE).

"We have overcrowding issues at Dundonald," MacDougall said. "We are setting out very deliberately to make Caroline Robins as attractive as possible to residents in the neighbouring community."

Including a childcare centre may also help draw more families to the school. This month's provincial budget included funds for 500 new daycare spaces across Saskatchewan. MacDougall hopes to find out later this spring whether Caroline Robins can host 50 of them.

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Detail Overview Miami HEAT Scholarships 2013 -The Miami HEAT is offering $10,000.00 in scholarship funds to high school seniors attending Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach schools. Scholarship applications are available each school year and recipients are awarded in May. This year’s application deadline is April 6th, 2013.

 

This will be the seventeenth year that the Miami HEAT has offered scholarships (click HERE). Scholarships are awarded based on academic performance and outstanding community service. Scholarships include the following:

•     Two (2) $2,500.00 HEAT Scholarships
•     One (1) $2,500.00 Dr. Jack Ramsay Scholarship
•     One (1) $2,500.00 Alec Kessler Student-Athlete Scholarship

 Click Here for Scholarship Application

Source : http://www.nba.com/heat/community/community_education_scholarships.html

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Civil Rights Issue Saving Public Schools - The fight against public school closings has become the new
civil rights battle in this country — and rightfully so. Faced with a $1 billion budget deficit, Chicago's public school system is the most recent urban district to announce a massive closure of schools. The city intends to shutter 61 elementary school buildings, nearly all of them in black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Like other cities, Chicago claims that budget deficits and declining student enrollments have forced it to turn out the lights in these inner city schools.

That's a penny-wise-and-pound-foolish decision that condemns the neighborhoods surrounding these soon-to-be-boarded-up schools to further decline.

Over the next decade, school officials predict that these closings will save the school system $560 million. But first the city will have to spend $233 million to move students from the schools that will be closed into classrooms elsewhere.

Even if the school closings actually produce the projected savings, the damage they will produce to the neighborhoods left without readily accessible public schools will be catastrophic (see HERE).

Who wants to raise children in a community with no neighborhood schools? While poverty and crime have decimated the population of many inner city neighborhoods, shutting down schools in those troubled areas will depopulate them even faster. The result will be a growing expanse of urban wastelands that could well deepen the budget deficits of the cities that are closing public schools.

Politicians and school officials must be challenged to justify their school closing decision beyond the dealmaking of Chicago's City Council. The U.S. Department of Education's civil rights division is investigating complaints that claim the school closing decisions of several urban school districts amount to a civil rights violation (see HERE).

If the school closings don't violate the law, they sure seem to trample upon its spirit. Those who push for massive school closings are taking a meat cleaver approach to deficit reduction — one that treats poor and inner city neighborhoods with the disdain of Jim Crow-era lawmakers. They should be forced to come up with ways to bring school budgets into balance that strengthen these communities.

In recent months, school systems in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Newark have announced plans to close public schools, and in every case blacks and Hispanics will bear the biggest burden of these cost-cutting measures. These decisions signal an indifference to the damage such policy decisions will have on the neighborhoods.

"If we don't make these changes, we haven't lived up to our responsibility as adults to the children of the city of Chicago," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, according to the Associated Press.

That's a pretty shortsighted analysis of a problem that, if not addressed properly, will render large swaths of Chicago's black and Hispanic neighborhoods uninhabitable education wastelands.

DeWayne Wickham writes on Tuesdays for USA Today.

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Brevard Schools Drawing Interest - Richard Webb, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Paradise in Indialantic, told FLORIDA TODAY a sale could be worth millions.

“We’ve got a great opportunity to solve a problem here,” said Webb, who declined to identify his client for competitive reasons. A sale could help alleviate a financial crisis that’s causing Brevard Public Schools to eliminate teaching jobs and institute various student fees.

Another possible solution to keeping the schools open also is gaining steam. Clearlake Middle in Cocoa, Gardendale Elementary on Merritt Island and South Lake Elementary in Titusville are slotted to close at the end of this school year.


