I wonder if it is possible to consolidate these efforts in a single city and examine the effects. Then, perhaps we can develop policies that reach all cities. -Dr. Louie F. Rodriguez
-----------------------------------------------------------
Cisneros: Nation's future linked to Latino success
2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros said Monday he plans to create a nonprofit that will help integrate newcomers to U.S. society by improving their English and expanding their participation in military service and civic activities.
Cisneros, who served in the Clinton administration, said he hopes to launch the group this year to "proselytize" the significance of immigrants and "the absolutely invaluable role they'll play in the American future."
The group would team up with churches, schools and other nonprofits to offer a "life plan" on how people integrate into American society, he said. The plan would include showing parents how U.S. schools work and how they can help their children advance as well as promoting their responsibility in building the nation's future.
"We've got to get beyond just the basics of legalization and citizenship," Cisneros said.
Leaving 12 million people in the shadows and undocumented "is not what civilized country wants to do when it needs workers," he said.
Latinos make up 15 percent of the U.S. population and will make up a quarter of the population by 2050. Even if the nation's borders were closed, the Latino population in the U.S. is expected to grow because the population's families are younger and larger.
Cisneros said his effort dovetails with President Barack Obama's message of multicultural inclusion. He said he and Obama talked last year about the "aspirational" themes of the Hispanic population — better wages, educational achievement, health care and legalization.
Cisneros and several other high-profile Latinos argue in a new book, "Latinos and the Nation's Future," that the large numbers mean the advancement and global competitiveness of the country depends on the progress of the Latino population.
"Is America going to be populated by a population that is large but poor, undereducated, underproductive, alienated in due course for lack of opportunity?" he asked. "Or is it a going to be populated by a community that is large but has infused with the education and skills so that it is one of the contributors to the energy, the creativity the productivity of this country going forward?"
On the Net:
Arte Publico Press: http://www.arte.uh.edu/
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Lawmakers' plan cuts education and borrows from kids' health care fund (from 10Connects.com--Tampa)
Once again, the people on the bottom are the first to absorb the pains associated with the budget cuts. --Dr. Louie F. Rodriguez
Lawmakers' plan cuts education and borrows from kids' health care fund
Posted By: Grayson Kamm Date last updated: 1/12/2009 7:24:34 AM
Tallahassee, Florida -- State cuts will hit kids. Leaders in the legislature have decided to cut education and borrow from a kids' and seniors' health care fund as part of a plan to balance Florida's budget.
After a week of back-and-forth during a special session, lawmakers have put together a budget plan aimed at getting the state out of a $2.4 billion hole.
The budget plan is being delivered to lawmakers today. In it, school funding gets hit. Schools will lose $500 million statewide. That works out to $140 per student. Hospital funding will lose $100 million. The plan also increases speeding fines by $25 and other traffic fines by $10 across the board.
All those cuts and fines will cover about a billion dollars of the $2.4 billion hole. The rest will come from the state's savings accounts -- and it will drain them dramatically.
The plan borrows $700 million from the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund. That fund was formed with money from a settlement with tobacco companies. It's supposed to be used to pay for health care for poor children and seniors.
Another $400 million will come from the Budget Stabilization Fund -- the state's last-resort savings account. That fund will only have $250 million left in it. $190 million will be taken from a state housing trust fund and more than $300 million will come from other trust funds that haven't been named yet.
This plan was created by Republicans, then hammered out with Democrats. It does not include some big options Democrats had been pushing for, including a dollar-a-pack increase on cigarette taxes.
Along with some other smaller tax increases, the Democrats say their proposal could have meant the cuts to schools would have been smaller. But Governor Charlie Crist and Republicans the Legislature said they weren't willing to raise any taxes.
At least part of this budget battle could go to court. The budget plan raids the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund, which is supposed to be set aside for health care. The family of the late Governor Chiles says they will sue to stop the state from borrowing money from the fund.
A vote on the budget plan is expected on Wednesday.
Lawmakers' plan cuts education and borrows from kids' health care fund
Posted By: Grayson Kamm Date last updated: 1/12/2009 7:24:34 AM
Tallahassee, Florida -- State cuts will hit kids. Leaders in the legislature have decided to cut education and borrow from a kids' and seniors' health care fund as part of a plan to balance Florida's budget.
After a week of back-and-forth during a special session, lawmakers have put together a budget plan aimed at getting the state out of a $2.4 billion hole.
The budget plan is being delivered to lawmakers today. In it, school funding gets hit. Schools will lose $500 million statewide. That works out to $140 per student. Hospital funding will lose $100 million. The plan also increases speeding fines by $25 and other traffic fines by $10 across the board.
