http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/index.pl News and articles on Illinois schools and school districts, varsity football, marching band, biology, algebra, other academic subjects. en-us http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/images/logo_rss_small.gif 2023-04-21T14:58:59.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2402 Front Page: The following is a transcript of a large scroll written by New York third graders on Thursday, June 6, 2013, in City Hall Park. The transcript was made by Jody Drezner Alperin who, with her teaching artist partner, Vicky Finney Crouch, helped students create the document as part of a class lesson about the Declaration of Independence. Declaration of Education We the children of New York City b Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:54:30 GMT 2013-06-07T19:54:30.000Z 2013-06-07T19:54:30.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2402 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2401 Science: Abstract Less than one percent of the secondary music students I have instructed have gone on to a post secondary musical setting. Despite this remarkably low number, over ten percent of my past students continuously and unexpectedly made informal visits to my classroom over the years to reminisce, reflect, and connect to past events from the music program. Although these encounters were sponta Thu, 16 May 2013 17:36:24 GMT 2013-05-16T17:36:24.000Z 2013-05-16T17:36:24.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2401 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2400 Illinois: This is a transcription, based on a recording of streamed video, of the Illinois Pension Forum, conducted Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at Harper Community College in Palatine. The panel discussion was hosted by the Daily Herald and Reboot Illinois. See the links at the bottom of the page for references to the original stories. In this transcript, colors are used to denote speakers. The moderator is Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:41:48 GMT 2013-04-25T05:41:48.000Z 2013-04-25T05:41:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2400 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2399 Illinois: Editorial Yes, this is a nightmare. No, you're not dreaming. As full of irony as our world is, nothing quite compares to this one: In 2002, Congress approved, by an overwhelming, bipartisan majority, and President Bush signed into law sweeping changes in education reform. The collection of changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was known as "No Child Left Behind." Our elected offic Thu, 16 Jun 2011 06:01:00 GMT 2011-06-16T06:01:00.000Z 2011-06-16T06:01:00.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2399 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2398 Illinois: Public high schools in Illinois graduated an estimated 133,190 seniors this spring, and based on national averages, an additional 14,500 seniors will receive high school diplomas from private high schools in the state. The total number of graduates, then, in Illinois is estimated at 147,690. As shown in the table of historical data, the actual number has held steady since about 2008, when a gro Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:40:41 GMT 2011-06-10T18:40:41.000Z 2011-06-10T18:40:41.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2398 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2397 National: Students (also known as test subjects, pun intended) perform significantly better on standardized tests at the beginning of the summer than at the end of the summer. The phenomenon goes by several names ("summer slide," etc.), but whatever you call it, reading loss over the summer contributes to the observed achievement gap between students from families of high and low socioeconomic levels. Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:20:54 GMT 2011-06-09T01:20:54.000Z 2011-06-09T01:20:54.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2397 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2396 National: A report released today says that minority 8- to 18-year-olds in the US spend about 13 hours a day plugged into media, representing about four and a half hours more than white children in the same age range. Findings from Northwestern University analyze two earlier studies by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Asian Americans used media the most each day (13 hours 13 minutes), then Hispanics (13 hours Wed, 08 Jun 2011 09:27:53 GMT 2011-06-08T09:27:53.000Z 2011-06-08T09:27:53.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2396 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2395 Illinois: According to a report just released by Education Week, the nation's graduation rate rose to 71.7 percent in 2008, the last year for which data are available, up 2.9 percent from the previous year. Illinois's rate rose from 74.6 to 78.8 in the same period. and nbsp; The administrations of both George W Bush and Barack Obama have espoused a push to improve the high school graduation rate as a good st Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:15:50 GMT 2011-06-08T03:15:50.000Z 2011-06-08T03:15:50.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2395 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2394 Movies: Grades ... Overall: A ... Teens: B+ ... Story: A Since the days of Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme, not much has been expected from the action genre. The plots are bad, the acting is cheesy, and they have enough guns and explosives to start a self-funded war. It is surprising that these movies are still being made; I can't remember the last time I heard of someone going to see one. The wo Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:33:01 GMT 2011-04-22T12:33:01.000Z 2011-04-22T12:33:01.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2394 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2393 Movies: Grades ... Overall: A - ... Teens: B+ ... Story: B - Anyone over the age of 15 who has recently seen a Pixar or DreamWorks movie would agree that animation has taken a turn for the worst. The art lost its touch somewhere from classics such as Toy Story (Pixar) and Shrek (DreamWorks) to stinkers such as Bolt (Pixar) and Shrek: The Final Chapter (DreamWorks). Part of the problem is the o Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:40:27 GMT 2011-03-18T01:40:27.000Z 2011-03-18T01:40:27.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2393 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2392 Movies: Grades ... Overall: F ... Teens: C+ ... Story: D The story of Beauty and the Beast is one of the greatest children's tales in history. The story is simple: The beauty meets the beast, looks past his harsh exterior, and sees a beautiful person. The beast then turns into a handsome man from the love given by the beauty, and they live happily ever after. The story isn't complicated. Disney was able Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:18:25 GMT 2011-03-18T01:18:25.000Z 2011-03-18T01:18:25.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2392 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2391 Front Page: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount attention-getting, anti-gay protests outside military funerals, the Washington Post reports. The court voted 8-1 Wednesday in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the f Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:52:02 GMT 2011-03-02T07:52:02.000Z 2011-03-02T07:52:02.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2391 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2390 Front Page: A government report says that only 60 percent of households in rural areas have broadband Internet service, the New York Times reports. Many students in rural areas never touch a computer, except possibly in their high schools, showing a growing divide in America between those who have reliable, high-speed access to the Internet and those who don't. In urban areas, about 50 percent of households Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:06:10 GMT 2011-02-17T16:06:10.000Z 2011-02-17T16:06:10.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2390 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2389 Movies: Synopsis Centered in a meth-making rural area, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is a teenager who takes on the responsibility of caring for her family. Her mother is sick, mentally, and can't care for her two children. Having very little money, Dolly has to work with what she can scrape up. And she doesn't know where her father is, as he's known around the area as a meth cook. A sheriff visits her, Mon, 14 Feb 2011 01:24:59 GMT 2011-02-14T01:24:59.000Z 2011-02-14T01:24:59.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2389 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2388 Movies: Synopsis Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is a Harvard student with plans to make something of himself. After pulling an Internet stunt landing him into trouble, Zuckerberg is recruited by a couple of other students to create a website, one that would beome the underlying idea of Facebook.com. Through filing lawsuits, cheating partners out of shares, and dealing with drug addict friends, Zucker Mon, 14 Feb 2011 01:14:08 GMT 2011-02-14T01:14:08.000Z 2011-02-14T01:14:08.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2388 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2387 Movies: Synopsis Aron Rolstin, played here by James Franco, is young and living life to its fullest. On weekends, he goes out to the canyons to explore and ride his bike, and returns on Sundays to go back to work. In his usual routine, Aron descends into a crack and accidentally fumbles. He falls, and a rock that he fumbled on smashes his hand and traps him in the pit. Aron has to search his bag to find Mon, 14 Feb 2011 01:00:19 GMT 2011-02-14T01:00:19.000Z 2011-02-14T01:00:19.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2387 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2386 Movies: Synopsis The Duke of York (Colin Firth), later to be King George VI, has a problem, one that is crucial to a public figure such as himself: he stammers. To fix his problem, he must seek help from professionals, but none of them can help his situation - until he finds Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), a non-degreed speech therapist who works out of his house. With Logue's help, the duke must lea Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:46:24 GMT 2011-02-14T00:46:24.000Z 2011-02-14T00:46:24.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2386 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2385 Movies: Synopsis Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a ballet dancer who is never noticed in her production company. When the casting of the new queen of Tchaikovsky's 1876 ballet "Swan Lake" takes place, Nina lands the part of her dreams, one in which she must transform from a white swan, pure and good, to a black swan, who has a dark side to her. However, her personality only makes her perfect for the p Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:29:02 GMT 2011-02-14T00:29:02.000Z 2011-02-14T00:29:02.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2385 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2384 Movies: Synopsis Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a boxer living in the shadow of his crack-addicted brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), who is a local legend for knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard in a boxing match. Mickey is trained by his brother and managed by his mother (Melissa Leo), but his brother goes absent too often, leaving Mickey to experience several beatings in the ring. Mickey must decide as h Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:21:40 GMT 2011-02-14T00:21:40.000Z 2011-02-14T00:21:40.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2384 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2383 Movies: Synopsis Nick (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) are lesbians who are living the American dream: family life. Their children, Laser and Joni, are both blood related to one of the mothers, both taking turns to enjoy motherhood, but the father is an unknown sperm donor named Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Curious about his true father, Laser pressures his sister to meet Paul, and the family ignit Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:11:44 GMT 2011-02-14T00:11:44.000Z 2011-02-14T00:11:44.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2383 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2382 Front Page: Military leaders in Egypt (the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) have dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution, pending the outcome of elections in six months, news agencies around the world are reporting. Joining coverage from the British Broadcasting Corporation, we learn: Egypt's current parliament is dominated by supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted on Frid Sun, 13 Feb 2011 07:32:16 GMT 2011-02-13T07:32:16.000Z 2011-02-13T07:32:16.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2382 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2381 Illinois: The Kane County Chronicle is reporting that high school students in Geneva have been banned from using the dance moves known as "grinding" at their dances. Principal Tom Rogers of Geneva High School reportedly said the ban was creating a stir among students, and he encouraged any students who disagreed with it to talk to him. In a letter from school officials to parents that announced the ban, t Sun, 13 Feb 2011 07:17:26 GMT 2011-02-13T07:17:26.000Z 2011-02-13T07:17:26.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2381 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2380 Illinois: Due to the blizzard, Palatine High School has cancelled the performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for Wednesday, Feb. 2. From the school's Web site: Tickets already purchased for this performance can be exchanged at the door for the best available seating on a first come first serve basis for performances on Thursday, February 3rd, Friday, February 4th or Saturday, February Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:51:52 GMT 2011-02-01T17:51:52.000Z 2011-02-01T17:51:52.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2380 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2379 Front Page: The Egyptian Army refused on Monday to use force against demonstrators who seek to overthrow the country's authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, the New York Times reports. This move shifted the power within hours, away from the unmovable president who refuses to relinquish power and toward his country's citizens. During the last six days, several thousand young political protesters have taken Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:44:48 GMT 2011-02-01T00:44:48.000Z 2011-02-01T00:44:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2379 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2378 Front Page: The National Weather Service has issued blizzard and winter storm warnings for most of the Great Plains and Great Lakes regions, effective from early morning Tuesday through mid-day Wednesday. An article in Tuesday's New York Times simply headlined that Tuesday's forecast was "horrific." Snowfall totals are expected to exceed 12 inches rapidly along and northwest of Interstate 55, while winds ar Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:22:03 GMT 2011-02-01T00:22:03.000Z 2011-02-01T00:22:03.