Late last week, Canaveral Port Authority Commissioner Bruce Deardoff said he plans on asking the port board to give enough money to Brevard Public Schools to keep the three schools open for two more academic years. Port commissioners could vote Wednesday morning on the $5 million proposal.

Webb is representing a company that has charter schools in Florida and other states, and is seeking to enter the Brevard market. Charter schools are publically funded but are privately-run schools.

When asked about a potential sale, Brevard School Board Chair Barbara Murray said the board is “open-minded,” but is interested in the district staff’s proposal to re-purpose the schools for internal use. Doing so is expected to save the district money because leased space will no longer be needed.

“We’re going to entertain and look at all of our options,” Murray said.

Consolidating adult education and alternative learning centers, for example, is expected to save up to $550,000 a year. It’s part of the prioritized list of $30 million in savings that was approved earlier this month.

School district leaders are planning to convert Clearlake to one such center. Other district offices, such as technology repair and virtual schools, also will move to the school.

Source: floridatoday.com

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Slew of Awards and Recognitions For York High School - A number of York High School students have earned recognition for high academic achievement. And the school itself has earned a couple of recognitions, too.

National Merit Finalists

Six York High School students are among 16,000 semifinalists who have met the requirements to advance to finalist standing in the National Merit Corporation scholarship competition.

Named National Merit Finalists are Karen Altergott, Caroline Dierksheide, Evan Fabry, Emma Fisher, Ushasi Naha and Matthew Wilbur.

A Certificate of Merit was presented to them at a recognition breakfast earlier this month. Finalists will be considered for National Merit Scholarships to be offered in 2013. Scholarship winners will be announced in four groups:

•     Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners – April
•     National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners – May
•     College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners – July

About 1.5 million students entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program; about 16,000 were named semifinalists. They were designated in proportion to each state’s percentage of the national total of high school graduating seniors. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must submit a detailed scholarship application and present a record of very high academic performance. (see HERE)

These students are competing for "a significant amount of scholarship money," District 205 Superintendent David Pruneau said at Tuesday's School Board meeting.

"It's exceptional to have six finalists from one high school," he said. "They are proudly representing Elmhurst."

Skills USA State Qualifiers

York students also qualified for state competition in SkillsUSA and will compete in Springfield April 11-13. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry with the goal of creating world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. The following students were recognized:

• Adobe Photoshop Design: Hannah Kopach, Anna Hovorka, Elizabeth Gordon
• Automotive Service Technology: Chris Taylor, Cody Schau
• Collision Repair Technology: Chase Peterson, Christian Craig, David Byrne
• Power Equipment Technology: Steven Knopf
• Principles of Technology: Nicole Juarez
• Screen Printing Technology: Emma Baubly, Breanna Stubbs
• Technical Drafting CAD: Anthony Cano, Jake Pulver, Alec Hein, Garret Campbell, Kacia   Cortopassi, Nick Cosentino, Alex Frantzis, Ben Norgle, Tim Stotz

IDEA State Qualifiers

Congratulations also go to the following students for placing in the Top 3 and qualifying for the State Illinois Drafting Educators Association competition.

•     Introductory CAD: Alex Tase, first place, Stephanie Cui, third place
•     Assembly Modeling: Kyle Stevens, first place, and Jake Pulver, second place
•     Machine CAD: Alec Hein, first place
•     Solid Modeling: Nick Cosentino, first place

Science Olympiad

The York High School Science Olympiad team took fifth place at the March 9 College of DuPage regional competition, which included more than 30 teams.

The following varsity team members were recognized:

•     Anna O'Donnell and Colleen Lehrer, second place in Fermi Questions
•     Drew Douglas and Meg Grasse, second place in Forensics
•     Mary Margaret Koch and Jaqueline Nugent, second place in Water Quality
•     Drew Douglas and Matt Niewiara, third place in Gravity Vehicle
•     Ushasi Naha and Matt Niewiara, fourth place in Anatomy/Physiology
•     Anthony Cano and Connor McDermott, fourth place in Robot Arm
•     Chris Watson and Drew Douglas, fourth place in Technical Problem Solving

The following junior varsity team members were recognized:

•     Evan Fabry and Jonathan Senese, first place in Circuit Lab
•     Evan Fabry and Miranda Deane, second place in Boomilever
•     Sarah Eaton and Eric Cummings, second place in Dynamic Planet
•     Miranda Deane and Evan Fabry, second place in Elastic Launch Glider
•     Stephanie Cui and Eric Cummings, second place in Forestry
•     Dona Wilston and Sharon Mathai, third place in Anatomy/Physiology
•     Cameron Brown and Jonathan Senese, fourth place in Materials Science

The York Science Olympiad Team is led by Coach Jeff Drach.