All those cuts and fines will cover about a billion dollars of the $2.4 billion hole. The rest will come from the state's savings accounts -- and it will drain them dramatically.
The plan borrows $700 million from the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund. That fund was formed with money from a settlement with tobacco companies. It's supposed to be used to pay for health care for poor children and seniors.
Another $400 million will come from the Budget Stabilization Fund -- the state's last-resort savings account. That fund will only have $250 million left in it. $190 million will be taken from a state housing trust fund and more than $300 million will come from other trust funds that haven't been named yet.
This plan was created by Republicans, then hammered out with Democrats. It does not include some big options Democrats had been pushing for, including a dollar-a-pack increase on cigarette taxes.
Along with some other smaller tax increases, the Democrats say their proposal could have meant the cuts to schools would have been smaller. But Governor Charlie Crist and Republicans the Legislature said they weren't willing to raise any taxes.
At least part of this budget battle could go to court. The budget plan raids the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund, which is supposed to be set aside for health care. The family of the late Governor Chiles says they will sue to stop the state from borrowing money from the fund.
A vote on the budget plan is expected on Wednesday.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Broward schools move to balance homework load (from Miami Herald)
Broward schools move to balance homework load
BY HANNAH SAMPSON
Danielle Jensen has had days when she couldn't go to dance class because she had so much homework. She wanted to join the volleyball team, but decided she couldn't juggle the practice with her studies. Sometimes she even brings her books to the dinner table.
Danielle, 11, is in sixth grade.
''It's sad to watch your 11-year-old kind of start acting like an 18-year-old,'' said Danielle's mom, Rosemarie Jensen of Parkland, a former elementary teacher who believes her daughter's workload is far too heavy.
When the Broward School Board opened up the district's website for feedback on the issue, dozens of parents responded with complaints. Parents say forcing a student to toil for hours a night takes away meaningful family time and opportunities for other educational and healthy activities including sports and music lessons.
But school districts say homework is important because it helps kids learn independence and responsibility, serves as a link between school and home and reinforces skills that students have learned in class.
''You introduce new materials, you want to make sure that you give students an opportunity to demonstrate that they understand the materials that have been taught,'' said Earlean Smiley, Broward's deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
But she acknowledged that teachers need to have greater coordination and consideration of how much homework they assign so students are not overwhelmed.
To that end, the Broward School Board took a first vote Tuesday on an updated homework policy. For the first time, Broward is giving parents an idea of guidelines for how much homework their students should get. The policy also urges teachers to better collaborate so that students aren't loaded up with projects at the same time.
Broward's guidelines say kids should have 10 minutes times their grade level. In other words, a third-grader should have about 30 minutes of homework, while a high school senior should have about two hours.
Recommendations vary somewhat, but experts say levels of daily homework for elementary schoolchildren should be no more than 30 minutes; for middle-schoolers, a maximum of an hour; and 1 ½-2 hours for high school students.
Karen Rivo, PTSA president at Miami Beach Senior High and chairwoman of an advisory committee on family involvement in Miami-Dade, said too much homework putspressure on families.
''What we see today is parents are so stressed in their lives,'' she said. ``Our schools need to be sensitive to the kind of homework they give and make sure it's not needless busywork.''
Education professor Dorene Ross, who teaches at the University of Florida, said excessive amounts of homework hurt student achievement.
''Too much homework is counter-productive,'' Ross said.
Miami-Dade's homework policy includes guidelines that recommend 30 minutes for kids in kindergarten and first grade; 45 for second- and third-graders; 60 for fourth- and fifth-graders; 75 for middle schoolers and two hours for high school students. All students are also supposed to spend 30 additional minutes reading.
Sara Bennett, an attorney who runs the website stophomework.com and co-author of The Case Against Homework, said Broward's changes sound like ``a start.''
``The question that I think every school should ask and every teacher should really be asking themselves is: What is the goal of their homework and why is it important and why is it more important than what a child might be doing that evening?''
Amy Phillips, a professor at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, is not philosophically opposed to homework. But said she has seen her kids, a senior and a freshman at Coral Glades High, spend hours on their assignments.
''There just are not enough hours -- especially for these high school students that need a lot of sleep and have to have part-time jobs and want to do extra-curricular work -- to accomplish it in the amount of time that they need to,'' she said.
