Top of the Class Schools

The good news about GEAR UP schools just keeps coming!  From over 27,000 high schools in America, two GEAR UP schools appeared in the Newsweek Web Exclusive list of 1,300 (top 5%) public high schools in the country:

      Eagle Rock Middle/High School is ranked 439.

      Valley High is ranked 1,076. 

CONGRATULATIONS to Eagle Rock Middle/High School, Los Angeles Unified School District, and to Valley High School, Elk Grove Unified School District!

The link to the story is http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380

The Education Trust has included new data in CollegeResults Online, an interactive Web-based tool that compares the graduation rates of different student groups at American four-year colleges and universities. Read the statement and visit www.collegeresults.org

Jerome Gourdine, principal of Frick Middle School, has won the 2008 MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award, a grant of $5,000 for his school.  The national award program recognizes the most collaborative public school principals in 25 cities, including Oakland.

For more information about the Ambassadors in Education Award, including the profiles of past winners and their community-building activities, visit www.ncl.org/metlife/index.html.

Education Trust Funding Gap Report

In The Spotlight: The Funding Gap

Check out the seventh report in an EdTrust series identifying which states are ensuring fair funding for districts serving concentrations of low-income and minority students, and which aren’t. The report also looks at funding disparities in states with significant numbers of English Language Learners. To access the report, go to www2.edtrust.org/edtrust

Sacramento Magazine

Tarik Assagai, owner of ACS Digital Media Website Design and a Natomas Business Directory (natomasliving.net) and webmaster extraordinaire for California GEAR UP, was recognized in the January 2008 Sacramento Magazine as one of the “40 Under 40: The Next Generation of Power Players.”

The Campaign for College Opportunity is proud to launch the third year of the "Save Me a Spot in College" scholarship contest! More than 100 students across California will share a total of $100,000 in scholarship awards!

All California 6th-12th grade students are eligible. Students may submit a written word, poster, TV ad answering the contest question:

"Why should California leaders save you and your peers a spot in college?"

Deadline for all contest submissions is March 15, 2008.
Winners will be announced in late May 2008.

For more information, call 1-800-459-9586 or visit www.collegecampaign.org/contest

Institute for Higher Education Policy Report

“New Research Reveals How Few Middle School Parents are Preparing for Their Children’s College Education Although They are a Key Resource to Helping Them Earn a Degree”

In a report released by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, far too few parents of middle-school students are doing what they need to do to ensure their children can go on to college.

For the complete report, view website file: www.ihep.org/press-room/news_release-detail.cfm?id=144

“Closing the College Achievement Gap”

Inside Higher Ed

The inexorable rush to rankings glory, which tends to reward colleges and universities the more academically selective and wealthy they become, has not been good for low-income and minority students. As part of “Access to Success,” a joint effort of the National Association of System Heads and the Education Trust, 19 public college systems all have agreed to cut in half within eight years their own gaps in college-going and college graduation rates for low-income students and those from underrepresented minority groups.

The Center, Issue Brief, Part 1

Instructional Coaching (September 2007)

The Center, Issue Brief, Part 2

       Principal as Instructional Leader: Designing a Coaching Program That Fits (September 2007)

       In this issue brief, authors Lucy Steiner and Julie Kowal take a look at the role of the principal as instructional leader, including activities such as assessing needs and goals, selecting a coaching strategy, and implementing and supporting the coaching program. This is part two of a two part series.

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform Publications: Newsletters

June 2007 Newsletter
Improving Teacher Retention With Supportive Workplace Conditions

For more information, visit: www.centerforcsri.org

Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Release a National Poll of Middle Level Students Regarding Their Educational Goals and Beliefs.