Dad-daughter dances violate law

A Rhode Island schools superintendent has ended the district’s father-daughter dances and mother-son ballgames to comply with a state gender discrimination law, prompting some to complain that the move is an example of political correctness gone awry, the Associated Press reports. Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said Tuesday he was “utterly disappointed” that the Cranston schools superintendent nixed the events in what the mayor called “the name of political correctness” after the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union complained last spring. The ACLU complaint in May came on behalf of a single mother whose daughter had no father in her life but was precluded from attending the father-daughter dance, ACLU Executive Director Steven Brown said Tuesday. In a letter to school organizations last month, Schools Superintendent Judith Lundsten said that school district attorneys reviewing the complaint found that, while federal gender discrimination laws exempt such events, Rhode Island law does not…

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Sesame Street’s next chapter: Elmo talks back

Elmo, Big Bird and the rest of the “Sesame Street” crew have always talked to kids. Now, they’ll try to have a two-way conversation with their pint-sized audience using Kinect, the motion and voice-sensing controller created by Microsoft, the Associated Press reports. “Kinect Sesame Street TV,” out Tuesday, is not exactly a video game, though it runs on the Xbox 360 video game system. There are no winners and losers, no real rules to follow and no points to score. If you don’t want to play, that’s fine. Just sit back and watch “Sesame Street,” as kids have for the past 43 years. But if you do play, Grover will count coconuts you’ve thrown, the Count will praise you for standing still and Elmo will catch a talking ball if you throw it to him. The episodes presage the next step in the evolution of television, adding an interactive element to what’s still a passive, lean-back experience. The game is sure to arouse jealous feelings among football fans who yell at their TV sets during Sunday’s game…

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Education grants total $17M for Miss. schools

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded $17 million in grants to some Mississippi schools, the Associated Press reports. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., says the funds are provided through the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program. He says the program provides money to establish or strengthen the academic resources, management capabilities, and physical plants of the schools…

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School lunch rules for healthier meals get mixed reviews from students

One student complains because his cafeteria no longer serves chicken nuggets. Another gripes that her school lunch just isn’t filling. A third student says he’s happy to eat an extra apple with his lunch, even as he’s noshing on his own sub, the Associated Press reports. Leaner, greener school lunches served under new federal standards are getting mixed grades from students piling more carrots, more apples and fewer fatty foods on their trays.

“Now they’re kind of forcing all the students to get the vegetables and fruit with their lunch, and they took out chicken nuggets this year, which I’m not too happy about,” said Chris Cimino, a senior at Mohonasen High School in upstate New York.

Lunch lines at schools across the country cut through the garden now, under new U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition standards. Mohonasen students selecting pizza sticks this week also had to choose something from the lunch line’s cornucopia of apples, bananas, fresh spinach and grape tomatoes, under the standards. Calorie counts are capped, too……Read More

High-tech product announcements this fall

It’s high season for consumer electronics. Manufacturers of various gadgets are unveiling their holiday lineups, including Apple with its new iPhone on Wednesday. Add to that products surrounding a new version of Windows coming out next month, the Associated Press reports.

Here’s a recap of the announcements so far:

— Sept. 4: Microsoft Corp. releases the first major update to its server operating system since 2009, a prelude to releasing Windows 8 to consumers in October. Microsoft says Windows Server 2012 adds features that make it easier to manage large clusters of servers in data centers remotely.…Read More

HarperCollins reaches deal to lower eBook prices

A new and uncertain era of e-book prices has begun, the Associated Press reports. HarperCollins Publishers announced Tuesday that it has reached new price agreements with sellers that conform to a settlement with the Justice Department over allegations that five publishers and Apple colluded to set prices for eBooks. Such new works as Michael Chabon’s “Telegraph Avenue” now can be purchased on Amazon.com for $9.99, a price publishers and rival booksellers fear will give Amazon dominant control of the eMarket. Simon & Schuster and Hachette Book Group also settled, but as of Tuesday afternoon e-prices for such fall books from those publishers as Bob Woodward’s “The Price of Politics” and Tom Wolfe’s “Back to Blood” were selling for $14.99. A spokesman for Simon & Schuster declined comment, while Hachette issued a statement saying it was “engaged in productive discussions with eBook distribution agents.” Apple and two other publishers, Penguin Group (USA) and Macmillan, declined to settle and a trial is expected next June…

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Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years

Thousands of Chicago teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years, after union leaders announced they were far from resolving a contract dispute with school district officials, the Associated Press reports. The walkout in the nation’s third-largest school district posed a tricky test for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who said he would work to end the strike quickly.

