For about 10 years, students at the Bethune Academy in Haines City have been learning in a rather unconventional way. These students regularly visit property owned by cement and concrete manufacturer, CEMEX, in order to study the wildlife, vegetation, and fishing found in abundance on the property.

Approximately two years ago, administrators from the Karen M. Siegel Academy, a public school for special needs children, contacted a Bethune science teacher, Alicia Hughes, for some tips and advice for their science programs. Hughes was quick to share their experiences in the outdoor classroom on the CEMEX Environment property. In no time, students from the Siegel Academy were tagging along with the Bethune students in an effort to dig deeper and get a hands-on experience with science.

Both schools are ecstatic about the partnership. Hughes expressed the importance of exposing the students to new experiences that they may not otherwise have. Donna Swindle, principal of the Siegel Academy echoes Hughes’ sentiments and further emphasized the significance this experience has on her students’ social skills.

While on the CEMEX property, the students attend four different stations: fishing (or species counting), owl pellet investigation, bird house building, and studying pond water. The most popular station is fishing, where students catch a fish, indentify it, kiss it (optional), and throw it back into the pond.

CEMEX created this property approximately 10 years ago out of an area of shoreline was no longer being mined. Since then, the land has grown with thousands of plants being added to the ecosystem, enhancing the wetlands that were there originally.

CEMEX decided they didn’t want to simply write a check. Instead, they wanted to do something that would really make a difference in the lives of these students. They have continued to live by this initiative by paying for transportation for the students, substitute teachers required, and lunch and refreshments for the students.

CEMEX California recognizes the negative effects the economy has had on programs such as this, and they are committed to maintaining the program. Employees have volunteered 1,500 hours and provided about $30,000 for various school projects.

The Haiti earthquake last January 12, 2010 provided the world with various pictures of human tragedy, devastation and death. Hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, the people of the little island country of Haiti have been set up in temporary relocation camps outside of Port-au-Prince. The Haitian government is also focusing its efforts on finishing the building of temporary schools where the earthquake survivors and their families will eventually settle.

The tragedy has shown how people can join together to help their fellow humans. Several governments and powerful individuals, including Hollywood celebrities, have pledged wealth and utilities to the island nation to aid and somehow help Haitians recover from the traumatic tragedy.

Ben Stiller, one of the most recognizable Hollywood stars around the world, has launched the Haitian Schools Initiative that is aimed at providing Haitian children with temporary schools and places to learn while they clean up the rubble and repair everything that has been damaged by the earthquake.

“Our goal is to help kids get back in school as quickly as possible,” Stiller says of his initiative.

He adds that schools, for him, represent a safe haven for kids, especially in these times of crisis. Schools provide not only a place where children can learn but also a place where healthcare, nutrition and other important services can be conducted and given.

Through his start-up organization, stillerstrong.org, Stiller is partnering with the organization Architecture for Humanity in making sure that the constructions of these schools will not be delayed and will be done as soon as the Haitian government finalizes all of its relocation plans.

Already working in Haiti, even before the earthquake struck, Ben Stiller and Architecture for Humanity estimated that a temporary school would cost somewhere around $45,000-$75,000. Launching stillerstrong as a fun campaign in 2009, Ben Stiller has continued on his mission to rebuild hope for the children of Haiti.

Bacardi has a long standing commitment to social responsibility and a long heritage of incorporating responsible consumption messages into its advertising. They have taken on several activities and events emphasizing the responsible consumption of alcohol. They continue to take a strong stance on underage drinking today through their 2009 “We Don’t Serve Teens” campaign. Bacardi has secured more than $1.3 million in television, radio, print, online and outdoor media placements from its partners in order to support the campaign. The purpose and aim of the campaign is to curb illegal and underage drinking.

Bacardi, a leading spirits and wine producer, takes its commitment to safe drinking practices seriously. This powerful campaign is a joint public-private partnership between the federal and state governments, the spirits industry, various consumer organizations, The Century Council and The Distilled Spirits Council. Bacardi is a member of both The Century Council and The Distilled Spirits Council. The former works to fight drunk driving and underage drinking whereas the latter works to maintain responsible practices for alcohol advertising and marketing.

