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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five that houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
Court Overturns $2-Million Verdict for Former Coach at U. of Louisiana-Lafayette
The coach, one of the few African-Americans in big-time college football, was fired after three losing seasons. He sued, saying he had been dismissed because of his race.
The notorious vermin have forced Colorado State University at Fort Collins to cancel its annual Great Sofa Roundup, which allows students to donate unwanted couches.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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April 9, 2007
Achievement Data From Reading First Program Are on the Way; So Are Congressional Hearings
The next year and a half should bring a flood of data about the effects of the federal Reading First program, but most of those studies are not quite ready to be released, two scholars said today at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, in Chicago.
Beth Gamse, a principal associate at Abt Associates Inc., a private research firm in Massachusetts, and Marc Moss, a senior analyst there, described the design of a federally financed study that will compare elementary schools that have received Reading First grants with demographically similar, high-poverty schools that have not received such grants.
Last year Abt Associates released a preliminary report, prepared for the Education Department, that found that most Reading First schools are in fact using the instructional strategies that are required by the federal law that established the program. Reading First schools are also devoting significantly more time each day to reading instruction than their counterparts are.
But the potentially juiciest material in the continuing study — information about students’ reading achievement — won’t be analyzed and released for several more months, Ms. Gamse and Mr. Moss said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives education committee announced a list of people who will testify at an April 20 hearing on allegations of mismanagement and conflicts of interest in the program. The committee’s chairman, Rep. George Miller, Democrat of California, has issued a subpoena to Deborah C. Simmons, a professor of special education at Texas A&M University, because her lawyer allegedly failed to return phone calls from the committee last week. In her former position at the University of Oregon, Ms. Simmons helped to create a “consumer’s guide” that many states relied on when purchasing textbooks under Reading First.
Some critics have objected to Ms. Simmons’s simultaneous role as an author for Pearson Scott Foresman, whose textbooks have been used in Reading First. In an e-mail message to The Chronicle in January, Ms. Simmons strenuously denied using her role as a Reading First consultant to steer states toward purchasing Scott Foresman textbooks or any other commercial products. —David Glenn
Posted on Monday April 9, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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It is important to note that most students in high poverty areas do not have the same advanrtages of students in higher socio-economic areas. Students in high poverty areas are most often denied access to reading materials in their homes. Many are not encouraged to read more and often live in environments that are not condusive to academic or recreational reading. Any program that stimulates reading must be one that is available both at school and in the home. Educational leaders, school board members, and policy-makers must seriously address these lingering problems that impact students stricken by poverty.
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
www.nationalforum.com
— William Allan Kritsonis, PhD Apr 10, 01:37 PM #