Open East End Panel says Site selection for Pittsburgh Obama should be reopened to consider new information. (Part 3 of many)

Background History: The DeJong consultant recommended that the IB school remain at Reizenstein rather than move to Peabody.  The reasoning behind this decision is unclear. The District’s IB site selection committee made its recommendation to move the IB program to the Peabody facility almost a year prior to and without the benefit of the DeJong study. Given that the district paid $500,000 for this study the panel recommends that the district utilize it fully and explain the reasoning behind the Reizenstein recommendation.

Suggestions: In light of new information and experience, the district should bring together all interested parties including the original IB Site Selection Committee; DeJong consultants, current students, staff and administrators; and other interested citizens to determine a location for Pittsburgh Obama.

The absence of natural light at Peabody could be a factor in whether families would choose to send their children to school at the Peabody location.  More than a month ago PPS Board director and OEEP member Mark Brentley submitted a request for information on the cost of adding windows to the Peabody facility but has not received this information.

(We're all still waiting.)

Any renovations that have been considered for the Obama school at Peabody and at Reizenstein and the cost of such renovations should be disclosed before a decision on the location for the school is reached.

Open East End Panel - part 5 - Where is South Vo Tech's replacement?

A career and technology center has been a long-standing and strong preference for Pittsburgh's students.
Participants in the DeJong community dialogues voiced a strong preference for a career technology center. While the district asserts that a centralized CTE site is “an ineffective delivery model,” the Parkway West Career & Technology Center offers an impressive range of CTE for 600 students from 12 suburban communities at a single center.

Training includes:

auto body repair

automotive technology

business technology

carpentry

computer technology

cosmetology

culinary arts

digital multimedia technology

drafting & design

electrical construction maintenance

health assistant

HVAC/R

information technology

masonry

public safety technology

welding technology

In the same way that CAPA is seen as a better delivery model than offering visual arts training in three high schools, theater in three schools, writing in three schools and perhaps a "signature" dance program in one school, a center for CTE is likely to be a better delivery model for career education than scattering programs among schools. The district also asserts that “capital costs exceeding $100 million are projected for such a facility," ignoring the possibility of utilizing a facility that is already well suited for a CTE center, such as Peabody or Westinghouse. More information is needed on the cost of converting an existing building for use as a CTE center.

Regarding Westinghouse, the district observes in its materials that the school is in a “difficult” location. To address this issue, we recommend that a shuttle run frequently between the East Busway and Westinghouse. A model might be the shuttle that runs from the T station to Brashear. With safe transportation, a center devoted to high quality career technology could be expected to attract a diverse student body similar to the student body CAPA and Rogers attracted when they were located in Homewood and Garfield, respectively. And, the CTE center would be just as available to students from across the district as the automotive, HVAC, robotics and cosmetology programs would be under the district's plan. Based on demand the district could also offer culinary arts, health services, information and business technology and other appropriate programs at a second location.

While the district invokes the approval of CTE consultants in making its recommendations, it does not disclose the budgetary restrictions imposed that severely limited these consultants' recommendations. Much of the $38 million mentioned in connection with the proposed CTE overhaul is actually slated for renovation of Oliver High School, which according to DeJong is in need of major renovation. Under the district plan Oliver would offer not just CTE but also early college, credit recovery and reentry programs. (It is not clear why a center for credit recovery at Oliver would be considered a more effective delivery model than a center for career and technical education at Peabody or Westinghouse.) In light of the loss of South Vo Tech, CTE funding should be spent specifically for CTE. If the district is intent on offering a premier summer camp to middle school students and a premier university prep program at Milliones, it should also design a premier CTE program.

Finally, it is problematic that the District is proposing that a midday shuttle of up to 45 minutes would bring students from their home school to CTE programs in other buildings. Most students at the affected schools are not proficient in reading and math, and reducing instruction time by 45 minutes is counterproductive to bringing these students to proficiency. While the district states that most respondents at the community dialogue found a 45-minute trip acceptable, it was not specified at the dialogue that the 45 minute travel time might be in addition to travel time at the beginning and end of the school day.

The District should establish a center for career and technical education at a facility that is already outfitted for CTE programming (i.e. Westinghouse or Peabody High School).

If Westinghouse is chosen as the location for a career tech center, there should be a frequent shuttle run between Westinghouse and the East Busway. The possibility of using the facility as an adult retraining center at nights and on weekends, as well as the possibility of participating in a suburban consortium or serving as host for a regional training center, should also be explored.

Open East End Panel and CTE - for PPS (part 4 of many)

PPS plans for Career and Technical Education do not sufficiently meet the criteria for a comprehensive overhaul of CTE programming.

In the East End, the district's recently unveiled plan for Career and Technical Education (CTE) consists primarily of:

consolidating the Culinary Arts and Health Sciences programs at Westinghouse;

discontinuing the Cosmetology program at Westinghouse; and

adding an Information Technology, Business and Finance program at Milliones.

This is not a real overhaul, as dictated by the PPS School Board, and these CTE options do not adequately reflect the preferences expressed by parents, students, teachers and community members at the DeJong community dialogues.

The top individual and online CTE choices at the dialogues were:

1. Engineering Technology
2. Construction & Trades
3. Health Sciences

Although there is reportedly a plan for bio, computer, engineering and environmental technology at the Sci Tech school, these opportunities are apparently open only to the small number of students who were chosen through the weighted lottery process to attend the Sci Tech school. (In addition, the Science and Technology school lost its auditorium to make room for an Early Childhood center. It is not clear how space for these new CTE components would fit into a facility that is already losing amenities due to lack of space.)

Consumer Services such as Culinary Arts were at the bottom of the list at the community dialogues and yet are included in each of the District’s proposed “triads” (North, South and East regions). In addition, there is no provision for training in environmental/green technologies, a field that will be a major source for jobs in the near future. Only HVAC, machinist and welding are listed for Construction and Trades, a field that is rich with opportunities for good paying jobs, and no plan has been provided for students in the East region to participate in even these limited offerings. In general, participants in the community dialogues requested that CTE offerings be based on sound research into projected demand for the skills in question.

The District should provide information as to the job market data on which CTE recommendations are based and should offer CTE options for all students that are better aligned with community preferences. A citizens' panel on CTE should be convened to assist with these tasks.

Fw: Americans For a Free Republic

From: Nelson Hultberg - nelshultberg@aol.com

Hello Friends and Patriots:

Here is great news that will be of interest to you all. Matrixx Entertainment, Inc. is doing a 90-minute documentary film on The Conservative Revolution: Why We Must Form a Third Political Party to Win It.

The title of this new documentary on the third-party potential in America is Spoiler: How a Third Political Party Could Succeed. The website link below will give you all the details. Take a good look, and then spread the word to friends and associates.

http://www.spoilerusa.org/

Once at the website, you can view a 2-minute "Trailer" from the Home Page that will be distributed to advertise the film. Click the "Trailer" link on the right. It will give you an idea of what is coming over the next year.

James Jaeger is the CEO of Matrixx Entertainment. He's been in the business fighting liberals and collectivists in Hollywood for over 25 years. He's made many films; his most recent effort being Fiat Empire, which featured Ron Paul, Patrick Buchanan, G. Edward Griffin, Edwin Vieira, etc. and won a Telly award for documentaries. It has been viewed by over 5 million people via downloads from the Internet. If we can get the same numbers for Spoiler, then the Demopublican establishment is going to be rocked in 2012.

Americans for a Free Republic
Dallas, Texas
http://r20.rs6.net/tn

On the book: Americans for a Free Republic: "Why We Must Form a Third Political Party to Win It"

Open East End Panel suggestions (part 2 of many)

Strong enrollment occurs at schools that enjoy economic and racial diversity.