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2378 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2377 Movies: Synopsis Over the course of a decade, the "Toy Story" franchise has followed the life of toys that can talk and behave like humans. The films also emphasize the toys' love for their owner, Andy. This third installment finds Andy at the age where most forget about their childhood, go off to college and find out what the world has to offer. When Andy's mom is cleaning out his room before he goes t Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:12:34 GMT 2011-01-31T19:12:34.000Z 2011-01-31T19:12:34.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2377 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2376 Movies: Synopsis Mattie Ross (newcomer Hailee Steinfeld) is a young girl, age 14, on a quest to resolve the murder of her father. Her only lead is a name: Tom Chaney. To track down Chaney (Josh Brolin), Mattie hires the ignorant but caring drunk Rooster Cogburn (a fully western Jeff Bridges, modeled after the late John Wayne). Along the way, Mattie and Cogburn meet Texas Ranger Laboeuf (Matt Damon), who Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:59:28 GMT 2011-01-31T18:59:28.000Z 2011-01-31T18:59:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2376 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2375 Movies: Synopsis Dom Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) is a thief. He steals fortunes and secrets from wealthy and important men. But he doesn't steal from his victims in a physical sense; he steals their thoughts. With a team of specialized dream interceptors, Cobb steals the treasures of the mind, such as secrets and hidden wealth, from which the team profits. As Cobb goes about his profession, he deals with Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:46:48 GMT 2011-01-31T18:46:48.000Z 2011-01-31T18:46:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2375 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2374 Illinois: The executive director of the Illinois Science Teachers Association, Harry Hendrickson, told the State Journal-Register in November at the ISTA conference in Springfield that the No Child Left Behind Law, with its emphasis on math and reading, really hurt science educators. "Math is fine," he said. "We need math. But we used to have a lot of grant money to come to events like this. It's not the s Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:51:10 GMT 2011-01-31T16:51:10.000Z 2011-01-31T16:51:10.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2374 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2373 Science: A new study out of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, finds that retired NFL players use pain killers about four times as often as the general population, the online journal ScienceDaily reports. Lead researcher, Linda B Cottler, director of the Epidemiology and Prevention Research Group in the Department of Psychiatry, suggests continued monitoring of everyone who has playe Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:29:45 GMT 2011-01-31T16:29:45.000Z 2011-01-31T16:29:45.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2373 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2372 Science: An article in the January 2011 issue of the AIChE Journal suggests that systemic failures, such as those that lead to disasters like major power blackouts, require a new cross-disciplinary approach. A Purdue University researcher is proposing development of such an approach for analyzing and preventing systemic failures in complex systems like those that led to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster a Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:15:50 GMT 2011-01-31T16:15:50.000Z 2011-01-31T16:15:50.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2372 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2371 Science: Building a highway through Serengeti National Park may devastate one of the world's last large-scale herd migrations and the region's ecosystem, according to new research by an international team of ecologists, including a professor at the University of Guelph. Researchers studied the effects of a proposal by the Tanzanian government to build a road that would bisect the northern portion of Seren Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:06:41 GMT 2011-01-31T16:06:41.000Z 2011-01-31T16:06:41.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2371 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2370 Illinois: Although information from about 100 high schools in Illinois has not yet been received, we have gone ahead and published our findings for performances of musicals during the 2010-11 school year in Illinois. We are currently tracking about 318 productions. Of those, 66 closed before Jan. 26, either before the winter break or earlier in January, and 241 are known to be opening after Jan. 26. Three Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:41:29 GMT 2011-01-27T16:41:29.000Z 2011-01-27T16:41:29.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2370 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2369 Illinois: A biology teacher at Lyons Township High School in west-suburban LaGrange was recently honored with a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation, along with 101 other math and science teachers, one each from each state and the District of Columbia, by the National Science Foundation and the White House. Jason Crean, who also serves as an animal handler at Brookfield Zoo, said of receiving Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:03:22 GMT 2011-01-19T02:03:22.000Z 2011-01-19T02:03:22.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2369 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2368 Illinois: The Illinois Teacher of the Year for 2011, Annice Brave, an English and journalism teacher at Alton Senior High School near St. Louis, has been named one of four finalists for the nation's top teaching honor, National Teacher of the Year. Ms Brave was kind to complete an interview we conducted with her, which can be found at the link below. Maryland Teacher of the Year Michelle Shearer was a Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:04:14 GMT 2011-01-12T08:04:14.000Z 2011-01-12T08:04:14.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2368 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2367 Front Page: Reports out of Tucson say that police had responded to calls at Jared Lee Loughner's home before he allegedly attempted to assassinate a member of Congress, but the nature of those police calls was not known, the New York Times reported. Mr Loughner, 22, has been charged in federal court in connection with the murder of six people, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge, and the attempte Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:47:40 GMT 2011-01-12T05:47:40.000Z 2011-01-12T05:47:40.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2367 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2366 Front Page: A 9-year-old girl, Christina Green, was among the dead Saturday morning near a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, after Jared Lee Loughner, 22, allegedly opened fire using a Glock 19, killing six people and seriously wounding the likely target of the attack, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat of Arizona. Several aides to Ms Giffords were also wounded in the attack. Her community outreach director, G Sun, 09 Jan 2011 05:12:08 GMT 2011-01-09T05:12:08.000Z 2011-01-09T05:12:08.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2366 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2365 Illinois: Eastland High School in Lanark and Pearl City High School, both situated about 10 miles east of the Mississippi River in northern Illinois, have a combined enrollment under 400. Their football teams combine to form the single team known as Eastland-Pearl City Coop. So when it came to putting on a musical in October, directors Scott Kempel and Kevin O'Keefe combined their fine arts forces to create Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:47:10 GMT 2011-01-07T00:47:10.000Z 2011-01-07T00:47:10.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2365 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2364 National: Initial findings of a $45 million study sponsored by the Bill and amp; Melinda Gates Foundation support the use of value-added data to predict future teacher performance. Specifically, student improvement on standardized tests reflected gains in learning and critical-thinking skills, not memorization, as previously suggested. Moreover, the value-added predictions were corroborated by the results of Sat, 01 Jan 2011 06:16:33 GMT 2011-01-01T06:16:33.000Z 2011-01-01T06:16:33.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2364 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2363 National: Officials in the South St. Paul, Minn., district are considering a program that would have native speakers of English and those of Spanish learn each other's languages the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune reports. School officials say the programs, known as dual-language immersion, would benefit elementary school students, many of whom speak Spanish at home. The program would be aimed at suppor Sat, 01 Jan 2011 05:10:25 GMT 2011-01-01T05:10:25.000Z 2011-01-01T05:10:25.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2363 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2362 Illinois: Chicago Voxitatis, through our researcher, Alicia Mills, has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with every high school in Illinois in order to determine what musical(s) they are performing this year and last year. For the most part, districts have provided the information requested. However, some significant questions have come up during the course of our information collection, and I ne Wed, 29 Dec 2010 06:36:31 GMT 2010-12-29T06:36:31.000Z 2010-12-29T06:36:31.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2362 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2361 Front Page: The US Census Bureau said today that the population of the US as of April 1, 2010, was 308,745,538, representing a 9.7-percent increase over the population 10 years ago. The new numbers will bring some changes to Congress: Ohio and New York will each lose two seats in the US House of Representatives, while Texas will add four and Florida will add two. In all, eight states will gain seats and 10 w Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:16:57 GMT 2010-12-21T10:16:57.000Z 2010-12-21T10:16:57.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2361 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2360 National: The Associated Press, via the San Diego Union-Tribune, is reporting that the state of California has reached a settlement in a case with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California that will ban schools from charging extra fees for textbooks, art supplies, and other basic educational items. The ACLU, on behalf of frustrated parents, was suing 35 districts in the state, and a district Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:16:41 GMT 2010-12-15T10:16:41.000Z 2010-12-15T10:16:41.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2360 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2359 Illinois: The US Department of Justice is suing Berkeley (Ill.) School District 87 for denying unpaid leave to a Muslim teacher who asked to travel to Mecca, according to her religious beliefs, The Associated Press reports. In her civil suit, middle school teacher Safoorah Khan said her request for leave was denied on grounds that it was unrelated to her professional duties and was not set forth in the con Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:49:34 GMT 2010-12-15T09:49:34.000Z 2010-12-15T09:49:34.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2359 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2358 Science: Public and private high schools in America have long underserved black boys, and people have blamed all sorts of causes for this failure: persistent unemployment, poverty, gangs and other crime, families without fathers, and so on. But no one has ever pointed a finger of blame at sports. This is wrong, and we need to have this conversation before it's too late. Most boys who go to college on a ba Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:05:29 GMT 2010-12-13T10:05:29.000Z 2010-12-13T10:05:29.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2358 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2357 National: The headmistress of an elementary school in England has banned photographs of students in school for fear their faces will be digitally superimposed on pornographic pictures on the Internet, the Daily Mail reports. As a result of the ban, the yearbook contains photographs that feature children's eyes covered up by a black bar, like one you might see used to protect the identity of criminals befor Mon, 13 Dec 2010 02:38:58 GMT 2010-12-13T02:38:58.000Z 2010-12-13T02:38:58.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2357 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2356 National: The federal government is looking to tighten regulations on for-profit colleges - you know, the ones that call every other day and try to recruit students to get a bachelor's degree in hair design or cooking. These colleges, while serving as trade schools in some cases, have promoted themselves with wild claims of post-graduate job-seeking success stories, but they are serious business enterp Mon, 13 Dec 2010 02:24:25 GMT 2010-12-13T02:24:25.000Z 2010-12-13T02:24:25.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2356 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2355 National: Bilingual programs, particularly in places where Spanish is the second language like Illinois, New Jersey, Texas, and California, are going strong, news organizations are reporting. In fact, the state of Illinois has mandated bilingual programs for certain schools: When an attendance center has an enrollment of 20 or more limited English proficient students of the same language classification Mon, 13 Dec 2010 02:06:53 GMT 2010-12-13T02:06:53.000Z 2010-12-13T02:06:53.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2355 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2354 Illinois: The noise level at Ridgewood and Elk Grove high schools near O'Hare International Airport is loud and frequent enough that the schools are qualified to receive noise mitigation funds from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. They were denied funds in 2004, but US Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois, asked the FAA to reconsider. It did, and it has now decided t Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:17:27 GMT 2010-12-12T11:17:27.000Z 2010-12-12T11:17:27.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2354 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2353 Illinois: Students at Rolling Meadows High School have one 90-minute class period every other day to freely move throughout the building, seeking help where they need it, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Some students are seeking help voluntarily during these so-called "seminar" periods, like with college applications, while others are required to attend certain seminars with instructors in areas that have b Sun, 12 Dec 2010 10:56:36 GMT 2010-12-12T10:56:36.000Z 2010-12-12T10:56:36.