Stock Market Game

The Stock Market Game is an online program that helps teach math, social studies, business, economics and language skills while focusing on the importance of long-term savings and investment. Students in Jim Borel's business class managed "investment portfolios" for three months with an initial virtual investment of $100,000.

The team of Jakob Gratzianna, Eric Hoff, Zaccaria Miller, Niki Passaris and Jack Polte finished the game by earning more than $22,000 on their initial $100,000 investment, outperforming the S&P 500 by 24 percent over the three months. The group came in second place among 541 teams in the state.

The students were recognized by the District 205 School Board Tuesday.

"To outperform the S&P by 24 percent in a three-month period is, by any standard, extremely impressive," School Board President Jim Collins said.

The Stock Market Game is sponsored by the Illinois Council for Economic Education.

York is a Grammy Signature Schools Semifinalist

York High School is in the running for grants for music excellence as a semifinalist in the Grammy Signature Schools program. York is among 129 semifinalist schools across the nation.

The program recognizes public high schools making an outstanding commitment to music education.

Finalists will receive a grant ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to benefit their music programs.

After the applications are scored, finalists are identified and asked to submit additional documentation, such as recordings of school concerts, sample concert programs and repertoire, which is then reviewed by an independent blue-ribbon committee of top music educators and professionals to determine the schools that merit Grammy Signature School status.

Bright Red Apple Award

Elmhurst District 205 also was awarded the Bright Red Apple Award by School Search. The designation is based on five criteria:

•     academic performance
•     ratio of teachers to students
•     expense per student
•     education level of teachers
•     teacher salary

Out of 866 districts in Illinois, 78 earned the Bright Red Apple. This is the 13th consecutive year District 205 has earned the recognition.

"I think that speaks volumes about the quality of Elmhurst schools," Superintendent David Pruneau said at Tuesday's School Board meeting.

School Search helps relocating families evaluate the quality of various school districts. (see HERE)
Source : http://elmhurst.patch.com/

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Here is the list of the Best Universities In Louisiana, United States :

» Tulane University

Located in the city of New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana, has more than 11,000 students, of which 4% are foreigners from 100 countries. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in various specialties. It has 11 academic divisions: College of Architecture, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of Law, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, School of Social Work,

Summer School, Tulane School (second level studies) and Tulane College (technical studies).

• More information:
Phone: +1-504-865 4000
E-mail: ude.enalut@noissimda.dargrednu
Web: tulane.edu

» Southeastern Louisiana University

It is located in Hammond and has a student population of more than 14 people, among which stands out 1% of international students who use hosting services and advice. It also has more than 600 programs in the following academic departments: Accounting, Biology, Chemistry, Communication, English, Industrial Technology, Mathematics, Art, Theatre, Business, Management, Sales and Finance, Psychology, Psychology, Music, History, Political Science.

• More information:
Phone: +1-985-549 5637
E-mail: ude.ules@snoissimda
Web: www.selu.edu

» University of New Orleans

Located in the city of New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana, has over 15,000 students enrolled, of which 1% are foreigners from over 40 countries. Among the services in its 645 ofercen academic departments are hosting plans for international students, scholarships, work and special counseling. It has the following colleges: Management (Accounting, Finance, Management, Sales, Hotel Management, Tourism, Master in Business Administration, Management and Sales), Education, Engineering (Civil, Mechanical, Marine, Electrical); Arts (Antroplogia, Drama, English, Communication, Languages, Geography, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology), Science (Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Biology, Mathematics, Physics).

