Moscow Education (Idaho)

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Blog:

A warning for Seattle public high-school students: If you fail a class, that failing grade may be factored into your grade-point average from now on. Seattle Public Schools is bringing back "E" grades, which count as a zero toward a student's GPA.

The district used to give out "E" grades for failed classes, but replaced "E" with "N" grades in fall 2000. With an "N" grade, a student still failed a class and received no credit for it, but didn't lower their GPA.

The idea, according to P-I archives, was that "N" grades would make the grading system more fair and not harm students' GPAs. At the time, more than one-quarter of the Class of 2001 was in danger of not graduating because their GPA was below the district-required minimum of 2.0.

The switch back to using "E" grades is to make sure grading is consistent at each high school, and to comply with School Board policy that was already 'on the books,' the district's high school education director explained in a letter sent home last week.

I'm not sure why they don't give out "F" grades anymore. Anyone know?

Failing can hurt their delicate, precious, personal self-worth. That needs to be protected at all costs.

HT: Dave G.

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The University of Idaho will operate on about $1 million less than expected this year, due to a statewide 1 percent budget holdback.

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter on Friday ordered all state agencies to reduce spending immediately, cut their budgets for fiscal year 2009 by 1 percent and hold an additional 1.5 percent in reserve.

UI Vice President for Finance and Administration Lloyd Mues said the 1 percent will amount to just under $1 million.

Otter's office warned state agencies last week of a potential state revenue shortfall, and instructed them to prepare new budgets based on possible 1 percent, 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent holdbacks.

…

The budget holdback, the first in Idaho since 2002 when then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne slashed budgets by 3.5 percent amid the post-Sept. 11 economic slowdown, comes after state economists issued new tax revenue forecasts last week that were 5.9 percent lower than those from February. A dour housing market, higher unemployment and national financial market turmoil have provoked fear that an economic slowdown could intensify.

…

The Department of Financial Management last week estimated that revenue for fiscal year 2009, which began July 1, at $2.8 billion, down 5.9 percent from the $2.94 billion projected in February. With the current budget at nearly $3 billion, the state had predicted a shortfall of $5.8 million. In addition, Idaho has spent more than $10 million on firefighting this year that wasn't included in the budget. 

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Some high school students are afraid Washington State University's new policy of guaranteeing admission to the top high school students might close doors for them and or their peers.

WSU announced earlier this week its new Assured Admissions Policy, which grants admission to students who rank in the top 10 percent of their class or who have at least a 3.5 grade point average at the time of their application.

Pullman High School senior Siri Hammond said it will be nice for those students who don't have to wait to hear their admissions status.

However, "it's a little bit unfair for those that still have to wait," she said.

…

Pullman High School sophomore Scott Pope believes the policy is unfair.

Pope said there might be students who try really hard, but don't have high GPAs.

"There are students who really don't try, but have good grades," he added.

I don’t even know where to begin with this line of reasoning.

This all comes back to an entitlement mentality and a desire for equitible outcomes.

More bad news for the University of Idaho and for Moscow.

From The Olympian:

Details of Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's order Friday for an across-the-board 1 percent budget cut for state agencies to make up for a tax revenue slump expected in fiscal year 2009:

• BIGGEST HITS: Idaho colleges and universities will lose $2.8 million and Department of Health and Welfare's budget will be trimmed by $5.4 million.
• CRITICAL SERVICES: Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong says his agency's efforts to produce the savings "require reductions in the level of preventative and rehabilitative services for many of the programs in the agency, but were developed to minimize direct impact on critical services for clients."
• STD EDUCATION SLASHED: A Health and Welfare media campaign to educate people about sexually transmitted diseases will be scaled back, helping save Armstrong about $97,100.
• VACANT JOBS: About $3.9 million comes from eliminating vacant positions. Other savings are through cutting meetings and travel, reducing employee education and trimming merit pay increases.
• SCHOLARSHIPS: The state Board of Education plans to save about $76,000 by giving up money from Idaho's Promise B scholarship that isn't being used.
• UNIVERSITIES: The University of Idaho in Moscow loses $959,600, Boise State University loses $875,900 and Idaho State University in Pocatello loses $744,200. Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston will give up $151,000. "We are prepared to implement these expenditure reductions with minimal impact to our core academic mission and delivery of services," BSU President Bob Kustra said.
• GROCERY TAX CREDIT: Otter hopes to preserve a $23 million expansion of a grocery tax credit approved by the 2008 Legislature to offset Idaho's 6 percent sales tax on food. "We have every intent to leave that in place until we see what's going on," Otter said.

