Fwd: [DW] CFP - International Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government 2013 - Proposals Due Jan 15, Conf May 22-23

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Steven Clift
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2012
Subject: [DW] CFP - International Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government 2013 - Proposals Due Jan 15, Conf May 22-23
To: newswire@groups.dowire.org


A premier e-democracy research event!


From:
http://bit.ly/CeDEM13CFP

PDF version:
http://bit.ly/SZY7Tr


CeDEM13
International Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government 2013
Venue: nCampus Krems
Date: 22.05.2013 - 25.05.2013

The international Conference for e-Democracy and Open Government
brings together e-democracy, e-participation and open government
specialists working in academia, politics, government and business to
critically analyse the innovations, issues, ideas and challenges in
the networked societies of the digital age.

Or: networking, great keynotes, good food.

CALL FOR PAPERS: CeDEM13


The CeDEM represents a continuation and development of the E-democracy
conference initiated in 2007. The Centre for E-Governance at the
Danube University Krems has been organising conferences on e-democracy
and public administration since 2007. The CeDEM was first presented in
2011, and in the meantime also boasts a spin-off in Asia, held for the
first time in November 2012.

Papers submitted are peer-reviewed in a double-blind process (with a
50% rejection rate) and if accepted, are published in the proceedings
(Edition Donau-Universität Krems) in paper format and online according
to open access principles. Workshops proposals, PhD colloquium papers
and reflections that have been selected by the chairs will also be
published in the proceedings. Authors of the best peer-reviewed papers
will be asked to re-submit their revised and extended papers for the
autumn issue of the Centre for E-Governance's open access eJournal of
eDemocracy and Open Government  (www.jedem.org ).
The CeDEM offers a PhD Colloquium in cooperation with the Danube
University Krems' Platform for Political Communication and netPOL  (
www.netpol.at ). The Doctoral Colloquium provides PhD students the
opportunity to present their work and gain feedback from experts as
well as meet other PhD students. Students from any stage of their PhD
are invited to submit their papers on any of the conference topics
(see the tracks); prospective students should send a report of their
PhD projects and work so far.



CeDEM13 Tracks

Track: E-Democracy and E-Participation
Chairs: Axel Maireder (University of Vienna, AT), Francesco Molinari
(Parterre project, IT), Marko Skoric (Nanyang Technological
University, SG)
•       Sustainability of e-participation and citizen engagement; best
practices and key factors for success; motivational factors and the
impact of participation;
•       Participatory and communication platforms; ICT for e-participation;
mobile media and new forms of participation; applications for
citizens;
•       Citizens and government interaction, business and government
interaction; different perspectives of citizens, government, NGOs,
NPOs, practitioners, service providers;
•       Digital divide: gender, age, education, etc.; citizen inclusion;
•       Participatory budgeting, the European Citizen Initiative; new
approaches to direct democracy, new forms of democracy enhanced by
ICT;
•       Critical perspectives: wrongdoings, bad and worst experiences, hype
but not reality, fringe groups;

Track: Open Collaborative Government
Chairs: Sylvia Archmann (EIPA, NL), Reinhard Riedl (Bern University of
Applied Sciences, CH), Norbert Kersting (Universität Münster, DE)
•       Open government initiatives;
•       E-Government modelling and simulation, technological developments,
smart/mobile democracy;
•       Architecture, concepts & effects; access and openness, network
effects, power laws, long tail, crowd sourcing for government, social
web, semantic web;
•       Citizen vs. consumer; public administration vs. business; key
stakeholders and roles in collaboration; motivational factors,
collaborative intelligence;
•       Social media & networks, engagement and accountability, generation
of content and knowledge, collaborative culture, G2C & G2B
collaboration;
•       Increasing effectiveness and efficiency;
•       Collaboration tools, decision making tools;
•       Critical perspectives: wrongdoings, worst and bad experiences, hype
but not reality, fringe groups;

Track: E-Policies and E-Society - Human Rights for the Internet Age
Chairs: Matthias C. Kettemann (University of Graz, AT), Edith Maier
(FHS St. Gallen, CH), Philipp Müller (University of Salzburg, AT)
•       E-policies for an e-polity?
•       Human rights for the Internet age;
•       Internet Governance between international law and national rules;
•       Freedom of expression on the Internet: Copyright vs. creative commons;
•       The right to access the Internet as a new foundation for
participation in society;
•       New human values for new technologies: dignity in e-society;
•       The re-emerging importance of the real: a new dawn for physicality
in a digital world?
•       Machine-human interaction and the Internet of things: legal and
political aspects;

Track: Social and Mobile Media for Public Administration
Chairs: Peter Mambrey (Universität Duisburg-Essen, DE), Morten
Meyerhoff Nielsen (Danish Agency for Digitisation, DK)
•       Administration and media, social media and social networks;
•       Information provision, mobile devices, service delivery with new
communication channels;
•       Blogging, micro-blogging, social networks, e-learning; social media
to engage citizens (living labs);
•       One-stop-shops;
•       Private engagement and civil servants' official roles;

Track: E-Campaigning & E-Politics
Chairs: Ralf Lindner (Fraunhofer ISI, DE), Andy Williamson (Hansard
Society, UK),
•       Political online campaigning, mass communication;
•       Mobilisation via social media, networks vs. traditional party-structure;
•       Social and political self-organisation, revolution via web 2.0, the
European Citizen Initiative, new parties and political movements
(pirates);
•       New journalism, internet media;
•       Best practices; lessons learned;

Track: Bottom-Up Movements
Chairs: Axel Bruns (ARC Centre for Creative Industries and Innovation,
AU), Farida Vis (Universit of Sheffield, UK
•       Online communities, innovation, bottom-up vs. top-down;
•       NGOs/NPOs in a connected society;
•       Online spaces for self-organisation and citizen engagement;
•       User generated content, peer production;
•       ICT and revolutions: who are the good and bad? The role of
journalism, alternative media and the counter-public sphere;
•       Online activism, grassroots and their organisation;
•       What happens after the online revolutions?

