Some Texas Schools Reject State Merit Pay Program

In May of 2006, the Texas Educator Excellence Grant Program was enacted by a special legislative session in Texas. Governor Rick Perry and several legislators sponsored the bill, which allocates state funds to underwrite merit pay plans in Texas schools across the state. It is the largest incentive pay program in the nation.

The program essentially implements a long-standing business concept into the Texas schools, treating teachers as individual professionals rather than an educational team. Proponents of the program believe that mediocrity becomes the standard, when excellence and mediocrity are equally rewarded.

The legislature allocated $100 million for teacher bonuses for this school year, and another $250 million for the next school year. The program targets Texas schools, which have a large population of low-income students but also have earned one of the two highest state performance ratings of exemplary or recognized. Classroom teacher bonuses are only for those who teach in core subject areas and are based on student standardized test scores.

Grants for the program were awarded to 1,161 Texas schools this year, 15 percent of all traditional and charter schools within the state. Though such a program is mostly untested in public schools, the Texas schools has made it voluntary for qualifying schools. Teachers are required to give input at each school and ultimate approval of the program.

More than 24 schools already have rejected the program and grant money, some returning up to $90,000 to the state. Linda Bridges of the Texas Federation of Teachers stated that the backers of the bill never consulted the teachers before developing and passing the program. Critics of the program do not believe it will achieve what the proponents suggest it will, and teacher resistance remains high.

One reason cited is the animosity that such a plan will cause in the Texas schools, pitting teacher against teacher in order to attain the bonuses. It would dissolve the team spirit prevalent at many Texas schools, where teachers and staff all work together for the success of the entire school. This “one big family” attitude is embraced by many educators. Under the state’s program, only core subject teachers are eligible for the bonuses, ignoring many teachers who add to a school’s total success.

Many Texas schools educators see the program as a disruption, distracting teachers from focusing on raising student test scores and improving their academic achievement. Instead, they would be focused on personal gain over the total success of the school.

Another drawback to the incentive pay program is the amount of paperwork required for a school to participate. Many Texas schools teachers would much rather spend that time working with their students.

Debbie Ratcliffe of the Texas schools said they expect at least 98 percent of the schools to accept the grant money and develop merit pay plans for their teachers.

Can Success University Become Your Source For Success?

So what is Success University all about anyway? Well, it actually is an online University that people can enroll in.

Success University offers training and development in every facet of life - time management, finance/investment, goal setting, leadership, life balance, health, leadership, networking, relationships, and much more. It is the most visited personal development website in the world according to Alexa Dec., 2005 and they are the first online educational company that is exclusive to personal development and entrepreneurialism.

What they have done at Success University is to develop a system that combines all the benefits of personal development, online learning and Internet marketing. Just the personal development sector alone has grown to over 64 billion dollars worldwide.

The Success University system offers easy access to many of the world's most prominent leaders in personal development. Leaders such as Jay Abraham, Asha Tyson, Robert Allen, Kandee G., Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohan, Tony Alessandra, Dr. Wayne Pickering and Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel.

Personal development training is provided through recorded conference calls, automated email lessons, live conference calls, ebooks, downloadable lessons and workbooks, and an extensive electronic audio and video library. There are also online lessons that people can enroll in and learn at their own pace.

The resources offered at Success University can help people with personal growth, whether that be through financial success, becoming healthier, or by improving relationships.

Some of the best online marketing tools are available through Success University. They provide several websites that can be used for targeted marketing and they also have an automated lead capture system that follows up with potential prospects. Members can also follow up directly with these prospects since they are provided with their contact information as well.

Success University also provides the skills that are needed to run a successful Internet home business. They explain business strategies such as how to do pay per click advertising, the fastest way to build your network marketing downline, new ways to advertise your online business, goal setting and many other business building related topics are covered.

Success University provides an innovative payment system that provides bonuses based on the number of people that are refered along with a generous compensation plan. The compensation plan may at first glance appear complicated, but Success University offers many resources detailing the plan, including an excellent training call that explains everything quite nicely.

Since their compensation plan is based on a binary plan and thus can help regular people profit quickly, they have a high member retention rate which is unusual in the normally volatile network marketing industry.

One of the many marketing incentives that Success University offers is a $2 trial. This offer not only provides $1,947 worth of personal development products free, but Success University also donates the $2 to the Save the Children Fund. This incentive alone has brought in thousands of people.

The free 14-day trial offers the opportunity to learn more about the program and the compensation plan. If you are serious about improving your life and thus your success, then you should at least check out their free trial. The 2 weeks will allow you to access so much educational information that there is no way to finish it all within the two weeks.

Success University has taken an industry that is positioned to grow exponentially and created an online business that is getting ready to skyrocket. Those who are onboard and committed will have an opportunity to profit like never before.

The demand for the products that Success University offers is huge and the amount of people coming online every day looking for just such as opportunity is virtually untapped.

This program is not a scam, not a get rich-quick program and not something to try for a few months and then give up. Success University is a win-win situation for all.

Think of Success University as a "how to" guide on how to be successful. Let them provide all the details on how to actually do it while encouraging you to believe in yourself and if you take action, then it is possible to achieve whatever you desire.

Copyright 2006 by Joe Rispoli

NextStudent Offers PLUS Loans for Graduate and Professional Students

According to Phoenix-based NextStudent, a premier education funding company, the proliferation of graduate and professional programs has led to new sources of education funding designed to benefit these goal-orientated students who are, in essence, beginning their career by continuing on in their education. As the job market in the United States continues to generate a need for applicants who are highly competitive in specified fields from technology to the ever-growing medical field, undergraduate students across the country are beginning to feel the squeeze as graduate and professional degrees become “must-haves” for even intermediate and entry-level positions.