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Education in general was a major issue during the forum.

Ringo said she wants to strengthen early childhood education "just to be sure that every child enters kindergarten, or whatever their choice is for a path of education, ready to go."

Gary Schroeder and Trail listed education as among their priorities. Trail said the two have drafted legislation to increase Idaho's seats in a cooperative medical program with University of Washington and provide loan forgiveness to physicians.

NSA student Nate Douglas asked during a question-and-answer session how important the candidates thought money for public education should be when some people send their children to private schools. Vincenti and Gary Schroeder responded.

"I would hate to see anything detract from public education," Vincenti said, adding he does not support vouchers for private schools.

Schroeder said the state has the responsibility to provide free public schools, and it's people's choice whether to send their children.

"If you get the state's money in your school, it's going to be telling your school what to do," he said.

That’s 100% correct.

But I’m not sure that’s the question Nate Douglas was really asking.

What about support for educational tax credits and no-strings-attached vouchers?

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The law school expansion became a hot topic at the NSA forum after Latah County Republicans Chairman Barrett Schroeder brought it up in his opening remarks.

The Idaho State Board of Education recently declined officials' request to establish a branch campus in Boise offering a three-year program. The school was authorized to establish a program for students in their final year.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Gary Schroeder and incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Trail are opposed to the expansion plan.

"If we did have a branch campus in Boise and we got in rough economic times and a decision had to be made to eliminate one or the other, guess where the law school would be?" Trail said.

Schroeder gave the law school issue a brief nod while talking about elitism in politics. He said law school leadership was "arrogant" and avoided public meetings about the expansion plan.

Democrat Sheldon Vincenti, who is running against Gary Schroeder, is a former dean of the law school. He said he also is opposed to a full branch in Boise, and said Schroeder and Trail are "Johnny-come-latelies" to the debate.

Democrat Judith Brown, who is running against Trail, said she felt the law school issue is "peripheral." However, she emphasized that the plan was for a branch campus, not a move to Boise.

Incumbent Democratic Rep. Shirley Ringo said she is concerned about keeping the College of Law based in Moscow, though she does not oppose the branch campus plan.

"If there were a bus that were going to move the law school from Moscow to Boise, I would be the first to stand in front of that bus," she said.

Ringo's opponent, Republican Bob Hassoldt, said the $6 million proposed for a full branch campus would be better used to educate people in vocational professions.

He said not one of the local business owners and workers he talks to "has said, 'Bob, I've got to have two personal injury lawyers or a real estate lawyer by the end of the day,' " he said. "We don't push (vocational) education. We're pushing lawyers, which we don't need."

And again, it appears that I’m still in agreement with the Dems. A law school presence in Boise would be good for Idaho and good for the University of Idaho.

No one has been talking about shutting down the school here in Moscow. And I find that to be a red herring.

Via The Northwest Teacher's Choice for Professionalism and Protection.

An attorney of the Washington Education Association (WEA) has indicated that the WEA will not appeal a ruling of the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) that determined that individuals who object to union membership for religious reasons are permitted to select which nonreligious charity will receive their dues.  It has been the experience of many religious objectors that the WEA had prohibited the educator from directing their union dues to their first charity of choice.  The WEA had argued that the union must agree to the charity.

Washington state NWPE members who are religious objectors and who were previously denied the charity of their choice when establishing their religious objection charity designation might wish to utilize the PERC decision as a precedent for establishing a new charitable designation.  Please contact Northwest Professional Educators at info@nwpe.org or 800-380-6973 for additional information on your options.

The PERC ruling can be accessed at http://www.perc.wa.gov/databases/rep_uc/9959-a.htm.

Pretty sad that “the best thing going in Moscow, Idaho” is perceived to be the Vandalettes skimpy outfits.

