Garfield High wins first place at Essentially Ellington
By News Services Garfield High School took first place at New York’s Essentially Ellington high-school jazz competition, becoming the first school ever to win the contest for a fourth time. Two other Seattle-area high schools, Roosevelt and Edmonds-Woodway, were invited to compete but did not place in the top three. Sedwick & Cedar: Planet Rock New York Shirt-black/l High School Advantage 2011Advantage provides an interactive learning experience and the tools students need to gain learning confidence and improve their grades. Help your st... Read More > Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Seattle (Newcomer's Handbooks)Extensively updated and revised for 2007, this 416-page new edition maintains its strong focus on Seattle proper, but expands greatly its coverage of ... Read More > American Experience: TR: The Story of Theodore RooseveltHe personified America at the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Washington state school directors ‘heartened’ by veto of consolidation provision
By David Brine The Washington State School Directors’ Association today commended Gov. Chris Gregoire’s veto of a state budget provision related to consolidating school districts in the state. The provision, inserted in the budget bill during the closing days of the 2010 special legislative session, called for establishing a commission to develop recommendations to the Legislature for the “reorganization and reduction of Washington school districts” and possible reorganization of the state’s educational service districts. At a ceremony and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
SFCC Communicator Online recognized again by Associated Collegiate Press
By Jocelyn Stott Spokane Falls Community College student newspaper’s online version, The Communicator Online is one of 50 nominees for the Associated Collegiate Press 2010 Online Pacemaker Award, the highest award bestowed upon student journalists. The online publication is in the category of all colleges and universities with an enrollment of under 10,000, a category which includes colleges such as The College of William and Mary, Swarthmore College, Northwestern University and Ithaca College. The contest featured 242 entries, eight percent more than last year. Note: The Communicator Online won a Pacemaker Award in 2009. The contest is judged by a panel of professionals within the online media field. The best sites, according to judges, were those that excelled in storytelling, writing, editing of in-depth and complete stories, site design, interactivity, graphics and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
State school superintendent charged with DUI
By News Services Randy Dorn, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, has been charged by the Orting, Wash., city prosecutor with driving under the influence. Dorn failed two field sobriety tests and smelled strongly of alcohol when he was stopped by an Orting police officer early Sunday, according to the officer’s report, the Seattle Times said. The report, released Wednesday, said the officer originally stopped Dorn for speeding and a defective tail light, then questioned Dorn when he … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Use it or lose it? Study suggests the brain can remember a ‘forgotten’ language
By Barbara Isanski Many of us learn a foreign language when we are young, but in some cases, exposure to that language is brief and we never get to hear or practice it subsequently. Our subjective impression is often that the neglected language completely fades away from our memory. But does “use it or lose it” apply to foreign languages? Although it may seem we have absolutely no memory of the neglected language, new research suggests this “forgotten” language may be more deeply engraved in our minds than we realize. Psychologists Jeffrey Bowers, Sven L. Mattys, and Suzanne Gage from the University of Bristol recruited volunteers who were native English speakers but who had learned either Hindi or Zulu as children when living abroad. The researchers focused on Hindi and Zulu because … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
You don’t have to be ‘good at math’ to be fascinated by numbers
By Jennifer Kovach What are the odds of finding two people who share the same birth date in a room of thirty-five? Most people would guess they’re pretty low. In actuality, the probability is better than 80 percent. This is just one of many entertaining examples of mathematical curiosities presented in Mathematical Amazements And Surprises: Fascinating Figures And Noteworthy Numbers. Math educators Alfred S. Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann have created the perfect introduction to the wonders … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Washington state announces new testing for teachers
By Esther Baker The Professional Educator Standards Board announced today the new teacher assessment for professional certification that will officially launch in January, 2010. Required by the state legislature, the Washington ProTeach Portfolio was developed by a team of Washington educators facilitated by Educational Testing Service (ETS), a world-wide leader in assessment development, delivery, scoring and score reporting. Through the PESB-awarded contract to administer and operate the assessment, ETS will ensure assessment validity and reliability. Beginning September 1, 2011, teachers must pass this assessment in order to gain professional certification. The ProTeach Portfolio has a number of advantages for teachers establishing their credentials in Washington State. Registration is open year long, with up to 14 months between registration and submission of the teacher portfolio. Online registration in a user-friendly web format allows … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Study links migraine headaches to reduced academic performance