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2353 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2352 National: A program of daily breathing and stretching exercises known as "Calm Classroom" is helping elementary and middle school students focus at Gompers School in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood, and that is leading to fewer suspensions, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "We got a little smarter," the paper quoted Principal Melody Seaton as saying. She also serves as associate pastor at a church in Sou Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:12:56 GMT 2010-12-12T09:12:56.000Z 2010-12-12T09:12:56.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2352 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2351 National: President Barack Obama posted a video on YouTube and on the White House Web site on Oct. 22 that expresses sadness for bullying victims and hope that the situation will improve in America. "As a parent of two daughters, it breaks my heart. It's something that just shouldn't happen in this country," he said. In a moment of empathy, the president told viewers, "I don't know what it's like to be pi Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:48:36 GMT 2010-12-12T06:48:36.000Z 2010-12-12T06:48:36.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2351 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2350 Illinois: The US Court of Appeals for the 7th Judicial Circuit ruled in October that Illinois's moment of silence law, which requires students to observe a moment of silence during the school day, is perfectly constitutional. Before that, schools had stopped observing the moment of silence, except on Sept. 11, because a lower court issued a temporary injunction against it, pending the outcome of the suit t Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:31:56 GMT 2010-12-12T06:31:56.000Z 2010-12-12T06:31:56.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2350 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2349 Illinois: On Oct. 18, the Chicago Tribune published a huge article about the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests (ISATs), which the state of Illinois uses to assess third- through eighth-grade students in math and reading. The gist of the article was that kids today need to get fewer questions right than they did in the past, so of course the scores are going up. The paper quoted an "expert" who has devel Sun, 12 Dec 2010 03:12:27 GMT 2010-12-12T03:12:27.000Z 2010-12-12T03:12:27.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2349 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2348 Illinois: Peoria School District 150 fired Gary H. Stewart, 46, in connection with an accident he had while driving a school bus for the district in which he was allegedly intoxicated, the Peoria Journal-Star reports. He faces DUI and other traffic charges from the Oct. 4 crash in which he hit two legally parked cars. His firing came about a week after the crash and was approved by the school board in a hu Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:58:20 GMT 2010-12-11T19:58:20.000Z 2010-12-11T19:58:20.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2348 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2347 Illinois: Kevin Hale, a social studies teacher at Eisenhower High School in Decatur, offered a special word of thanks on Thanksgiving to two of his students who saved his life during their second-period class on Sept. 29, the Decatur Herald and Review reports. Dominique Weaver and Devin Anderson, the two students, were invited to sit at the head table during the 58th Annual Community Thanksgiving Luncheon. Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:42:41 GMT 2010-12-11T19:42:41.000Z 2010-12-11T19:42:41.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2347 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2346 Illinois: Pioneer Press reported in October that a trial court's dismissal, with prejudice, of a lawsuit against District 214 over a $350 drivers ed fee was affirmed by the Illinois 1st District Appellate Court. In dismissing a lawsuit with prejudice, the court is essentially saying that it had no merit to begin with. In 2009, Dawn Sherman, a student at Buffalo Grove High School, brought the suit, claimin Sat, 11 Dec 2010 12:33:45 GMT 2010-12-11T12:33:45.000Z 2010-12-11T12:33:45.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2346 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2345 Illinois: Jumpstart's Read for the Record program celebrated its fifth annual occurrence in October, bringing celebrities like Justin Bieber, Matt Lauer, and Meredith Vieira into the same celebration of reading as 3-to-6-year-olds across the nation, the Peoria Journal-Star reports. "It's to let people know how important reading is," the paper quoted The Bronze Frog's Kathy Heinold as saying to a group of k Sat, 11 Dec 2010 12:04:15 GMT 2010-12-11T12:04:15.000Z 2010-12-11T12:04:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2345 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2344 Front Page: A US District judge in central Illinois sentenced Dale D. Tennison, 54, of Canton on Friday to 28 years in federal prison for child pornography, the Peoria Journal-Star reports. Judge Michael Mihm noted that Tennison knew photos he had were of minors, citing several chats where Tennison actively sought such photos and people to trade with, the paper reported. Sentencing guidelines for possession Sat, 11 Dec 2010 09:07:35 GMT 2010-12-11T09:07:35.000Z 2010-12-11T09:07:35.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2344 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2343 Illinois: Officials at Mundelein High School in Chicago's northwest suburbs say they have installed 40 security cameras inside and near the school, the Daily Herald reports. The school's technology director said the cameras will store video for two weeks, footage taken in hallways, at building entrances, and in the parking lots. The new system will replace an existing security system in phases, with comple Sat, 11 Dec 2010 08:21:32 GMT 2010-12-11T08:21:32.000Z 2010-12-11T08:21:32.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2343 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2342 Illinois: About 500 moviegoers attended a screening last week of the film "Race to Nowhere" at New Trier High School in Winnetka, the New York Times reports. The movie has had little attention in the press and only a small amount of pre-release publicity. The documentary focuses on childhoods that go from kindergarten to Harvard, kids who spend so much time building their resumes that they barely have enou Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:22:42 GMT 2010-12-10T05:22:42.000Z 2010-12-10T05:22:42.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2342 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2341 Illinois: Krystle Leung, a senior at Naperville Central High School, has reached the top scaled score possible on both the SAT and ACT college admissions exams, CBS News and the Sun-Times Media Wire report. The 17-year-old says she plans to major in chemistry in college and go on to pursue a career as a doctor and medical scientist. She has worked as a volunteer at Marianjoy Hospital in Wheaton during her Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:23:22 GMT 2010-12-09T06:23:22.000Z 2010-12-09T06:23:22.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2341 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2340 National: Edward Tomanek, 7, of Somersham, Cambridgeshire, has passed the nation's highest exam (grade 8) in piano and violin, and his composition skills have led many observers to compare him to Mozart, the Daily Mail reports. "Chopin is one of my favorites," the paper quoted him as saying. "He puts a lot of emotion into his music." His parents bought him a tennis racket at age 3, and he started playing Sat, 04 Dec 2010 09:33:29 GMT 2010-12-04T09:33:29.000Z 2010-12-04T09:33:29.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2340 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2339 National: The state of Massachusetts was one of 11 states to win a federal grant known as Race to the Top, which gave the state $250 million to spend on education reforms. The RttT money generally goes half to the state and half to be divided among the individual districts in the state that participated in the application process. This participation required the approval of the district superintendent, the Sat, 04 Dec 2010 06:52:56 GMT 2010-12-04T06:52:56.000Z 2010-12-04T06:52:56.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2339 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2338 Science: Scientists at NASA have trained a bacterium species found in a California lake to replace phosphorus in its DNA and other biomolecules with arsenic, thus giving rise to the possibility that life may not always use the same biochemistry we have always thought it did, the peer-reviewed journal Science reported on Friday. "There is basic mystery, when you look at life," the New York Times quoted Dim Sat, 04 Dec 2010 06:27:37 GMT 2010-12-04T06:27:37.000Z 2010-12-04T06:27:37.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2338 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2337 Front Page: The United States called on North Korea Tuesday to "halt its belligerent action" against South Korea, the New York Times reported, after stating that dozens of shells had been fired upon a South Korean island from a military base in North Korea, killing two soldiers. President Lee Myung-bak met with security-related ministers and senior aides in the underground situation room at the Blue House, t Tue, 23 Nov 2010 07:58:55 GMT 2010-11-23T07:58:55.000Z 2010-11-23T07:58:55.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2337 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2336 National: West Potomac High School in Fairfax County, Va., has reversed a decision made last week to keep Fs off student report cards, the Washington Post reports. The decision, made somewhat unilaterally by the school's principal, changed all grades of "F" to grades of "I" for incomplete on students' first-quarter report cards. The change was made in an effort to move away from traditional grading policie Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:40:48 GMT 2010-11-22T06:40:48.000Z 2010-11-22T06:40:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2336 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2335 Front Page: Studio estimates claim that about 16 million people saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 on opening weekend, beginning midnight Thursday, the New York Times reports. That's about the same number of tickets sold for the first film, Sorcerer's Stone, and the fourth, Goblet of Fire, but given the increase in ticket prices since the series launched almost a decade ago, Deathly Hollows, Pa Sun, 21 Nov 2010 14:25:38 GMT 2010-11-21T14:25:38.000Z 2010-11-21T14:25:38.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2335 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2334 National: Earlier this month, US Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave a speech about the teaching profession, saying, "Incremental change isn't going to get us where we need to go. We've got to be much more ambitious. We've got to be disruptive. You can't keep doing the same stuff and expect different results." Hence the Race to the Top grant competition has led to a bunch of new reform ideas coming into o Sun, 21 Nov 2010 07:25:18 GMT 2010-11-21T07:25:18.000Z 2010-11-21T07:25:18.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2334 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2333 Front Page: The New York Times and Washington Post have both reported late Wednesday that General Motors has set the offering price for its shares at $33 each in what is said to be the largest initial public offering in American history. The IPO will reduce the federal government's ownership in G.M. by more than half, to 26 percent, and is expected to raise more than $22 billion in new capital for the auto i Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:25:26 GMT 2010-11-17T19:25:26.000Z 2010-11-17T19:25:26.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2333 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2332 Illinois: Superintendent Mike Meissen of Glenbard District 87 recommended increasing a range of student fees next school year, the Chicago Tribune reports. He said the increased fees will help better align course fees across the district and improve educational experience for students, the Tribune article said. "The goal is to try and be as economical and as efficient as we can with fees for our students Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:54:12 GMT 2010-11-17T11:54:12.000Z 2010-11-17T11:54:12.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2332 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2331 National: Educators from eight states, colleges, and teachers' unions have recommended as part of a specially convened panel that teachers get more practical experience - inside an actual classroom - before they start to teach full-time, the Washington Post reports. "This is a seismic moment for teacher education," the Post quoted Nancy L Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York and Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:04:21 GMT 2010-11-17T06:04:21.000Z 2010-11-17T06:04:21.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2331 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2330 Front Page: Rep. Charles Rangel, Democrat of New York and recently the chairman of House Ways and Means Committee, was found guilty of ethics violations in the US House of Representatives, the Washington Post reports. Specifically, the House ethics committee said he had used House stationary and staff members to assist in the solicitation of donations to a New York college center named after him. He was also Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:48:19 GMT 2010-11-16T12:48:19.000Z 2010-11-16T12:48:19.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2330 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2329 Front Page: Prince William of England announced his engagement to Kate Middleton, whom he had been dating for eight years, broken up with once (or so he says), got back together, and so on, news agencies around the world are reporting. The question one may ask is, Why is this such a big deal? I can remember the wedding of his father, Prince Charles, to Lady Diana. The ceremony was even covered live on Ameri Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:33:38 GMT 2010-11-16T12:33:38.000Z 2010-11-16T12:33:38.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2329 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2328 Illinois: Mayor Richard M Daley of Chicago has appointed Terry Mazany to serve as interim schools chief, following the resignation of Ron Huberman, the Chicago Tribune reports. Mr Mazany was a school administrator in Oakland and Detroit, but as the director and senior program officer for the Chicago Community Trust's Education Initiative, he oversaw a $50-million plan to improve schools in Chicago, the Tru Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:32:31 GMT 2010-11-16T09:32:31.000Z 2010-11-16T09:32:31.