But that seems to be public opinion about our town.

From FanIQ:

Starting 1-3, losing those games by a combined 35-163, you'd think the University of Idaho football fans would have enough concerns about what's happening on the field. Instead, they've focused their attention on the Idaho Vandals Cheerleaders and their supposed "skimpy" outfits.

"A number of fans were concerned that the uniforms were inappropriate," said Bruce Pitman, dean of students.

I guess they figured the uniforms featured a little too much H-O, and not enough I-D-A.

You know what's inappropriate? Losing to Arizona 70-0. Or how about hiring John L. Smith in 1989 and giving him an opportunity to terrorize my dreams daily over the last six years. Now that's unacceptable.

Pitman, who likely has his opinion of the matter, was also quick to point out that, "to be fair, there were a number of fans who liked them."

You bet there were. Vandals cheerleading was the best thing going in Moscow, Idaho.

Ouch!

From the Idaho Statesman:

The Boise State football team is ranked 19th in the Associated Press Top 25 football poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll, both released Sunday. The Broncos (3-0) moved into the polls for the first time this season after defeating Oregon 37-32 in Eugene on Saturday.

And on top of that, BSU quarterback Kellen Moore named national player of the week:

Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, making the third start of his collegiate career, guided the Broncos to a 37-32 win over Oregon on Saturday and was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Bowl Subdivision National Offensive Player of the Week, it was announced Sunday.

The following letter to the editor appeared in today’s Lewiston Tribune:

The wrong division

I believe that the 70-0 slaughter of the University of Idaho football team by Arizona provides yet another opportunity to rethink and change its athletic program. Idaho has a new interim president and now would be an ideal time for a fresh start. Instead of more of the same, why not face reality and admit that the Vandals do not belong in Division 1A?

Idaho could again become a very good Division 1AA program. Not only would such a move save money (fewer coaches, fewer scholarships and fewer facility upgrades) but it would restore the interest and pride in the Vandal program. Just maybe, people would show up to watch Idaho sports. It is no coincidence that 40 years ago Idaho suffered another massive defeat playing Division 1 opponents. At that time, it became obvious that schools like Idaho, Idaho State and Montana did not belong and should not play in the highest division of the NCAA. Instead a new division was created so smaller schools could compete on a level playing field. What a concept that instead of being the doormat for the larger schools Idaho could become one of the better NCAA Division 1AA schools. I say why not?

Brian Hensley
Lewiston

I’m not sure that UI officials want to take a step backwards right now. Even though they may be able to win a few more games, they would lose a psychological battle that they have been waring.  

We knew this was coming. You could see it by all of the belt-tightening actions that UI has taken over the last three weeks.

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

University of Idaho officials are recalculating the university's budget for the current fiscal year after receiving a letter from Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's office Wednesday warning of a possible state budget shortfall.

Lloyd Mues, UI vice president for finance and administration, said the budget shortfall is theoretical for now but it's important to plan prudently.

Mues said the letter from Otter cited a 5.9-percent projected revenue shortfall for fiscal year 2009, but individual agencies were only asked to calculate 1-percent to 2.5-percent budget decreases.

The UI is slated to receive $146 million in state appropriations during fiscal year 2009, which began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2009. UI officials will recalculate their spending plans in preparation for potential 1-, 2- and 2.5-percent decreases, which equates to $1.46 million to $3.65 million less than expected.

"That'll be a challenge for us, but can we do it? Sure we can do it," Mues said. "It just means we'll have to look carefully" at our budget.

Mues said the UI will examine areas of spending that can be put off until next year. For example, university officials might look at money intended for facility improvements and see what could be postponed.

The UI also might cut down on travel to educational conferences and conventions, though Mues noted it's difficult for a research institution to dramatically reduce its travel budget.

A letter to the editor in the Idaho Statesman.

Good job, UI!

After five years of bad news, this was a long time coming.

Fall enrollment at the University of Idaho is up by 155 students, the first such increase since 2003, according to The Associated Press.

The U of I's enrollment is 11,791, up 1.3 percent from 11,636.