Track: Open Data, Transparency and Open Innovation
Chairs: Julia Glidden (21c Consultancy Ltd., UK), Johann Höchtl
(Danube University Krems, AT)
•       Legal, licensing and political issues: creative commons vs.
copyright, freedom of information, information sharing, data
visualization, transparency, opportunities and limitations;
•       Technical frameworks of open data/access and mashing platforms, open
data formats and APIs;
•       Open innovation for public services;
•       Costs and benefits of open data provision, principles and good
practice of open data; open access and crowd sourcing

Track Open Science and Open Access
Chairs: Helmut Leopold (Austrian Institute of Technology, AT), Stefan
Blachfellner (Stefan Blachfellner Consulting, AT), Keith Jeffery
(Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK)
•       The role of scholarly communication for democracies;
•       Implications of open access for citizens, governments, research and
universities;
•       The impact of open access and transparency on e-participation;

Track: Freedom and Ethics in Digital Societies
Chairs: Peter Kampits (Danube University Krems, AT)
•       Technology and responsibility: rational technology assessment;
•       Internet: the enlargement or the illusion of freedom;
•       The might of Internet;
•       The disappearance of reality in the cyberspace;
•       Knowledge versus information;
•       From homo sapiens to homo digitalis;

Submissions

On the basis of the open discussion held with participants, track
chairs and PC-members, the CeDEM13 will focus on e-democracy and open
government in the context of human rights and freedom in a digital
society. We invite individuals from academic and applied backgrounds
as well as business, public authorities, NGO, NPOs and education
institutions to submit their papers, reflections as well as workshop
proposals to the topics addressed in the tracks below. We welcome
interdisciplinary approaches to the emerging conference topics.

The conference proceedings will be published with the Edition Danube
University; in addition, the complete proceedings are fully accessible
online.
•       Research papers shall be 12 pages maximum and will be double-blind
peer-reviewed;
•       Case studies / Project papers shall be 12 pages maximum and will be
double-blind peer-reviewed;
•       Reflections shall be 6 pages maximum and will be selected by the chairs;
•       Workshop papers shall be 4 pages maximum and will be selected by the chairs;
•       PhD Colloquium papers shall be 3 pages maximum (excluding literature
list) and selected by the organisers of the colloquium;

Important Dates


Deadline for the submission of all papers, workshop proposals,
reflections: 15 January 2013
Notification of acceptance: 29 March 2013
Camera-ready paper submission: 21 April 2013
Pre-conference event: 21 May 2013
Conference: 22-23 May 2013
Open space, extended workshops, PhD colloquium: 24-25 May 2013

CFP Cedem13


pdf, 81 KB

Open Access eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government (JeDEM)

A selection of revised and extended papers from the CeDEM13 will be
published with the autumn 2013 issue of the Open Access eJournal of
eDemocracy and Open Government. (www.jedem.org) that is indexed with
EBSCO. A special issue is planned for submissions made to the PhD
Colloquium.

 Programme Committee

Georg Aichholzer (Institute of Technology Assessment, AT)
Sylvia Archmann (EIPA, NL)
Frank Bannister (Trinity College Dublin 2, IE)
Kheira Belkacem (University of Leeds, UK)
Lasse Berntzen (Vestfold University, NO)
Axel Bruns (ARC Centre for Creative Industries and Innovation, AU)
Thomas Buchsbaum (Austrian Ambassador in Iran, AT)
Yannis Charalabidis (University of the Aegean, GR)
Peter Cruickshank (Edinburgh Napier University, UK)
Anni Dugdale (University of Canberra, AU)
Tom van Engers (University of Amsterdam, NL)
Chantal Enguehard (Université de Nantes, FR)
Peter Filzmaier (Danube University Krems, AT
Joan Francesc Fondevila (Centre d'Estudis sobre el Cable, ES)
Olivier Glassey (IDHEAP, CH)
Julia Glidden (21c Consultancy Ltd., UK)
Hans Hagedorn (DEMOS Gesellschaft für E-Partizipation mbh, DE)
Stevan Harnard (Université du Québec à Montréal, CA)
Dennis Hilgers (Universität Hamburg, DE)
Johann Höchtl (Danube University Krems, AT)
Roumiana Ilieva (Technical University of Sofia, BG)
Marijn Janssen ( TU Delft, NL)
Keith Jeffery (Science and Technology Facilites Council, UK)
Evika Karamagioli (Gov2U, GR)
Norbert Kersting (University Münster, DE)
Jens Klessmann (Fraunhofer FOKUS, DE)
Bozidar Klicek (University of Zagreb, Croatia)
Sotiris Th. Koussouris (DSSLab, NTUA, GR)
Robert Krimmer (ODIHR-elections, PL)
Ah Lian Kor (Leeds Metropolitan University, UK)
Rudolf Legat (Austrian Environmental Agency, AT)
Daniel van Lerberghe (Politech EurActiv, BE)
Nele Leosk (e-Governance Academy, EE)
Ralf Lindner (Fraunhofer ISI, DE)
Jan Linhart (echo source, DE)
Martin Löhe (Fraunhofer FOKUS, DE)
Jörn von Lucke (Zeppelin University, DE)
Rolf Lührs (TuTech Innovation GmbH, DE)
Arthur Lupia (University of Michigan, US)
Ülle Madise (Legal Adviser to the President, EE)
Edith Maier (FHS St.Gallen, Switzerland)
Viktor Maier-Schönberger (Oxford Internet Institute, UK)
Peter Mambrey (Universität Duisburg-Essen, DE)
Flavia Marzano (Stati Generali Innovazione, IT)
Morten Meyerhoff-Nielen (National IT and Telecom Agency, DK)
Jeremy Millard (Danish Technological Institute, DK)
Francesco Molinari (Parterre project, IT)
Philipp Müller (Universität Salzburg, AT)
Christina Neumayer (IT University of Copenhagen, DK)
Hannu Nurmi (University of Turku, FI)
Ismael Peña-López (Open University of Catalonia, ES)
Flooh Perlot (Institut für Strategieanalysen, AT)
Nguyen V. Phuc (Asian Institute of Technology and Management, VN)
Carl-Markus Piswanger (Austrian Federal Computing Centre, AT)
Wolfgang Polasek (Institut für Höhere Studien, CH)
Singara Karna Rao (Tsukuba University, JP)
Peter Reichstädter (Austrian Federal Chancellery, AT)
Reinhard Riedl (University of Zurich, CH)
Philipp Rössl (Danube University Krems, AT)
Christian Rupp (Austrian Federal Chancellery, AT)
Michael Sachs (Danube University Krems, AT)
Günther Schefbeck (Austrian Parliament, AT)
Doug Schuler (The Public Sphere Project, US)
Erich Schweighofer (University of Vienna, AT)
Alexander Stocker (Joanneum Research, AT)
Jakob Svensson (Karlstad University, SE)
Ella Taylor-Smith (Edinburgh Napier University, UK)
Ben Wagner (European University Institute, CH)
Cornelia Wallner (Zeppelin University, DE)
Gregor Wenda (Federal Ministry for the Interior, AT
Elin Wihlborg (Linkoping University, SE)
Andy Williamson (Hansard Society, UK)
Frank Wilson (Interaction Design Ltd., UK)
Petra Wolf (TU München, DE)