• More information:
Phone: +1-504-280 6000
Web: www.uno.edu

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How to Turn Higher Education into an Engine of Inequality - Step 1:  Build an enormous and expansive set of opportunities for higher education and tell everyone that a college education is necessary for economic and social security in America-- but refrain from working towards public consensus on providing a free higher education for all.

Step 2: Create the illusion of access with a program of financial aid distribution that isn't backed with a real entitlement program tied to college costs.

Step 3: Do nothing to stem the behavior of bad actors and those who encourage them. Allow colleges and universities to raise prices and engage in rankings wars based on flawed metrics that distort the market.  Fail to require states to maintain their effort to ensuring affordability.  Allow, even encourage, private business to step into the gaps.

Step 4: Allow the value of need-based aid to decline while redirecting aid towards politically popular programs benefitting the non-needy.

Step 5: Refrain from fundamental reforms addressing the core crisis in the system, and instead introduce small modifications aimed at overcoming individual deficits rather than structural problems.

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Great Tips Study In USA 2013 - If you are planning to study in USA be prepared to have an experience of a lifetime.  USA is the land of opportunities, because of its cutting-edge technology, mega bucks and for life, as you want it to be.

A US education is like a coal mine investment which at the end yields you a high rate of profit for many many years. USA, an ideal destination for acquiring higher education offers a mind boggling range of universities with highly sophisticated and enlightening educational environments. Access to internationally renowned faculties makes them world leaders. An American education offers phenomenally
higher returns over one’s investment, not only economically but also socially and culturally.

Dr Mary Anne Saunders -Executive Director from Kent State University says

“USA offers a wide range of degrees which are globally recognized. Under "liberal arts philosophy" undergraduate degrees are quite flexible and vast number of academic options to choose from. For postgraduate and masters programs -Top University in US provide outstanding research infrastructure and facilities. The students get theoretical, practical and applied aspects of an area of study. The campuses are multicultural that prepare the students to be global citizens”.

Karan Barabde who pursued his Masters in Mechanical Engineering passed out from University of Southern California says “Professional guidance from my counselor helped me make my American Dreams come true”

According to 2012 Open Door’s Report - The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 6.5% to 764,495 during the 2011/12 academic year.

Financing a post-secondary education abroad is no easy task but fear not,as there are a number of resources to assist you . Over 20% of non-US students receive most of their academic funding from a US college or university through variety of programs. Many of them offer partial scholarships or full scholarships, fee waivers, graduate/research/teaching/student assistant scholarships etc.
International students also have the option of taking up well-paying campus jobs, working 20 hours a week on regular term and full-time during summer vacation. On completion of the course, students have the authorization to work for 12 months to 29 months known as OPT (Optional Practical Training) depending on their field of study. Good job opportunities will be available to students particularly with degrees in healthcare, teaching, business, finance, hotel management, accounting, technology, engineering, mathematics etc. as these are fields with great demand in a recovering economy.

Even after this if, your vote is not cast for a US education, here is the clincher, some Top University in US have started accepting 15 years of education over 16 years. These universities accept 15 years for study in the field of Business, Hotel Management, Psychology, Computer Science, etc. This not only benefits the student by saving time but also helps them start earning early.

If you are apprehensive that you have missed the bus, do not fret, for many American universities are still open for admissions to their fall sessions beginning August/September 2013. All you have to do is to prepare your documents well. It’s a good time for starting applications for fall 2013 (September) intake. An early application will help students to bag most of the scholarships available, which universities offer to lure talent and brains. It is a good time to visit your counselor to initiate this process.

Head to USA and harvest the best crop of the ongoing economic upswing. We are committed to earnestly and correctly guide you at each and every step to help you reach the destination.

Sushil Sukhwani
Director, Edwise

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Is superintendent Vitti ignoring student accountability? - Let me first say I have been impressed so far with Superintendent Vitti. He has tackled testing, the learning schedule and bullies masquerading as principals and district staff. And where those issues are far from resolved he does have us after years of heading in the wrong direction, now heading in the right direction.

There however is one serious issue that he has yet to address, at least publically anyways and that is student accountability or specifically the lack thereof.

