October 31, 2013
If, by the grace of God, we are able to stop Common Core in state legislatures, it isn’t really going away. The same people will still be running education in our country, and their goals won’t change. They may have to take a step back and try some different approaches. Oh, wait! They already are using different approaches. They got caught sneaking in the back door when no one was watching, but they have other gigs going. Now they are blatantly oozing their way in the side door. I never thought I’d see a headline with the words “Cradle to Career,” but here we are in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. (bolding and comments are mine)
- Salt Lake City launches cradle to career education initiative
By Christopher Smart, The Salt Lake Tribune, Oct 23, 2013
They’re calling it the Capital City Education Collaboration Agreement. [Is there a Capital City in your state? Or do they mean something else since they spelled Capitol incorrectly?]
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Salt Lake City Schools Superintendent McKell Withers joined with officials Wednesday from half a dozen agencies and organizations to begin forming an education framework “to cultivate a college, career and civic-ready environment.”
This is a symbolic event that binds us to a mission to do more for Salt Lake City kids from the time they are born to the day they enter college,” Withers said.
The initiative, organized by the National League of Cities, is an outgrowth of the Lumina Foundation program that focuses on education and success. The League of Cities selected Salt Lake City in 2011 to participate. It is one of eight participating U.S. cities, according to League spokeswoman Majorie Cohen. Among those joining Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake City School District in the initiative are the University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College and the Salt Lake Chamber. One of the group’s goals is to “identify and provide access to education and career pathways for all youth and families,” according to the mayor.
This is a first of its kind for us to bring private and public sectors [unelected, just like Common Core] together in a commitment to shared goals,” Becker said. “Plans don’t mean anything unless they are embraced by the people involved.”
Members of the new alliance will meet regularly to establish, among other things, fundraising resources and strategies and develop long-range planning and goal setting, according to the mayor’s office.
- Getting a jump on life, one Utah preschooler at a time
The Salt Lake Tribune Oct 24 2013
Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and councilmen Sam Granato and Richard Snelgrove received first-hand evidence Thursday of the benefits stemming from a $350,000 county investment in a private/public partnership to boost preschool education.
At McAdams’ behest, the county council allocated the money to enable an additional 600 disadvantaged children to get into previously full Granite District preschools this fall. The county money is a triggering mechanism that will help the United Way to use $1 million in private funds from Goldman Sachs and the J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation to expand preschools.
(picture heading) McAdams believes giving more children a better early start on life will help them become meaningful community contributors, decreasing future expenses for the county’s criminal justice and behavioral health systems.
It is true that the financial drain on schools because of low achieving students is enormous. This may be one of the unsolvable problems of a society in free fall. If we can’t teach the mothers and improve the families, we can’t stop the problem. Notice that the next article is out of Washington. Hmmm.
- Utah selected to host after-school learning summit
Deseret News Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Utah Afterschool Network has been selected by theNational League of Cities as one of five networks nationwide to host a statewide Mayoral Summit on Afterschool and Expanded Learning in 2014.
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker will co-host with the network, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, and other partners to bring together city leaders, state agency officials and school and community partners to focus on expanding after-school opportunities for children and youth in the state.
“Education is the foundation of a sustainable communityand paramount to the social and economic viability for all cities in our nation,” Becker said. “It is essential that children have an equitable opportunity for extended learning and enrichment through constructive after-school programming.”
The network will receive $9,000 in grant funding and strategic planning assistance from the National League of Cities. Additionally, the Utah Afterschool Network will partner with the Utah League of Cities and Towns and mayors to host the summits with the funding support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and The Wallace Foundation.
More information will be available through the presentation “Municipal Leadership for Afterschool Learning” on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 3 p.m. at theAnnual Utah League of Cities and Towns Convention at the Sheraton Hotel, 150 W. 500 South in Salt Lake City.
This article didn’t mention preschool, but remember that Arne Duncan, Secretary of the Department of Education, wants schools open 6-7 days a week, all day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was well into that program as Superintendent of Chicago schools.
What used to be K-12 recently became PK16 which meant preschool through college, and has now become P20W, meaning prenatal into the workforce. If you need a good Halloween scare, just watch this six minute video out of Oregon.
All this bad news seems fitting for Halloween. We’ll have some good news next time. Promise.
Joyce
Every Home A School 