This news can't come at a better time for the U of I, as higher education will face a stiff competition for scarce state dollars during the 2009 legislative session. It's difficult - but critically important - to keep investing in higher education during an economic slowdown. The enrollment numbers help enhance the case for higher education funding, and continued support of student scholarships.

The AP story links some of the U of I's enrollment increase to an aggressive drive to recruit new students. As the father of a U of I freshman, I have a bias - and some personal perspective.

I can attest that the U of I's recruiting was aggressive - but also outstanding. The university did a good job of promoting its programs and answering questions. That takes a lot of mystery and stress out of the process, which is especially important to parents sending a child to college for the first time. It's a tough process - and even tougher for parents who didn't attend college themselves. I at least had my own college experience as a touchstone; even so, I still had a lot of questions for the U of I over the past few months, and unfailingly I got answers.

I have to contrast the U of I approach to our experience at Idaho State University, where my son also applied. Outreach was pretty limited. The low point came when my son wanted to spend a day touring the campus, and we were told the university doesn't conduct tours on weekends. So we spent a morning walking the campus to get a feel for the place, but it wasn't the same.

According to the AP story, ISU's enrollment is down by more than 4 percent. I don't wonder why. 

Is there any wonder why kids cannot do math?

Via Out In Left Field:

1. The first assignment in Connected Mathematics Prime Time: Factors and Multiples

My Special Number

Many people have a number they find interesting. Choose a whole number between 10 and 100 that you especially like.

In your journal
*record your number
*explain why you chose that number
*list three or four mathematical things about your number
*list three or four connections you can make between your number and your world

As you work through the investigations in Prime Time, you will learn lots of things about numbers. Think about how these new ideas apply to your special number, and add any new information about your number to your journal. You may want to designate one or two "special number" pages in your journal, where you can record this information. At the end of the unit, your teacher will ask you to find an interesting way to report to the class about your special number.

The entire education community should be held accountable for doing this to our children.

And then charging us a premium in order not to educate.

I’m totally disgusted.

According to 2003-2004 NCES data, only 1.9 percent of our nation’s public school teachers with more than 3 years of experience were dismissed or didn’t have their contracts renewed due to poor performance.

—Amber Winkler

The following article ran in today’s Lewiston Tribune.

MOSCOW - The president of the University of Idaho said training doctors out of state is still Idaho's best option for medical education, despite the governor's statement Monday he was "disappointed" with the program.

Steven Daley-Laursen, the UI's interim president, said other options weighed by an interim legislative committee could sacrifice the quality and efficiency of the Wyoming, Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho program that sends medical students to the University of Washington.

"We should not set ourselves up with a vision bigger than what Idaho can accomplish with some empire within the state that throws away leverage externally, and causes a drop in our quality," Daley-Laursen said. "I have no tolerance for that."

In a statement issued through his spokesman, Idaho Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter said he was only disappointed with WWAMI's record of keeping the doctors it trains in Idaho.

"We haven't managed that program to retain those doctors," Otter said in a recorded statement meant to clarify comments he made to the committee Monday. "Not that it hasn't worked. It's worked and it's worked well for the students that participated in it that become good doctors.

"Unfortunately, a disproportionate share is not staying in Idaho."

The following letter to the editor appeared in today’s Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

My daughter, a senior at Moscow High School, came home last week with some of the best news I've heard in a long time. She was challenged academically at school. Finally. Apparently, Mike Hightower (MHS teacher) and Rick Fehrenbacher (University of Idaho faculty) have put together a dual-credit British literature course at an appropriate level for our advanced seniors. Wow. Hats off to all who have finally made dual enrollment a reality in Moscow. 

Great news.

Too bad you had to get her into college for here to be challenged academically.

What happened to that $10k per year that MSD is spending on your daughter?

Good thing we’re getting our money’s worth out of that government K-12 education. We know how inexpensive it is to babysit for 13 years and then pay the universities to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic (tongue firmly implanted in mouth).

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

It's a tough lesson for millions of students just now arriving on campus: even if you have a high school diploma, you may not be ready for college.

In fact, a new study calculates one-third of American college students have to enroll in remedial classes.

The bill to colleges and taxpayers for trying to bring those students up to speed on material they were supposed to learn in high school comes to between $2.3 billion and $2.9 billion annually.