Honarary Board

Peter Filzmaier (Danube University Krems, AT)
Ann Macintosh (University of Leeds, UK)
Jeremy Millard (Teknologisk Institut, DK)
in progress


Management

Gerlinde Ecker (Danube University Krems, AT)
Nicole Waldorf (Danube University Krems, AT)


 Social Events&Networking

Pre-Conference Get-Together
There will be a social event in the evening of 21 May 2013. This is
the only event that is not included in the conference fee!
Further details to be announced.

Conference Dinner
The conference dinner on 22 May 2013 is an important part of the conference!
Further details to be announced.

Post-Conference Get-Together
Do not leave the conference too early as we like to end our conference
with a cheese & wine  on the terrace.

Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
  Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.org
  Twitter: http://twitter.com/democracy
  Tel/Text: +1.612.234.7072

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--
--
Ta.
 
 
Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com    
PPS Summer Dreamers' Swim and Water Polo Camp Head Coach
Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team

http://Rauterkus.blogspot.com
http://FixPA.wikia.com
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell

Fwd: Help Us Build Baylor Stadium

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Baylor University <enews@baylor.edu>
Date: Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 1:26 PM
Subject: Help Us Build Baylor Stadium
To: Mark@rauterkus.com

	More than 113 years ago, the Baylor Football story began as the Bears battled opponents at an on-campus field near the heart of student life. Today, we stand on the brink of a new chapter in Baylor's history. With the generosity of faithful alumni and friends, we will bring Baylor Football back home to campus for our 2014 season. We need your help. You can make your mark at Baylor Stadium through the Baylor Stadium Bricks Campaign. Your gift supports stadium construction and will help make our on-campus field a reality! In recognition of your gift, an engraved brick bearing your personal message will be installed at the stadium. As Baylor Nation celebrates a third-straight bowl game and sees another exciting year come to a close, be sure to take your place as a part of our bright future. Show your Baylor pride, honor a loved one, or secure a brick as a gift to surprise a fellow fan! It will take a Nation to build Baylor Stadium, and it won't be complete without you.

Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved. Legal Disclosures. Baylor University  Waco, Texas 76798  1-800-229-5678

Swim Cuts for AA WPIAL Teams

Some thoughts about the school shooting

D.V., on KDKA Radio, was talking about the school shooting and I posted these thoughts on Facebook.

Just listening to KDKA Radio show with D.V. Posted much of this to his wall, but since I have not sounded off on the recent school killings, here goes.

KENT STATE's trouble (4 dead in O-hi-o) had ARMED Guards at the school and THAT was the problem. School shooting. Bad scene. That is perhaps what set the course for no guns.

Pgh Public Schools has both School Security AND School Police. The police are not generally full time at any certain schools, unlike security that has regular gigs at the doors of the schools. The POLICE have guns, I think. The security does not.

A problem with paid, armed security guard(s) at schools means one less librarian, or one less school nurse, or one less teacher or 10 less crossing guards. I'd rather have 20 kids per teacher and not one grade with 40 and an armed guard.

Another situation that could unfold at a school is that the crazy gunman goes first to the armed guard and then goes on a spree without any other armed guard to thwart the rest of the killing. If armed guards were 100% insurance -- why are there still bank robbers?

Another solution: I'd much rather have working K9 at schools. Some are GUN dogs and others are DRUG dogs. We could even train the dogs at a magnet school as part of the zoo! The dogs would be a lot more affordable and would, generally, be more dependable too.

Update about PPS Summer Dreamers

Good info from PPS about 2013 Summer Dreamers, http://tinyurl.com/cfcal2r

Of course, what comes below is subject to PPS Board approval.


Summer Dreamers Academy 2013 Program Plans

The Summer Dreamers Academy planning team continues to think strategically about how best to provide high quality summer programming to the greatest number of Pittsburgh Public Schools students, and those with the greatest need. We remain focused on stemming summer learning loss and providing engaging academic programming and unique activity offerings to K‐8th grade campers; we look forward to continuing to support PPS students to become Promise Ready©.

Summer Dreamers Academy Outcome Goals
1. Minimize or stop the effects of summer learning loss for participating youth.
2. Prepare students academically and socially so that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to
successfully begin the next school year.
3. Encourage a passion for learning and exploration that is a driving factor for future academic success.
4. Motivate youth to persist in the face of challenges with the knowledge that hard work and effort will yield
success.

The information below outlines our preliminary plans for the 2013 program. Feedback from parents, campers and staff members, along with data from our external evaluators, directed our decision making. All information is officially pending funding and Board approval.