Students are still allowed to take grade recovery, formerly reserved for the truly deserving, for any reason.

Don’t come, make an effort or act up when you do? Hey it doesn’t matter because we will give you another bite of the apple through grade recovery. Superintendent Vitti should end grade recovery except for the truly deserving, kids who came to class and tried but just need a little more or kids who have verifiable and excused absences.

Even worse is teachers are still being told to watch their Ds and Fs. If teachers are cajoled into passing kids that don’t deserve it then what we have taught them a work ethic doesn’t matter. Well friends if they don’t learn this lesson at school many will never learn it and quite frankly that may be the most lesson many need the most. Superintendent Vitti should say no longer will teachers be told what grades to give and instead students should get the grades they deserve.

Finally discipline. Too many teachers still report the inmates are running the asylum as there are far too few consequences and remember for a consequence to be effective it has to be meaningful, for students who choose to act up. Like a work ethic many kids need to learn discipline at school because they don’t receive anything approaching it at home. Superintendent Vitti should immediately hold meetings with staff to develop meaningful consequences for maladaptive behavior and then implement those measures.

How can we in good conscious expect teachers to be accountable when we don’t hold far too many students accountable for their school work and behavior? If we truly want to reach our potential as a district then student accountability must be addressed and done so quickly.

He should do all those things if he wants to take us to the next level because doing less won’t do it.

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Detail Overview California Institute of Technology 2013 - California Institute of Technology is a private institution that was founded in 1891. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 978, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 124 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. California Institute of Technology's ranking in the 2013 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 10. Its tuition and fees are $39,588 (2012-13).

Caltech, which focuses on science and engineering, is located in Pasadena, Calif., approximately 11 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Social and academic life at Caltech centers on the eight student houses, which the school describes as "self-governing living groups." Student houses incorporate an admired Caltech tradition: dinners served by student waiters. Only
freshmen are required to live on campus, but around 80 percent of students remain in their house for all four years. The Caltech Beavers have a number of NCAA Division III teams that compete in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Integral to student life is the Honor Code, which dictates that "No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community."

In addition to its undergraduate studies, Caltech offers top graduate programs in engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, mathematics, and physics. Caltech participates in a significant amount of research, receiving grants from institutions such as NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Health and Human Services, among others. Caltech maintains a strong tradition of pranking with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, another top-ranked science and technology university. Companies such as Intel, Compaq, and Hotmail were founded by Caltech alumni. Famous film director Frank Capra also graduated from Caltech.

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Detail Overview Princeton University 2013 - Chartered in 1746 as the College of New Jersey — the name by which it was known for 150 years — Princeton University was British North America’s fourth college. Located in Elizabeth for one year and then in Newark for nine, the College of New Jersey moved to Princeton in 1756. It was housed in Nassau Hall, which was newly built on land donated by Nathaniel FitzRandolph (see A Princeton Timeline). Nassau Hall contained the entire College for nearly half a century. In 1896, when expanded program offerings brought the College university status, the College of New Jersey was officially renamed Princeton University in honor of its host community of Princeton. Four years later, in 1900, the Graduate School was established.

Fully coeducational since 1969, Princeton for the past academic year (2011-12) enrolled 7,757 students — 5,173 undergraduates (730 of whom are New Jersey residents, representing almost every county in the state) and 2,584 graduate students (degree candidates only). The ratio of undergraduate students to faculty members (in full-time equivalents) is 6 to 1.

The University provides its students with academic, extracurricular and other resources — in a residential community committed to diversity in its student body, faculty and staff — that prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor.

Living up to its unofficial motto, “In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations,” Princeton University has educated thousands of individuals who have dedicated their lives to public service, including two U.S. presidents (Woodrow Wilson and James Madison); hundreds of U.S. and state legislators (the House of Representatives, for example, has housed a Princeton alumnus every year since it first met in 1789); and 44 governors, including 11 New Jersey governors.

Each year, more than 2,500 members of the student body, faculty, staff and local alumni volunteer in community service projects throughout the region. Reflecting this public service spirit, the University as an institution supports many service initiatives (see Service and Outreach). Princeton’s Office of Sustainability helps ensure progress in areas where the University has been a leader, such as energy conservation (see Sustainability).