Virtually all of Pittsburgh's public schools with economically and racially diverse populations enjoy strong enrollment, while most of the less diverse schools are seriously under enrolled (including the new University Prep at Milliones). Our panel affirms the benefits to students of attending school with classmates from backgrounds different from their own, including specifically special education students, and notes research findings about the difficulties faced by schools with high concentrations of impoverished students. In Pittsburgh the schools that lack significant racial diversity also lack significant socioeconomic diversity. These schools are very different from many successful, economically diverse, historically black post-secondary institutions that students attend by choice rather than necessity.

Recent trends from PPS run counter to these principles, in part apparently because the district asserts that housing "disparate programs" in a single school will necessarily result in one of the programs being "less well served." With the right funding, programs and implementation, however, students who are not enrolled in programs such as CAS, AP and IB can be just as well served as those who do participate in such programs. In fact, there are many Pittsburgh public schools (such as Allderdice) in which some but not all students participate in CAS, AP or CTE programs yet there are no apparent plans to move those students to separate schools. And, there are Pittsburgh public schools where all students participate in the same "theme" but there are nonetheless wide achievement gaps, such as the dramatically lower percentages of low income and African American students at the "advanced" level at Allderdice and CAPA. Finally, the district has proposed placing at Oliver a disparate mix of programs including early college, career training, credit recovery and a program for older students who have dropped out but seek to reenter the system.

Pittsburgh Public Schools should seek to create schools that will attract a diverse student body in terms of special education needs, socio-economic status and race.

East End Open Panel -- solutions for PPS (part 1 of many)

A group of citizens gathered to make an Open East End Panel. The report states: We are struck by the scope of proposed changes that may affect students in the East End.

Initiatives under discussion include:

• Reorganization of Career and Technical Education
• New feeder patterns and configurations, including closing Peabody and merging Peabody students with Westinghouse and/or Milliones students
• The “Big Picture Learning” program including a new internship program 
• Year round school at some locations
• A longer school day at some locations
• Separate boy and girl classrooms at some locations
• The Teacher Effectiveness initiative
• Possible new location of the IB program and the robotics program
• The new Keystone exams
• A 6-12 format for Westinghouse
• A social justice and leadership component at Westinghouse
• Greater community involvement in  Homewood schools (including Homewood Children's Zone)
• Possible new location for credit recovery
• Summer Dreams Camp replacing summer school for middle school students
• Block scheduling at some locations
• Changes in the Special Education program
• New plans for facilities
• Recruitment of nontraditional teachers
• Curriculum changes
• Move to “online” school libraries rather than libraries with printed books
• Graduation in 3 years
• Various mentoring programs

Families, students, teachers and staff are adjusting to and evaluating other recent changes within the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

1. Formation of new schools including University Prep at Milliones, Sci Tech, IB (Pittsburgh Obama), Clayton/CEP
2. Closing of Schenley High School building and the phase out of the Schenley student body
3. 6-12 grade configurations 
4. Many new principals
5. Changes in magnet procedures
6. New courses including African American literature and history that must be worked into schedules

Real public input facilitates community buy in to and implementation of large scale changes

While the district has had a few sessions for public input, participation in these sessions has been limited. Because the proposed plans would affect education for years to come in the East End region and district-wide, it is imperative that a much broader and deeper effort be made to inform residents of these plans.  We appreciate attempts to break the mold and keep students in school. However, public buy-in is key to the success of any new initiatives.

Therefore, none of these initiatives should be brought to a Board vote (or put in place without a vote) until there is widespread agreement that all stakeholders understand the proposals, the reasoning behind the proposals, and the alternatives to the proposals.

An older slide from lessons learned. What kind of advocate strategy are we going to aspire to? Real engagement or not?

Departing education secretary pleased with end-of-year exams, changes in curriculum

Departing education secretary pleased with end-of-year exams, changes in curriculum: "Dr. Zahorchak said, the remaining pre-kindergarten-through-grade-eight school in Duquesne, which he visited recently, has undergone a 'complete metamorphosis.'"

Really.

Proposal for single-gender city academies finds foes

Proposal for single-gender city academies finds foes: "The idea undercuts the school district's goal of revitalizing both schools and drawing students back into the East End public schools, which continue to suffer from declining enrollment, said members of the group Open East End Panel.
'Our panel feels that the under-enrolled schools and underachieving kids in the East End need something really good to attract students and interest, and we don't think single-gender, year-round schooling and 'Big Picture' proposals alone will be that 'something,' ' said Annette Werner, a coordinator of the group.

I think that Allderdice is a copprehensive east end school. I think the city can better flourish if all the kids in the east end, as well as other places in the city, have a shot of going to whatever school that they should choose.

... the group was opposed to the recommendations of an advisory committee, which on Wednesday proposed that the school board restructure Westinghouse into two single-gender academies with about 1,100 students in grades six through 12, starting in fall 2011.

I'm not sure that the numbers add up with the story being advanced from PPS. To get to 1,100 students in grades 6 to 12, a number of K-8 and middle school students need to migrate into Westinghouse. The closing of those schools isn't yet talked about.

Less opposition to the idea would be forthcoming, IMHO, if the future of Westinghouse was just 9 to 12 and NOT 6 to 12. Not many like the new 6-12 model being deployed in many of the PPS settings.

Less opposition to the idea from PPS would be forthcoming, IMHO, if the PPS plan included large options for CTE (career and technical education) classes at Westinghouse.

I wonder if a CTE school could also be turned into two single gender academies. ?? That would be a blending of sorts among the ideas.

Furthermore, it would be great if PPS would offer proof that the single gender classrooms now being held at Westinghouse were working to better educate the students. Is there proof? Are they working? Is this being measured now? Why not?

.... Ms. Werner said. "I'm concerned that making these schools a part of the feeder pattern will make them compulsory for parents who may not want to send their children to a single-gender school."

Likewise, sorta.

I too am concerned that these single gender places (be they called classrooms or academies) be a part of the feeder pattern system. So, the solution that would work better is to NUKE the feeder pattern system at the high school level. Allow people to opt into and out of various schools based upon their choice -- not some forced decision of PPS based upon one's home address of record.

Perhaps there are kids in other parts of the city that feel that a single-gender school will better suit their academic career. Those kids who live out of the feeder patter should be able to attend the school. And, those that are in the feeder patter should be able to opt into other schools, be it a magnet or another comprehensive, traditional school (i.e., Carrick, Brashear, Allderdice, Langley).

As part of its PPS recommendation, Mr. Lopez said, the committee assessed the student distribution pattern for secondary schools in the East End and concluded that, due to declining enrollment, the area cannot sustain three public high schools.

With my suggestions, (NUKE feeder patterns), the city takes a step beyond the value added formula that pivot upon student distribution patterns.

In an ideal world, schools that stink will shrink. Schools that thrive will swell. People will be able to put their kids into their choice of schools. We'll let people vote with their feet and then we'll know what schools need to close. And, the more productive schools will become more competitive too, making them better and better.

The best way to be flexible to the desires of the parents of the East End, and beyond, is to nuke the feeder patters. Right on R. Swartz.

Bonusgate testimony ends for day; resumes May 25

Bonusgate testimony ends for day; resumes May 25
Legislative and political work were so closely intertwined in the House Republican caucus that one aide said she couldn't differentiate one from the other, according to testimony today in a preliminary hearing.

Read more: http://post-gazette.com/pg/10113/1052779-100.stm#ixzz0lx9zyU4m

While in Harrisburg, today, I got to visit a courtroom here. I visited this place on August 15, 2006. But, there is now a new Judicial Center on Commonwealth Ave.

As hoped, the materials that I put into the public record are still there and visible for anyone to see. Docket number 419 MD 2006. Third file. Photos pending.

PA Senate Bill 890

The Pa Senate has a new Title IX bill sitting in committee.

Changes are needed and ll post about them later.

Primary elections in PA LTE

LTE is letter to editor. Mark C of Plum, a fellow Libertarian, had this one in the paper, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review about the major parties and the primary. It was in response to a pair of earlier LTEs that, well, really required a response.