By Maralee Csellar Adolescents suffering from migraine headaches are more likely to get lower grades and less likely to graduate from high school or attend college than their migrane-free peers. Those are the findings of a new study by Joseph Sabia, professor of public policy at American University’s School of Public Affairs, and Daniel Rees, economics professor at University of Colorado Denver. The results were presented July 1 at the 84th Annual Conference of the Western Economic … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Supreme Court rules strip-search of girl was unconstitutional
By News Services Upholding a lower court decision, the Supreme Court ruled that officials at an Arizona public school violated a 13-year-old student’s constitutional rights when they subjected her to a search of her bra and underpants for prescription and over-the-counter drugs that were forbidden by school rules. But the court said that the officials should be immune from liability in the case and that lower courts should decide whether the school district could be held liable. The Bad News BearsFirst of a trilogy of films takes an unflinching look at the underbelly of little league baseball in Southern California. Former minor leaguer Morris ... Read More > Touch Bad News Bears (Full Screen Edition)A fresh take on the irreverent 1976 comedy hit, "The Bad News Bears" follows a grizzled former minor league baseball … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
U.S. and Korean researchers unveil newest research team member: Jaemi the Humanoid
By Lisa-Joy Zgorski A Drexel University-led research team late last week unveiled the newest, most central member of its collaboration with a team of Korean researchers: Jaemi, a humanoid (HUBO). Jaemi HUBO embodies efforts to advance humanoid development and enhance the concept of human-robotic interaction. The project’s goal is to enable humanoids to interact with their environment, and enhancement plans include enabling the humanoid to move over rugged terrain, in unstructured environments and to interact socially … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Swine flu now in Seattle classrooms, officials fear
By Nathan Olson The first suspected cases of swine flu might have entered Washington state. One case involves a school-age child who attends Madrona K-8 in the Seattle School District. Because of this, the school has closed as a precaution through Wednesday, May 6, Washington state superintendent of public schools Randy Dorn reported today. The decision to close the school was made jointly by the Seattle Public Schools and Seattle/King County Public Health, and required weighing many factors. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
New study shows chewing gum can lead to better academic performance in teenagers
By Amy E. Lind Higher math scores seen in classroom setting New research from Baylor College of Medicine indicates a positive effect of chewing gum on academic performance in teenagers. The study examined whether chewing Wrigley sugar-free gum can lead to better academic performance in a “real life” classroom setting. Major findings include: – The researchers found that students who chewed gum showed an increase in standardized math test scores and their final grades were better compared to those who didn’t chew gum. – Students who chewed gum had a significantly greater increase in their standardized math test scores after 14 weeks of chewing gum in math class and while doing homework compared to those who did not chew gum. Chewing gum was associated with a three percent increase in standardized math test … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Governor calls for raising levy limits, while also seeking cuts in levy equalization
By Neal Kirby Newspaper articles yesterday said Governor Chris Gregoire will be asking that levy limits be “temporarily” raised to assist 75 of the richest school districts in the state collect more levy money. The argument is that these districts have passed levies which surpass the limit they are allowed to collect, so rather than leave the money uncollected and unused, why not raise levy limits so they can use it? After all, their local taxpayers are asking to let this money be collected and spent on schools, so who are we to deny the kids money already approved? Well, this goes to the core of equity issues in this state. We already have huge achievement gaps between the poorest students and the general student population and between Hispanic students and the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Physical activity may strengthen children’s ability to pay attention
By Melissa Mitchell As school districts across the nation revamped curricula to meet requirements of the federal “No Child Left Behind” Act, opportunities for children to be physically active during the school day diminished significantly. Future mandates, however, might be better served by taking into account findings from a University of Illinois study suggesting the academic benefits of physical education classes, recess periods and after-school exercise programs. The research, led by Charles Hillman, a professor of kinesiology … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
Online degrees considered acceptable by employers
By Amber Podlucky Consumer acceptance of online education is now at an all-time high. Convenience, flexibility, and eliminating costly commutes to a campus have broadened the appeal of getting an online degree for busy adults. Over the past five years enrollments in online courses and online degrees have been growing over ten times faster than traditional higher education. What about employer acceptance? Are employers reluctant or hiring graduates of online schools? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Education
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