Darla March, of Miami, said her three sons' homework helps keep her in touch with what they are learning. The boys, who are 7, 10 and 13, attend Cypress Elementary and Palmetto Middle and spend between 20 minutes for the youngest and 2 ½ hours a day for the oldest on homework.
''I find it helpful as a parent to see my kids review whatever concept they learned in school, to do some of the test preparation work at home so it doesn't take instructional time,'' March said, but added: ``There has to be a balance to allow them to have fun and go outside.''
Rosemarie Jensen, the Parkland mom whose Westglades Middle sixth-grader is often overwhelmed by homework, said regular doses of an hour and a half of homework would be acceptable. And much of the work, she said, would be better done in class.
''I don't care if you work her to the bone in there,'' Jensen said. ``But give me my kid back at night.''
BY HANNAH SAMPSON
Danielle Jensen has had days when she couldn't go to dance class because she had so much homework. She wanted to join the volleyball team, but decided she couldn't juggle the practice with her studies. Sometimes she even brings her books to the dinner table.
Danielle, 11, is in sixth grade.
''It's sad to watch your 11-year-old kind of start acting like an 18-year-old,'' said Danielle's mom, Rosemarie Jensen of Parkland, a former elementary teacher who believes her daughter's workload is far too heavy.
When the Broward School Board opened up the district's website for feedback on the issue, dozens of parents responded with complaints. Parents say forcing a student to toil for hours a night takes away meaningful family time and opportunities for other educational and healthy activities including sports and music lessons.
But school districts say homework is important because it helps kids learn independence and responsibility, serves as a link between school and home and reinforces skills that students have learned in class.
''You introduce new materials, you want to make sure that you give students an opportunity to demonstrate that they understand the materials that have been taught,'' said Earlean Smiley, Broward's deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
But she acknowledged that teachers need to have greater coordination and consideration of how much homework they assign so students are not overwhelmed.
To that end, the Broward School Board took a first vote Tuesday on an updated homework policy. For the first time, Broward is giving parents an idea of guidelines for how much homework their students should get. The policy also urges teachers to better collaborate so that students aren't loaded up with projects at the same time.
Broward's guidelines say kids should have 10 minutes times their grade level. In other words, a third-grader should have about 30 minutes of homework, while a high school senior should have about two hours.
Recommendations vary somewhat, but experts say levels of daily homework for elementary schoolchildren should be no more than 30 minutes; for middle-schoolers, a maximum of an hour; and 1 ½-2 hours for high school students.
Karen Rivo, PTSA president at Miami Beach Senior High and chairwoman of an advisory committee on family involvement in Miami-Dade, said too much homework putspressure on families.
''What we see today is parents are so stressed in their lives,'' she said. ``Our schools need to be sensitive to the kind of homework they give and make sure it's not needless busywork.''
Education professor Dorene Ross, who teaches at the University of Florida, said excessive amounts of homework hurt student achievement.
''Too much homework is counter-productive,'' Ross said.
Miami-Dade's homework policy includes guidelines that recommend 30 minutes for kids in kindergarten and first grade; 45 for second- and third-graders; 60 for fourth- and fifth-graders; 75 for middle schoolers and two hours for high school students. All students are also supposed to spend 30 additional minutes reading.
Sara Bennett, an attorney who runs the website stophomework.com and co-author of The Case Against Homework, said Broward's changes sound like ``a start.''
``The question that I think every school should ask and every teacher should really be asking themselves is: What is the goal of their homework and why is it important and why is it more important than what a child might be doing that evening?''
Amy Phillips, a professor at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, is not philosophically opposed to homework. But said she has seen her kids, a senior and a freshman at Coral Glades High, spend hours on their assignments.
''There just are not enough hours -- especially for these high school students that need a lot of sleep and have to have part-time jobs and want to do extra-curricular work -- to accomplish it in the amount of time that they need to,'' she said.
Darla March, of Miami, said her three sons' homework helps keep her in touch with what they are learning. The boys, who are 7, 10 and 13, attend Cypress Elementary and Palmetto Middle and spend between 20 minutes for the youngest and 2 ½ hours a day for the oldest on homework.
''I find it helpful as a parent to see my kids review whatever concept they learned in school, to do some of the test preparation work at home so it doesn't take instructional time,'' March said, but added: ``There has to be a balance to allow them to have fun and go outside.''
Rosemarie Jensen, the Parkland mom whose Westglades Middle sixth-grader is often overwhelmed by homework, said regular doses of an hour and a half of homework would be acceptable. And much of the work, she said, would be better done in class.
''I don't care if you work her to the bone in there,'' Jensen said. ``But give me my kid back at night.''
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