As a research university, Princeton seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding. At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching. Interdisciplinary work is vital to Princeton and is reflected in a full spectrum of academic programs, including such initiatives as the Lewis Center for the Arts, the Center for African American Studies and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.

Princeton’s main campus in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township consists of approximately 9 million square feet of space in more than 180 buildings on 500 acres. Including Springdale Golf Course, Lake Carnegie and roads for which the University owns the right-of-way, Princeton owns 759 acres in the township and has 214 acres in the borough.

The University, with approximately 5,974 benefits-eligible employees, is one of the region’s largest private employers. It plays a major role in the educational, cultural and economic life of the area by bringing 784,000 visitors and approximately $2 billion in economic activity to the region.

Source : http://www.princeton.edu

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Detail Overview University of Chicago 2013 - The University of Chicago is one of the best research universities in the United States, consistently ranked among the world's top institutions in a number of international league tables.

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 business schools in the country.

The University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Detail Overview University of Chicago 2013 :

• Ranked 9th nationally in the US News National Universities Rankings 2011.
• University of Chicago is ranked 8th in the QS World University Rankings 2010. It is also placed in the world top 10 for: Social Sciences (7th), and Arts & Humanities (9th).
•  University of Chicago is ranked 9th globally and 8th in North & Latin America (Academic Ranking of World Universities 2010).
• Ranked 13th in the Washington Monthly's 2009 national university college rankings.
• Ranked 43rd internationally in the Webometrics ranking of world universities, July 2010.
• The University of Chicago is ranked as the top graduate school for Economics in the nation by US News and World Report. It shares this ranking with MIT, Harvard and Princeton (2009).
• The Princeton Review ranked the University of Chicago as offering the best overall academic undergraduate experience in the 2007 ''Best 361 Colleges'' rankings.

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Detail Overview Harvard University 2013 - Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders in many disciplines who make a difference globally. Harvard faculty are engaged with teaching and research to push the boundaries of human knowledge. For students who are excited to investigate the biggest issues of the 21st century, Harvard offers an unparalleled student experience and a generous financial aid program, with over $160 million awarded to more than 60% of our undergraduate students. The University has twelve degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, offering a truly global education.
Established in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. The University, which is based in Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts, has an enrollment of over 20,000
degree candidates, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Harvard has more than 360,000 alumni around the world.

Harvard Schools

Harvard University has 12 degree-granting schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The University has grown from nine students with a single master to an enrollment of more than 20,000 degree candidates including undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.

• Harvard Business School
• Division of Continuing Education
• Faculty of Arts & Sciences
• Graduate School of Design
• Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Harvard Kennedy School
• Harvard Law School
• Harvard School of Public Health
• Harvard College
• Harvard School of Dental Medicine
• Harvard Divinity School
• School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
• Harvard Medical School
• Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study

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2013 Postgraduate Research Scholarships at Edith Cowan University - International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS) at Edith Cowan University are offered for a doctoral degree (PhD) or master by research. International students can apply for this scholarship.

About Scholarship: International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS) at Edith Cowan University are restricted only to those applicants wishing to commence their studies in either a Doctoral degree (PhD) or Master by research. The IPRS scheme is both prestigious and highly competitive. IPRS scholarships are offered each year for tenure at Edith Cowan University.

The scholarships provide the recipient with tuition fees and health care cover for the duration of their research degree. In addition, each successful IPRS recipient will be offered an ECU International Stipend (ECUIS) to meet living costs for the same period. Successful applicants typically have first class honours or have completed a Master degree by research with additional research output such as research publications and/or successful research grant applications and research experience.

Study                  : Scholarships are provided for doctoral degree (PhD) or master by research offered by 

                            the university.

Course Level       : PhD or Master by research

Scholarship By  : Edith Cowan University

Location              : Australia

Duration: -1-2 years for a Master by research dependant on course length

 - Up to 3 years for a Doctor of Philosophy (PHD)

Value                          : Total offer is of $26,000 per year (tax free) stipend/living allowance plus tuition fees 

                                    and overseas health cover paid.

