As this Yahoo! news article reports, many districts are going to a four day school week to cut costs. 

In one district, going to a four day week will save $65,000 on bus fuel alone.

Is this economic crunch a crisis;  or, are we teaching our kids a valuable lesson?

“I’ve got two teenage boys and they like brand names.  They can’t expect that this year.”

Crisis or opportunity?  We can take this opportunity to get back to the “nose to the grindstone” attitude that makes this country great.

Kids will now have to walk to school.  Uphill. Both ways!

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A multibillion-dollar bill has passed the US House.  The bill - America Competes Act (short for the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act) - will increase the available grants of many education related agencies.  Some of the agencies affected are: National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s science programs and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

This bill has a wide berth - not only does it cover basic technology in schools, but it has provisions for “obsticles to development of new energy technologies” and a government funded summit to “examine the health and direction of the United States’ science and technology enterprises.”

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The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is working with many states to upgrade their curriculum to incorporate 21st century skills such as:

• Flexibility & Adaptability
• Initiative & Self-Direction
• Social & Cross-Cultural Skills
• Productivity & Accountability
• Leadership & Responsibility

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GSN is holding its 2nd annual “National Vocabulary Championship.”  High school students compete via a qualifying exam either online or at a participating school nation wide.  Thanks to USA Today, American Heritage Dictionary, Sony, VAIO, Mead, Chipotle, JetBlue and others students will be competing to win $100,000 in tuition money.

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“Some Oregon high schools are adopting Mexico’s public school curriculum to help educate Spanish-speaking students with textbooks, an online Web site, DVDs and CDs provided free by Mexico to teach math, science and even U.S. history. ”

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Add a new T-shirt to the “banned list.”  Anything with the American Flag.

 ”Under a new school rule, students at Hobbton High School are not allowed to wear items with flags, from any country, including the United States.”

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“The Thomas J. Pappas schools for homeless kids are no longer needed, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors decided Friday, and the students should be mainstreamed into public schools in their communities.

In a special meeting, the county’s top elected leaders said the students would get better social services, better educations and ultimately better futures if they were not isolated from their peers. ”

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“The bill lays out a multibillion-dollar funding schedule for a number of science-related federal agencies over the next three years, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s science programs and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It also authorizes hundreds of millions of dollars in education-related grants, including $150 million in state grants for K-12 science, technology, mathematics and engineering programs and nearly $300 million in grants to establish masters and bachelors degree programs for training math and science teachers.”

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