The pair of letters are linked there too.

http://www.pittsbur ghlive.com/ x/pittsburghtrib /opinion/ s_677522. html


Not government's job Thursday, April 22, 2010

The letters "Whiners, join party" and "Open to meddling" (April 9, April 12 and TribLIVE.com) opposing open primaries in Pennsylvania require looking at the issue from another perspective. Suppose local Heinz stockholders used the primary to elect their board of directors without having to pay for that election. Should taxpayers fund internal operations of a private organization?

Furthermore, suppose Heinz shareholders defended this subsidy by saying, "Quit whining and buy Heinz. No one is forcing you to buy another stock." Could evidence of special privilege for a special interest be any clearer?

I'm a member of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. We select our candidates at our state convention and at our local county meetings. Our membership bears the entire cost. Is that too much to ask of the major parties?

Political parties have the right to a closed nomination process, but not to a public subsidy of that process. Until that subsidy ends, the two major parties are just political welfare recipients open to calls for outside meddling.

Mark C of Plum
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Earth Day -- a good day to cheer for the mighty blue Penguins

Original highlight video, just uploaded to YouTube.



Who is going to be doing the victory breakdance tonight?

The above video from our visit to Christchurch, New Zealand. An Artic Center is there, very near the airport. It is part zoo, science lab, museum and learning center. This center is the 'jump off point' for almost all who go to and come from Antartica.

RunRev Blog - revJournal: for software developers using RevStudio, RevEnterprise, and RevMedia

RunRev Blog - revJournal: for software developers using RevStudio, RevEnterprise, and RevMedia: "Moment of Zen"

Committee recommends closing of East Liberty's Peabody High - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Committee recommends closing of East Liberty's Peabody High - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Members of the community group want school officials to scrap the plans to revamp Westinghouse and focus on creating a career and technical education academy in the east region. The Open East End Panel wants the district to coordinate plans for the east region with other proposed changes, such as an overhaul to the career and technical education program.

Not exactly.

The hope and aim of none is to "scrap the plans to revamp Westinghouse." That is far, far, far from the truth.

One of my missions is to finally get PPS to look at its 'drop out factories.' For far too long, the status and fate of Westinghouse, Oliver, Peabody and Langley have been without attention. So I think it is fair to say that we've all been pushing the institution of PPS to get in gear already about high school reform for those who need it the most.

Closing Schenley was not the high school reform we needed. There. said it. Now to move along.

Yesterday, April 21, 2010, was a big day for high school reform in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Two plans from two different committees saw the light of day. One plan was featured in a press release from the PPS and the other was delivered in a one-hour meeting to top administrators to the PPS. The Open East End Plan was generated by 20 concerned citizens.  I was involved there.

Where the two plans differ is how to revamp Westinghouse.

The Open East End Panel seeks to have a single school at Westinghouse with a majority of the effort devoted to the CTE education for the 9 to 12th graders. The CTE high school could be place at Westinghouse. Or, that could be placed at Peabody. Either would work fine. One or the other. Most feel that Westinghouse is the better option.

So, to let the boil begin:

---> Westinghouse could be a new high school (grades 9 to 12) for kids from throughout the city (city-wide magnet) to be a modern South Vo Tech. Think of it as a new CAPA but with a career and technical education focus. This is a new school with a devotion to academics and specialized trades. Both are needed -- English, History, Math, Science plus new topics and subjects. This would be a new school where kids get plenty of internships and real world experiences. This would be a place for plumbing, carpenters, builders, computer tech, green energy studies, robotics (perhaps), cooking, heating and air conditioning, drafting / CAD, etc.

Or, with the other committee:

---> Westinghouse could be a school for boys and girls of certain east end neighborhoods for grades 6 to 12 where the genders are organized under different principals based on their plumbing.

Boil some more, then we all figure out that two things matter: The boiling (i.e., cooking / catering / culinary arts) and the plumbing (i.e., human anatomy / gender).

For years, I've been a big advocate of the formation of single gender schools. But, a single gender campus is much unlike a single gender classroom.

With the most recent plan put out by the PPS, we see more progress down this pathway. The school district has been forcing kids into classrooms in Westinghouse in some subjects based upon gender. Boys take math in room 101 and girls take the same course in room 103. Single gender classrooms have come to some PPS schools already, recently, by the handywork of certain principals and staff.

A few years ago I suggested that Peobody be turned into a boys campus and Westinghouse be turned into a girls campus. Then we'd have an All Boys Public High and an All Girls Public High. Both would be in their own building. Both would be for grades 9 to 12. Both would be city-wide magnets. Both would be built so as to compete directly with the Catholic single gender schools, Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic.

In the plan to create two all-city magnets for public school kids, All-City Boys Public and All-City Girls Public, I didn't care what schools were utilized to make this happen. Put the boys in Peabody, Westinghous, or even Reizenstein, Oliver or Langley. Put the girls in one of those too. There are five school buildings that are already built and ready for these changes.

It might make some sense to keep the All-City Public Boys and Girls High Schools in the same region, such as the east end. But, this isn't necessary. So, if Girls were at Reizenstein and the boys were at Peabody, then a teacher of Calc or Orchestra or Film or Ceramics or German could spend the first four periods at one school and then hop on a shuttle bus or take a long walk or short bike ride to the other campus for the afternoons. Or, this flip flop could be on a day by day basis if the buildings were too far apart, such as with a move from Langley to Westinghouse (for the teachers).

As an added wrinkle in my plans for putting the boys in one place and the girls in the other, could include a "flip the two schools" on a certain schedule. Every five years, for example, the boys could populate Oliver and the girls could be in Reizenstein. Then in one summer, the schools flip so that the girls and boys go to the other locations. This would insure 'equity.' We'd hate to see the boys get the great gym and the girls get the great typing parlor -- or some other sillyness.

Plus these should be "All City High Schools." The schools need to attract kids who what to go to these schools for more reasons than geography. Lots of people go to Central Catholic who don't live next to nor near Central Catholic. But if you're home is in one section of the city, you should have a chance of going to a closer school and not needing to fill every day with lots of travel. So, if the schools flip from east to west around the city, more kids would have a chance to have lower travel times. This isn't so much a factor for the kids -- but more for the economics of the city neighborhoods. Everyone's home values would increase if these new schools come to our landscape and succeed. And, if the schools are all only in one sector of the city, and exclusive to feeder patterns, then home values could be depressed elsewhere. The city neighborhoods have a slightly better chance to thrive as we position the schools in different sections of the city. Of course, better yet is to keep down costs of the schools and to put the schools in central locations where everyone can get to them without too much trouble.

South Vo Tech (South Side at 9th Street) was in a great location. Same too for Connelley (Hill District just above Civic Arena) and Schenley (Oakland). Those are three excellent locations. Now, none have schools, sadly. A fourth location that begs for a school or a sell of of its property value is the Board of Education Building in Oakland, right next to Pitt's Cathedral of Learning. A fifth, the PFT Building (Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers) on Mon riverfront property on the South Side.

As the All City Boys and Girls High Schools flip locations, I think we'd see different dynamics and more city-wide ownership among the business community and residents. This idea of a public school alternative to Central could get broad support if it is with city-wide roots. The best way to insure that it is for everyone to consider is to let folks know that it is a school program, not a building, and the programs are going to evolve and revolve.

Another big factor in this flipping of schools is the build rehab constraints. Face it, some of the physical assets are not up to par. PPS needs to keep plugging away on its capital improvements -- with a deliberate pace so to keep costs in tight check. We need a system wide fix up of many schools. We could rotate the students out of certain buildings while the work is done. This was done already with kids at Frick and Schenley, but with less than ideal results. But, let's say for the sake of discussion that a large amount of work is needed at Perry Traditional High because of its age and new capacity for becoming a Teachers Center. So, an option is to put the All City Girls High into an east end school and shift Perry Traditional students to Oliver for a year. Then the building at Oliver could be made ready to accept the All City Girls High in the third year.