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2328 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2327 National: The sixth international Problems in Music Pedagogy conference will be conducted in Latvia, Sept. 22-24, 2011. The registration fee is 120 euros. The conference is intended to present research from the refereed journal Problems in Music Pedagogy, which deals with all aspect of music study. Main topic areas include music teaching and learning processes in the context of a new education paradigm, m Tue, 16 Nov 2010 06:10:12 GMT 2010-11-16T06:10:12.000Z 2010-11-16T06:10:12.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2327 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2326 Illinois: Class 1A: Heyworth d. Scales Mound, 22-25, 25-18, 26-24 The championship morning of Saturday, Nov. 13, started at the Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University, Normal, with Heyworth defeating Scales Mound in a scrappy, 3-set match. Scales Mound took a 4-0 run in the first set to an 11-7 lead and never gave control of the score back. Nicole Winter, the coach's niece, had 17 kills Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:21:44 GMT 2010-11-14T16:21:44.000Z 2010-11-14T16:21:44.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2326 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2325 Illinois: On Nov. 11, the Chicago Tribune ran a 4-Web-page article, which is pretty big for that newspaper, saying that high schoolers in suburban Chicago schools were mostly not ready for college at the end of their junior years. The Tribune's reporters got a hold of some data through the filing of Freedom of Information Act requests and said the ACT scores it contained meant suburban Chicago kids, even th Sat, 13 Nov 2010 12:06:49 GMT 2010-11-13T12:06:49.000Z 2010-11-13T12:06:49.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2325 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2324 Illinois: Four high school marching bands from Illinois performed in the semifinals Saturday at the Bands of America Grand National Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The bands were Morton High School, Lincoln-Way East High School from Frankfort, Marian Catholic High School from Chicago Heights, and Lake Park High School from Roselle. This was the first appearance in the semifinals at Gr Sat, 13 Nov 2010 04:45:55 GMT 2010-11-13T04:45:55.000Z 2010-11-13T04:45:55.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2324 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2323 Illinois: Class 1A: Lisle Senior High School The varsity boys' soccer team from Lisle Senior High School became the 1A state champs this fall as they defeated the team from Peoria Christian, 1-0, on the strength of an unassisted goal by Eric Osika at the beginning of the second half of play, the Illinois High School Association reports. A state title is great - papers quoted Osika as saying, "It's cra Sat, 13 Nov 2010 04:19:04 GMT 2010-11-13T04:19:04.000Z 2010-11-13T04:19:04.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2323 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2322 Front Page: Burma generals have signed a general release order for imprisoned political dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, Agence France Presse is reporting. There is public frustration in Burma at this time, due to an election last Sunday that so far, based on reports, has given 140 of the 182 contested parliamentary seats in Myanmar to the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:35:41 GMT 2010-11-12T02:35:41.000Z 2010-11-12T02:35:41.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2322 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2321 Front Page: The cruise ship Carnival Splendor experienced what officials called an "unusual" fire in one of its six engines, which left it unable to propel itself and without electricity, USA Today reports. After four days out at sea without hot water for showers and without electricity to cook food, all 3,297 passengers docked in San Diego with the help of tugboats and waved as they came in. A pair of tugb Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:17:38 GMT 2010-11-12T02:17:38.000Z 2010-11-12T02:17:38.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2321 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2320 Science: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta recently reported that the number of teen drivers involved in fatal vehicular accidents dropped in 2008, the last year for which this statistic is available. This number represents the fifth year of decreasing crash rates for 16- and 17-year-olds in the report. The percentage decrease since 2004 is about 38 percent. The number of fatal cra Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:34:59 GMT 2010-11-11T12:34:59.000Z 2010-11-11T12:34:59.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2320 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2319 Science: A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about one in 10 US schoolchildren has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), the Wall Street Journal reports in its online edition. ADHD makes it hard for kids to pay attention for entire class periods, and about two-thirds of the students who have ADHD are on medication for it. The study also looked at diagnosis Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:14:30 GMT 2010-11-11T12:14:30.000Z 2010-11-11T12:14:30.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2319 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2318 Science: The New York Times "Scientist at Work" series has been following Noah Snyder-Mackler, a University of Pennsylvania grad student, studying the evolution of social behavior in the gelada, a very unique primate found only in Ehtiopia. He writes: The young monkeys are the daredevils. Just like human children, they like to roughhouse with each other as much as possible. Roughhousing can be unsafe on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 05:12:28 GMT 2010-11-11T05:12:28.000Z 2010-11-11T05:12:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2318 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2317 Science: The Environmental Protection Agency has declared climate-altering gases to be a danger to human health and said they therefore have to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. But yesterday, the agency reassured owners of power plants and factories that any new regulations would take cost and technical feasibility into account. Beginning with the largest offender, coal-burning power plants, the EPA Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:56:56 GMT 2010-11-11T04:56:56.000Z 2010-11-11T04:56:56.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2317 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2316 Science: The Food and Drug Administration has released about a few dozen new warning labels, from which they will select a few new ones for cigarette labels. The warnings are notably larger and more graphic than the previous ones, including one with a dead man lying in a coffin, with the simple message, "WARNING: Smoking can kill you." The proposed warning labels are open for public and expert comment. Th Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:38:42 GMT 2010-11-11T03:38:42.000Z 2010-11-11T03:38:42.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2316 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2315 National: New York City's schools chancellor, Joel I Klein, will resign his post in the city's government and join News Corporation as its executive vice president, the New York Times reports. Mayor Michael R Bloomberg announced his replacement: Cathie Black, the former publisher of USA Today and the chairwoman of Hearst Magazines. Mr Bloomberg said she was "a superstar manager" and that no one "knows more Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:18:14 GMT 2010-11-11T03:18:14.000Z 2010-11-11T03:18:14.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2315 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2314 Illinois: We reported, as did the New York Times and NBC Nightly News, that there is a profound achievement gap between black students and white students in terms of their proficiency in reading and mathematics. In terms of skills of the 21st century, the information age where reading is so important, the time of globalization where we can't sweep our low mathematics proficiency under the proverbial rug, we Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:29:29 GMT 2010-11-09T17:29:29.000Z 2010-11-09T17:29:29.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2314 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2313 National: A so-called "achievement gap" between black students and white students has been documented for many years now, but the picture for black boys may be bleaker than anyone had previously thought, the New York Times reports. Based on an analysis of data from a well-regarded test of reading and math proficiency administered across the US to fourth and eighth graders, black boys lagged behind white bo Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:35:31 GMT 2010-11-09T16:35:31.000Z 2010-11-09T16:35:31.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2313 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2312 National: US Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who used to run the Chicago Public Schools before he joined President Obama's cabinet, told the American Bar Association that many minority communities are still not served well by schools that get students ready for college, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. "Dr. [Martin Luther] King would have been angered to see that too often we underinvest in disadvantaged s Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:24:19 GMT 2010-11-08T16:24:19.000Z 2010-11-08T16:24:19.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2312 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2311 Illinois: Lukas Verzbicas, a third-year senior from Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, almost broke the state's cross country record at the state finals Saturday. The current record, set in 1972, is 13 minutes 50.6 seconds, set by Craig Virgin, who was in attendance at the championship meet. "This was the most nervous for my record that I've ever been," the Chicago Tribune quoted him as saying. Verz Sat, 06 Nov 2010 18:38:55 GMT 2010-11-06T18:38:55.000Z 2010-11-06T18:38:55.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2311 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2310 Front Page: Republican Mark Steven Kirk will be the next US senator from Illinois, the Associated Press predicts, based on 99 percent of voting precincts in the state reporting at 5:30 p.m., Central Time, Wednesday. Kirk, who will take the seat vacated by Barack Obama when he won the presidency two years ago, was serving as a representative in the US House from Illinois's 10th Congressional District in the n Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:58:39 GMT 2010-11-03T15:58:39.000Z 2010-11-03T15:58:39.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2310 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2309 Illinois: The Illinois State Board of Education released last year's statewide standardized test data this morning, and there's good news and bad news. First the good news. Eureka Community Unit School District 140, near Peoria, has made AYP for two consecutive years now and will be removed from the state's list of districts in improvement status. CUSD 140 had been on the list of districts needing improve Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:08:24 GMT 2010-10-29T11:08:24.000Z 2010-10-29T11:08:24.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2309 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2308 Front Page: Police at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, working with the Illinois State Police and the FBI, are now calling the investigation into the death of a freshman art student from Plainfield a homicide investigation, the Chicago Tribune reports. Burned remains of a human being were reportedly found near the park where Antinette "Toni" Keller was thought to have been walking on Oct. 14, before sh Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:59:29 GMT 2010-10-26T10:59:29.000Z 2010-10-26T10:59:29.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2308 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2307 Science: Have you ever actually wondered how long it takes to fall in love? Well, a new meta-analysis study led by Stephanie Ortigue at Syracuse University says it takes about a fifth of a second. How does it happen? "When a person falls in love, 12 areas of the brain work in tandem to release euphoria-inducing chemicals (similar to the euphoria one could induce with cocaine) such as dopamine, oxytocin, Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:41:46 GMT 2010-10-22T21:41:46.000Z 2010-10-22T21:41:46.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2307 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2306 Science: A new study at the University of Colorado Business School, Denver, has found that companies that use video games to train their employees end up with more motivated and effective workers than those companies that train employees in more passive environments. "Companies have been designing video games for employees for years," said Traci Sitzmann, PhD, assistant professor of management at the scho Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:16:52 GMT 2010-10-22T21:16:52.000Z 2010-10-22T21:16:52.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2306 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2304 Illinois: A special fund that gave some of Illinois's smallest school districts needed money was scheduled to end in three years, but the announcement that it has been terminated has brought some districts to realize they're suddenly short of cash, the Quad City Times reported. The fund is known as the "hold harmless" fund, and it provides extra money to schools that suffered as a result of a series of cha Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:00:02 GMT 2010-10-22T13:00:02.000Z 2010-10-22T13:00:02.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2304 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2303 Illinois: Chicago Public Schools District 299 has received a federal grant aimed at rewarding good teachers and attracting new ones to tough, poverty-ridden schools in urban areas, the Chicago Tribune reports. CPS was the only Illinois district selected as one of 62 winners of the $442 million grant. Chicago's share will be $35.9 million, which CPS officials plan to use to target 25 school and about 1,125 Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:11:36 GMT 2010-10-22T08:11:36.000Z 2010-10-22T08:11:36.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2303 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2302 Illinois: To save money, many Illinois schools are reducing their libraries to skeletal crews, despite an understanding among educators that good libraries help boost academic performance, the Northwest Herald reported. District 26 (K-8), for example, closed Maplewood Elementary School last year in order to avoid action by the state to take over the district's finances. Unfortunately, that left one librari Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:53:31 GMT 2010-10-22T07:53:31.000Z 2010-10-22T07:53:31.