04.30.06
Posted in News at 1:03 am by Paloma Cruz
School funding plan doesn’t yield enough money for promised tax reduction
– reported by KTRK ABC Channel 13
Gov. Rick Perry’s school funding plan, approved this week by the House, does not prescribe enough money to give Texas homeowners a promised one-third reduction in property taxes.
The plan, which could change in the Senate, aims to replace a portion of property taxes with an expanded business tax, a cigarette tax increase, a change in the way auto sales are taxed and part of the surplus. The cigarette tax is expected to be approved by the House Thursday.
But, those provisions would only generate enough money to give Texans an 11 percent property tax cut in its first year and about a 25 percent decrease in the second year.
To make up the difference, lawmakers would have to raise additional taxes or use some of the surplus, estimated at $8.2 billion.
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04.17.06
Posted in News at 10:40 pm by Paloma Cruz
CY-FAIR SET TO EXPAND DRUG TESTS
As more school districts embrace random testing, critics fear push will stifle youths
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
Cypress-Fairbanks will become the largest Houston-area school system to require random drug testing of high school students when it rolls out a new federally funded program in the fall to curb teenage drug abuse.
The move will add Cy-Fair to the fast-expanding list of school districts turning to drug-testing programs that now enjoy the endorsement of most parents and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Yet while leaders of the 87,000-student Cy-Fair district hope random testing will give students who compete in sports and academic contests a way to dodge peer pressure, some opponents fear it could discourage teens from joining teams and clubs. Random testing can also create a hostile school environment and give parents a false sense of security, they said.
[snip]
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04.15.06
Posted in Resources at 1:00 am by Paloma Cruz
Flashcard Exchange has nearly four million flash cards you can print to help you study everything from phonics to pharmacology.
Found via LifeHacker.
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04.14.06
Posted in News at 6:06 am by Paloma Cruz
Online textbook purchases on the rise
– reported by the Columbus Business First
Student Watch Campus Market Research reported that 23 percent of textbooks college students purchase are through the Internet, up from 16 percent in 2004.
[snip]
The study showed that 61 percent of students that shop online chose that route because they could find books at bargain prices. Eighteen percent of the students who said they buy their books online reported they did so because their professors recommended it.
More than 16,000 students from 21 campuses nationwide participated in the survey. Researchers chose a mix of schools considering the university’s program type, school type and number of students.
The College Stores Foundation is the research arm of The National Association of College Stores Inc., which represents the $11 billion higher education retail industry.
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Posted in News at 1:40 am by Paloma Cruz
Sarasota college earns ‘top value’ reputation
– reported by the Miami Herald
[snip]
New College, a liberal arts school on Sarasota Bay, defies almost every trend in public higher education. Last week, the school was named the nation’s top value among public universities by The Princeton Review college guide.
As one of Florida’s 11 public universities, New College is grouped with Florida State, the University of Central Florida and other mega-campuses that rank among the nation’s largest. But aside from low in-state tuition, it bears little resemblance to its sister schools, which increasingly focus on graduate programs, growth and what leaders call ”workforce development” — preparing students for jobs that fuel the economy.
[snip]
Since the beginning, the school has had an ”open curriculum,” meaning no required classes. The theory was that motivated and smart students would thrive if they designed their academic program and worked on contracts with professors — receiving detailed evaluations instead of grades.
[snip]
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04.12.06
Posted in News at 11:40 pm by Paloma Cruz
College celebrates expansion
– reported by The Pasadena Citizen
Texas Chiropractic College celebrated the growth of its facilities Friday as city and state dignitaries piled into the newly completed auditorium for the dedication of their newest addition.
[snip]
The building, which spans 35,000 feet, features state-of-the-art technology; a training and assessment center; an auditorium; faculty offices; changing rooms with lockers; an observation hall for live-but-private viewing of student-patient encounters; and a chemistry lab.
[snip]
Texas Chiropractic College is located at 5912 Spencer Highway. For more information, visit the Internet at www.txchiro.edu or call (281) 487-1170.
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04.11.06
Posted in News at 11:18 pm by Paloma Cruz
Poll finds HISD workers like jobs, not pay
Nearly 40% say their salaries aren’t competitive with other districts
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
While Houston Independent School District employees are overwhelmingly satisfied with their jobs, nearly 40 percent of workers don’t think their salaries are competitive with those paid by other school districts.