The “We Don’t Serve Teens” campaign, established by the Federal Trade Commission to fight underage drinking, espouses that serving alcohol to teens is unsafe, irresponsible and illegal. The campaign has learned that most teens who drink obtain alcohol from older friends, family members, at parties, or at home without parental consent. The campaign provides useful information for talking to teens about underage drinking. They also indicate that parents and other adults have a strong influence on a teens’ decision to say “no” to alcohol.

Bacardi, working with its media partners, has acquired national exposure for the program using ad placements with six print and 22 online media partners. Bacardi has also released several public service announcements that appear on television in 49 different markets as well as billboard advertisements in 17 different markets. All media partners have signed-on to feature the campaign through December of 2009.

Rick Wilson, the senior vice president, external affairs for Bacardi U.S.A. has stated that, “Bacardi U.S.A. is dedicated to keeping our products away from those who are not of legal drinking age and we want teens and parents to know underage drinking is unacceptable, harmful and illegal. Most alcohol consumed by minors is found at the home and we’re confident educating parents on this and speaking to teens about making the right choices will help address underage drinking”.
For more information, visit www.dontserveteens.gov.

According to a report from the Center for Education Reform, no state in 2009 made enough progress to significantly move its score in the 11th annual ranking of state charter school laws.

The Obama administration is starting to review state applications for federal education funds in the ‘Race to the Top’ competition.

Through Race to the Top, the U.S. Department of Education is asking states to advance reforms around four areas:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

Awards in Race to the Top will go to states that are leading the way with ambitious and achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform, according to the federal Web site.

But according to the Center for Education Reform, most states still have significant deficiencies in their charter laws—despite the highly publicized ‘Race to the Top’ competition that promises to distribute $4.3 billion in extra education funding for reform-oriented states.

“Despite repeated assurances that policymakers would meet the demands of parents and improve their laws, states simply haven’t lived up to their own rhetoric,” said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform (CER).”Perhaps they don’t know how to compete in the race. This report is a roadmap to the top,”

Fewer than half of the 40 state charter laws yield high grades, while 16 states are barely passing.

The Center for Education Reform will reveal the results of its 2010 Charter School Law Rankings and Scorecard on Dec. 8th along with detailed state-by-state analysis.

The Ross School, founded by Courtney Sale Ross, launched its boarding program last year and has already attracted more than 50 students from 10 different countries.

Students are coming to the Ross School, founded in 1992, from as far away as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, according to an article in the East Hampton Star.

At first, the boarding program began with just five students, but has quickly expanded to include 50 boarders, which is about 25 percent of the high school. There are plans to grow to an overall boarding population that will represent 50 percent of school community, according to the school’s Web site.

The program compounds founder Courtney Sale Ross’ goal of fostering a cultural and international understanding as part of the school’s curriculum.

Tuition grades eight through twelve students ranges from between $30,000 to $44,000. The school does offer tuition assistance programs, but those are typically reserved for students who live nearby the campus.

Students who participate in the boarding program have a choice of living in a dorm or “family style” with faculty house parents during their time at Ross School, or they can live with a host family.

The program is described as a “wonderful opportunity for students to prepare for the increased independence and responsibility of college academics.”

Students are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of weekend activities like sporting events, museums and trips to nearby cities like New York.

Founder Courtney Sale Ross, who has been described as an innovator in the education field for the past two decades, wanted to provide an educational outlet that challenged the way traditional schools work.

Under Courtney Sale Ross’ leadership, the school has recently been lauded for being at the “frontiers of education,” for its innovative curriculum. It used neuroscientific findings with a heavy focus on “multiple intelligences” and the links between emotion and learning, to create new curriculum.

Parents can learn more about the programs at Ross School by calling the admissions office at 631-907-5400.

According to the United States Department of Education, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is having a positive impact in at least two school districts in Clark County, Nev. and in Memphis Tennessee.

