E-NEWS

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A weekly digest of education news for Alaska's School Board Members.

Association of Alaska School Boards, 1111 West 9^th St., Juneau, AK 99801. Tel.

907-586-1083, Fax 907-586-2995. Carl Rose, Executive Director,

crose@aasb.org: John Greely, Editor, jgreely@aasb.org. Review past issues of

the E-News on the AASB Website at <http://www.aasb.org>. To unsubscribe send an email stating the same to jgreely@aasb.org.

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AASB E-News

April 24, 2008

--WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW REFORMS FOR NCLB

--‘NATION AT RISK’: BEST THING OR WORST THING FOR EDUCATION?

--DATA: JUNEAU’S SCHOOL DROPOUT NUMBERS FALLING

--PROPERTY TAX RELIEF BOOSTED BY ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

--DAY OF SILENCE CAUSING BIG UPROAR

--STATES WOO CALIFORNIA TEACHERS AMID PINK SLIPS

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW REFORMS FOR NCLB

The Bush Administration sought to bolster its signature education law Tuesday, announcing new rules designed to address the nation’s dropout problem and ensure close attention is paid to the achievement of minority students. See full story here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080422/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/education_law_changes

For links to Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling’s full announcement and the proposed regulations, click here:

http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/reg/proposal/index.html

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‘NATION AT RISK’: BEST THING OR WORST THING FOR EDUCATION?

Twenty-five years ago this week, Americans awoke to a forceful little report that, depending on your point of view, either ruined public education or saved it. On April 26, 1983, in a White House ceremony, Ronald Reagan took possession of “A Nation at Risk,” the product of nearly two years’ work by a blue-ribbon commission. See full story here:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-04-22-nation-at-risk_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

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DATA: JUNEAU’S SCHOOL DROPOUT NUMBERS FALLING

The Juneau School District’s latest dropout data has both good news and bad news, according to district officials. The good news is that fewer students have dropped out in the early stages of their high school careers. The bad news is Alaska Native students are still dropping out of school at a disproportionately higher rate. See full story here (may require registration):

http://juneauempire.com/stories/042308/loc_271344636.shtml

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PROPERTY TAX RELIEF BOOSTED BY ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

Fairbanks municipal leaders took a side door into the state lawmaking process Tuesday to try to increase tax breaks for homeowners. An initiative aimed at the 2010 ballot would allow municipalities to deduct up to $100,000 from each home’s value for tax purposes. The current cap is $20,000. See full story here:

http://newsminer.com/news/2008/apr/23/property-tax-relief-boosted-assembly-members/

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DAY OF SILENCE CAUSING BIG UPROAR

What was supposed to be a Day of Silence is causing a big uproar. On Friday, some Anchorage schools will do what they’ve done for years: observe the National Day of Silence to draw attention to bullying and harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. But now there is a big opposition movement across the country. See full story here:

http://www.ktva.com/ci_9033595

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STATES WOO CALIFORNIA TEACHERS AMID PINK SLIPS

Precious Jackson has two years of teaching under her belt and two school teacher-of-the-year awards to show for it. She also has a pink slip. Now Jackson is a prime target for growing school districts across the country hoping to cherry-pick from thousands of California teachers who have been warned they could be laid off because of sate budget woes. See full story here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24204659/

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Association of Alaska School Boards

1111 West 9^th Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1510 Tel. 907-586-1083

Fax 907-586-2995 Email: aasb@aasb.org

Website: http://www.aasb.org