Program Dates & Times
In order to provide the maximum academic benefit to campers, the 2013 Summer Dreamers Academy will be a 27 day program. Program dates are Monday, July 1st – Wednesday, August 7th for campers (no camp on Thursday, July 4th), with pre‐camp professional development and post‐camp wrap‐up requirements for staff. Summer Dreamers will remain a full day program, with camper arrival scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and dismissal scheduled for 4 p.m.

Enrollment
Enrollment for Summer Dreamers will launch in early March with the mailing of enrollment materials to the homes of all K‐8th grade students in the District. Additional enrollment materials will be available at schools and through the parent hotline. The enrollment deadline is May 3rd, 2013 – no late registration forms will be accepted. The enrollment status of all applicants (accepted or not accepted) will be communicated to families in late May.

Based on current budget projections, we anticipate serving roughly 2300 K‐8th grade campers ‐ about 320 campers per grade level in K‐5th grade, and about 100 campers per grade level in 6th – 8th grade. Every student in grades K‐8 is encouraged to apply. Acceptance will be determined through a weighted lottery considering factors including a student’s free/reduced price lunch status and academic performance on PSSA (4th – 8th graders) or DIBELS (K‐3rd graders) assessments. Also, in 2013, admission decisions will allow for sibling preference – if one child in a family is accepted to Summer Dreamers, other children in the household will also be admitted.

Sites
Summer Dreamers will operate four regional elementary (K‐5) sites and one central middle grades (6‐8) site in 2013. Elementary sites will be Pittsburgh: Carmalt, Classical, University Prep and Faison. The middle grades location will be Pittsburgh CAPA. Elementary campers will be assigned to a site based on their feeder school.

Transportation & Food
In accordance with the District’s transportation policy, Summer Dreamers provides transportation to any camper who lives more than 1.5 miles from his/her assigned camp site. We also offer a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snack free of charge to all campers.

Daily Schedule
All K‐8th grade Summer Dreamers campers will participate in two 90‐minute morning academic blocks and two 75‐ minute afternoon activity blocks in 2013.

Time
8:00 am
8:30 – 8:45 am
8:45 – 9:10 am
9:10 – 9:15 am
9:15 – 10:45 am
10:45 – 10:50 am
10:50– 12:20 pm
12:20 – 1:05 pm
1:05 – 2:20 pm
2:20 – 2:25 pm
2:25 – 3:40 pm
3:40 – 4:00 pm
4:15 pm

Activity
Staff arrival
Camper Arrival & Breakfast
All Camp Meeting
Transition to Block #1
Block #1 (Academics – ELA or Math) Transition to Block #2
Block #2 (Academics – ELA or Math) Transition to Lunch
Lunch
Transition to Block #3
Block #3 (Activities)
Transition to Block #4
Block #4 (Activities)
Camper Dismissal
Staff dismissal


Staffing
Each camp site will be led by a Camp Leadership Team consisting of a Camp Director, Operations Managers, Curriculum Coaches, and an Activity Specialist. The Camp Leadership Team works closely with the Summer Dreamers Academy central office planning team to plan and execute the program at their site. Certified academic teachers will implement the morning ELA and math blocks and provide support for Special Ed and ESL campers. Activities will primarily be facilitated by activity provider staff (see more information about Activities below), but certified activity teachers will be hired by Summer Dreamers to provide additional support and assist with linking activities to academic standards. Camp Coordinators will be hired at each site to assist with camp site operations and to work with teachers and campers during instructional time. Each camp site will also have a full day nurse and security guard.

Activities
We are continuing to select activity provider partners through the Request for Proposals (RFP) process. Proposals for 2013 were due on December 7th, and partners will be announced in late January. Providers submitted proposals to serve elementary and/or middle grades campers and requested to facilitate 75‐minute activities with two different groups of campers, or extended 155‐minute activities with one group of campers. We strive to provide exciting activity options at all grade levels. Campers will be able to rank their activity preferences upon enrollment, and placements will be made on a first‐come, first‐served basis for admitted campers. Activity offerings for each site will be included in enrollment materials.

Curriculum
Feedback on our 2012 program is being used to guide curriculum planning for 2013. All K‐8th grade Summer Dreamers campers will participate in a 90‐minute literacy block and a 90‐minute math block daily, to support academic growth and combat summer learning loss in a fun and exciting atmosphere. The literacy block will be based in a National Geographic content‐based literacy curriculum, with a daily intervention block to support struggling readers at the elementary grades. The McGraw Hill Number Worlds curriculum will serve as the foundation for the mathematics component of Summer Dreamers, with a focus on problem solving and real‐world skills. New in 2013, all enrichment activities will include a connected writing project. Campers will brainstorm, draft, edit, revise, and publish a finished work that showcases what they learned and did in their daily activity blocks. The enrichment activity will serve as the theme upon which youth will base their writing, and projects can take on many forms, such as a newspaper, fictional story, how‐to guide, or blog.

Visitors on a small boat trip

Let's get this video to more than 1-million views.

Planning ahead.

Looks like a little prayer on the sideline.

Fittest Students get better grades

Here is our 12-12-12 training group from 6 am practice.

Published: Dec. 9, 2012 at 10:32 PM

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Middle school students in the best physical shape do better than their less fit classmates on standardized tests and report cards, U.S. researchers say.

Lead researcher Dawn Coe, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville who conducted the research as a doctoral student in Michigan State University's kinesiology department, said the study was among the first to examine how academic performance relates to all aspects of physical fitness -- including body fat, muscular strength, flexibility and endurance.

"We looked at the full range of what's called health-related fitness," Coe said in a statement. "Kids aren't really fit if they're doing well in just one of those categories."

Coe and colleagues gathered data from 312 students in sixth through eighth grade at a West Michigan school by gauging the kids' fitness with an established program of push-ups, shuttle runs and other exercises.

They compared the fitness scores to students' letter grades throughout the school year in four core classes and their performance on a standardized test.

The study, published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, found the fittest students got the highest test scores and the best grades, regardless of gender or whether they'd yet gone through puberty.


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2012/12/09/Fittest-students-get-higher-grades/UPI-27161355110372/#ixzz2EqjHbbic

PPS Q and A

 

... a planning process that will challenge (us all) to think differently ... in light of continued enrollment decline, increased costs, flat revenue projections and strong support for more school choice...