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2302 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2301 Illinois: Students in Illinois should spend 176 days in school, according to the law, set forth in the Illinois School Code, but there are loopholes in that number, and many districts are chipping away at it, a Chicago Tribune analysis has found. For example, students in DuPage County's Glenbard Township High School District 87 get dismissed 40 minutes early on 31 Mondays this school year. The 40 minutes a Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:34:47 GMT 2010-10-22T07:34:47.000Z 2010-10-22T07:34:47.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2301 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2300 Illinois: The student council at Springfield High School has agreed to upgrade the school's telephone system, providing voice mail service, so administrative assistants in the school's office don't have to take messages on paper, the State Journal-Register reports. The school's principal, Christine Stahly, said the computer system was fried during a power surge in May, "but now the cost is down to about $7 Thu, 21 Oct 2010 08:22:54 GMT 2010-10-21T08:22:54.000Z 2010-10-21T08:22:54.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2300 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2299 Illinois: The driver's ed class has been eliminated for freshman and the class fee raised to $250, from $100, for sophomores, juniors, and seniors who enroll, the Bloomington Pantagraph reports. Other high schools have reduced driver's ed offerings or raised fees in order to cut costs, but a side effect is that it forces many students who would like to get a driver's license into private driving schools, w Thu, 21 Oct 2010 08:12:20 GMT 2010-10-21T08:12:20.000Z 2010-10-21T08:12:20.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2299 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2298 National: It came to our attention through an article published yesterday by Audrey Watters on ReadWriteWeb.com that Cal State has threatened students at the school who prepare or sell their class notes online with expulsion. The university says a service like NoteUtopia, which organizes course notes and allows students to contribute them or purchase them in a collaborative way, violates its intellectual pr Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:53:27 GMT 2010-10-20T16:53:27.000Z 2010-10-20T16:53:27.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2298 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2297 Illinois: A total of 39 varsity football teams in Illinois have gone undefeated for the first eight weeks of a nine-week season, but since two games this weekend are match-ups between undefeated teams, only 37, at the most, have a chance to finish the regular season with a goose egg in the loss column. Our computer has classified the 37 games according to team strength parameters we have been calculating f Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:41:49 GMT 2010-10-20T14:41:49.000Z 2010-10-20T14:41:49.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2297 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2296 Illinois: A teacher at a Wilmette elementary school received one of the National School Board Association's "20 to Watch" awards for her exemplary use of technology in the classroom, Sun-Times News Group is reporting. Annually, the awards go to teachers who "are role models, inspiring their colleagues to embrace tools that help make learning more relevant for their students and more transparent for parents Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:04:44 GMT 2010-10-20T13:04:44.000Z 2010-10-20T13:04:44.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2296 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2295 Front Page: The National Football League announced Tuesday that it will fine players who deliver possibly injurious hits to the head, whether or not the hit is flagged as a foul in violation of NFL rules, news agencies are reporting. The New York Times quoted Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, whose player, James Harrison, was fined $50,000 under the new crackdown, as saying, "I think it is the pro Wed, 20 Oct 2010 07:43:19 GMT 2010-10-20T07:43:19.000Z 2010-10-20T07:43:19.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2295 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2294 Science: Scientists in the University of Illinois, Urbana, College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences think they have solved an interesting problem: how to get protein-deficient Indian schoolchildren to consume soy, an inexpensive and complete vegetable protein. What's more, they've joined forces with an Indian foundation that can get the high-protein soy snack they've developed into the Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:59:23 GMT 2010-10-19T21:59:23.000Z 2010-10-19T21:59:23.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2294 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2293 National: Gwinnett County, Ga., has received a college scholarship grant from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation as part of the Broad Prize for Urban Education, the foundation's Web site says. Four other finalists in the competition - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, and the Socorro (Texas) Independent School District and Ysleta (Texas) Ind Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:47:26 GMT 2010-10-19T20:47:26.000Z 2010-10-19T20:47:26.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2293 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2292 Science: Destruction caused by the earthquake in Haiti in January was generally attributed to two factors: how close the epicenter was to densely populated areas, like the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and poor construction practices used for buildings close to the epicenter, the New York Times reports. The earthquake was a magnitude 7.0, and seismologists at the US Geological Survey have found that loc Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:27:36 GMT 2010-10-19T20:27:36.000Z 2010-10-19T20:27:36.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2292 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2291 Illinois: The Illinois High School Association announced its designation of seven former high school students in the state as 2010 "Sportspersons of the Year." Division 1: Elizabeth Faber, Chicago (St. Ignatius) Division 2: Jeffrey Brown, Evanston (Twp.) Division 3: Colin Webb, Wilmington Division 4: Katie Janssen, Minonk (Fieldcrest) Division 5: Erin McGinnis, Normal (Community West) Division 6: Thom Fri, 15 Oct 2010 03:43:47 GMT 2010-10-15T03:43:47.000Z 2010-10-15T03:43:47.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2291 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2289 National: "If [students] drop an 'F-bomb,' which is one people really get offended by, that's going to be a suspension," says Brent Belveal, principal at South Albany High School in New York. A new policy at the school aims to curb profanity by students on campus, which teachers told their second-year principal was a concern. Lesser words will bring a stern warning, but some words will result in a one-day, Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:07:24 GMT 2010-10-06T16:07:24.000Z 2010-10-06T16:07:24.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2289 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2288 Front Page: A high school science teacher in California has won a fellowship from the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, one of 23 so-called "genius grant" winners this year. The amount of the award is $500,000, and no strings are attached to the grant, which honors creativity across all human endeavors. Amir Abo-Shaeer said he was "stunned" when he learned that he was a recipient of the honor. "I Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:50:15 GMT 2010-10-06T15:50:15.000Z 2010-10-06T15:50:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2288 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2287 Science: About a month ago, we reported that global temperatures were warmer in the first eight months of this year than they had been in the first eight months of any year in recorded weather history, with the exception of a few. This led us to wonder how the temperatures were in Chicago this summer. We all thought temperatures in Chicago were warm, and we were right. As you'll see on the double line gra Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:57:35 GMT 2010-10-05T15:57:35.000Z 2010-10-05T15:57:35.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2287 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2286 Front Page: Elena Kagan, the 112th Supreme Court justice, has recused herself from 25 of the 51 cases the Court has accepted so far this term, the Washington Post reports. She served for 14 months as solicitor general, and several cases include briefs she wrote for those cases, representing the government's position, when those cases went to the nation's appellate courts. The Court decided to hear 51 cases i Mon, 04 Oct 2010 10:56:12 GMT 2010-10-04T10:56:12.000Z 2010-10-04T10:56:12.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2286 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2285 National: Most well-meaning educators who try to explain to kids how to study don't know what they're talking about. Or, what they tell kids has no grounding in fact. We've known this for decades, but the educational establishment refuses to buy into it, for reasons that remain a mystery to me. Myth No. 1: Find a suitable place to study, a quiet room, etc. Take, for example, the advice that kids set a reg Mon, 04 Oct 2010 07:24:24 GMT 2010-10-04T07:24:24.000Z 2010-10-04T07:24:24.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2285 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2284 Science: Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a trend in siblings of kids who have been diagnosed with autism: they show delays in language more frequently than the general population. Findings are published in the November issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry. Although many siblings don't have symptoms severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of autism (auti Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:40:02 GMT 2010-10-04T03:40:02.000Z 2010-10-04T03:40:02.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2284 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2283 Science: A pioneer in the field of in vitro fertilization has won the 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine. The prize committee announced Monday at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden that Robert G. Edwards, the British scientist who developed in vitro fertilization, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. They said he had "battled societal and establishment resistance to his development of the in vit Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:33:15 GMT 2010-10-04T03:33:15.000Z 2010-10-04T03:33:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2283 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2282 Science: A second-grade reading teacher and researcher at the University of Alberta says bringing dogs into her classroom and allowing students to read to the dogs has caused those students to develop enhanced literacy skills. Lori Friesen had children sign up for weekly reading or writing sessions with her and one of the dogs, named "Tango" and "Sparky." During that time, they would read student-selected Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:12:15 GMT 2010-10-03T18:12:15.000Z 2010-10-03T18:12:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2282 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2281 Science: Compared to 20 years ago, more people drink alcoholic beverages today, a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center analysis of national data says. Researchers collected responses from more than 85,000 people, and they have concluded that a range of factors - including social, economic, and ethnic pressures - are involved in the increase. The study, led by Dr. Raul Caetano, dean of t Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:36:41 GMT 2010-10-03T17:36:41.000Z 2010-10-03T17:36:41.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2281 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2280 Science: Several research papers published in the October 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reach the alarming if somewhat unsurprising conclusion that America's kids eat food with too much added sugar, so called "empty calories." For example, one study of how school vending machines can influence the dietary choices of students is presented. The availability of vending mach Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:56:10 GMT 2010-10-03T15:56:10.000Z 2010-10-03T15:56:10.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2280 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2279 Science: The US government issued a travel alert Sunday, prompting us to wonder where students who go abroad for educational reasons are studying. It turns out, most of them go to Europe. Graphed below are the 11 most popular destinations for Americans studying in Europe, shown with the number of students who studied there during the 2007-08 academic year, the latest year for which data are available. Dat Sun, 03 Oct 2010 13:03:54 GMT 2010-10-03T13:03:54.000Z 2010-10-03T13:03:54.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2279 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2278 Front Page: The US State Department has issued a travel alert for US citizens in Europe, based on information that suggests that al Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks, CNN and the New York Times are reporting. The State Department advises US citizens to "take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves wh Sun, 03 Oct 2010 08:17:59 GMT 2010-10-03T08:17:59.000Z 2010-10-03T08:17:59.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2278 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2277 Science: Research from Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital has found most preteen (11- to 13-year-old) babysitters knew what to do in an emergency, such as an intruder or a sick, injured, or poisoned child, the online journal Science Daily reports. The study, led by Nicole M. Hackman, MD, FAAP, was presented today at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:55:53 GMT 2010-10-03T07:55:53.000Z 2010-10-03T07:55:53.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2277 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2276 National: The number of schools and school systems adopting the Singapore Math program increased sharply between 2008 and 2009, the New York Times reports. The difference between Singapore Math and many other elementary math curricula used in the US is that US curricula tend to cover several topics and cover them with only modest depth. For example, students might spend a day on time and the next day on mo Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:45:44 GMT 2010-10-03T07:45:44.000Z 2010-10-03T07:45:44.