Friday, August 20^th

NewSchools Launches $100M Innovation Fund

In its biggest effort yet to influence education reform, the San Francisco-based NewSchools Venture Fund is launching its fourth fund, a $100 million investment to spur innovation in teacher preparation, school turnarounds, and charter-school management.

The new fund is meant to help advance a new, federal agenda that's focused on innovation. In fact, just yesterday we learned about the 49 applicants who won $650 million in Investing in Innovation, or i3, grants. The i3 program is a new competition created by the economic-stimulus package and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Read More

'Magic Happened' After She Gave Ex-Cons A Chance At New Lives

At the bus terminal in downtown Los Angeles, they're easy to spot. Dressed in blue jeans, they carry boxes, bags or large envelopes with their name and a number on it. They are ex-offenders, just released from California's prison system. When they step off the bus with $200 in "gate money" in their pockets, many have hopes of making a fresh start.

But in this seedy area just blocks from Skid Row, the new arrivals are easy targets for pimps and drug dealers. For some, the temptation is too much. While not everyone succumbs to the streets so quickly, nearly 60 percent return to prison within three years, according to California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Read More

Back to top

Cafe Helps Former Gang Members Change Their Lives

The 17-year-old looked like any who might be standing behind the counter of a diner, taking a deep breath after the lunch rush.

Except he was working at City Life, a new cafe that helps street gang members in Wichita find life after crime. He was serving probation for aggravated burglary and aggravated battery, juvenile court records showed. Read More

Back to top

Fight to Stamp Out Bullying, Safe-Schools Chief Urges

This week marked the first week back to school for students in a number of cities. But not all children find this time of year a happy one, among them the one in three, or estimated 18 million, who will be bullied in school this year.

Keep those children in mind as you continue your work, Kevin Jennings, the assistant deputy U.S. secretary of education for safe and drug-free schools, told advocates, educators, and researchers as he closed out the federal government's first anti-bullying summit. He provides the estimate of the number of students who will be bullied, which comes from federal statistics. Read More

Back to top

Pallone Bill Aims to Curtail Gang Violence

Ferraina: School District Programs Aim At Preventing Gang Influence

With replicate bills being introduced in the U.S. Congress, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District) is hoping to mount a fourpronged attack on gangs throughout the country.

Pallone introduced the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2010 (H.R. 5969) in the U.S. House of Representatives last week and expects a vote to take place sometime after Congress reconvenes in September following a month)s recess.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a replicate bill, which has yet to be assigned a number, in the U.S. Senate at the same time. Read More

Back to top

School Resource Officers

Miami-Dade County Public Schools, along with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department (M-DSPD), is committed to the safety and well being of the students and staff of the school district. This commitment gave rise to the implementation of the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. The program involves the placement of law enforcements officers in schools with the goal of creating and maintaining a safe, secure, and orderly learning environment for students, teachers and staff.

The SRO program represents a proactive strategy designed to bring prevention and intervention into the schools. Every SRO is a sworn police officer, certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and has completed all required Basic Law Enforcement training. Read More

Back to top