Hummm....

The thing that sinks my heart is the "continued enrollment decline." They seem to think "continued enrollment decline = gravity." 

Or, "continued enrollment decline = urban school district."

I don't want a PLAN that counts on "continued enrollment decline." 

Screw that philosophy.

Sure there is that old saying, "Those that fail to plan plan to fail." But, what PPS seems to want to do is "plan for continued enrollment decline." That might as well be "Plan to fail and fail with grace."

We need to build a robust school district that families enjoy and citizens respect and students never depart unless they have a diploma.

---

... the District has created other means to maintain the number of students that receive pre-kindergarten services, including instituting a tuition-based program for those family that do not qualify for the State and federal funds. With this added option, we are now able to serve a large number of three and four year olds in Pittsburgh.... 

PPS should have a plan for attending something like Summer Dreamers for those who do not get admission to the PPS Summer Dreamers program. In the summer of 2012, more than 1,600 students wanted to attend and applied to PPS Summer Dreamers and instead got a 'rejection letter.' The Summer Dreamers program is shrinking, due to funds. The number of Summer Dreamers sites for middle school students went from more than 10 to 3 in 2012 and 1 in 2014. That's fine. However, what kills is that a tuition based program could be offered to citizens. Then we'd be able to offer Swim & Waterpolo Camp, say in the mornings, for kids who are not on free and reduced lunch and to kids who are proficient in their standardized test scores.

---

As for transportation and the lack of PAT bus passes for high school students, the reply includes this from PPS:

Why did you take bus passes away for high school students? Sometimes we have to stay after school and can't get home.

In 2012, the District reviewed several options to cut transportation costs and  respond to threats of looming Port Authority of Allegheny County reductions to neighborhood bus service.  As a result, the District worked collaboratively with 19 transportation companies and approved a transportation contract that saves more than $1.8 Million over the next two school years.  In addition, the threats of  tentative cuts from the Port Authority required the District to be proactive and decrease the number of purchased bus passes by 1,300, therefore placing more high school students on yellow busses.  This change does not negatively impact afterschool activities.

No way. There have been some good changes. But, there is no way that the lack of bus passes for high school kids have been without a hit to afterschool activities.

---

Why close high performing schools like Northview? Most students there walked and achieved AYP?
In order to create a more sustainable District, in 2011/12, we evaluated all of our schools based on four equally weighted criteria: Student Achievement, Student Enrollment, Facility Condition and Operations Costs.  Based on these factors, schools such as Northview were closed.  You can read more about the District’s realignment plan here.

Great question. Not so great reply. #Fail

---

Another inspired question and another #Fail on the answer.


Is there a way to re-imagine the relationship between charter schools and the regular public schools so that they are not draining each other of resources in an environment of scarcity? How can we move toward adopting strategies that are successful in charter schools within the Pittsburgh Public Schools?

In our ever changing economy, Pittsburgh Public Schools continually strives to seek cost-efficient solutions to our families that will accelerate student achievement. Although a formal plan has not been devised as to how we could begin to work with charter schools, we are always open to dialogue about ways to provide the best educational experience possible to our students and their families.

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This is so interesting I'll repost it just for the heck of it. The year being talked about is the first year of graduation from Obama. This class had it hard.

Additionally, 24 students took a total of 92 IB exams in May 2012. 61 exams received a passing score of 4, 5, 6, or 7, which represents 70% of the total. 5 students were awarded the IB Diploma, which is an internationally recognized award.

The number of those taking the IB exam with the graduation year of 2013 are much higher. Through the roof applies.

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I've got to spend some time looking at this. http://www.pittsburghteachingconditions.org/

No Saturday Practices -- still

Bad news. Too busy last week to nail down a time and place for our Saturday swim practices for the varsity boys and girls teams at Pittsburgh Obama. I heard more than a week ago that the Saturday pool permit to hold practices as denied. At first it was not permitted because the school was hosting a flea market for the band and SAT testing. Then all Saturday pool permits were denied because the custodians said the pool needs to be cleaned on Saturdays and the time from 9 to 11:30 for swimming and weight lifting was not possible.

Okay.

Our season is on the rocks without Saturday practices. I'd rather have the kids for an extended Saturday time, then off on Sunday. This is a time when most don't have pressing homework.

We might be able to practice at Allderidice or Sci-Tech. 

But because of no Saturday practices, I do get to take Grant up to North Allegheny High School, where they do have clean pools, and practice there with Tiger Water Polo Club. His practice time was 8 to 10 am. There was boys basketball then a girls hoops tournament. The football team was departing for a semi-final game in Altoona and the swim team left for a swim meet in State College. 

Lots of people tell us that we should just move out of the city where there are plenty of additional opportunities for the kids on a week long and year round basis. The city has the team. But, the team can't practice. Then there is wondering why the performances of the students, overall, and the parent engagement, by-and-large, are so lackluster.

Sure, pockets of inspiration and perspiration occur among our city kids -- but -- everyone should have every opportunity to excel. The road blocks, like no Saturday practice for the swim team stink. Going to another school to practice is not a way to run a district that aims to be a "District of first choice."

PPS Elem Swim Meet is today

MEMO:

To: Parents and Guardians of PPS Swimmers

From: Executive Head Coach,

Swim & Waterpolo Camp,

PPS Summer Dreamers

Swim fast today. Good luck!

We hope you all have fun at the meet, but we also want to inform you of a few new things that might be in your future.

PPS Summer Dreamers starts July 1, 2013 and look for

Swim & Waterpolo Camps!

This year the PPS Summer Dreamers, starting on July 1, 2013 and going to August 7, 2013 (28 days) is slated to have more Swimming and Waterpolo than ever before. Well, this is unofficial news. The proposals are still being crafted and the final schedule is not yet public. But that is our plan.