Let's plan ahead. Let's plan in the open.

Another key to this idea of flipping schools is political. We have elected school board members who are with regional districts. Each of the board members comes from one of nine voting areas. If the All City Girls High School is always in one district -- then that board member is going to have more interest in that school and the other eight won't. If the All City Girls High School moves from time to time to different areas of the city, then all the members on the school board would take a greater interest in that school and its programs.

For too long, the city has been too parochial in its politics. This is the time to break out of the feeder pattern mentality.

Let's scrap -- a term used at the top of this blog post -- all feeder pattern constraints for high school kids. Feeder patterns should be removed.

Perry Traditional High School (northern side) is a city-wide magnet.

CAPA grades 6-12 (Creative and Performing Arts) is a city-wide magnet.

Pgh Obama (IB) grades 6-10 in 2010 and 6-12 in 2012 (IB) is growing into a city-wide magnet.

Sci-Tech 6-9 now and growing into grades 6-12 is a city-wide magnet.

Let's make a city-wide magnets for the All City Girls Public High, the All City Boys Public High, the Pittsburgh CTE (Career and Technical Education) High School.

With the new schools comes a need and calling to make the comprehensive high schools in the city all choice too. Make Allderdice, Brashear, Langley and Carrick all-city magnets where anyone from anywhere in the city can go to that school if they choose to do so. High Schools of choice would be a better Pittsburgh promise, a Pittsburgh pledge. That's a platform for Pittsburgh.

The transportation needs are not much of an issue as the high school kids get bus passes to ride on PAT (mass transit). If you want to go to Allderdice and you live in the west end, fine. Just take a bus or get a ride.

As all the schools become magnets, then the students won't be forced to go to a program because of an address of record. Students move anyway. Families that want to plug kids into certain schools can do so now -- with some creativity and door knocking.

---

Full article from today's Trib:

By Daveen Rae Kurutz, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, Thursday, April 22, 2010

A city schools committee yesterday released recommendations that would result in the closing of Peabody High School in East Liberty.

The committee proposes sending Peabody students in grades 6 through 12 to Westinghouse High School or Milliones. Students forced to relocate would be able to choose which school they would attend.

Milliones, which houses the Pittsburgh Public Schools' University Preparatory magnet, is a joint middle school-high school. Westinghouse would be converted into two single-gender academies for students in grades 6 through 12.

"We wanted to create a school that meets the needs of students in the East End," said Derrick Lopez, assistant superintendent for secondary schools. "We also want to offer our kids the opportunities afforded to those (at) Oakland Catholic and Central Catholic."

District officials are considering a plan to move the Barack Obama Academy of International Studies to Peabody starting in fall 2012.

The recommendations, which the board could vote on this summer, would affect students in 16 neighborhoods from the Hill District to Point Breeze. Currently, 373 students attend Milliones, 310 attend Westinghouse and 426 attend Peabody.

However, many students who would attend Peabody instead enroll in magnet programs at other schools such as CAPA and Obama, said Ebony Pugh, district spokeswoman.

Peabody's enrollment dropped from 497 students last year, and officials project enrollment will continue to decline to 194 by fall 2012 because of population loss. Officials expect Westinghouse's enrollment to dip to about 100 students in 2012.

Officials released the recommendations after a meeting with the Open East End Panel, a group formed by community leaders and school board members to examine the same issues as the district committee did.

Members of the community group want school officials to scrap the plans to revamp Westinghouse and focus on creating a career and technical education academy in the east region. The Open East End Panel wants the district to coordinate plans for the east region with other proposed changes, such as an overhaul to the career and technical education program.

"A lot of these plans bump into each other, like a boa constrictor trying to digest a whole lot at once," said Annette Werner, coordinator of the Open East End Panel. "Some parents get overwhelmed by all the changes, so we hope the district will thoughtfully consider our plan and present both widely for the public to consider."

Pugh said officials will use both committees' work to make a final recommendation to the school board.

There is much more to sort out as these various plan and other ideas clash.

My Summary:

Put the girls in one campus. Put the boys in another. Two academies within the same building is not good enough.

Put the high schoolers in a high school, without grades 6, 7 and 8. Make some great middle schools too. A few 6-12 schools is okay, but that should not dominate the landscape.

Open a new South Vo Tech as a high school for grades 9-12. Don't build a new school building from scratch. Rather, use Peabody, or Westinghouse, or even Reizenstein if necessary, as the CTE High School. At this new city-wide high school, teach the students in academics classes and their trades in the same school.

Do think again when prudent.

I don't think U-Prep is working well as a 6-12 school. So, it might make a great city-wide U-Prep middle school with a credit recovery program for older students.

Make all high schools in the city magnet schools. Drop feeder patterns for all the high schools. Allow any kid to go to any school with the exception of the gender specific schools.

---

Magic Wand Rant:

Don't allow for any 9th grade at Peabody in the fall of 2010. Close Peabody soon after. Begin rehab at Peabody if needed in 2011. A phase out of Peabody would be okay, as Schenley was phased out.

Don't allow for any 9th grade at Oliver in the fall of 2010. Close Oliver soon after. Begin rehab at Oliver if needed in 2011. A phase out of Oliver would be okay, as Schenley was phased out.

Build a new auditorium, gym and additional swimming pool at Reizenstein and keep that building for IB / Pgh Obama for the long term. But use the middle school gym and middle school pool for the middle school. Pgh Obama needs a high school gym, a high school pool, a high school auditorium and a high school cafeteria. There is room for building that addition on the grounds around the school. A parking deck with a ball field on the roof would also make sense too.

Put together an All City Girls Public High School for Peabody and an All City Boys Public High School for Oliver. After five years of operation at the same site, flip the boys and girls locations.

Make Westinghouse a fantastic, All City CTE High School. Do Big Visions, or year-round programs, and other community services at Westinghouse too. Both academics and trades should occur at Westinghouse High School. Make it special.

Westinghouse can be for most of the CTE majors, but no need to make it for all of them. Keep auto body at Brashear, for example. Keep Engineering at Allderdice. Boys who take robotic could still come to Peabody if necessary for those robitic classes.

If a fix up of Perry is needed, then move the seniors out of the building and take half as many freshmen for the next year so as to make some extra space in the school for rehab. Boxing days can work like the fix up at Sci Tech now underway.

If a rehab of Perry is needed, move the seniors of Perry out of the building to Langley or to the RMU building downtown.

Make U-Prep a middle school mainly -- and -- a place for high school with only special requirements, such as credit recovery and early exit.

Keep the bulk of the schools as is for grades K to 8. Jamming grades 6, 7 and 8 into Westinghouse for gender specific academies causes disruption of the younger schools.

Don't do anything without city-wide discussions and without thinking it through from start to finish.

Open Planning

http://cmapspublic3.ihmc.us/rid=1H72VPZSS-1P61MYZ-FJL/Open%20Planning.cmap

Lessons of Butler's Mens Basketball Team - follow up and sense making

The American Swim Coaches site posted an article about the Butler Men's Basketball season from Butler University President. This got the wheels turning.

I came up with the following concept map, now posted in a public folder. Check it out and feel free to make changes.

Title IX Changes - Why Boys Fail - Education Week

Title IX Changes - Why Boys Fail - Education Week: "At some point, and it appears that point has not yet arrived, someone in the administration will need to ask: why are so many campuses 60 percent female? Ah, that's a question that may be postponed indefinitely. Given that eight million more women than men voted for Obama, making decisions such as today's Title IX announcement will come a lot easier than probing that tougher question."

RIP: Juan Antonio Samaranch

From Public Art

Juan Antonio Samaranch, a shrewd dealmaker whose 21-year term as president of the International Olympic Committee was marked by both the unprecedented growth of the games and its biggest ethics scandal, died Wednesday at a hospital. He was 89.

I wonder what he and St. Peter will say as they meet at the gates of heaven?

