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Top Stories: Jan. 7, 2010Schools Reject Federal Dollars; Money for Math Teachers; Man Freed Due to Prosecutor's Blunderby Danny Wool on Jan 07, 2010High Schoolers May Get to Sleep in an Extra Hour "Sleep in your bed, not at your desk," my high school teachers always used to tell me. Now it seems that their message has spread to Silicon Valley. Menlo-Atherton High School is considering starting school forty minutes later, just to give kids a chance to sleep in … and maybe stay awake during English or Trig. The idea is that teens need between eight and nine hours of sleep at least, but with school starting at 7:50 am, it isn't always that easy to find the time. The problem is that the accumulated lack of sleep can affect everything from teens' moods (and you thought it was just adolescent angst) to their academic performance—a lack of sleep makes it harder to pay attention in class. On the other hand: "When they get those nine hours they are more alert, they actually retain more information, and their athletic performance improves,” at least according to Principal Matthew Zito. He can't force kids to go to sleep earlier, but he can get help them wake up later by delaying the start of the school day, and he's recommended that the school district do that. The school district plans to discuss the issue next month. Meanwhile, students at Menlo-Atherton High School are resetting their alarm clocks, hoping that they'll get to sleep in … and not only on weekends. Read More at KCBS. Palo Alto Turns Down ‘Race for the Top’ There's a debate going on across California about whether to try to get federal funding for participating in the "Race for the Top" program. The State Assembly wants the money, and even introduced a series of reforms to make California more conducive to the program. Despite Governor Schwarzenegger's vow to spare California from more education cuts, people are skeptical as to how much he can really do when faced with a $20 billion budget deficit—a deficit that could double by June 2010. With $45.5 billion being spent on education, $700 million in federal funding could be a welcome relief. But California's schools aren't snapping at the bait. Less than half of the state's 1,700 school districts want to participate in "Race for the Top." There are some exceptions. Yesterday, SantaCruz.com reported that two embattled school districts, Pajaro Valley Unified and Santa Cruz City, have signed up for the program. At the same time, Palo Alto turned it down. The reason given is that despite all the hype, actual funding per student could come to little more than $20, and this doesn't justify initiating the changes. There is no doubt, however, that the powerful teachers' union also had a say in the decision. They feel that "Race for the Top" could present an unwelcome burden to teachers, by linking academic staff salaries to student test scores, promoting non-unionized charter schools, and even threatening the job security of teachers in schools that are not up to par. The question is whether burgeoning budget deficits pose an even greater threat. Read More at KLIV. Intel to Help Train Science and Math Teachers "The quality of math and science teachers is the single most important factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering and math," said President Obama this week. He was preparing to tackle the U.S.'s failure to keep apace with Europe and Asia in math and science education. Based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, American math and science education lags far behind such disparate countries as Finland, Canada, and Korea. In science alone, the U.S. ranks 22nd worldwide, barely ahead of Slovakia (and 30 points behind Slovenia). That hardly bodes well for America's future in an increasingly high tech world. In an effort to improve the situation, Santa Clara-based Intel has stepped up to bat. Intel and the Intel Foundation have pledged $200 million in cash and in-kind support over the next ten years to improve the quality of math and science education across the United States. The program is part of a larger $250 million public-private initiative announced by President Obama yesterday to improve the quality of math and science teachers in every state. This follows a similar $260 million initiative announced last November. Most of the funding will be used to train a cadre of 10,000 new teachers and to improve the caliber of another 100,000 teachers by 2015. Read More at The Mercury News. Man to Be Freed because of Prosecutor's Misconduct In 2006, Augustin Uribe was convicted of child molestation and sentenced to 38 years to life. He will be a free man this week after Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Andrea Bryan ruled yesterday that Deputy District Attorney Troy Benson, who prosecuted the case, engaged in "numerous acts of misconduct." Bryan's ruling follows a 2008 appellate court finding that the DA's office withheld a videotape of a physical exam conducted on Uribe's alleged victim. The DA's office has rejected the recent ruling, and is investigating a possible appeal. Read More at CBS 5. Read More at the Mercury News. by Danny Wool on Jan 07, 2010 |
 Studies show teenagers need up to nine hours of sleep per night—and one local high-school principal wants to help them get it. |
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