"That is a very large cost, but there is an additional cost and that's the cost to the students," said former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, chairman of the group Strong American Schools, which issued the report "Diploma to Nowhere" today. "These students come out of high school really misled. They think they're prepared. They got a 3.0 and got through the curriculum they needed to get admitted, but they find what they learned wasn't adequate."

…

Analyzing federal data, the report estimates 43 percent of community college students require remediation, as do 29 percent of students at public four-year universities, with higher numbers in some places. For instance, four in five Oklahoma community college students need remedial coursework, and three in five in the giant California State university system need help in English, math or both.

The cost is as high as $2,000 per student in community colleges and $2,500 in four-year universities.

Jeronimo was hardly alone at Long Beach City College, where 95 percent of students need remedial coursework, according to President Eloy Oakley.

"It's the No. 1 issue to Long Beach City College and the entire California community college system, easily," Oakley said. "I don't believe that the public in general really understands the magnitude of the problem."

Dumping the remedial students into large classes isn't necessarily expensive for colleges, but it's also not very effective either. But smaller classes typically require more attention and money. Some states have refused to fund remedial courses at the university level. In California, Oakley said, state funding for community colleges favors credit courses. Remediation (or "basic skills" as he and many educators call it) is typically noncredit.

Educators are working to improve remedial courses. Long Beach is developing "success areas" that give extra time and attention to students. Community colleges in Tennessee have completely redesigned giant introductory and remedial courses where many students were struggling.

Improving remedial courses? Isn’t that treating the symptoms rather than the disease?

Congrats to St. Mary’s School on a job well done for 100 years!

As most of my readers know, Prof. Jack Wenders was a champion of Value-Added Growth Models.

This only makes sense — you compare a child this year to where he was last year. And the educational growth from one year to the next is the value being added by the teacher.

Via The Northwest Teacher's Choice for Professionalism and Protection.

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has announced approval of two high-quality growth models, which follow the bright-line principles of No Child Left Behind (see http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/06/06102008.html). The U.S. Department of Education intends to invite states to submit growth model proposals in fall 2008 for implementation during the 2008-2009 school year. Oregon has applied for federal funding to implement growth models. Idaho is currently designing a longitudinal student data system that, when functional, will make it eligible to apply for federal funding of growth models.

The Ohio Department of Education, for the first time will include a measurement known as value-added. "Instead of adjusting for the income level of a child's family, Sanders (')[value-added formula] compares the child against his or her own past academic performance. . . (t)he most potentially explosive thing about value-added is its ability to determine which individual teachers are effective and which are not. Some school districts, such as Houston, are already using Sanders' work as the foundation for a performance pay system for teachers. In Ohio, Battelle for Kids is using valued-added in a volunteer pilot program involving about 1,800 teachers in about 240 schools across the state. What it has found: effective teaching is not limited to the state's affluent districts with the highest test scores."

The teachers unions will never stand for their dues-paying members being evaluated based on their competency and actual success in the classroom.

Read the article here.

Via The Northwest Teacher's Choice for Professionalism and Protection.

“Teacher unions and other traditional voices in education may be getting it wrong, the Rev. Al Sharpton has decided. 

“In the past, the civil rights activist has been known more for his opposition to school choice than for any teamwork with New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, but that changed radically in June when Sharpton joined Klein and a diverse group of fellow free-thinkers from all political stripes to form the Education Equality Project, a group advocating more charter schools and greater accountability.

“ ‘We keep going to the old ways that don't work, to protect the political careers of some and the contracts of others at the expense of the children. And the results are the data that we have,’ Sharpton said at a June 11 press conference.

" ‘And someone has to have the political and the social courage--and I hope this group helps to begin that nationally--to say, 'Wait a minute, the children are suffering,’ ” Sharpton said.

See article at:  http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results.html?artId=23749

But unions don’t care about kids. They care about due-paying members.

"When school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of school children."
—Albert Shanker, the AFT's longtime president, famously remarked in 1985

Via The Northwest Teacher's Choice for Professionalism and Protection.