From Public Art

Locals Online. A Teach the Teacher forum for leaders who gather folks to talk about places you live.

Invitation

Do you host a ...

•neighborhood e-mail list? ...
•highly interactive placeblog? ...
•local social network on Ning? ...
•a private Facebook group for nearest neighbors? ...
•a neighborhood parents network online? ...
•a local online community of any kind?
Then join community builders like you on this new peer-to-peer online group for local online hosts from:

http://e-democracy.org/locals

Mark Rauterkus, charter members for Locals Online

CMU Art: Top of Triangle and US Steel Building

The High Point Park Investigation & Pittsburgh Gigapanorama


Event: Open House, Location:Great Hall of the College of Fine Arts at CMU on Thursday, April 22 from 5-6:30 p.m.

Cost: Free

Please join us on April 22 (Earth Day 2010) as we unveil a new perspective of the region.

The Pittsburgh Gigapanorama is an awesome, interactive, 360-degree photographic image of southwestern Pennsylvania taken from the roof of the U. S. Steel Tower and one of the largest digital photographs ever created.

We will be acknowledging the participants and products of the recent High Point Park Design Sketch/Case Competition, during which more than 350 CMU students and faculty members imagined the creation of a publicly-accessible, sustainable facility on the U. S. Steel Tower's roof, a one-acre expanse that is the largest, highest space on top of any building on Earth.

We will also preview "The Roof of the World" an independent documentary video shot during the January competitions, as well as display the 32 architectural design sketches and 5 business case studies they produced.

This event is an open house and you may bring guests, but please RSVP to highpointparkinvestigation@gmail.com by April 20 with attendees' names.

If you are unable to attend on Thursday, the Gigapanorama, documentary, and other exhibits can be seen at the STUDIO at 1:00 and 3:00 on Friday, April 23.

http://www.highpointpark.org/

Reserve Marine continues to build Olympic dreams for Afghan people :: The Fallbrook Village News

Reserve Marine continues to build Olympic dreams for Afghan people :: The Fallbrook Village News: "Looking down into a 12 to 14 foot deep pool with a broken pipe and only about a foot of water at the bottom, an envisioned coach watches as members of the Afghanistan national army (ANA) hold swim and water polo practice, April 7, in Camp Shorabak, Afghanistan.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jeremy B. Piasecki of Fallbrook, the readiness and reports officer with 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, created and coached Afghanistan’s first water polo team in Pol-e-Charki, located in Northeast Afghanistan from June to September 2008, and has been the coach for the national team since October 2008."

Slick Bill Clinton talks with big brush

This guy is working his show. It is with a lot of production value that makes it a bit overboard. But, I do like the content.



The tea party movement was hijacked some time ago. Oh well.

Just vote for the Libertarian. Here are some good reasons to do so.

Gingrich Stumps For Burns - Biden For Critz

First reason: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is coming to western Pennsylvania to stump for the Republican running to fill the congressional seat of the late Rep. John Murtha. Gingrich will be in Latrobe Thursday to support 41-year-old Tim Burns, a businessman from Eighty-Four. It will cost $150 to attend a general reception with Gingrich and $4,800 to attend a VIP event. Burns spokesman Tad Rupp says it wasn't difficult to get Gingrich to appear because "the entire country is paying attention to the race."

Second reason: Vice president Joe Biden is scheduled to be in Pittsburgh Friday to campaign for Democrat Mark Critz in the May 18 special election. Critz was director of Murtha's district, which covers all or parts of eight counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. Murtha died Feb. 8.

What else do you need?

Vote Libertarian!

Idiocy with the Federal stimulus money is mind blowing.

Check out this PDF and look to the list. Everyone should read at least the top 10. It's amazing what they're wasting money on. They spend $1.15M on a new guardrail for an Oklahoma lake that has no water. They spend $800K repaving of a backup runway for the Murtha airport that gets fewer than 10,000 visitors per year:

Pennsylvania Sociable City Forum Agenda

Pennsylvania Sociable City Forum Agenda: "City of Pittsburgh and Councilman Bruce Kraus are pleased to host the Responsible Hospitality Institute's Sociable City Forum, a unique one day event for state and local leaders to share strategies on how to plan, manage and police hospitality zones in downtown districts.
Plan on spending the evening and explore Wilmington's vibrant dining and entertainment venues."

Fw: [IHMC CmapTools] cmc2010: Extension Deadline - Fecha Limite

-- Apologies for duplicates --- Disculpas si recibe este mensaje duplicado ---

Dear colleagues / Estimados colegas (Español al final),

The deadline to submit papers and posters to the 4th International Conference on Concept Mapping has been extended to Friday April 30. Some of the authors were somewhat concerned about the earthquake in Chile and got a late start in preparing their submissions and so we are giving them a few more days to complete their paper or poster. Of course, all authors can take advantage of this extension. Instructions on the submission process are available at the Conference website at http://cmc.ihmc.us. Please follow the instructions in terms of formatting and maximum number of pages.

La fecha límite para la recepción de ponencias para el 4o Congreso Internacional sobre Mapas Conceptuales ha sido extendida hasta el viernes 30 de abril. Algunos de los autores estaban preocupados por el terremoto en Chile y empezaron tarde la preparación de sus artículos, así que les estamos dando unos días más para que completen su artículo o poster. Por supuesto, todos los autores pueden aprovechar esta extensión. Las instrucciones sobre el procedimiento de envío de ponencias se encuentran en el sitio web del Congreso en http://cmc.ihmc.us. Por favor siga las instrucciones en cuanto a formato y número de páginas máximo.

We look forward to seeing you in Viña del Mar in October / Esperamos verle en Viña del Mar en Octubre.

CMC 2010 

Organizing Committee / Comité Organizador
http://cmc.ihmc.us 

email: cmc2010@ihmc.us

Fw: Friends of PUSH, We Need Your Action NOW!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: "Molly Rush" <molly.rush@verizon.net>

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:53:53 -0400

To: Scott Tyson<TysMar@aol.com>

Subject: FW: Friends of PUSH, We Need Your Action NOW!

Dear Friends,

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

PA RECENTLY MADE HISTORY BY INTRODUCING TRUE SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION!  SB400/HB1660, improved & expanded Medicare for all:

Bipartisan co-sponsors in both Assemblies
State Democratic Comm. endorsed unanimously
Gov. Ed Rendell has committed to sign the bill

***Healthcare4AllPA conducted a study of all municipalities and school districts and the state and showed that we could save nearly $3 BILLION, prevent bankruptcy of state and many school districts and municipalities with Single-Payer.
***We could compete with other countries for manufacturing jobs, cut healthcare costs in HALF for the employer and increase take-home pay, cut health care costs for families by thousands of dollars by cutting out FOR-PROFIT insurers.
***Under Single-Payer, we wouldn’t have deductibles or even co-pays; just 3% of income would cover EVERYTHING from cradle to grave.

Now, we want a full, objective Economic Impact Study. [EIS] of SB400.

So do 34 out of 50 PA Senators who have sponsored a Resolution for an EIS

THE PROBLEM : FOUR GUYS IN SUITS HAVE BOTTLE-NECKED THE ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY OF SB400 SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE  which would MOVE THIS LEGISLATION FORWARD.
CALL PA Senate Leaders TODAY!

DEMAND they release EIS SB400 Res. for a Floor Vote:

Jake Corman (717) 787-1377

Dom Pileggi    (717) 787-4712
Donald White (717) 787-8724
Joe Scarnati  (717) 787-7084

RALLY! WE NEED YOUR VOICES!