Swim & Waterpolo Camp has been a big success in the past for many Summer Dreamers. But, Swim & Waterpolo was only at limited sites. In 2012, we did it at the brand new swim pool on Center Ave, the Thelma Lovette YMCA and at Citiparks Ammon Rec Center in The Hill District. In 2011, we swam at Peabody.

In 2013, the plans call for Swim & Waterpolo to be an option at every camp site. This activity will include those in Middle School Grades as well as in Elementary Grades. Look for us and be ready to sign up in 2013 at PCA, Faison, CAPA, U-Prep and Carmault.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to call or email:

Mark Rauterkus, Head Coach, Swim & Waterpolo Camps at

PPS Summer Dreamers, an activity to be sponsored by the

Thelma Lovette YMCA in 2013.

Mark@Rauterkus.com

412-298-3432

Fwd: Coach Pat

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Megan Netland via Change.org" <mail@change.org>
Date: Dec 1, 2012 9:24 AM
Subject: Coach Pat
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>

My hero, Pat Summitt, is the winningest coach in the history of basketball -- men's or women's -- and she's suffering from Alzheimer's. Join me in asking the NCAA to name the women's championship trophy after Coach Pat. Sign Megan's Petition Mark - Patricia Summitt is my hero. She's a basketball legend -- the winningest coach in the history of the game. She basically built the sport of women's basketball from scratch, and fought all her life to make sure women and girls have the opportunity (and funding) to play sports. I grew up playing basketball and idolizing Coach Pat. When she took over the job of head coach at the University of Tennessee in 1974 -- at the age of 22 -- women's basketball wasn't an Olympic sport or even officially recognized by the NCAA. Coach Pat changed all that, and 38 years later, she has eight NCAA championships and an Olympic gold medal. It breaks my heart that Coach Pat had to step down earlier this year due to her struggle with Alzheimer's. Women's basketball as we know it wouldn't exist without her, and I think the NCAA should do something special to honor her incredible legacy. That's why I started a petition on Change.org calling on the NCAA to name the women's college basketball championship trophy after Coach Pat. Will you click here to add your name? Currently, the championship trophy isn't named after anyone. In fact, only one NCAA women's basketball trophy is named after someone, and that person is a man! It would be so easy for the NCAA to give Coach Pat this honor, and I know it would mean so much to her. When I was a little girl in Iowa, Pat Summitt made me want to do bigger things in my life. I wanted to play for her. I wanted to be her. Coach Pat deserves this honor now, while she can still be here to see it. I know other petitions on Change.org have helped women's sports -- last year, a petition even helped women in Olympic boxing stop being forced to wear skirts while competing! I know that if enough people sign my petition, we can convince the NCAA to honor Coach Pat. Click here to sign my petition calling on the NCAA to name the women's college basketball championship trophy after Pat Summitt, the legendary coach who made women's basketball what it is today. Thank you, Megan Netland Minneapolis, MN This email was sent by Change.org to mark@Rauterkus.com   |   Start a petition Unsubscribe. Edit your email notification settings.

Swim pool attendance data from Summer 2012. We more than doubled the volume of use!

In the summer of 2011, the total swim pool attendance at the Ammon Swim Pool, Bedford Avenue, Hill District, was 5,471.

In the summer of 2012, the attendance was 12,278.

In the official Citiparks records, the Summer Dreamers for 2012 accounted for 529 visitors. 

We did NOT use Ammon in 2011. 

Less than one year ago, the City Controller, Michael Lamb, did an extensive audit of all the swimming pools in the city. In past years, the average daily attendance was 74 people. 

Of course when I say, "we," I mean us all. There were plenty of other camps, groups, visitors, swimmers, waterpolo players, swim lessons and citizens that graced the Ammon Pool with their presence beyond what I drove and ran into those gates. The church groups, the day-cares the Ozanam Basketball Players -- all should be proud. 

Further, as a point of clarification, the 529 for Summer Dreamers was assumed to be the number of splashes for the morning participation. That averages to about 26 people per day over the 20 days we went to the pool in the mornings. On the first day of camp, we didn't go to the pool because the kids didn't know if they're choice of swimming was given to them. The kids didn't even know to bring their swim suits with them to camp, for example. There were a few other times when there were storms and we didn't get to go to the outdoor pool. On a couple of days we all went to the indoor Thelma Lovette YMCA pool too. 

In reality, some days we took 12 or so to the Ammon Pool and then another day we could take 40. 

Regardless, we got there on foot, after traveling a full mile from school with a combination of running and walking. And, we got back to school for the dismissal or for lunch following the morning swim on foot too. So, our swimmers were doing urban renewal at the same time. We were taking back the streets of The Hill District for kids and fitness. We owned those hills. And, throughout the supervision of the 3,000 miles of total travel in The Hill District this summer, we didn't even suffer a single bee sting nor scraped knee as a result of those travels. Thank goodness.

So, in 2013, the plans are different, sadly. The middle school kids are not going to be going to Summer Dreamers at U-Prep. All will be going to CAPA, downtown. Going from Downtown CAPA to the top of The Hill District's Bedford Avenue and Ammon Pool is more of a stretch. But, we're proposing we do it with some changes. 

The new solution to fit the CAPA setting for middle school students being proposed has Hill District kids departing CAPA after lunch and going on the fitness run / walk and swimming in the afternoons with their activity periods. However, those campers won't go back to CAPA after the swim and activities. They'll have dismissal in their own neighborhood rather than in Downtown. Going back to CAPA just to get on a bus to go back to The Hill District is too much. 

How Libertarianism Can Help to Solve the Homelessness Problem in Pittsburgh

Guest posting by Eve Pearce epearce -at- andalemono.com

According to the charity Pittsburgh Cares, there are over two thousand homeless people in the Pittsburgh region. Seventy-eight percent of them are adults and twenty-eight percent are children. Of the adult homeless population, seventeen percent are veterans. Over one hundred homeless people have died on the city’s streets since 1989. What can be done to help alleviate this problem? According to award-winning libertarian author and social commentator Dr Mary Ruwart, the situation would not be anywhere near as bad as it is today if libertarians were running the country as opposed to the current leaders, who are stifling American society with far too many rules and regulations.

