Education

I had a hard time getting the line from the song from the Wizard of Oz, “if I were King of the Forest” out of my head when I look at this week’s theme which is mentioned in the cover story about a local girl, Emerald Woodberry, who recently was awarded a $200,000 scholarship to the University of Notre Dame through the QuestBridge National College Match program.

I knew about the expulsion of 13 students at Byrnedale. I thought it was not going to get any media coverage at all, which I thought was a bit strange considering it’s not typical to have that many students arrested at a school, especially a middle school. I knew about it because my daughter attends there and on the day of the arrests came home and shared her personal reaction to what happened that day.

We’ve had the discussion about the Kalamazoo Promise here and its also taken place on many other blogs and message board forums since it began. In the past several months, the topic of a Toledo Promise was the focus of a column by Jim Blue in the Toledo Free Press and in May of this year was the focus of a Blade Saturday Essay written by Keith Wilkowski.

Emerald Woodberry, a senior at Central Catholic High School, earned a $200,000 scholarship to the…

The former Macomber High School at 1501 Monroe St is in foreclosure and set to be sold at the sheriff sale this month. If any of you are interested, bidding will start at 500k. This may be a good time for a charter school to purchase the property. See the attachment for the December list of properties.

This week on Conklin & Company on WTVG, the first guest was Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken, which is also where the post title came from since that is the first thing stated by Gerken, “Good Luck and Happy Holidays.” Next up was BGSU Professor David Jackson. No Take Three with Lee sending best wishes to Troy Neff for a speedy recovery, Kids Unlimited was on the last segment.

Former TPS business manager is suspended for irregularities. Interesting....
CLEVELAND — Daniel Burns, a top-ranking administrator under Cleveland schools CEO Eugene Sanders, has been placed on paid leave while the state auditor's office investigates purchasing practices.
A routine state audit turned up questions about equipment valued at about $160,000, according to the district.
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Read the rest at:

Here is a great event for you to attend if you want. It will be Thursday at the Toledo Club. There is an RSVP.
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I read this over on Jason’s blog, “Rowsey Blog”, where he writes this is More “Proof” of Our Failing System of Education.

Owens Community College planned to break ground Nov. 14 for its new $3.2 million, 28,790-square-foot…

Toledo City Council has for years routinely rubber-stamped purely ceremonial resolutions offering support for tax levies appearing for a vote on Election Day, but last night the practice started a debate among the councilmen.
A majority of council last night voted to support five levies on the Nov. 4 ballot: two for Toledo Public Schools, COSI's 0.17-mill, five-year levy to reopen the downtown science museum, the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board's 10-year, 1-mill replacement levy, and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority's 0.4-mill, five-year renewal levy request.

The African American Parents’ Association will be holding parent and student informational seminars to address the Toledo Public School's Discipline Policy and it’s implementation, throughout the 2008-2009 school year. These seminars will provide information on 1. what the rules are, 2. what the law is, 3. what your rights are, and 4. how to advocate for the student, when suspended or expelled, removed or sent to BIC.
The first three seminars will be held at the Kent Branch Library on the third Monday of each month from 6:30pm-8:00pm.

The Rogers fight has made the AP wire,
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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A Toledo high school football team is being forced to sit out its next game after an on-field fight last Friday night.
Toledo Rogers will forfeit this week's game against Toledo Whitmer.
Toledo City League officials say they made the decision after reviewing what happened when Rogers played Toledo Central Catholic last week.

Lourdes College’s seven-year strategic plan includes adding athletic programs, a possible residence facility and seeking…

Two UT professors are the recipients of a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Sasidhar Varanasi, professor of…

This link, http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/sunday/main3445.shtml, looks at the business of home-schooling.

A fundamentalist Christian group that claims to help young people overcome drug and alcohol addiction through Bible study and prayer has given up a federal grant after Americans United for Separation of Church and State protested the funding.

It’s always interesting to read the different perspectives our media provides on stories, the This Strikes Us this week in the Sojourner’s Truth is an example of that with the focus being on the Hartung story and those in Toledo who crave salaciousness.

As someone who has lived in South Toledo almost all of my life, it seemed appropriate to take a few moments to point out that S.T.A.R.S (South Toledo Area Recreation Society) is celebrating 50 years of the program’s existence. In 1958, the league was formed to teach the fundamentals of football and cheerleading to area youth, some of which will be attending Bowsher, Libbey and Rogers, this has been done without corporate sponsorship and has been funded by fundraising efforts of those who support STARS. That alone is an achievement worth pointing out.

This in via email from the office of Rep. Ujvagi:
Representative Peter Ujvagi Announces Funds for University of Toledo Projects
$2.6 Million in State Dollars to Help with Campus Building Renovations

Yesterday I spent the day down at International Park with my husband who was on one of the Dragon Boat teams. Last year his employer was one of the corporate teams, this year the “Powerful Paddling Parents” of TPS (P3) needed his upper body paddling abilities.

As most of you know, I’m a supporter of 1Matters and even prior to my becoming involved in that and Tent City the issue of homelessness in Toledo and our nation has been a topic close to my heart. In reading today’s Blade article, Homeless students on increase in Toledo-area classrooms, schools say several things should become clear.

As most of you know, I’m a supporter of 1Matters and even prior to my becoming involved in that and Tent City the issue of homelessness in Toledo and our nation has been a topic close to my heart. In reading today’s Blade article, Homeless students on increase in Toledo-area classrooms, schools say several things should become clear.

While the below post focuses on Rossford and their decision to create a curfew, last week’s Toledo City Paper (that’s still online) has a cover story on Classroom Cops 101. The article shares the stats of the number of offenses for each of the area High Schools except Springfield which for some reason is not included. I recommend reading it, it sheds some light on some of the problems schools are experiencing in Toledo and outside of Toledo.

This in via email from the office of Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak:
COMMISSIONER WOZNIAK ANNOUNCES $3,000 EDUCATIONAL GRANTS FOR DISPLACED WORKERS
In Addition, The SOURCE Partners with TPS, Library For Job First Responders
Recognizing the tough economic times facing Lucas County, Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak will be announce a new effort to provide up to $3,000 to displaced workers for educational retraining in high-demand job areas.
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