April 23: 3pm Friday, Sen. Don White, 618 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA, 15701

April 23: 10am Friday, Sen. Jake Corman, 236 Match Factory Plaza, Bellefonte, PA 16823

April 24: 10:30 Saturday, Sen. Dom Pileggi, 100 Evergreen Drive, Suite 113, Glen Mills, PA 19342

Contact Us!
-Website: www.healthcare4allpa.org
-Call us: 412-421-4242
-Email us: volunteerpushpa@gmail.com
-Facebook us: PUSH PA (Pennsylvanians United for Single Payer Healthcare)
-Follow us on twitter! @PAforPUSH

Christina Kim details LPGA tour life in new book Swinging From My Heels - Tours & News - Golf.com

Christina Kim details LPGA tour life in new book Swinging From My Heels - Tours & News - Golf.com: "In her new book Swinging From My Heels, Christina Kim dishes on life, love and the L-word on the LPGA tour"

quote:


When I was 11, my dad turned up with a funny-looking metal stick with a bulbous end. Marching me to the backyard he threw down a strip of Astroturf and grunted, "Here, swing hard as you can." I did, and it was kind of fun. Then he told me to do it 499 more times. This was my introduction to a golf club, and the golf swing. Being a dutiful Korean daughter I never thought to question my dad, and every day after school I would spend two hours making the required 500 swings, as would my older brother Mel and older sister Gloria. After a month of this tedium Dad finally took us to a driving range so we could hit actual golf balls and watch them fly. It was like the clouds parted and the angels were singing and I finally understood there was a point to all of this.

Read more: http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1982913,00.html#ixzz0lZZVv7Fo

Oops Did He Say That? Tom Corbett's Comments Raises Eyebrows. The Constitution is ...

http://pennpatriot.blogspot.com/2010/04/oops-did-i-say-that-corbett-flap-raises.html

Tom Corbett's comments during his speech at this weekend's Pennsylvania Leadership Conference has left many conservatives around the state scratching their heads. Some are flat out suggesting that Corbett is a liberal.

Many conservatives who attended the conference and heard the speech were not impressed with Corbett and by far the most controversial part of his speech was when Corbett said "The Constitution is a living document". Something you might not want to say to a group of constitutional conservatives when you are running for Governor.

The view that the Constitution is a living document is the common view of liberal democrats who like to bend the original limited government intent of the Constitution in order to advance their big government/socialist agenda.

People who believe in a Living Constitution believe that the constitutional framers wrote the Constitution in broad and flexible terms to create such a dynamic, "living" document. Constitutional conservatives believe that the Constitution should only be changed through the amendment process.

According to Wikipedia a prominent endorsement of the Living Constitution concept was heard in the 2000 presidential campaign by the Democratic candidate, Al Gore. One of most vocal critics of the Living Document view of the Constitution is Supreme Court Justice Scalia.

So Tom Corbett agrees with Al Gore when it comes to Constitutional interpretation. A very scary thought considering Corbett is the Pennsylvania Republican Party's endorsed candidate for Governor. Republican voters across the state desperately need to give Sam Rohrer a serious look if we really want to take back our state government.

by Randy Potter

===========================
The Constitution is an "Amendable Document", not a "Living Document".

Americans should oppose a so called "living constitution", which is a term of art for "Amendment by Usurpation".

[QUICK ENGLISH LESSON, Definition - Usurpation - an unjust seize of power.]
Americans should support what George Washington said in his -1796 Farewell Address -

"If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield."

Article 5 of the constitution specifies how to amend the Constitution.
We have amended the US Constitution 27 times, usually for the better.

QUICK HISTORY LESSON, the word usurpation was used 3 times in the Declaration of Independence. - "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism ... The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. ... We ...have conjured them ... to disavow these usurpations".

Please SUPPORT SAM ROHRER, The Constitutional Republican Candidate for Governor - http://www.samrohrer.org/

Frank Huchrowski, North Versailles PA
=================================

From: Lois
To: NationalPrecinctActivists-Pa@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, Apr 18, 2010 12:44 pm
Subject: [NationalPrecinctActivists-Pa] Corbett says "Constitution is a living document" at Pa Leadership Conference Sat


There was an amazing climax to the Pa Leadership Conference this weekend with Saturday afternoon speeches by our gubernatorial candidates Tom Corbett and Sam Rohrer.
No one could deny the room was clearly pro-Rohrer. The crowd gave wildly enthusiastic applause to the introduction of Sam, and interrupted his inspiring speech, which centered on the princples on which he would govern, with spirited applause and chants of "Go, Sam, Go!" Many in the crowd had the now-familiar blue and white campaign signs and raised them energetically throughout the speech.

This was in stark contrast not only to the reception Corbett got, but to the entire style and substance of Corbett's speech. Corbett sounded more like a politician, less interested in principles, and honestly, it was difficult to tell what he stood for at the end of the speech. Even with respect to his lawsuit filed against the federal government on behalf of Pennsylvania to protect our 10th Amendment rights in the healthcare bill, he did not energetically communicate his interest in defending these rights.
I am not trying to tell you what Mr. Corbett believes. I am telling you the way he sounded. Of course this is subjective; you will make your own determination.
Mr. Corbett did say that our "Constitution is a living document." I was so stunned to hear these words come out of the mouth of our attorney general that I don't even remember what he said after that. There was a stunned reaction in the room as conservatives looked at each other and said to themselves, "Did he really just say that??"
Perhaps he meant something other than what is usually meant when liberals say this. Did he? Why the choice of words? Words have meaning, and words have connotations. Surely the state committee-endorsed candidate knows this.

The most important takeaway, and perhaps the most important illustration during the entire weekend, is that SAM ROHRER CAN WIN THIS ELECTION. The Tea Party is envigorated and excited by what this candidate stands for, and they are coming out to vote for him on May 18.
But the 50 dollar question is: Will they step up and get out the vote for Sam? Will they be able to bring their neighbors out and vote for Sam, as well? Because that is what it is going to take. The Tea Party activists are not enough in numbers alone.
This is why the Precinct Project is so important.
The job of committee people is to know how to effectively get out the vote in their precincts. And it is the job of the county committee to make sure all committee people are trained in how to accomplish this and then have the means to do it.
Can we do it in May 2010? We will find out on May 19.

Lois Kaneshiki
Pennsylvania Precinct Project
candidate, Republican State Committee
Blair County
http://www.BringthePartytothePeople.org

Woman dies in Turtle Creek police station

Woman dies in Turtle Creek police station: "Woman dies in Turtle Creek police station"

A suspended license wasn't the only thing she was driving with or more to the point, driving toward.

May she rest in peace.

National Republican Liberty Caucus Endorses Diamond for Pa's Lieutenant Governor

Russ Diamond has earned the endorsement of the National Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus in the race for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor. The RLC voted to endorse Diamond for his commitment to champion less government dependency and more individual liberty.

"The Republican Liberty Caucus is doing its best to assist the Tea Party movement by identifying those Republicans committed to downsizing government and restoring constitutional rule," said RLC Endorsements Director Dan Sheill.

"I'm honored to accept this particular endorsement," Diamond said. "All the efforts I've undertaken politically over the years - from fighting the pay raise to authoring legislation for a limited citizens' constitutional convention to seeking ways to permanently eliminate property taxes to standing up for the Tenth Amendment - revolve around protecting our rights and ensuring liberty."

Since November 2009, 26 newspapers, six of the state's leading columnists, the leaders of Pennsylvania's four major good government groups and the two most prominent political analysts in the Commonwealth have publicly endorsed the idea of holding a constitutional convention in response to arrests of legislators for using public resources for political purposes, indictments of state judges by federal prosecutors in an alleged kickback scheme that sent youths to detention centers without due process, and a seven-year string of budget fiascos in Harrisburg.

Diamond is the only statewide candidate in any race who has authored legislation for a limited citizens' constitutional convention, which is also supported by 72 percent of Pennsylvanians, according to a recent Franklin and Marshall College poll. He is the author of SB340 and HB1929, the only legitimate, workable plan currently before the General Assembly to enable such a convention. His plan would elect citizen delegates to debate reforms to the institutions of state government while protecting individual rights from unwarranted attack. The prime sponsors of the bills are Republicans who have generated bipartisan co-sponsorship as well.