According to the department, stimulus funds there are making a difference. It also maintain that nationwide, the stimulus plan has saved or created at least 325,000 jobs in education. That number is based on information submitted by states and released by the Office of Management and Budget.

Watch the video to learn more.

The New York City-based Inwood House, which focuses on helping adolescents cope with teen pregnancy and disease prevention, was featured on the theGrio.com earlier this month.

The article tells the story of 18-year-old Stephanie Romero and her struggles. A foster child, Romero found herself pregnant and is now caring for an infant daughter.

Romero found Inwood House, which has been helping teens since 1830. She moved in and took advantage of the organization’s programs and soon found things looking up. She plans to start college next year.

With nearly 8,500 teen births a year in New York City, programs like the Inwood House are in high demand, so teens are interviewed to identify those most in need, the article reads.

Watch a video and read the article here.

The existence of the Inwood House is due in large part to the ongoing contributions of many, such as President of Abadi and Co., Carlos Abadi, Tamara Kreinin, Rumi Common and Emily Collins to name just a few. Learn more about it here.

Last Friday, Nov. 13, a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum Plaza was dedicated to the memory of Lady Bird Johnson, according to an article in the Austin American-Statesman.

Lady Bird Johnson, who was first lady during the 1960s, died two years ago at age 94.

The $53 million project renovated the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Sid Richardson Hall. Former Lt. Gov. of Texas Ben Barnes made a gift of $1 million to the school improvement project earlier this year.

Ben Barnes, who was present at the dedication along with another former lieutenant governor Bill Hobby, helped get the school built by providing initial funding. He serves on the Lyndon Baines Johnson board of directors and the school’s advisory committee.

The design of the renovations is meant to honor the former first lady. The plaza floor has been redone in granite and its planters transformed into planters with wildflowers and native trees.

One is inscribed with a quote from Lady Bird Johnson that reads: “Where flowers bloom so does hope.”

The LJB Library and Museum was originally dedicated in 1971 and run by the LBJ Foundation and is one of 13 presidential libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright will speak Nov. 15 at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as a part of the museum’s lecture series.

The museum, located in Bentonville, Ark. and founded by Walmart heiress Alice Walton, aspires to “build meaningful connections between art and life, according to its Web site.

The free lecture with Wright is part of a series that began last year by celebrated art critic Dr. Arthur Danto. It has been designed to “bring the most respected thinkers and explorers in the world of art, design and nature to the region,” according to an article on NWANews.com.

It’s scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at the Old High Middle School auditorium, 406 N.W. Second St.

Part of the idea behind the lecture is to connect art with nature, part of Alice Walton’s vision for the museum. This idea is demonstrated with design of the Crystal Bridges museum itself. Its name is derived from its glass and wood design, created by architect Moshe Safdie.

The 100,000 square foot complex has a gallery, library, office and meeting space and sculpture and walking trails.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by Alice Walton, will host Frank Lloyd Wright this weekend (image courtesy eurekasprings.org).

Thanks to a fellowship from the Crystal Bridges Museum of America Art , developed by Alice Walton, daughter of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, Minnesota-based architect and author Dale Mulfinger will develop his next book at the Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Ark.

Mulfinger, who has designed cabins throughout North America, will be the first Architecture and Design Fellow at the Writer’s Colony. He will begin his work on Nov. 12 through Dec. 9.

“Supporting designers and writers in significant fields of inquiry is precisely what this fellowship is designed to do,” said Lynn Berkowitz, director of learning experiences at Crystal Bridges. “We are thrilled to bring Dale Mulfinger to Arkansas.”

Located in Bentonville, Ark, Alice Walton developed Crystal Bridges to be a premier venue for a national art institution dedicated to American art and artists, and a place of learning and community. It houses art galleries, lecture and concert venues, meeting places, educational spaces and library resources.

The Crystal Bridges Museum of Art Architecture and Design Writing Fellowship offers qualified professionals a four-week residency to pursue writing projects with an emphasis on the fields of American architecture, landscape architecture, crafts and furnishings.