Stop the Government from MeddlingRuwart highlights the fact that towards the end of the 1990s, Mother Theresa’s church order the Missionaries of Charity purchased two abandoned buildings in New York City for a dollar each and managed to raise the sum of five hundred thousand dollars to fund the repair work that was necessary in order for them to be usable as homeless shelters. City officials initially stated that they were fine with the order’s plans to create shelters for the homeless but after work had begun, inspectors broke the news that a hundred-thousand-dollar elevator needed to be installed so that disabled people would have easy access to the accommodation. The nuns responded that the religious vows that they had taken meant that they weren’t allowed to routinely utilise modern conveniences. They suggested that they could carry disabled residents into the shelters manually and applied for a waiver from the regulations governing handicapped access, stating religious reasons. However they had their application rejected and as a result of this, the project was cancelled and the homeless people remained without a place to live. In a libertarian society, the regulations and restrictions that forced these individuals to carry on sleeping on the streets would not exist.

License to Sleep RoughThe USA is becoming a nation where the people are left desperately struggling to remain afloat within a sea of rules that dictate every element of their lives. The problem is that the authorities don’t know when to stop sticking their noses in to matters that don’t concern them. Over the course of the last few years, they have been inflicting unnecessary regulations upon the credit industry, encroaching more and more upon the constitutional rights of the public and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Officials in Nevada City, California, are even pushing for a law that will prohibit individuals from being homeless until they are given a license. Only a small number of these licenses would be handed out, effectively making it a criminal offence to have nowhere to go. What would become of the city’s homeless people if this law came into effect? They would be constantly on the lookout for policemen looking to arrest them simply for being homeless, which would push them even further into the margins of society. 

Ruwart’s Solution

Ruwart states that by removing some of the regulations that the government places upon the US, the economy would improve and less people would lack a fixed abode. There would also be no laws in place that persecute the homeless. She is however realistic and admits that some people would still have nowhere to live. The difference is that more Americans would be wealthy so the homeless would receive more donations.   

She claims that seventy-five percent of every tax dollar goes towards administration costs rather than those who really need it. This means that the main form of help that homeless people receive is from volunteers working in soup kitchens, kindhearted health workers who provide medical care free of charge and people dishing out spare change. In a society where people were wealthier, they would be in a better position to help other people, meaning that the best way to aid the homeless would be to adopt libertarian principles, which would also be extremely beneficial to society as a whole. Perhaps once those without a place to live were financially better off than they are at the moment, they could finally begin to address the issues that had led them to become homeless in the first place and get their lives back on track.

Fwd: KidsVoice Resolves School Segregation Case For Abused and Neglected Children

From: Scott Hollander [mailto:shollander@kidsvoice.org] 

JUSTICE FOR ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN AS SCHOOL SEGREGATION CASE SETTLED

Resolution of Lawsuit will Improve Educational Opportunities
for Abused, Neglected and At-Risk Youth

On the same day that the Governor's Task Force on Child Protection released its recommendations in response to the Sandusky scandal, abused and neglected children right here in Allegheny County benefitted from the settlement of a lawsuit ending educational discrimination against children living in one of our county's largest group homes.  Yesterday the remaining details were finalized by the McKeesport School District in settling a class action lawsuit brought by KidsVoice to enforce the educational rights of our clients and other abused, neglected and at-risk children living in the Auberle group home in McKeesport.

KidsVoice filed the lawsuit jointly with the Education Law Center because children from Auberle were not allowed to attend the McKeesport Area Schools. Instead they were segregated in a separate building where 7^th- 12^th grade children from Auberle were educated together in the same classrooms, despite various ages and grade levels, and were not afforded the same opportunities, resources and extracurricular activities as other McKeesport students.  The Auberle children did not receive textbooks, only worksheets, had almost no computer access, and were not provided access to the library, AP courses or science labs.

Within 60 days of filing the lawsuit, the District agreed to discontinue segregating the children and worked to develop new policies and procedures to guarantee the educational rights and meet the needs of the Auberle students. 

Scott Hollander, KidsVoice Executive Director, pointed to the progress that children residing at Auberle already are making because of the District's changes.   "McKeesport deserves credit for closing the separate classrooms and implementing procedures and policies which are a model for other school districts to follow for how to successfully enroll, support and educate children in foster and group homes.  One of the greatest outcomes of this case is that once the Auberle students attended the regular classrooms, more than 30% of the students residing at Auberle made the honor roll, which is higher than the overall district percentage."

One of our clients, Jeffrey,* was an honor student at Pine-Richland High School until his father passed away and his mother struggled with addiction.  When he enrolled in the McKeesport School District, he no longer had access to the types of course work and teaching he previously had and instead had to bide his time in a segregated classroom without advancing his education or being challenged academically.   As he said, the biggest difference was that in his old school, "the students wanted to learn and the teachers wanted to teach."  

Some of the Auberle children were deprived of their education for more than two years.  While they cannot get that back, the settlement approved by Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick provides for compensatory educational services and funding for tutoring, educational software, post-secondary education and job training, and compensatory educational services for children with disabilities.

Sadly, this continues to be a problem in other districts where children in foster and group homes are discriminated against in violation of federal and state law.  KidsVoice, along with K&L Gates and the Education Law Center is in the midst of negotiating what hopefully will resolve similar issues in one of those other districts.  

Your support helps to make outcomes like this possible for Jeffrey and other children.  Every year, KidsVoice advocates in court and in the community to ensure a safe and permanent home for 3,000 of our most vulnerable citizens-abused and neglected children.  Please consider supporting KidsVoice in your year-end giving to help us end these practices in the several remaining school districts where they continue.  Abused and neglected children deserve to have the opportunity to heal and to succeed in school -- not be further abused and stigmatized by those who should be helping them.  You can donate through our website, www.kidsvoice.org, or through United Way Contributor Choice #78.