Washington and Oregon teachers are forced by compulsory union representation laws to pay union fees whether they join the union or not. State and federal law allows teachers with moral and religious views that conflict with union political activity to become religious objectors and direct their union dues to a nonreligious charity that the teacher and union mutually agree upon.

When Washington state teacher and religious objector Susan Wiggs requested that her dues be sent to Shared Hope, a nonprofit organization fighting child trafficking and slavery, the teachers union said, "No" saying the organization was “not acceptable." Wiggs provided the union with documentation of Shared Hope’s non-profit, non-sectarian status, but the union refused to accommodate her selection, and failed to provide a clear explanation for the denial. On October 18, 2006, the VEA filed a petition against Wiggs with the Public Employment Relations Commission.

The Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) ruled on August 22, 2008, that individuals who object to union membership for religious reasons are permitted to select the charity that will receive their dues. Wiggs is now free to send her union dues to Shared Hope after a three-year battle with the teachers union. PERC Examiner Joel Greene said the law “requires the union to agree to Wiggs’s designation of an organization to receive her alternative dues payments once she proves the designated organization is both nonreligious and a charity. Wiggs met her burden of proof.”

PERC unanimously upheld the examiner's initial ruling stating, “We find that the Examiner’s decision accurately states the law. Where a union agrees that an employee’s closely held religious beliefs qualify that employee to assert his or her right of non-association, as long as the employee designates a qualified non-religious charity, there is no legal issue for the Commission to adjudicate. Accordingly, we affirm the Examiner’s decision.”

The VEA has 30 days to appeal the ruling to superior court. See PERC ruling at http://www.perc.wa.gov/databases/rep_uc/9959-a.htm

Via The Northwest Teacher's Choice for Professionalism and Protection.

A federal judge has ruled that a San Diego high school teacher has a free speech right to display patriotic banners in his classroom with messages such as “God Bless America,” “In God We Trust,” and “One Nation Under God.” School officials had ordered the banners removed on the grounds they promoted a “Judeo-Christian” viewpoint.

 

Brad Johnson, a high school math teacher, had displayed such banners in his classroom for twenty-five years before they were ordered removed. The school district allowed classroom displays by other teachers that included posters of Buddhist and Islamic messages, Tibetan prayer flags, and other displays.

 

The Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the school district’s actions amounted to government hostility toward a specific religion. The lawsuit also alleged that the school district violated Johnson’s free speech rights by imposing a viewpoint-based restriction upon him.

 

Federal District Judge Robert T. Benitez ruled that the lawsuit may proceed, stating in his decision:  “Whether described as speech from a religious perspective or speech about American history and culture, through display of his classroom banners, Johnson was simply exercising his free speech rights on subjects that were otherwise permitted in the limited public forum created by Defendants and in a manner that did not cause substantial disorder in the classroom.  Thus, Johnson has made out a clear claim for relief for an ongoing violation of his First Amendment free speech rights.”

 

See:  http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13755

Via Cindy Omlin, executive director of The Northwest Teacher's Choice for Professionalism and Protection.

NEA President Reg Weaver delivered the NEA's endorsement speech for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention on August 25th. 

Weaver stated, "3.2 million members of the National Education Association are organized, energized and mobilized to help elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States of America."  See entire speech at:  http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/remarks-prepared-delivery-reg-weaver/story.aspx?guid=%7B3978AC0E-CBED-472E-90EB-3F7539194226%7D

NEA states it will spend $50 million in teacher dues this election including strategies to micro-target members, use sophisticated electronic individualized messaging to NEA members, and partner with other organizations to target women and minorities.  The NEA expects to reach 5.2 million voters by targeting their members, their members’ spouses and families.  Their goal is to deliver 80 percent of the 5.2 million votes to Senator Obama. See “NEA Revs Its Political Engines for Barack Obama” at http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nea-revs-its-political-engines/story.aspx?guid=%7B27FCA681-FC35-4E56-8967-E1E14F7149EF%7D&dist=hppr.

The NEA and AFT were active participants at the Democratic National Convention.  When the host committee for the convention was $10 million short of its fundraising goals two months before the convention, the NEA was one of seven unions that gave money to the committee to help reach their goal.