Founder of the Ross School in the Hamptons on Long Island, N.Y., Courtney Ross is celebrating some great press as her school has been lauded for innovative curriculum on Toronto’s http://www.thestar.com/.

The article reads: “(This school) offers the best glimpse in the world of how the brain can be the great social democratizer and how education could provide a level playing field for all.”

The school was founded in 1991 to challenge the way traditional schools operate, according to the article. It uses findings specifically about “multiple intelligences,” recognizing links between emotion and learning to shape curriculum.

The Ross School also implements a technique called the “spiral curriculum,” which introduces concepts across grades in the order in which human civilization developed, and in the order in which humans discovered concepts.

“Each grade represents a turning point of cultural history or rapid transformation,” according to the article.

“I like frontiers,” said Courtney Ross. “And the brain is one of the most fascinating frontiers we have.”

College endowment returns in the United States have gone on a double-digit nosedive. For more than five months, average college endowment returns slid down by 22% after they dropped 3% in a span of 12 months, three surveys revealed.

Major universities and colleges such as Harvard, Stanford, and Yale have predicted drops in their endowment returns. However, around 77 institutions with endowments of $1 billion or more have experienced minor gains.

Last December 2009, a joint survey conducted by the Commonfund Institute and the non-profit National Association of College and Business University Officers revealed that many schools using a large portion of their endowment to fund their operating expenses have put their fund in “crisis position.” These moves were made to buffer any effects of the significant drop in their endowment returns. Both research foundations also conducted separate surveys and gathered the same results.

Throughout the country, the college system is feeling the effects. Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor, announced that the school has already laid off 48 employees after the college endowment dropped by 9%. Pennsylvania State University employees were also told not to get their hopes up for a salary increase as the school’s endowment plunged by 2.8%. University President Graham Spanier said that the school has also had a 6% reduction in state appropriations. President Shirley Tilghman of Princeton University announced that the school will take on tighter screening methods for their hiring process.

Despite the current situation of the economy and the ongoing cost-cutting measures implemented by American colleges and universities, Senate Finance Committee chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa argues that schools must not refer to the volatility of expenditures as a reason to increase student tuition fees or put a hold on student assistance.

On the contrary, Grassley insists that the weak economy should boost the endowment spending on student aid. Most schools have also announced that they will not freeze student assistance while some even increased their budget for student aid. Such is the case of Princeton University with the school’s board of trustees’ approval of a 13% increase in its undergraduate scholarship allocation. However, Princeton announced that they will raise their tuition fees by 2.9% – the lowest percentage increase in undergraduate tuition and fees since 1966.

Undoubtedly, college endowments plunging by a large margin has become a common concern. However, quite a number of colleges and universities exceeded Standard & Poor’s 500 Index both last year and over a 10-year span. According to John Walda, president of the association for university business officers, such an achievement in a time of crisis is due to the proper management of endowments and investment of the campus managers.

Endowment policy experts believe that schools should spend more of their endowments, whether in crisis or not. Lynne Munson, a college endowment researcher, criticizes the reaction of some colleges towards the current economic downturn. These institutions, according to Munson, have double-digit growth for decades that one year of loss will not be enough to endanger them.

• Economic woes hit traditionally black colleges.
• How recent college grads survive the recession.
• The Federal Reserve examines the effects of the recession on colleges.

President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, approved by Congress and signed by the president into law on Feb. 17, 2009, includes federal funding for research and development – a reason for Bay Area research universities to celebrate.

The stimulus plan is said to allocate $21.5 billion for federal research and development to be invested within two years, for which most of the support will be directed to climate research, biomedical matters, and energy. This funding is the realization of President Barack Obama’s promise of restoring science to its rightful place.

After years of sluggish funding for basic research in various sciences, local research universities in Bay Area, San Francisco acknowledged that the financial aid coming from the stimulus plan would bolster education, research, and future businesses. Bay Area research universities, principally Stanford University and the University of California-Santa Cruz, stated that they are the leading candidates for funding, based on their notable track record for research grants secured. They added that several under-funded projects have suffered in the recent years.