Eligibility                    :

Course Requirements :

 - Applicants should have completed at least four years of tertiary education study at a high level of

   achievement for example:

 - Four year degree (e.g. Engineering or Law)

 - Three year degree and one of the following:

 - Honours year

 - One year of a higher degree

 - One year of a Masters preliminary or other qualifying programme

 - Postgraduate diploma

The awardees should also have:

 - Completed a Bachelor Degree with First Class Honours, or be regarded by the ECU as having an 

    equivalent level of attainment

 - Must have their course application for study in the PhD or Master by research programme approved by

    ECU before being considered for an offer of a scholarship

 - Where an offer of a place in the course is conditional, an applicant is normally not eligible for scholarship

    consideration until that condition has been met.

 - The intention to undertake study in a course and research topic within one of the University’s areas of 

    research activity

 - Please note:

 - Not all degree combinations will be considered by the University to be equivalent to an Australian 

   First Class Honours degree

- A student with a two-year Masters degree, but no Bachelors degree, may be considered with other  

  masters graduates if the University regards this as equivalent

Exclusions - To be eligible Applicants must not have previously gained or currently hold any of the following:

 - Research doctorate, which is deemed the equivalent of an Australian research doctorate degree

 - Master by research degree if seeking admission to Master by research degree

 - Another substantial scholarship provided by ECU (e.g., faculty, school or research centre scholarship) 

   or an external provider

Other Exclusions/Limitations

 - Applicants enrolled in, or intending to enroll in, the Doctor of Occupational and Environmental Safety and

   Health (L23) are ineligible to apply for a Postgraduate Research Scholarship

 - Applicants undertaking the four-year Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) (U93) are only eligible to apply 

   for a postgraduate research scholarship after the completion of the first year of the course. 

   A scholarship will ONLY cover the three (3) years of full-time research

- Applicants undertaking the four-year Doctor of Psychology by research (T29) are eligible to apply for a

   postgraduate research scholarship although the duration of the scholarship would ONLY cover three

   years

- Additional Eligibility requirements for International Students

- Applicants must:-meet international student visa requirements as specified by the Department of

  Immigration and Citizenship, including the requirement to purchase and maintain a standard Overseas

  Student Health Cover policy approved by the Department of Health and Ageing

- Meet all University admission requirements, including English proficiency, and be made an unconditional 

  offer of a place in a higher degree by research (either a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Master by research)

- Not currently be receiving a scholarship provided by the Australian Agency for International 

  Development (AusAID) or have completed an AusAID scholarship within the last two years

Scholarship Open fo : International students can apply

Selection criteria          : Selection for a postgraduate research scholarship is based on academic merit and 

                                     research capability within the University’s research strengths.

Notification                  : Application will be assessed within four (4) weeks from the closing date and you 

                                    will be advised of the outcome via email as soon as possible afterwards.

Apply                          : By post and electronically

Deadline                      : 31st August 2013

Further Information      : http://intranet.ecu.edu.au

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Participation or Efficiency? - Oscar Wilde supposedly once claimed that he would have been a socialist, but he liked to keep his evenings free.  All that civic participation would have crimped his style. I was reminded of that this week in discussion with some faculty who were balking at the time commitment involved in serving on search committees.  They all believe in heavy faculty involvement in searches, but all that participation really adds up.

They’re certainly right that search committees are major time commitments.  We have some pretty sophisticated protocols for staffing them, trying to balance veterans and newbies, faculty and staff, men and women, subject matter experts and fresh eyes.  Unlike many private sector companies, we don’t let HR do the first round of screening; the search committee culls through the

entire set of applications before deciding on who it would like to invite for first-round interviews.  Depending on the position, the applications can run well into three digits.

Just scheduling committee meetings is a major endeavor.  Faculty have different teaching schedules from each other, and staff members’ calendars are different still.  Each committee has to be “charged,” to get its affirmative action training, and to have its “what are we looking for?” conversations.  Then it decides who to invite for first round interviews and has to arrange the internal logistics for 8-10 of those.  Finally, it has to decide on 3-4 finalists to send forward. 

