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Michelle Snow

“I’m amazed and honored that she chose me,” said John Alemany, Michelle Snow’s 12th grade Spanish teacher.“She's a star basketball player. I would have thought for sure she’d pick one of her coaches.” “Sports came easy to me,” explains Michelle. “Spanish was a challenge, and Mr. Alemany didn’t give up on me. “He has this amazing positive energy. And he genuinely cares. You can’t imagine what a difference that makes.” Behind every famous person is
a fabulous teacher

Education News: April 15, 2005

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending April 15, 2005.

Experiment Begun in New York Is Transformed in Miami Schools
(Source: The New York Times, 4/13/05)
Former New York City Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew has taken his school-fixing approach from New York to Miami, Florida, where he is now the Superintendent of Schools. The new program offers 20 percent more pay for 20 percent more hours to all teachers willing to work in Dade County’s 39 most troubled schools. So far the program has met with a positive response.

Chicago Schools Brace for Cuts
(Source: The Chicago Tribune, 4/12/05)
Facing a $175 million deficit in the coming year, Chicago schools plan to eliminate about 800 teaching jobs. These lay-offs could save the district $50 million, but will force school officials to increase class sizes and cut programs.

Study Finds Shortcoming in New Law on Education
(Source: The New York Times, 4/13/05)
The academic growth that students experience over the course of a given school year has slowed since the No Child Left Behind law was put into effect, according to a new study by the Northwest Evaluation Association. The study sampled 320,000 students in 23 states.

Conservatives Counter ‘Day of Silence’
(Source: CNN.com, 4/13/05)
A Christian legal group has countered the nationwide Day of Silence, an observance designed in protest of anti-gay bias in schools, with the Day of Truth, on which participating students offered T-shirts and printed material to classmates, detailing their belief in the sinfulness of homosexuality. The Day of Truth came on April 14, the day after the Day of Silence, received sponsorship from the Alliance Defense Fund, and was endorsed by Focus on the Family, among other influential Christian organizations.

Rell Aides Set for Talks on Federal School Bill
(Source: The New York Times, 4/14/05)
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has interceded in the increasingly heated dispute between her state’s education department and the federal Department of Education. After the state attorney general announced plans to sue the federal government over NCLB and Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Education Secretary, called Connecticut’s objections un-American, Rell took action to set up a meeting between her administration and Spelling’s, set to take place next week.

Virginia Is Denied Waiver from ‘No Child’ Law
(Source: The Washington Post, 4/13/05)
The U.S. Department of Education has denied Virginia’s request for a waiver from aspects of the No Child Left Behind law. The state had claimed that its existing testing methods were adequate and that the additional tests required by the federal government were not necessary.

107 Achieve New Perfect SAT Score: 2400
(Source: San Francisco Gate, 4/12/05)
This week, 107 of the 300,000 high school students who took the first setting of the new, expanded SAT received perfect scores of 2400. The biggest change on the test was the new writing section, worth 800 points.