The government has been funding majority of scientific research except for studies on some specific diseases and embryonic stem cells. However, funding has been sluggish and inadequate over the years and a number of labs were forced to stop their work and close. One concrete example is the gravity reference sensor project of Stanford University that could have been utilized by future space missions. The project lost funding and had to be stopped. Another example is Stanford chemistry department chairman Richard Zare’s research project involving the creation and destruction of chemical bonds, whose progress had slowed down since he could not secure federal funding for six months in 2007.

With the funding on hand, a brighter future awaits the world of science, especially since these local research institutions will be able to use the money on renovation of facilities, equipment, financial aid, new construction, research support, and new technological advancements in local laboratories. According to Bruce Margon, vice chancellor for research of the University of California-Santa Cruz, the research university is recognized in the 21st century to be “just as important as the steel mill to the economic strength of our country.”

Research and development funding included in the stimulus plan consists of $140 million for the U.S. Geological Survey for natural science research and $1.3 billion for facility renovation and purchase of equipment. In addition, it also allocates $1 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; $1.6 billion for Department of Energy’s Office of Science; $3 billion for the National Science Foundation for fundamental science and engineering research; and $8.2 billion to the National Institutes of Health for biomedical research.

Related Sources:

An MSNBC article features President Barack Obama’s signing of the economic
stimulus package into a law.

Stanford University is featured in an article in The Time Herald.

The New York Times features details of the final economic stimulus package
passed by Congress.

On Feb. 19, 2009, UNESCO released the online version of its Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, identifying some 2,500 endangered languages from around the world. The paper version of the atlas’ 2009 edition to be launched in May was funded by Norway, engaging a group of more than 30 linguists.

UNESCO has revealed around 2,500 languages in danger of extinction out of a total of 6,900 languages that are being used today. This sends out an alarming call to societies considering that the last atlas compiled back in 2001 listed 900 languages in danger of extinction.

Based on the degrees of endangerment designated by UNESCO, there are 538 languages that are critically endangered, 502 are severely endangered, and 632 are definitely endangered while 607 are unsafe.

Meanwhile, a significant number of languages have already journeyed down the road to extinction. In fact, over 200 languages have gone extinct over the last three generations. The Ubykh in Turkey has already been wiped out. Aasax in Tanzania has disappeared by now. The same can be said of Tefvic Esenc, the Alaskan native language Eyak, and Manx in the Isle of Man.

There are 199 languages in the world spoken by less than 10-12 people. The Indonesian language Lengilu now only has four speakers who remain alive while only six people use Karaim in Ukraine. There is now only one living native speaker of the Latvian language Livonian.

According to Christopher Moseley, Australian linguist and editor of the Atlas’ 3rd edition, the endangerment of language is a universal phenomenon. Linguists also said that an endangered language is not necessarily restricted to small or remote countries. India holds the most number of endangered languages with 196. United States is next with 192, followed by Indonesia with 147. Moreover, UNESCO predicted that languages in the Sub-Saharan Africa would reduce by at least 10% over the coming century.

In the United States, Wichita has merely 10 speakers in Oklahoma while no more than 35 people in northeast Wisconsin speak Menomonee. Gros Ventre of north-central Montana has fewer than 10 speakers and all of them are elderly with no one fully fluent.

For this reason, the UNESCO’s Endangered Languages Programme seeks to stimulate cooperation among countries so they can take heed of this disturbing situation. It also seeks to foster solutions from authorities, experts, and communities for the preservation of these languages.

UNESCO deputy director Francoise Riviere stressed the need for people to be proud of speaking their language in order for it to thrive. Efforts have been made by some societies to revive their languages. Cornish, for instance, is now being revived in Cornwall, southern England. Livonian in Latvia, Sishee in New Caledonia, and Hebrew are also being revived.

Related Sources:

UNESCO lists the degrees of endangerment categorized based on language
transmission.

UNESCO provides an interactive atlas of the world’s languages in danger
wherein users may search according to certain parameters.

UNESCO features an article on safeguarding languages in peril.