In addition, almost 30 percent of HISD teachers said the state’s largest school district is on the “wrong track,” and 25 percent said they’d take a job in another district for the same pay, according to a $20,000 poll conducted this year by Florida-based Market Research Insight.
[snip]
More than 4,000 of the district’s 30,000 employees were randomly selected to participate in the study, which was conducted mainly via the Internet in January and February. About half of the 2,432 employees who completed the survey were teachers, most of whom have less than 10 years of experience.
[snip]
A salary study released by the union this month shows that Houston’s $36,050 salary for new teachers for 2005-06 was lower than the starting pay in Katy, Cypress-Fairbanks, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio. Houston teachers, however, outearn teachers in those districts at the 20-year mark.
The union’s study also showed that the number of six-figure earners in HISD remained relatively flat this year at 48. Eight of those $100,000-plus earners are campus principals this year, compared with two last year.
[snip]
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Posted in News at 11:10 pm by Paloma Cruz
Fort Bend ISD denied Aug. 9 start date
– reported by KHOU CBS Channel 11
In a rare move, the Texas Education Agency has denied permission to the Fort Bend Independent School District to start classes Aug. 9.
State officials said 285 Texas school districts have been granted waivers this year and only one, Fort Bend ISD, has been turned down. The TEA cited a lack of community consensus in rejecting the district’s request to start school earlier than the state mandated week of Aug 21.
[snip]
Fort Bend ISD is no early bird
District bid for Aug. 9 start is rejected by TEA
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
In a rare move, the Texas Education Agency has denied permission to the Fort Bend Independent School District to start classes on Aug. 9.
State officials said 285 Texas school districts have been granted waivers this year and only one, Fort Bend ISD, has been turned down.
The TEA cited a lack of community consensus in rejecting the district’s request to start school earlier than the state mandated week of Aug 21.
[snip]
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Posted in News at 12:45 pm by Paloma Cruz
Preliminary results show steady gains on reading TAKS test
– reported by the Pasadena Independent School District
According to preliminary results, third and fifth grade students in the Pasadena Independent School District are continuing to show steady gains on the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test.
Ninety-one percent of the district’s third grade students passed the test and exceeded the state’s average of 89 percent. Another bright spot in the 2006 preliminary results is a seven-percent increase in commended students as 41 percent of students districtwide received this honor as compared to 34 percent last year.
The third grade results have continued to climb since the test was first administered in 2003, as 82 percent of students passed the test that year. Fifth grade students posted a 77 percent passing rate on the 2006 reading portion of the test, but have shown continuous improvement every year. In 2003, 69 percent of fifth graders mastered the test. Spanish TAKS reading scores have also shown an 18 percent gain in the past two years, with 74 percent passing this year, as compared to 59 percent in 2004.
[snip]
Another bright spot in the preliminary third grade reading scores showed passing rates among different subgroups exceeded the state average. The preliminary totals showed 91 percent of Hispanic third grade students passed the reading TAKS, as compared to the state average of 86 percent. The totals also noted that 90 percent of economically disadvantaged students mastered the exam, while 84 percent of students in this subgroup passed statewide. In addition, preliminary numbers show an 84 percent passing rate among African-American students in the district, compared to 81 percent statewide.
[snip]
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Posted in News at 12:36 pm by Paloma Cruz
College graduates chase jobs, culture to big cities, AP analysis shows
– reported by SeattlePI.com
College graduates are flocking to America’s big cities, chasing jobs and culture and driving up home prices.
Though many of the largest cities have lost population in the past three decades, nearly all have added college graduates, an analysis by The Associated Press found.
Seattle was the best-educated city in 2004 with just over half the adults having bachelor’s degrees. Following closely were San Francisco; Raleigh, N.C.; Washington and Austin, Texas.
[snip]
College graduates made about two-thirds more money than high school graduates in 2004, according to the Census Bureau. The median income - the point at which half make more and half make less - for adults with bachelor’s degrees was $42,404. It was $25,360 for high school graduates.
Adults who did not graduate high school had a median income of $18,144.
Many cities with a lot of college graduates also have expensive homes, even with the softening real estate market.
San Francisco was the costliest in 2004, with a median home value of $662,000, according to census data. That was more than four times the national median of $151,000.
[snip]
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