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2276 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2275 Front Page: Mayor Richard M. Daley, 68, Chicago's six-term mayor, announced on Sept. 7 he would not seek re-election, the Chicago Tribune reported. "The truth is I have been thinking about this for the past several months," he said at a news conference, his wife Maggie by his side. "In the end, this is a personal decision, no more, no less. "For 21 years, that's what I've tried to do, but today, I am announ Sat, 02 Oct 2010 20:25:02 GMT 2010-10-02T20:25:02.000Z 2010-10-02T20:25:02.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2275 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2274 Illinois: Reports say that Donovan McNabb, the NFL quarterback the Philadelphia Eagles recently traded to the Washington Redskins and a graduate of Mt Carmel all-boys Catholic high school on Chicago's south side, visited the school to film a TV show in mid-September. Always a prankster, he helped out with the morning announcements. "There will be a yard sale at my house over the weekend," he read over the Sat, 02 Oct 2010 18:54:56 GMT 2010-10-02T18:54:56.000Z 2010-10-02T18:54:56.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2274 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2273 National: We have been overwhelmed these past few days with the news of three suicides: a Los Angeles teacher who had learned a teacher database published by the Los Angeles Times said he was not an effective teacher; a Rutgers University freshman and accomplished violinist who had an intimate encounter with a gay friend broadcast on the Internet by his roommate; and most recently, a University of Texas mat Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:58:37 GMT 2010-09-30T08:58:37.000Z 2010-09-30T08:58:37.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2273 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2272 Illinois: Jennifer Jarden, a sixth-grade language arts teacher at Wilbur Trimpe Middle School in Bethalto Community School District 8, was one of eight teachers throughout the state nominated and then selected as a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year. The Illinois State Board of Education will announce the single Teacher of the Year for the state at its annual "Those Who Excel" banquet in Peoria on Oc Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:04:46 GMT 2010-09-28T16:04:46.000Z 2010-09-28T16:04:46.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2272 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2271 National: George N Parks, director of bands at the University of Massachusetts, who inspired thousands of high school drum majors throughout the country through his writing and a leadership camp held every summer, died Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010, of an apparent heart attack, following a performance by his UMass Minutemen at an Ohio high school. The band stopped to perform at the high school en route to Ann A Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:18:15 GMT 2010-09-28T04:18:15.000Z 2010-09-28T04:18:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2271 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2270 Illinois: Kim Radostits, a Spanish teacher at Oregon High School in Oregon Community Unit School District 220, was one of eight teachers throughout the state nominated and then selected as a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year. The Illinois State Board of Education will announce the single Teacher of the Year for the state at its annual "Those Who Excel" banquet in Peoria on Oct. 16. Chicago Voxitati Mon, 27 Sep 2010 07:57:58 GMT 2010-09-27T07:57:58.000Z 2010-09-27T07:57:58.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2270 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2269 Science: The first published, peer-reviewed estimate of the amount of oil that escaped into the Gulf of Mexico during BP's oil spill that started on April 20 appeared in this week's issue of Science, the online journal Science Daily reports. Estimates divide the oil leak into two distinct periods: April 22 to June 3, when oil flowed out of a jagged cut in a riser, and the period after that. On June 3, BP Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:55:14 GMT 2010-09-26T18:55:14.000Z 2010-09-26T18:55:14.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2269 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2268 Science: Researchers at University College London and at Royal Holloway have found increased incidence of a genetic variant for immunity to certain diseases in human populations that have had a long history of living in urban areas, the online journal Science Daily reports. Individuals with this particular genetic variant are more likely to be immune from diseases like tuberculosis and leprosy, findings s Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:35:26 GMT 2010-09-26T18:35:26.000Z 2010-09-26T18:35:26.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2268 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2267 Science: Two ugly-looking dinosaur species have been discovered in the "lost island continent" of Laramidia, in what is now southern Utah, the online open-access journal PLoS ONE reports. One species has been described as "a giant rhino with a ridiculously supersized head," and that's not all. The face had several horns sticking out of it, including 15 "long, pointed, sideways-oriented eye horns: one over Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:20:47 GMT 2010-09-26T18:20:47.000Z 2010-09-26T18:20:47.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2267 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2266 National: Teens who are pregnant - and understandably scared - have options for the care of their babies, and high school counselors are often the ones who point them in helpful directions, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The paper tells the story of Marissa Campbell, who became pregnant when she was 16 and a student at East Ridge High School. Her guidance counselor pointed her toward the South Lake Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:21:48 GMT 2010-09-26T15:21:48.000Z 2010-09-26T15:21:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2266 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2265 National: The marching band at Francis Howell Central High School in St. Charles, Mo., participated in a fundraiser for the John F Hodge High School marching band in nearby St. James, K-SDK TV reports. Hodge High School is still coping with the loss of one of its students, Jessica Brinker, 15, in a tragic bus accident as the band was returning from Six Flags this summer. The Hodge band is trying to raise Sun, 26 Sep 2010 11:08:28 GMT 2010-09-26T11:08:28.000Z 2010-09-26T11:08:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2265 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2264 National: The trailer used by the marching band at Powhatan High School in Virginia caught fire early Sunday morning, CBS News is reporting. The band was in Virginia Beach for a competition Saturday, and smoke was noticed coming from the trailer when it arrived back at the school. Officials, including director Scott Gordon, were unsure of exactly when the fire got sparked en route. The trailer was used fo Sun, 26 Sep 2010 10:46:56 GMT 2010-09-26T10:46:56.000Z 2010-09-26T10:46:56.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2264 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2262 Illinois: Annice Brave, an English and journalism teacher at Alton High School in Alton Community Unit School District 11, was one of eight teachers throughout the state nominated and then selected as a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year. The Illinois State Board of Education will announce the single Teacher of the Year for the state at its annual "Those Who Excel" banquet in Peoria on Oct. 16. Chic Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:19:23 GMT 2010-09-24T12:19:23.000Z 2010-09-24T12:19:23.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2262 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2261 Science: A new report says that 18-year-olds who go to college to earn a bachelor's degree take until they're 33 to make up for lost ground in terms of cumulative income. High school graduates who don't go to college and enter the workforce immediately upon graduating earn money in the four years when college graduates would be in school. But since college grads make more money per year, on average, than Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:38:23 GMT 2010-09-24T08:38:23.000Z 2010-09-24T08:38:23.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2261 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2260 National: The Texas State Board of Education will be voting on a measure today whereby any textbook found to contain pro-Muslim or anti-Christian bias will be thrown out or not purchased by Texas schools. We here don't really care how the vote comes out, so we're reporting this story now. The state board has, over the past two years, first in science and now in social studies, positioned itself as an incre Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:42:01 GMT 2010-09-24T06:42:01.000Z 2010-09-24T06:42:01.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2260 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2259 Illinois: Leanne Jebens, a kindergarten teacher at Christa McAuliffe School in Tinley Park, was one of eight teachers throughout the state nominated and then selected as a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year. The school is one of five elementary and two middle schools in Kirby School District 140. The Illinois State Board of Education will announce the single Teacher of the Year for the state at its a Fri, 24 Sep 2010 03:37:28 GMT 2010-09-24T03:37:28.000Z 2010-09-24T03:37:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2259 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2258 Illinois: Trish Vanderploeg, an eighth-grade English teacher at Plum Grove Junior High in Community Consolidated School District 15, was one of eight teachers throughout the state nominated and then selected as a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year. The Illinois State Board of Education will announce the single Teacher of the Year for the state at its annual "Those Who Excel" banquet in Peoria on Oct. Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:19:48 GMT 2010-09-23T14:19:48.000Z 2010-09-23T14:19:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2258 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2257 Science: An article in this month's edition of the medical journal Pediatrics says that the incidence of emergency room visits for concussions by children ages 8 to 19 doubled in the period 1997 to 2007. The increase came despite a concurrent reduction in the number of students participating in sports, like football, ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and cheer leading, which are more likely to result in concu Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:42:57 GMT 2010-09-23T11:42:57.000Z 2010-09-23T11:42:57.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2257 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2256 Illinois: Melissa Angeles, a science teacher at Hononegah Community High School in Hononegah Community High School District 207, was one of eight teachers throughout the state nominated and then selected as a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year. The Illinois State Board of Education will announce the single Teacher of the Year for the state at its annual "Those Who Excel" banquet in Peoria on Oct. 16. Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:09:53 GMT 2010-09-21T21:09:53.000Z 2010-09-21T21:09:53.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2256 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2255 Illinois: Susan Thomas, a social studies teacher at Centennial High School in Champaign Unit 4 School District, was one of eight teachers throughout the state nominated and then selected as a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year. The Illinois State Board of Education will announce the single Teacher of the Year for the state at its annual "Those Who Excel" banquet in Peoria on Oct. 16. Chicago Voxitat Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:55:04 GMT 2010-09-20T17:55:04.000Z 2010-09-20T17:55:04.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2255 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2254 Illinois: The Illinois State Board of Education announced the eight finalists for Illinois Teacher of the Year on Sept. 17, the agency's Web site says. The nominations, 160 of which came in this year from parents, administrators, other teachers, or anyone who knows an outstanding educator, are scored three times: first on personal background information, then on the nominator's recommendation, and finally Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:19:20 GMT 2010-09-19T20:19:20.000Z 2010-09-19T20:19:20.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2254 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2253 Science: Scientists have released the sequenced genome of the cacao tree, and they hope it will help farmers and keep the $17 billion US chocolate industry supplied with good cocoa, the online journal Science Daily reports. The US Department of Agriculture and its partners say releasing the genome may help protect small farmers around the world by allowing them to grow the cacao tree more quickly. They mi Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:42:48 GMT 2010-09-19T15:42:48.000Z 2010-09-19T15:42:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2253 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2252 Science: Only about 5 percent of US adults report performing vigorous intensity activity during any given day, a new study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has found. Most adults in this country report performing only sedentary and light activity during any given day. Responses from more than 80,000 participants in the American Time Use Survey between 2003 and Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:29:54 GMT 2010-09-19T15:29:54.000Z 2010-09-19T15:29:54.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2252 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2251 Science: Several records have been set in terms of the heat we felt this summer, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reports: January - August, 2010 tied January - August, 1998 The January - August period this year had the warmest combined land and ocean surface temperature on record worldwide. The global combined land and ocean surface temperature, 58.5 and deg;F (14.7 and deg; Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:15:28 GMT 2010-09-19T15:15:28.000Z 2010-09-19T15:15:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2251 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2250 National: The U.S. Department of Education declared 304 schools across America National Blue Ribbon schools on Sept. 9, according to the department's Web site. Fifty private schools and 254 public schools, ranging from elementary to high school, were included on the list. The following Illinois schools, shown with their principal, were honored and will receive the award officially at a November ceremony in Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:19:25 GMT 2010-09-19T09:19:25.000Z 2010-09-19T09:19:25.