From the University of Idaho’s Argonaut

I’m content to leave political analysis of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, recently chosen as Sen. John McCain’s running mate, to those who make a living doing such things. I must, however, take a bit of good-natured exception to a reference in Daniel Henninger’s “What’s So Special About Sarah?” (Wonder Land, Sept. 4), where he says (or implies that someone has said) that Gov. Palin graduated “from a no-name university.” That would be, of course, the University of Idaho, where we proudly celebrate a 120-year legacy of leadership for our state and nation.

UI is consistently recognized among the “top national, doctoral-granting universities” in the country by U.S. News & World Report. We are ranked in the top half of the Top 50 Best Values for Public Colleges and Universities by Consumer’s Digest and are recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the “77 Best Value Colleges in America.”

UI is a national research institution and attracts outstanding faculty and students to study in our world-class labs and facilities; and with a 16-to-1 student-faculty ratio, that means you will actually get to use those resources and connect with faculty from day one. We are also the first public university to receive the prestigious National Medal of Arts for our Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival.

A no-name university? Not really. More correctly, UI is a distinguished research university preparing leaders for today and the future.

Steven Daley-Laursen
President, UI

We discussed previously that in Sweating the Small Stuff, David Whitman described “paternalistic” schools as those schools which transform inner-city students by teaching diligence, resilience, and manners in addition to academic skills.

That name (“paternalistic schools”) set off a fire storm across the Internet.

Jay Mathews proposes “no excuses” schools as a better name.

As reported in today’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Washington State University's Pullman campus has a record-breaking freshman class for the second straight year, according to official 10-day enrollment numbers released Friday.

WSU has 3,411 first-time freshmen enrolled for the fall semester, an increase of 203 students from last year's total of 3,208.

The freshman numbers contributed to a 3.57-percent increase in enrollment at the Pullman campus and a 4.9-percent boost statewide, with 25,135 students attending the university's four campuses.

Of those students, 19,360 are enrolled at the Pullman campus for the fall semester, an increase of 667 students over last fall's head count of 18,693 students.

The number of full-time equivalent students at the Pullman campus is 19,423. The full-time equivalent count is based on a formula of one undergraduate student for every 15 credits, and one graduate student for every 10 credits.

And while WSU has a 5% increase and all-time record high enrollments, UI is doing the fuzzy slipper dance because they had a 1% increase after a 5–year decline.

If you want federal money, put the words “global warming” in the proposal.

Take the money and run.

Via ISU.

It’s the kind of news that reaffirms how scientific research benefits Idahoans. Today, Sept. 12, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch announced the largest grant ever awarded to the state of Idaho by the National Science Foundation. The five-year, $15 million award will support new faculty and facilities at the University of Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University in an effort to understand the current and future impact of climate change on the Snake and Salmon River watersheds.

“This grant is an excellent example of how the state of Idaho can serve as a natural laboratory,” said Jack McIver, University of Idaho vice president for research. “It also illustrates how scientists from different disciplines and institutions can come together to tackle today’s greatest challenges.”

The grant was secured through Idaho’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). By combining the resources of the state’s major research and partner institutions, EPSCoR allows scientists to share resources and make their combined grant proposals more appealing to federal funding sources. The grant brings direct EPSCoR and National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program funding to the state of Idaho for building research infrastructure and brings total funding to more than $157 million since 1989.

From USA Today:

Education reformers have long criticized the big teachers unions for blocking efforts to shake up public school bureaucracies, but a new, $1 million campaign from one of the largest may help put some of that criticism to rest.

The American Federation of Teachers, the USA's second-largest teachers union, plans to announce today it will put up $1 million and seek additional philanthropic funding to help school systems try "sustainable, innovative and collaborative reform projects" developed by AFT teachers over the past several years.

AFT has more than 1.4 million members; about half currently work in schools.

Randi Weingarten, the union's new president, says the fund will support teacher-generated efforts. "That's something that has been totally absent" from most big school shake-ups, she says.

And here’s one of their reform plans: “Union-run charter schools similar to those in New York City.”

The reason charters are so successful is because they are not run by the unions. Put the union bosses back in charge and you have a typical government school again.

That’s regress, not progress.

The unions have no incentive for reform. In fact, just the opposite.

HT: Randy S.