It’s a lot of work.  We have a rule that anyone on a search committee is excused from all other college service for that semester, in recognition of the time it takes.  (College service refers to other sorts of committees, but not to teaching.)  Even with that, some people find the task too onerous.

But there’s no appetite for streamlining, either. 

It wouldn’t be all that hard to streamline.  Let HR decide who to invite for first-round interviews, and bring the committee into play for the first time at that point.  Done and done.

Culturally, though, that’s just not an option.  The committees don’t want to give up control, and control requires work.  The process can be participatory, or it can be low-impact, but it can’t be both.  Participation takes time.

In a context in which most people are teaching four or five classes per semester, that’s not just carping.  Time is at a premium.  That’s even more true as the semester progresses, and just fitting in all the interviews before the deadline becomes a challenge.  And course releases for search committee members are neither economically sustainable -- you’d be surprised how quickly the cost adds up -- nor practical, given that hires tend to come in areas where we’re short-staffed already.  When a department is already running thin, adding several course releases makes it even thinner.

Wise and worldly readers, has your college or company found a relatively practical and sustainable way to balance participation and efficiency in hiring?

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Straight out of Scarsdale - A law professor forwarded me links to a couple of law school-produced podcasts/youtube videos flogging the "versatility" of what one of them actually refers to as the "magical" JD degree.

The first is from Cal Western --  a school whose 2011 graduates had average law school loan balances of around $175,000 when their first payments came due in November of that year, and whose employment statistics are morbidly fascinating in a car crash sort of way: 104 of 285 graduates purportedly got legal jobs, broadly defined, not counting solos, while 76 were either completely unemployed or simply untraceable.

I got about halfway through the 27 minutes of it, but that's more than enough.  Steve Smith, the dean of the school, talks at length about the purported versatility of law degrees, citing "being a CEO" or a "politician" as potential alternative non-legal careers (he discusses Barack Obama's career as an example of what you can do with a law degree other than practice law, in what appears to be a completely sincere and non-ironic way, although who can tell any more in this crazy mixed up pomo world of ours?).

The really disturbing part of the thing involves an African American professor, who talks about growing up in south central Los Angeles, and overcoming adversity to become a lawyer.  Although I have no basis for judging the sincerity of his particular mental state, one of the most deplorable things law schools are now doing as institutions is to cynically exploit the hopes and dreams of people from marginalized ethnic groups and modest socio-economic backgrounds. (In some cases ignorance rather than cynicism may be the formal cause of this exploitative behavior, and while this is the more charitable interpretation, we're reaching a point where ignorance is no longer distinguishable from the sort of willful blindness that is in some ways morally worse than conscious exploitation).

As difficult as law has become as a career path in general, it's even more difficult and potentially catastrophic for people who don't have the sorts of family financial backing, cultural capital, and social connections that are proving ever-more crucial to success in a particularly hierarchical and status-obsessed profession.  (It should be unnecessary to add that many of these vulnerable people are white.  Nevertheless, I believe we law school faculty and administrators from ethnic minority backgrounds have a special obligation to do what we can to make sure our institutions are not exploiting vulnerable members of our communities, given that "ensuring access to justice" is such a politically convenient translation of "getting people to take out loans they won't be able to pay back.").

The other paen to the versatility of law degrees is this short Youtube video from Chicago-Kent, featuring Dean Harold Krent, who was last glimpsed at ITLSS arguing that getting a law degree was a good entree into the worlds of journalism, counseling, and investing. (Key words and phrases in the video: "network," "sports agent," "help other people," "intellectual firepower.")  It's a semi-slick production -- although the sound quality of the dean's contribution is sketchy -- and it would be interesting to know if this kind of thing is worth the money the school is spending on it.

Something that would be even more interesting to know is the extent to which arguments that a JD is or at least was "versatile" have any basis in reality, since as even Smith acknowledges there's simply no longitudinal data on this  issue.  This of course doesn't stop either him or Krent from arguing that it is, which tells you all you need to know about the extent to which intellectual integrity plays a role in these particular corners of legal academia.

Source : insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com

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