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2250 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2249 National: I suppose most people have heard that the Los Angeles Times posted a database of every teacher in the state of California that could be used to say that one teacher is better than another. The system posts California's statewide standardized test scores and compares each teacher's average score with the average score received by his or her students in the previous year. People who praise the sys Sun, 19 Sep 2010 08:56:43 GMT 2010-09-19T08:56:43.000Z 2010-09-19T08:56:43.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2249 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2248 National: The US Education Department has awarded a total of $330 million to two testing consortia, in order to develop new-age student tests that not only measure what students have learned but also provide valuable information back to schools so teachers can improve classroom instruction in real time. The first consortium, led by Florida, received $170 million. This consortium is known as the Partnership Sun, 19 Sep 2010 08:34:48 GMT 2010-09-19T08:34:48.000Z 2010-09-19T08:34:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2248 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2247 Front Page: Pope Benedict XVI declared Cardinal John Henry Newman "blessed" at a mass this morning in Birmingham, England, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports. The declaration puts the former Anglican priest one step closer to sainthood in his adopted Roman Catholic Church. Religious houses and centers at many universities in the US are named after Cardinal Newman. Many believe his approach to crit Sun, 19 Sep 2010 07:41:05 GMT 2010-09-19T07:41:05.000Z 2010-09-19T07:41:05.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2247 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2246 National: A national survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University finds that 27 percent of public school students ages 12 to 17 say that their school is both gang- and drug-infected, meaning drugs are used, kept, or sold on school grounds. The survey also found a significant difference between drugs at public schools compared to private or religious-affiliate Sun, 19 Sep 2010 06:34:15 GMT 2010-09-19T06:34:15.000Z 2010-09-19T06:34:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2246 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2245 Illinois: Officials at most Illinois school districts expect an increase in the number of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches based on their parents' income level, the Bloomington Pantagraph reports. Preliminary figures compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education show that 51.5 percent of the state's two million-plus students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, up from 49 pe Sat, 18 Sep 2010 22:33:27 GMT 2010-09-18T22:33:27.000Z 2010-09-18T22:33:27.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2245 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2244 Illinois: Officials in Wheaton-based District 200 say the decision to hire an energy consulting firm, at a cost of $334,800 a year, has saved the district $1.2 million over a 19-month period in energy bills, the Daily Herald reports. Energy Education, based in Dallas, Texas, was brought in about two years ago because of growing concerns over increasing energy costs and shrinking budgets. Since that time, t Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:53:27 GMT 2010-09-18T21:53:27.000Z 2010-09-18T21:53:27.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2244 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2243 Illinois: Court documents say a bus driver who was charged with the sexual assault of a special education student in 2009 was still driving kids around in his bus a year later, the Chicago Tribune reports. Antonio Ross, 27, was charged with kidnapping and unlawful restraint in connection with a second incident, which occurred in January of this year, in which he allegedly trapped a 14-year-old girl on his Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:39:15 GMT 2010-09-18T21:39:15.000Z 2010-09-18T21:39:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2243 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2242 Illinois: The District 214 school board unanimously approved a change to the cellphone policy for its six high schools at its meeting on Sept. 2, the Daily Herald reports. The policy used to be that cellphone use was simply not allowed by students on school grounds, except in emergencies. That turned out to be unenforceable - or at least too difficult to enforce. "You could spend eight hours a day enf Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:18:57 GMT 2010-09-18T21:18:57.000Z 2010-09-18T21:18:57.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2242 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2241 Illinois: Illinois's 4th District Appellate Court upheld on Aug. 30 the decision of a Douglas County district court in a central Illinois case involving the dog an autistic boy was using as a service animal, the Associated Press reports. The boy's family had argued that the yellow Labrador was a service animal and thus should be allowed in school buildings under Illinois law; Villa Grove Community Unit Sch Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:57:30 GMT 2010-09-18T20:57:30.000Z 2010-09-18T20:57:30.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2241 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2240 Illinois: A total of $3.3 million from the federal government will be shared by 188 Illinois schools this year in order to provide students with fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the school day. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) is based on the need to increase "children's access to fresh fruits and vegetables but also [teach] them why it's important to eat healthy foods and exercise," Illi Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:48:18 GMT 2010-09-18T14:48:18.000Z 2010-09-18T14:48:18.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2240 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2239 Illinois: A former band teacher at Alton High School was sentenced Aug. 30 to six years in prison for molesting a 16-year-old student, the Associated Press reports. Judge Charles Romani pronounced the sentence from his Madison County Circuit Court bench. Assistant Madison County State's Attorney John Fischer said this was not the first time Matthew Lang, 37, had molested a student he was supposed to be tea Sat, 18 Sep 2010 12:13:35 GMT 2010-09-18T12:13:35.000Z 2010-09-18T12:13:35.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2239 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2238 Science: Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University, supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, are looking into how music conveys emotion, the online journal Science Daily reports. "The impact of a piece of music on a person goes so much further than thinking that a fast tempo can lift a mood and a slow one can bring it down. Music expresses emotion as a result of many factors Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:05:37 GMT 2010-09-16T21:05:37.000Z 2010-09-16T21:05:37.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2238 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2236 Front Page: Former professional football players suffer from memory loss, depression, and rage at higher rates than the general population, possibly due to concussions or other head injuries suffered while playing in the NFL, CNN reported back on Feb. 5. Since then, more attention has been drawn to concussions and head injuries in football, with a strict eye on high school and youth football games. The incre Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:57:12 GMT 2010-09-16T19:57:12.000Z 2010-09-16T19:57:12.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2236 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2235 Science: A series of studies published in the September issue of The Elementary School Journal now concludes that using a coach or mentor for new teachers helps in several ways. "Many in the field have trusted that intuitive feeling that putting a knowledgeable coach in a classroom to work with a teacher will result in improved teacher practices and increased student learning," write the issue's guest edi Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:43:28 GMT 2010-09-14T06:43:28.000Z 2010-09-14T06:43:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2235 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2234 Illinois: Black students continue to trail white boys, according to the academic measures of graduation rate, performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and AP test-taking numbers, the Schott Foundation for Education reports in its 2010 summary. Illinois is slightly better than the rest of the nation in terms of graduation rate for blacks: 47 percent of black males graduated in Mon, 13 Sep 2010 03:45:44 GMT 2010-09-13T03:45:44.000Z 2010-09-13T03:45:44.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2234 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2233 Front Page: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California's "Chelsea's Law," which mandates a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for anyone convicted of a violent sex crime against a child, CNN is reporting. The law, which was passed by a rare unanimous vote in the California legislature, takes effect immediately. It is named after Chelsea King, 17, who was abducted and killed by Jo Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:52:00 GMT 2010-09-09T15:52:00.000Z 2010-09-09T15:52:00.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2233 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2230 National: On release out of Baltimore from the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association and the state's 24 local school systems: The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, in conjunction with all 24 local school systems, has declared the first full week of the 2010-11 fall season as Concussion Awareness Week. During the week of September 6-11, 25,000 "Concussion Awaren Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:33:52 GMT 2010-09-02T07:33:52.000Z 2010-09-02T07:33:52.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2230 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2229 Illinois: Laying off a bunch of teachers can potentially affect a school or school district positively or negatively, the Bloomington Pantagraph reports. On the upside, the pool of qualified teachers who are looking for work has increased, making it easier for districts - especially those in rural areas - to find good teachers. Tri-Valley Superintendent Curt Simonson hired a high school chemistry Sun, 29 Aug 2010 06:24:40 GMT 2010-08-29T06:24:40.000Z 2010-08-29T06:24:40.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2229 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2228 Illinois: Lemont-Bromberek School District 113A, which includes several elementary and middle schools but no high schools, has been deficit-spending off and on for about 15 years, according to its superintendent, but now the district has depleted cash reserves and hopes to get more money by passing a tax referendum question on the November ballot, the Chicago Tribune reports. Among accusations various resi Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:58:13 GMT 2010-08-29T05:58:13.000Z 2010-08-29T05:58:13.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2228 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2227 Illinois: A second shooting in two weeks at Gage Park High School in Chicago has left residents in the neighborhood feeling uneasy, the Chicago Tribune reports. One person has been arrested, police told the Tribune, in connection with an Aug. 17 shooting near the school's baseball field. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the leg on his way to school with a group of friends in the morning. Parents rushed to th Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:38:06 GMT 2010-08-28T16:38:06.000Z 2010-08-28T16:38:06.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2227 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2226 Illinois: Although the average composite ACT score for Illinois students fell last year by a tenth of a point, there was one bright spot about the scores, The Associated Press reports. The Class of 2010 in Illinois managed to rank No. 1 in composite ACT scores, compared with students in states where at least 90 percent of the class took the test, a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education sai Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:58:09 GMT 2010-08-28T15:58:09.000Z 2010-08-28T15:58:09.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2226 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2225 Illinois: We could scarcely believe it, but the Illinois High School Association is reporting that the Saxons from Schaumburg defeated the Maine South Hawks in Friday night's football season opener, 29-17. Sooner or later, though, we knew the 28-game winning streak for Dave Inserra's Hawks, including back-to-back state titles in Class 8A, would tumble. "We didn't get it done," Pioneer Press quoted sophomo Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:58:20 GMT 2010-08-28T07:58:20.000Z 2010-08-28T07:58:20.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2225 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2224 Illinois: Fifteen elementary schools in Chicago will pilot a program that lengthens the school day by 90 minutes, including 35 minutes of online reading, 35 minutes of online math, and 20 minutes of free time, the Huffington Post reports. Chicago Public Schools "has significantly less learning time than other large urban districts," Mayor Richard M. Daley said at a news conference Tuesday. "We must do more Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:29:56 GMT 2010-08-26T18:29:56.000Z 2010-08-26T18:29:56.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2224 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2223 National: In a recent analysis of New York elections, the New York Times has found that school districts where a majority of voters are white and a majority of students are nonwhite tended not to approve school budgets on the ballot - or to approve them only by a narrow margin. In one district, Poughkeepsie, about 85 percent of students are black or Hispanic, and about 60 percent of voters are white. T Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:04:28 GMT 2010-08-26T18:04:28.000Z 2010-08-26T18:04:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2223 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2222 Illinois: Glamour Magazine has named a teenage fundraising genius as a finalist in its Women of the Year contest, the Chicago Tribune reports. Kendall Ciesemier, 17, a senior at Wheaton North High School, hopes the national attention the announcement will draw will help her raise more money for AIDS victims and children in poverty in Africa. She hopes to convince 30 high schools each to donate $5,000 for h Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:47:22 GMT 2010-08-26T05:47:22.000Z 2010-08-26T05:47:22.