Also, if you know of or are someone who resided at Auberle, please know that Class members include all children and youth who resided at the Auberle Group Home at any time from October 14, 2008 to the present and were educated in classrooms designed exclusively or predominantly for students who resided in the Auberle Group Home, known as transition rooms or Auberle-student classrooms.  If you believe you may be a Class Member please contact Jennifer Fox Rabold, Settlement Administrator at (800) 543-8921 or email MASDFund@fedex.com.  Notice of the class action settlement is available here .

View the recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Child Protection here.

*The child's name has been changed to protect his identity and maintain client confidentiality. KidsVoice does not disclose the names of clients.

Obama Academy salutes record number of students taking IB Diploma and Certificate tests

The Eagle

---

Obama Academy salutes record number of students taking IB Diploma and Certificate tests Posted: 27 Nov 2012 04:56 PM PST The registration is complete, the names are in, the seats are set, and it's time to celebrate! Celebrate what, you ask? Well, the number of students who are have chosen to take tests for the IB Diploma or Certificate, that is. This year had such a great turnout that we just had to sit down with Mr. Ehman to get his view on things. We asked him why we [as a school] take this test so seriously. He went on to explain how it "is the highest level of high school" and that "it will be interesting to see where we stack up against the world." Naturally, because there's always more to Mr. Ehman, we had to ask at least one more question. How did he feel about the huge turnout of testers this year? Of course he, like any other person would have said, that "It's amazing how they [the numbers] have grown over the years, and it will be even more amazing to see the benefit that the students will this eventually gain from this experience." As this year goes further and further along, you learn many things that will better you in the long run. So, why not take a test that can help you truly reach that goal of yours down the road. Just wait and keep an eye out because next year could be your testing year. The International Baccalaureate Candidates Of 2013 Scott Moore – Diploma Renee Eddy Harvey - Diploma Taylor Dawkins - Diploma Shelby Campbell - Diploma Max Okabayashi - Diploma Mosqon Anderson - Diploma Micah Byrum - Diploma Sam Lapp - Diploma Demetri Lardas - Diploma Anthony Tolliver - Diploma Annie Widom - Diploma Anna Vitti - Diploma Chelsey Sirmons - Diploma Jonah Raether - Diploma Caley Donovan - Diploma Sharin Berman - Diploma Fletcher Jones - Diploma Shae Wofford - Diploma Erik Rauterkus - Diploma Daniel Golstein - Diploma Daniel  Denliinger - Diploma Danielle Pelietiere - Diploma Rina Matsuda – Certificates HL History, HL Mathematics Hannah Green – Certificates HL Film, HL English, HL History Karlissa Council – Certificate HL Visual Arts Maeve Hendricks – Certificates HL English, HL Spanish, HL Film Wendy Levenson – Certificates HL English, HL Visual Arts, SL Mathematics Ben Junker – Certificates HL English, HL History, HL Psychology, HL Mathematics Sakae Nakahara – Certificates HL Physics, HL Mathematics Luke Miller – Certificates HL English, HL Film Matt Lampl – Certificate HL Film Aliyah Weathers – Certificates HL English, HL History Maya McCray – Certificates HL Visual Arts, HL History Rondell Harris – Certificates HL English, HL History, HL Film Dynae Shaw – Certificates HL English, HL Visual Arts, HL German Daniel Wimer – Certificates HL English, HL Film Ash Lanith – Anticipated Diploma Mathematics SL Ben Freidman – Anticipated Diploma Mathematics SL

One man's fall from the bottom. A battle ground candidate gets 34,000 votes and zingers from various directions, including self.

Political junkies might like this story of a guy who got 34,000 votes in the recent election. The guy stepped up, again, to toss his hat into the ring as a candidate so the sitting politician didn't run without opposition.

http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/how-an-embattled-state-senate-candidate-busted-for-drugs-ran-for-election/Content?oid=3197151

The story seems to be similar to what could happen in Pittsburgh in the months to come with the election of a mayor. Will the Republicans offer a candidate like him? 

Perhaps not for mayor, but for the city council seat? 

And will the stings happen as they did in North Carolina? 

Time will tell. Lets know history so that the same mistakes are not repeated.

Fwd: Swarthmore College Men's Swimming Suffers First Loss of the Season to Rowan, 145-108

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Swarthmore Athletics" <manskis1@swarthmore.edu>
Date: Nov 17, 2012 10:11 PM
Subject: Swarthmore College Men's Swimming Suffers First Loss of the Season to Rowan, 145-108
To: "mark@rauterkus.com" <mark@rauterkus.com>

November 17, 2012 The Swarthmore men's swim team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday, falling in non-Conference action to Rowan University by a 145-108 score. Junior John Flaherty accounted for the Garnet's lone individual win, taking the 200 butterfly in 2:03.56. Senior Daniel Duncan scored three second-place finishes, none of which were more than eleven-hundreths of a second behind the top time.  His 200 freestyle (1:47.18) missed out on the top spot by a mere tenth of a second; in the 500 freestyle, he was outtouched 4:55.51 to 4:55.61; and the 200 IM was decided by 0.11, with Duncan touching second in 2:02.19. The Garnet will return to action on the weekend of November 30-December 1, as the team hosts the Swarthmore Invitational.

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Terror

Terror is not just about harm: it is about powerlessness in the face of harm. Terror = harm + powerlessness.

PPS shrinks by about 1,000 students every year

In the past 10 years, Pittsburgh Public Schools has lost about 10,000 students.


When 1,000 students exit PPS every year, I figure that is very much like a loss of the following from the ranks of PPS student body:

2 x 75 member football teams (Freshmen, JV, Varsity) (+150)

2 x 50 member swim teams (+ 100=250)

4 x 20 member waterpolo teams (+80=330)

3 x 15 member tennis squads (+45=375)

2 x 25 member soccer teams (+50=425)

1 x 25 member hockey squad {+25=475)

1 x 40 cast musical (=515)

1 x 100 marching band with dancers, cheer, flags, colorguard (=615)

6 x 10 member chess and debate squads (=675)

1 x 25 member (insert favorite) club sport (=700)

+ 300 siblings = 1,000 students.