Diamond's plan to eliminate property taxes once and for all in Pennsylvania is a fresh new approach that gives the legislature ample time to debate a revenue replacement plan to fund schools, counties, and municipalities, but provides a constitutional deadline for getting it done. He believes Pennsylvanians deserve to own their homes outright and should not live in fear of government taking their property simply because they've had a run of tough financial years.

Diamond's stand on defending Pennsylvanians from federal intrusion includes a plan to actively work with state agencies and local officials to analyze, identify, and fight federal mandates that run counter to the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He believes presenting citizens with the practical implications and the cost/benefit ratios of such mandates will give Pennsylvania firm ground on which to stand in taking steps to reduce the burdens inflicted on the Commonwealth's citizens by an overreaching, ever-growing federal behemoth.

Diamond is an entrepreneur in Lebanon County and was the founder and chairman of PACleanSweep, the statewide organization that sparked the repeal of the now-infamous legislative pay raise of 2005, led the charge in the first-ever non-retention of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, and raised 117 legislative candidates in 2006 that fueled a 24 percent turnover in the General Assembly that year, a twelve-fold increase over normal election years.

For more information: http://www.russdiamond.org

City stretches phys ed curriculum through yoga

City stretches phys ed curriculum through yoga For some students, physical education classes offer a needed respite from the monotony of shuffling between stuffy classrooms.

Sure, PE classes are needed for some students -- those with bodies.

Every student should have should have solid physical education instruction. We need our schools to also have time in the day for more kinetic stuff -- like recess.

For others, they can be treacherous. They can feel singled out or self-conscious about their fitness and body shape in comparison to peers.
Pittsburgh Public Schools are integrating yoga into the phys ed curriculum to diversify the gym experience and give students at different levels of fitness an activity they can adapt to at their own pace and still have a workout.

English, math and science can be treacherous too for some. If you can't read, how do you recite a poem?

Yoga is a good and should be part of physical education -- but the treacherous part is just for the sensational.

"We build our [phys ed] curriculum around five components -- body composition, flexibility, muscular, strength and cardiovascular endurance -- and yoga has a direct impact on all of them," said Jerri Lippert, the school district's chief academic officer.

Yoga has very little to do with cardio endurance nor strength. Next to nothing. But, fine. Yoga is still deals with one aspect and there, with flexibility, it might be the best activity anywhere. Don't over inflate the benefits of yoga to justify it. Just do it for the benefit of flexibility. Plus, there are other benefits too from world culture to mental sharpness.

Yoga's inventor is from Shadyside. Who would have thought? :) Yoga is even great for kids who are doing well in the management of their bodies too. Of course yoga can enhance one's mental maturity. Excellent.

The killer is that funding was needed from the Grable Foundation and the Heinz Endowments among others. Why must the foundations fund the program? The schools should be doing this as mats to sit upon are not that expensive. Don't we pay taxes so the schools can pay teachers?

Yoga is phys ed. But yoga is not really about a confidence-building interlude for students. Far from it. Yoga will do more to tear down the super confident than anything. So don't sell yoga for its confience-building. Sell it for its learning value and physical value. All of physical education should be a big benefit for those who have had a hard time with some of with exercise and sports. Physical education is not about sports. All in all, every young person has had a hard time with exercise as each is still growing and just learning about self.

"Yoga allows an entry point for students who may feel like they don't want to get on a track or soccer field after third period, for example, because they don't feel like having to go through with the hustle of sweating at that point in their day," said Dr. Lippert.

Yoga is an entry point for students who don't have enough time to shower. Yoga is a sweat-free activity. Yoga fit within a one period class. Yoga is a recess from the school day and even an entry point for NOT doing harder cardio exercise. Yoga is a good option for Physical Education if the aim is minimal disruption for a strictly academic day.

The girls wanted to do yoga instead of circuit training (weight lifting and cardiovascular exercises). If yoga is all that they do and the other activites are nixed -- then the school district has failed our students. However, if yoga is far different from anything that they did in the past -- then the school district has failed too. Yoga should have its place and time in PE. But PE needs to be more than just yoga.

"They have learned it, they know it, and now they don't even need us to show them how to bend and stretch and meditate on the exercise. They just do it," said Ms. Wolski.

That statement, "They don't even need us," is a back breaker. Say what?

Liverpool ponder route to Madrid amid volcanic ash cloud travel chaos | Football | guardian.co.uk

Would hate to be a travel agent or team manager these days for a football team (soccer) in Eurpope.

Liverpool ponder route to Madrid amid volcanic ash cloud travel chaos | Football | guardian.co.uk: "Liverpool ponder route to Madrid amid volcanic ash cloud travel chaos"

Teacher Tenure and Performance Pay in Florida

Teacher Tenure and Performance Pay in Florida - Walt Gardner's Reality Check - Education Week Gov. Charlie Crist's veto on Apr. 15 of a bill that would have eliminated tenure for public school teachers in Florida and linked their pay to student performance on standardized tests was seen as a bellwether. But the issues raised are far from dead. As a result, this is a propitious time to take a closer look at three lessons that emerge from the state's experience

Happy Patriots Day

On Monday we celebrate Patriots Day, especially in Boston.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Fw: Great Pittsburgh Non-Profits Seeking Adult Summer Workers

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: RFlanag@aol.com

Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:12:57 EDT

To: <RFlanag@aol.com>

Subject: Great Pittsburgh Non-Profits Seeking Adult Summer Workers

 

PLEASE POST THE ATTACHED FLYER AND FORWARD THIS EMAIL OUT TO THOSE LOOKING FOR SUMMER EMPLOYMENT

 

EASTSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD EMPLOYMENT CENTER

5321 Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15224

Phone:  (412) 362-8580          Fax:  (412) 441-6918

It's tough finding quality employment for the summer. At the same time, organizations are having a hard time finding quality candidates to consider for job openings.

Check out eastendworks.com, an innovative, new website that lets you browse dozens of job openings at more than 15 organizations in Pittsburgh's East End. These organizations are offering summer, long-term, and even permanent employment.

Questions? Contact Bill or Nicole at 412-362-8580. If you are an organization with your own job openings to post, let us know. It's free and easy!

 

Job seekers--- move on this opportunity now!

 

Rick Flanagan

Manager, Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center

rflanag@aol.com

 

log on now to eastendworks.com

Steve Jobs bans all apps from iPhone (or thereabouts) • The Register

Steve Jobs bans all apps from iPhone (or thereabouts) • The Register: "Steve Jobs bans all apps from iPhone (or thereabouts)
Alert Print Post commentCode translation verboten. Whatever that means"

"Wisdom begins with calling a thing by its proper name."

"Wisdom begins with calling a thing by its proper name."
- Ancient Chinese Proverb

Friday, April 16, 2010

Invisible Empire: Ignore it at Your Children's Peril
by Regan Straley

Yesterday, April 15, Tax Day here in the U.S.A., saw the release of "Invisible Empire: A New World Order Defined," the latest film by young cinematographer Jason Bermas, who was responsible for "Fabled Enemies" and what is perhaps the most virally successful documentary in YouTube history, "Loose Change." That film explored the myriad, and to this day, unanswered questions surrounding the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. "Invisible Empire" delves even deeper, sifting through mountains of official and mainstream media sources to support the possibility that the U.S. and the nations of the European Union are really being run by a shadow government consisting of an exclusive core network of financial, corporate, military, and intelligence elite.

What's more, the film contends that the elite-owned corporate media--represented by major TV news and entertainment outlets, leading "independent" newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post, and the thousands of daily hometown rags owned by a handful of corporate chains--has for decades been promoting a vapid celebrity- and sports-obsessed culture in order to distract us from this fact. In addition, the mass media has used both its journalistic and entertainment output to foster the public's incremental acceptance of a uniform, regimented, global, and permanent war-based economy. That all sounds like a mouthful, and the prospect of having to absorb such a colossal thesis makes "American Idol" seem even more puzzlingly attractive as an alternative. Nevertheless, whether you agree with him or not, Bermas actually manages to corral this sprawling hypothesis into a coherent message that should be comprehensible to anyone who regards themselves as
at least as smart as a fifth-grader.

