Cutting Early Admissions

Pundits wondered if the move by Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Virginia to cut their early admission option would change the landscape of where students would apply. The thought was that these high achieving students would turn their attention to Yale, Georgetown, and other prestigious universities. The result?

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/education/28admissions.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

Principal Leaves a Lasting Impression

Franklin Middle School's principal, Jim Friel, has given more than himself to his work and students. Now he has even given a piece of himself to a particular student: a kidney.

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/20/AR2007112001548.html

Branding Your College Application

Madison Avenue meet the Common Application. In droves, students are looking to create their own brand identity and paying consultants a lot of money to do it. As one Manhattan firm puts it, they specialize in "each client's personal brand." As colleges and universities have continued to become more and more competitive, students have looked to distinguish themself from other applicants--which happens to be exactly what branding entails.

Check out the entire article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/education/28education.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

Altered Grades?

David Klein of California State University at Northridge assessed the AP Calculus AB and IB Mathematics SL for a report for the Washington-based Fordham Insititute. Though he gave the IB course a C-, the report rated the course as a B-.

Check out the article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/26/AR2007112601933.html

Are Gifted Students Ignored by NCLB?

Some experts are joining parent advocate groups that question the intended and unintended consequences of the No Child Left Behind law. These groups feel that most of the funds provided by this law go to students who are on the "bubble" between success and failure on state assessment tests which focus teachers' attention on bringing these students up to minimum standards--all because there is no incentive to teach students who will meet these goals however they are taught.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/24/AR2007112401420.html

HS Students Mapping DNA

George Cachianes, a former researcher at Genentech, started a biotechnology course at Lincoln High School over ten years ago. He wanted to show young minds the future of this exciting field and how innovations can turn big profits--and his labs go beyond what most of us did in high school.

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/technology/18ping.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

"O Captain! my Captain"

Akin to Robin Williams's character in "Dead Poet's Society," Andrew Trees drew the respect of many of his students and yet was informed his teaching contract would not be renewed at Horace Mann, an elite private school in the Bronx, NY.

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/fashion/18mann.html?ref=education

Get Noticed and Get Recruited

Hilton Head Christian Academy, with a graduating class of 44 students, sent 13 of its student athletes to play at four year colleges and five of them to NCAA Division I schools. More impressive? Not all of the 44 graduates participated in sports. Athletic Director and football coach Tommy Lewis said, "It all starts with the athletes," but pointed out other factors as well.

Check out the full article at:
http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/News/newsfeed/newsarticle.htm?id=I2945149360

Bad Behavior Doesn't Necessarily Lead to Poor Grades

Two new studies show that parents' and educators' fears of behavior problem students not performing well at higher grades is exagerrated. One study found that identified kindergartners perform on par with those that are not considered behaviorally challenged. The other study revealed that children with diagnosed attention deficit disorders suffer from a delay in brain development, not from a flaw.

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/health/13kids.html?adxnnl=1&ref=education&adxnnlx=1195221809-ovG1nC/Yfl6/xOb9PqhKwQ

Top Colleges Welcome Low-Income Students

Questbridge, a non-profit start up based in Palo Alto, California, is a program that matches high performing, low-income students with the nation's top schools like Princeton, Yale, Stanford, and Amherst. For helping diversify their school population, the schools give scholarships to these recruited students.

Check out the whole article at:
http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/News/newsfeed/newsarticle.htm?id=I2077278976

Concerning Math and Science, Who's Better: Us or Them?

A new study was released yesterday that cited US students are out performing students from many foreign countries like Italy and Norway in math and science. Sounds great, right? Wait. Students from many Asian countries, like Singapore and China, are significantly out performing American students in these categories--even in those from our highest performing states like Massachussetts.

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/education/14students.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

Talking and Texting

New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, approved a pilot program aimed at historically lower acheiving students from two schools to incentivise and mentor them to higher performance. Each student will receive a cell phone and for their performance in school can earn ring tones, free minutes, or even a call from celebrities like Jay-Z and Chris Rock!

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/education/13schools.html?ref=education

No Books But Plenty of Questions

Shimer College is one of a handful of institutions known as Great-books colleges. At these colleges, you won't find a lecture hall but instead you will find inquisitive literati seated around a boardroom table discussing the nuances of Nabokov.

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/shimer.html?_r=1&ref=edlife&oref=slogin

President Bush's Brother's Firm Subject of Inquiry by Dept. of Education

Ignite Learning, a firm owned by the president's brother, Neil Bush, is under inquiry by the Department of Education for a possible misuse of federal money. John P. Higgins, the Inspector General, is reviewing the matter that was brought up by a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Check out the article for:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/washington/07neil.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

iPhone versus The College Professor

Professor Ali Nazemi has a zero tolerance for cell phones in his classroom and he's not alone. As devices become smaller and more convenient, they have become ubiquitious in the classroom.

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/education/07education.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

No Child Left Behind Reauthorization Stalls

The law, originally passed in 2001, will remain in effect without Congressional action, but leaders in Congress and the administration have promised to make key changes to improve the act this year. Despite hours of Congressional debate, no Senator or Representative has moved forward with reauthorization.

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/washington/06child.html?ref=education

No Blackboard, No Lecturn, No Way!

Welcome to the world of online education--the future of the soon-to-be obsolete classroom. According to a College Board study, published last week, that nearly 1 out of every 5 graduate students took an online course last year. Though this surge is mostly contained to Community Colleges and professional programs, it certainly a marker of the growing popularity of distance learning.

Check out the entire article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/education/31education.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

Everything but the Sword...

In Aberdeen, NJ, an elementary school's Halloween celebration included a Power Ranger without a sword, a cowboy without a gun, and a devil without a pitch fork. A growing number of elementary schools across the country are striving to make the October 31st celebration less violent.

Check out the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/nyregion/28halloween.html?ref=education