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2222 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2221 Front Page: July home sales dropped precipitously after the $8,000 tax credit for home buyers expired, the New York Times reports. The National Association of Realtors announced Tuesday that the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 3.83 million was 25.5 percent below the level of July a year ago. A drop of about 13 percent was predicted. "What few buyers are out there circle a listing like a vulture, wa Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:04:46 GMT 2010-08-24T16:04:46.000Z 2010-08-24T16:04:46.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2221 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2220 National: Here's the list of winners in Round 2 of the federal Race to the Top grant competition: District of Columbia: $75 million. Score: 450.0 Florida: $700 million. Score: 452.4 Georgia: $400 million. Score: 446.4 Hawaii: $75 million. Score: 462.4 Maryland: $250 million. Score: 450.0 Massachusetts: $250 million. Score: 471.0 New York: $700 million. Score: 464.8 North Carolina: $400 million. Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:50:48 GMT 2010-08-24T09:50:48.000Z 2010-08-24T09:50:48.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2220 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2219 National: A Missouri judge has ruled that a high school student cannot attend school while she is awaiting trial on a murder charge, the Associated Press reports. Alyssa Bustamante, 16, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder for last fall's killing of Elizabeth Olten, 9, in an area west of Jefferson City, the AP reported. She was a sophomore when she was arrested last year and is now being held in Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:41:14 GMT 2010-08-24T01:41:14.000Z 2010-08-24T01:41:14.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2219 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2218 Illinois: Sending buses out on dry runs was part of a plan in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 aimed at smoother bus operations for the start of school than the district's students experienced last year, the Naperville Sun reports. "We had some technical difficulties with a new computer system last year," the Sun quoted one school official as saying. "We put in a new transportation system, and one of the i Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:15:11 GMT 2010-08-24T01:15:11.000Z 2010-08-24T01:15:11.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2218 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2217 Illinois: Students at Metamora High School are getting tiny laptop computers, known as netbooks, this school year, allowing them to connect to the Internet and download books and lessons, the Peoria Journal-Star is reporting. One teacher each in social science, English, and foreign language is using the netbooks, set up in the school's computer lab, as part of a test run, before the school makes a recommen Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:47:42 GMT 2010-08-24T00:47:42.000Z 2010-08-24T00:47:42.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2217 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2216 National: On release out of Indianapolis from the offices of Music for All, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010: Eric Martin Named President and CEO of Music for All Music for All, Inc., one of the largest and most influential national music education organizations in support of active music-making, announced today that Eric L. Martin has been named the organization's President and CEO. Previous President and CEO Sco Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:29:19 GMT 2010-08-23T18:29:19.000Z 2010-08-23T18:29:19.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2216 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2215 Front Page: Water and food have finally been provided for 33 miners who have been trapped in a copper and gold mine for the last 17 days in Chile, rescue workers have said, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports. The supplies were reportedly sent down a tube, some 2,300 feet below the surface. The miners have not yet been told their eventual rescue may take up to four months, the BBC reported. A speci Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:18:17 GMT 2010-08-23T18:18:17.000Z 2010-08-23T18:18:17.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2215 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2214 Science: A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction blocking plans by the Obama administration to increase federal funding, via the National Institutes of Health, for embryonic stem cell research, various news agencies, including the British Broadcasting Corporation, are reporting. Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that embryonic stem cell research involved the destruction of human embryos, which violates Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:09:37 GMT 2010-08-23T18:09:37.000Z 2010-08-23T18:09:37.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2214 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2213 National: By pumping billions of dollars into turning around struggling schools, the Obama administration, led by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, was hoping to reorganize a thousand schools a year, the New York Times reports. So far, it's not always going as people expected. For example, the San Bernadino, Calif., school district had hoped to convert Pacific High, one of the state's lowest-performing sch Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:00:01 GMT 2010-08-23T18:00:01.000Z 2010-08-23T18:00:01.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2213 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2212 Science: Review by peers has long been held as the definitive way to make decisions about whether an article should be accepted for publication in a scholarly journal, the New York Times reports. But with the advent of the Internet, some people are beginning to rethink this approach: instead of relying on the thumbs-up-or-down decision of a few specially chosen panelists, it might be better to open articl Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:48:13 GMT 2010-08-23T17:48:13.000Z 2010-08-23T17:48:13.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2212 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2211 Illinois: Belleville News-Democrat reporters Beth Hundsdorfer and George Pawlaczyk found that School District 189 in East St. Louis "regularly loses computers and other expensive electronic gear to thieves, according to district crime reports." The district has even hired private security guards, but thefts and property damage caused by burglars cost the district more than $1 million in the eight-month per Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:37:01 GMT 2010-08-22T19:37:01.000Z 2010-08-22T19:37:01.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2211 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2210 Illinois: The Edujobs bill will send about $415 million to Illinois schools, and the money is intended to save teacher jobs - especially those jobs that were lost last year, the Southtown Star reports. "We are grateful for President Barack Obama's leadership in pressing to assist school districts in bringing teachers such as Rachel Martin back to their classrooms," said Matteson District 162 Supt. Blon Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:24:22 GMT 2010-08-22T19:24:22.000Z 2010-08-22T19:24:22.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2210 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2209 Illinois: About 60 percent of Illinois's school district - 524 of them - signed on to the latest Race to the Top application filed with the feds, Illinois Statehouse News reports. That makes many Illinois educators more hopeful than they were in the first round, when Delaware and Tennessee won a share of about $4 billion in federal funding that would be distributed to the winning states based on th Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:14:47 GMT 2010-08-22T19:14:47.000Z 2010-08-22T19:14:47.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2209 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2208 Science: A study by an economist at Michigan State University, East Lansing, argues that many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD simply because they are the youngest in their class. That means, about a million American children are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder just because they're the youngest students in their kindergarten class, says Todd Elder. These children Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:39:05 GMT 2010-08-22T15:39:05.000Z 2010-08-22T15:39:05.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2208 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2207 Science: The increase in global temperatures is mostly good for plants: photosynthesis increases, generally, as it gets warmer, and the growing season is longer. But over the last decade, the changing weather patterns have produced droughts in large areas of the planet. Those are definitely not good for plant life in those regions. A new study of NASA satellite data has produced some interesting results, Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:18:10 GMT 2010-08-22T15:18:10.000Z 2010-08-22T15:18:10.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2207 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2206 Science: For immediate release from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Medicine: Public school grounds will become environmental education laboratories when a 20-foot green and blue mobile technology trailer pulls into the parking lots at Creekside Middle School in Carmel, Ind. and dozens of other elementary and middle schools in nine Indiana counties this fall and spring. Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:03:15 GMT 2010-08-22T15:03:15.000Z 2010-08-22T15:03:15.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2206 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2205 Science: Psychologists at the University of California, Los Angeles, have concluded that students who are bullied regularly do substantially worse in school, the online journal Science Daily reports. Findings are published in a special edition of the Journal of Early Adolescence devoted to academic performance and peer relationships. Says Jaana Juvonen, a professor in UCLA's developmental psychology prog Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:54:28 GMT 2010-08-22T14:54:28.000Z 2010-08-22T14:54:28.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2205 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2204 Front Page: A court in Bangladesh has ruled that schools, colleges, and workplaces cannot require people to wear religious clothing, such as Islamic skull caps and veils, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports. It should, rather, be a personal choice. In announcing the ruling, the court also made it clear that women should not be banned from participating in sports or cultural activities. The court or Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:44:18 GMT 2010-08-22T14:44:18.000Z 2010-08-22T14:44:18.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2204 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2203 Front Page: A painting by Vincent Van Gogh, valued at about $50 million, was cut from its frame and stolen Saturday at a museum in Cairo, Egypt, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports. Known both as "Poppy Flowers" and "Vase and Flowers," the painting was hanging in the Mahmoud Khalil Museum, where only 10 people reportedly visited on Saturday. Two Italian tourists aroused suspicion, but reports of the Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:31:47 GMT 2010-08-22T14:31:47.000Z 2010-08-22T14:31:47.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2203 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2202 Science: Do you dream of hydrogen-fueled cars propelling you forward at 300 mph, like in "Knight Rider" episodes? It might not be so good for the car, say scientists in Frieburg, Germany, working for Fraunhofer. Many experts in the energy and transportation sectors see hydrogen as an up-and-coming replacement for fossil fuels when it comes to powering cars. One problem, though, is that hydrogen can make m Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:14:52 GMT 2010-08-22T14:14:52.000Z 2010-08-22T14:14:52.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2202 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2201 Science: The Perry Initiative in San Francisco is a program aimed at letting more teenage girls explore the fields of engineering and medicine, the Sacramento Bee reports. "My aunt was a nurse," one girl was quoted as saying after she sutured up a slab of pigskin and examined the layers of a pig's leg. "I never thought about becoming a doctor, but it seems appealing to me now." Today, women make up only Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:55:05 GMT 2010-08-22T13:55:05.000Z 2010-08-22T13:55:05.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2201 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2200 Illinois: The Sept. 3 game between Maine South and Wheaton Warrenville South will be televised nationwide on ESPNU, the Daily Herald reports. The game at Red Grange Field at Wheaton Warrenville South was supposed to start at 7:30, but the television schedule has caused it to be pushed up to a 4 p.m. start time. The schedule posted on the Web for ESPNU shows "Old Spice High School Football Showcase - Maine Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:03:29 GMT 2010-08-22T12:03:29.000Z 2010-08-22T12:03:29.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2200 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2199 National: Michigan schools that are able to save money by consolidating services with other districts may soon receive financial rewards for doing so, the Grand Rapids Press reports. "We looking at this as an investment of $50 million to save hundreds of millions of dollars," state Superintendent Mike Flanagan said after Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced a series of recommendations for the fiscal 2011 budge Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:08:02 GMT 2010-08-22T11:08:02.000Z 2010-08-22T11:08:02.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2199 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2198 National: The school board in Kansas City, Mo., which recently closed almost half its schools, decided to initiate long chats with actual students in the district, the Kansas City Star reports. One student told them how her parents had always stressed the importance of succeeding in school, how she had imagined the finest colleges and universities waiting for her application. But now that her junior year Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:42:16 GMT 2010-08-22T10:42:16.000Z 2010-08-22T10:42:16.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2198 http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2197 National: An editor and publisher of one Web newsletter tells the New York Times that parents are searching for less expensive tutors for their children, supporting high growth in the private tutoring industry. In 2007, the tutoring growth rate was estimated at between 8 and 10 percent per year. Now, the $5- to $7-billion industry is still growing, but only at about 5 percent per year, experts estimate. T Sun, 22 Aug 2010 09:58:11 GMT 2010-08-22T09:58:11.000Z 2010-08-22T09:58:11.000Z http://www.schoolsnapshots.org/ace/story.pl?a=2197