“This is not a strike I wanted,” Emanuel said Sunday night, not long after the union announced the action. “It was a strike of choice … it’s unnecessary, it’s avoidable and it’s wrong.”

Some 26,000 teachers and support staff were expected to join the picket. Among teachers protesting Monday morning outside Benjamin Banneker Elementary School on Chicago’s South Side, eighth-grade teacher Michael Williams said he wanted a quick contract resolution.…Read More

New attendance push prized by students, educators

School day wake-up calls recorded by celebrities. Weekend makeup classes. Contests with laptop computers, private concerts and cars as prizes. Educators across the nation are using creative strategies as another school year gets under way to convince students and parents that regular attendance matters — and not just for grades and achievement, the Associated Press reports. New research suggests missing as little as two weeks of school can put young children behind their peers, burden overworked teachers, cost districts state dollars and undermine mandates to raise standardized test scores. So many public school districts have launched campaigns to reduce all absences, not just those serious enough to warrant a home visit from a truant officer.

“Students who are getting a ‘B’ and are OK with a ‘B,’ they think it’s in their rights to skip school now and then,” said Berkeley High School Attendance Dean Daniel Roose, who offered a movie night to the grade-level boasting the best attendance last semester. “I’ve tried to challenge those kids and their families to change the mindset that you aren’t impacting anyone but yourself when you skip.”

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Teachers must make the grade under new guidelines

When Ohio’s new teacher evaluation system kicks in starting next year, teacher Tammy Schmidt may be joining her third-grade students in preparing scrapbooks of their classroom accomplishments, the Associated Press reports. Teacher portfolios, which could include lesson plans, student work, photographs — even videos— are among the tools that states are considering as a way to better rate educators and to meet the conditions for federal funding. Other approaches being developed and tested across the nation may include parent reviews, student surveys, classroom observations and student growth measures including standardized test scores. Teachers with consecutive poor ratings will first get help and then could lose their tenure. Teachers who consistently excel would be evaluated less frequently…

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High school students get dual-enrollment discount

Montana colleges say they are making it cheaper and easier for high school students to take some college classes, the Associated Press reports. The Montana University System says the dual-enrollment program allows qualified students to take college level classes for credits that can apply toward both their high school diploma and a college degree. Online courses are also available at the Montana Digital Academy. Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau says every high school student should consider the opportunity. She says it makes college more affordable, while also offering a new challenge…

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Mexico religious cult refuses to allow teachers in

Adherents of a religious sect in western Mexico are physically blocking school teachers from entering their walled community, setting up one of the most high-profile confrontations between religious and civil authorities in Mexico since the 1930s, the Associated Press reports. Local officials in the western state of Michoacan said Wednesday it may be time to call in a large-scale police operation to enforce the right to schooling in a community that has largely ruled itself according to what it considers biblical guidelines for almost 40 years. The New Jerusalem community prohibits formal schooling, television, radio, modern music, dress and fashion.

“I think the next step is to go in and enforce the rule of law,” said Efrain Barrera, spokesman for the township of Turicato, where the sect’s walled-off compound is.

Under Mexican law, grade school education is compulsory, and Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission and the Roman Catholic Church said Tuesday that the refusal to allow classes in New Jerusalem is a violation of children’s human rights……Read More

Gardens blooming at schools teach nutrition, science, teamwork

Gathered in the large garden behind an elementary school here, a group of kindergartners watched as their teacher snipped some basil, let them smell the leaves, and then did the same with oregano, the Associated Press reports.

“We do a lot of smelling out there. Looking. Digging,” the teacher, LeaAnne Pillers, said. She took her class to the garden two or three times a week after it opened last spring at Moss Haven Elementary, and she’s excited to get her new group out among the plants when school starts next week.

One of their first lessons: learning the five senses. “We’ll be able to do a lot with `What does it look like? What does it feel like?’ Some of it we’ll even be able to taste,” Pillers said.…Read More