community Service means Business!

12 August 2006

The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog: ACLU Report Details Horrors Suffered by Orleans Parish Prisoners in the wake of Hurricane Katrina

"'The sheriff's office was completely unprepared for the storm,' said Tom Jawetz, Litigation Fellow for the National Prison Project. 'The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals did more for its 263 stray pets than the sheriff did for the more than 6,500 men, women and children left in his care.'

Prisoners went days without food, water and ventilation, and deputies admit that they received no emergency training and were entirely unaware of any evacuation plan. Even some prison guards were left locked in at their posts to fend for themselves, unable to provide assistance to prisoners in need."
More...

11 August 2006

Conference Calling!

For me, one of the more exciting prospects of the up-coming meeting is the introduction to Innovation/Prototyping. I like the idea of delivering a service in an unexpectedly novel way and
i'm interested to see how/what prototyping brings to the mix of design and implementation.

Accelerated Learning Academies

Accelerated Learning Academies

As part of the Superintendent’s Right-Sizing Plan, several schools will become new Accelerated Learning Academies, if the School Board approves the Plan on February 28th.

The new Accelerated Learning Academies are being designed to raise the student achievement of all children at every level. This is not a remedial program. It is a new approach that provides the academic rigor and additional instructional time that can help your child meet high expectations and advance his/her academic performance. To ensure success, the Pittsburgh Public Schools will be using a comprehensive school design model that has a proven track record, such as America's Choice.

Below you will find links to several documents that will provide more information about how Accelerated Learning Academies will help every child achieve to even higher standards in school.

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Frequently Asked Questions (pdf file)

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Accelerated Learning Academy Community Presentation (pdf file)

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Accelerated Learning Academy School Calendar (adopted March 29, 2006)

10 August 2006

Gates Foundation Expands Scholars Program

PND News - Gates Foundation Expands Millennium Scholars Program

As part of its work to increase college access and opportunities for more students across America, the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided an additional $58 million to expand the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program.

Administered by the United Negro College Fund, the program works to increase the number of minority students pursuing graduate studies in areas such as epidemiology, biomedical science, tropical disease, public health practice, and nutritional science, and has already helped more than ten thousand high-achieving students of color from low-income backgrounds prepare for success in a wide range of undergraduate fields and graduate programs."

9 August 2006

PND News - State Arts Agencies Need to Improve Relationships With Elected Officials, Report Finds

PND News - State Arts Agencies Need to Improve Relationships With Elected Officials, Report Finds:

"State arts agencies seeking increased state government support for the arts should strengthen their relationships with elected officials and raise their profile with the public, a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based RAND Corporation argues.

The second in a multi-year study commissioned by the New York City-based Wallace Foundation, The Arts and State Governments: At Arm's Length or Arm in Arm? recommends that councils reach out to the public and government officials to position the arts higher on the list of government priorities."

The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog: "Global women prisoners top 500,000

Monday August 7, 2006 3:08 AM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-5998243,00.html

More than half a million women and girls are held in prisons globally, new research has revealed.

The first World Female Imprisonment List, drawn up by the International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS) at King's College, London, brought together data from 187 countries."

The Real Cost of Prisons Project brings together justice activists, political economists, artists, justice policy researchers and people directly experiencing the impact of mass incarceration to create popular education workshops and materials which explore both the immediate and long-term costs of incarceration on the individual, her/his family, community and the nation. Real Cost of Prisons Project works to strengthen and deepen the organizing capacity of grassroots prison/justice activists, to provide a social, economic and political context for understanding mass incarceration and to broaden public understanding of the economic and social consequences of mass incarceration. Our goal is to expand the organizing capacity for people and communities struggling to end mass incarceration.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao on Importance of Wor

OPA News Release: U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Addresses 37th General Convention of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Union

"A clear trend is emerging in our workforce. The majority of new jobs being created require higher skills and more educational attainment than before," said Secretary Chao. "Some of the strongest demand is for workers with specialized training in the skilled trades like the UA provides in its apprenticeship program.

"The UA is placing its bet on the future by investing over $120 million a year to train approximately 100,000 apprentices and journeymen in over 400 local training facilities at any given time.

As they say in Las Vegas, that's a safe bet," said Secretary Chao. "Our country is experiencing a skills gap — the growing mismatch between the skills required for the new jobs being created and the skills of our workforce. That's why the Department of Labor invests the largest part of its budget in apprenticeship and other training programs."

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