[Before I go any further, I just stepped outside to partake in one of my vices, and saw nine doe run across my backyard, cross the road, line up in single file, and, one by one, leap over a fence and into the woods. Cool, and real. Unlike the faces and noises on my TV.]

"Invisible Empire" is available for purchase on a high-quality DVD containing 30 minutes of additional material, but can be viewed for now in six lower-quality YouTube segments. The first two parts amount to a primer on the history of the New World Order, the world events that can be attributed to it, and the financial, corporate, and government elite who have been pushing for it since before World War I.

While these introductory segments do confirm the existence of the New World Order in the actual words of those who fund and philosophize for it as an alternative to national sovereignty, they remain rather light on empirical data and seem to be mainly devoted to attracting and holding the interest of the average uninitiated viewer. Creaky old shadow government watchers like me, who cut their teeth on the Iran-Contra affair, will find them somewhat redundant and boring. Those who are determined not to believe any of it before even watching the documentary will use the skin-deep projections of the first two parts as an excuse to abort the viewing experience and discredit the entire film among family, friends, and coworkers.

That would be a shame. Because it's in Part 3 that Bermas suddenly, even jarringly, opens up the turbos, presenting his audience with media clip after media clip of NWO proponents exposing their own ignoble intentions, and official document after official document confirming that the adoption of their dubious goals is well underway in America and throughout the entire geopolitical arena. And whatever else you think of Bermas's ideas, you cannot accuse him of an ideological or political motivation. This film is equally damning of both our Democratic and Republican leadership, and draws no distinction between what the media likes to call "liberals" and "conservatives." Apart from their divisive and manipulative rhetoric, there are no substantial differences in the policies they ultimately pursue.

As a whole, "Invisible Empire" does a fairly effective job of supporting its central premise: what most of us think we know about how the world operates is a pathetic and suicidal fantasy, and that those institutions that publicly present themselves as "our government" are not at all what we've been led to believe. So, love it, hate it. Let it motivate you to further research, or dismiss it as wacky conspiracy theorism. If you choose, let it drive you faster and further into the protective arms of "American Idol." But ignore it at your own, your children's, and their children's risk.

Cycle races in the region

This year I want to get my head around the realm of cycle races in the area. Are there any readers of this blog who can give me a tutorial? I need some hand holding.

This is what we are talking about.

 2010 BAR Season Is Upon Us As you are aware from my various emails that the PCA is more than the PA road and track BAR but they are an important part of this association and what we do for our membership. The 2010 PA BAR season is here with two races with rich history and challenging courses. Saturday features the SoYoCo Circuit Race (http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10274) followed by the 23rd, yes 23rd, running of the Lower Providence Spring Classic Criterium (http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10354). Two great events to kick off the PA BAR series which has became the focus for many a riders season. I'll be there is khaki and blue as the chief referee so stop by the start/finish to say hello. Road Race Calendar Changes The official PA road racing calendar is on the PCA web site (http://www.pacycling.org/calendar/). There have been some changes to races originally scheduled for the next several weeks so please take a moment to look at April and May's events. Thanks Battenkill and Paris Roubaix Monday is a busy day for me at work but I always take a few moments to look at the past weekends race results for PA, NJ, etc. and in Europe. I was keenly interested in seeing where the PA riders finished in Battenkill on Saturday. My good friend Chris Johnson placed 18th in the P-1 race. Andy Munas (Dynaflo), who I race with at the track, took a well placed 9th in the M2 race. Robin Carpenter (Young Medalists/Team Dual Temp) and Zack Noonan (Young Medalists/Team Dual Temp) were in the top 5 for JB 17-18 and strong man Scott Haverstick (ERA Cycling) took the win in the 60+ race. After scanning those results I happened to take a look at what happened in the 122.4 KM Paris – Roubaix Junior race that took place on April 11th. More amazing than US rider Lawson Craddock 3rd place was the rider in 20th place, PA's own Juan Carmona (Breinigsville) who rides domestically for Young Medalists/Team Dual Temp. Wow! Hats off to Juan and May Britt whose work withthe juniors in PA has prepared them to be not only successful in local, regional and national races but as you can see internationally as well. 2010 PCA Junior Race Series The first race in the 2010 PCA Junior Race Series is the Lower Providence Spring Classic Criterium and a reminder to all juniors that double BAR points will be awarded and riders cannot ride up in age groups. Good luck and thanks to Gwen, May Britt, Nathan, and Shippensburg University Cycling for making the series happen. 2010 PA Track BAR This week I will formalize the rules and regulations for the 2010 PA Track BAR series which opens on Tuesday May 25th. The BAR has been expanded in 2010 to include masters who race on Saturday and I will finalize any changes with respect to the series and pass them on to Ben Miller (VPCC) and PCA Track Coordinator Rick Miller (QCW Cycling) for review. Road Racing in April Saturday – April 17th SoYoCo Circuit Race (Thru-It-All Racing, Gretna Bikes, Lupine Lighting Systems)***** PA BAR Race ***** - M1-2-3, M3-4, M4-5, Women Open, and 45+http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10274 Sunday – April 18th Lower Providence Spring Classic Criterium (TalkSoft Cycling Team p/b Pabst Blue Ribbon)***** PA BAR Race ***** - P-1-2-3, M3-4, M4, M5, W1-2-3, W4, Juniors (all age groups), 45+, 55+, and Special Event Racehttp://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10354 Mingo Creek Spring Road Race Series (Trek of Pittsburgh) - M1-2-3, M4-5, Women and 45+http://trekofpgh.com/articles/2010-mingo-creek-spring-road-race-series-pg198.htm PICC 2010 Spring Training Series-Fairview (Presque Isle Cycling Club)http://www.picycling.org/events.html Saturday – April 24th Farmersville Road Race (PRO-AM Cycling) – M4, U19 (M4), 45+, 55+, M5, U19 (M5), W3-4, U19 (W3-4), M2-3, U19 (M2-3), and 35+http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10054 PICC 2010 Spring Training Series-Northeast (Presque Isle Cycling Club)http://www.picycling.org/events.html Sunday – April 25th Mingo Creek Spring Road Race Series (Trek of Pittsburgh) - M1-2-3, M4-5, Women and 45+http://trekofpgh.com/articles/2010-mingo-creek-spring-road-race-series-pg198.htm Final Thoughts Lower Providence has traditionally served as the opener for the PA criterium series and I for one look forward to catching up with many in the PCA family as the race draws the top riders in the region (PA, NJ, DE). I've raced LPC in the past with a top 20 result in the 35+ race being my best result eons ago. Now I view the race from an official's perspective and have a great crew supporting me this Sunday. Best of luck for those racing this weekend and see you on Sunday! Thanks for supporting cycling in PA and ride safe! David H. MitchellHershey Cancer Institute – GPOA - CannondalePresident - Pennsylvania Cycling Association (www.pacycling.org)215-284-2339pcapres07@verizon.net

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Western PA Black Political Assembly will host a political Candidates forum featuring candidates

Time: April 24, 2010 from 1pm to 4pm

Location: Schenley High School @ Reizenstein

Organized By: Western Pennsylvania Black Politicl Assembly

Western PA Black Political Assembly will host a political Candidates forum featuring candidates for the following office:

Governor - Lt Governor US Senate and the 19 Dist. Representative.

Doors open at 12 noon. Become an informed voter, come out and learn what these candidates are all about.

Ask question to see where they stand on issues that effect the Black community.

Co-hosting this forum :
B-PEP the Black Political Empowerment Project
The Alleghenians LTD
Zeta Phi Beta Sorsrity
A Phillip Randolph Institute
The Institute of the Black World