The decision to continue education onto the graduate and professional level is one that oftentimes comes with considerable financial stress because of the continued financial obligation. However, NextStudent’s Graduate PLUS Loan (http://www.nextstudent.com/) Program may allow borrowers to fund up to the full cost of their education (less any financial aid received), including living expenses, books, supplies and even computers.

NextStudent now offers a PLUS Loan Program for graduate and professional students with rates starting as low as 8.5 percent. The Graduate PLUS Loan Program features the same benefits directly to graduate and professional students that parents of undergraduate students receive from traditional PLUS loans (http://www.nextstudent.com/plus_loans/plus_loans.asp). Because NextStudent Graduate PLUS loans are federally sponsored, they offer many of the perks of traditional PLUS loans, including eligibility for federal student loan consolidation (http://www.nextstudent.com/consolidation_loans/consolidation_loans.asp), tax-deductible interest and a variety of repayment options.

Eligibility and Credit Resolution

NextStudent offers a simple online application process through E-Signature, and many prospects who apply online qualify within minutes. Also offered is a “second look” for borrowers who receive an initial denial because of unresolved credit issues. NextStudent has a PLUS Credit Resolution Team that has an 87 percent success rate at resolving borrowers’ credit issues, resulting in funded PLUS loans.

Graduate PLUS loans (http://www.nextstudent.com/plus_loans/plus_loans.asp) easily are accessible to many students. To qualify a student must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen. Although a credit check is required, many students with limited or no credit history still qualify for Graduate PLUS loans.

Flexible Repayment Options and Aggressive Incentives

With all the great incentives offered by NextStudent and its Graduate PLUS Loan Program, now is the right time for students to take the next step and go for their graduate degree.

NextStudent Graduate PLUS loans offer several repayment options including deferred repayment while a student is enrolled in school at least half time, and there are no prepayment penalties, ever. There also is a 3 percent cash rebate at repayment on the remaining principal balance after the first 12 months of consecutive on-time payments when student borrowers pay through Auto-Debit. In addition, a 2 percent interest rate reduction is available after the first 48 months of consecutive on-time payments when student borrowers pay through Auto-Debit. Student borrowers receive a .25 percent reduction when they choose repayment through Auto-Debit.

NextStudent, federal lender code 834051, is dedicated to helping students and their families find affordable ways to pay for college. NextStudent offers one-on-one education finance counseling and has a portfolio of highly competitive education finance products and services including a free online scholarship search engine, federally guaranteed parent and student loans, private student loans, both federal and private student loan consolidation (http://www.nextstudent.com/consolidation_loans/consolidation_loans.asp) programs, and college savings plans.

The NextStudent Scholarship Search Engine, one of the nation’s oldest and largest scholarship search engines, is updated daily, available free of charge, completely private – and represents 2.4 million scholarships worth $3.4 billion.

For more information about NextStudent and its student loan programs, please visit the company’s Web site at http://www.nextstudent.com/.

New Graduation Requirements for the Class of 2008

This year, the state's new graduation requirements become "real" as students in Seattle schools in the class of 2008 receive the results of their first attempt at the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Passing the 10th-grade WASL will be the avenue most students take to earn the Certificate of Academic Achievement, one of the four new statewide graduation requirements. (Students in special education programs may participate in alternate assessments and earn a Certificate of Individual Achievement.)

The Seattle school district believes every student can learn and demonstrate the skills and knowledge tested on the WASL. While many students will be successful on all three sections of the test on their first try, some students will not meet standard in one or more sections. There is help available for all students in Seattle schools to receive the skills needed not only to pass the WASL but also further their learning in and after high school.

All Seattle high schools have developed plans to assist students in meeting WASL standards. These include adding a 7th period, tutoring in math and literacy and in class tutors. The Seattle school district has also committed to providing each high school with a building-based manager and additional instructional coaching services. Students at Seattle schools may also take advantage of school year credit retrieval programs, Evening School, Contract Learning, and the Digital Learning Commons. Parents can contact their local Seattle school for more information about these programs.

All students in the classes of 2006, 2007 and 2008 in Seattle schools who took the 10th-grade WASL will receive an Individual Score Report with a final and accurate score for every WASL subject they took. These reports will be generated by Pearson Educational Measurement, the testing company, and sent to Seattle school districts for distribution. (Students in the class of 2009 -- this year's ninth-graders -- who took the 10th-grade WASL will get their results in late August/early September.)

Each score report will show a Seattle school student's performance on the reading, writing and math WASLs. Science results will be included in a second score report scheduled for late August/early September.

Some Seattle school students, however, won't receive any score report in June. Students in special education programs who used the two Washington Alternate Assessment System (WAAS) options, the developmentally appropriate WASL (DAW) or the portfolio assessment, to measure their progress will not have their work scored until the summer. Results will be available for these Seattle school students by late August/early September.

Because of the high interest in student results, OSPI will work hard after receiving the initial score report from the testing company to provide as much accurate information to the public as quickly as possible. By late summer, OSPI will share a comprehensive look at all 10th-grade WASL data after the science WASL and the WAAS DAW and Portfolio have been scored and after districts have had the opportunity to verify student data files. All of these efforts will help Seattle schools determine the strengths and weaknesses of areas students in the various core subject areas.

Atlanta Schools’ “Wellness” Workshops Project

Atlanta Schools’ “Wellness” Workshops Promote Nutrition and Physical Education

When Atlanta Schools opened at the end of August, a new project was initiated. The “Wellness” Workshop Project kicked off the school year with a workshop that included Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers, author Yvonne Butler, 300 students from the Atlanta School District, faculty members, and community leaders. This was the first ever Atlanta Schools’ “wellness” workshop. Atlanta Schools’ Margaret Fain Elementary School’s Wings of Eagles dance troupe performed to illustrate how much physical energy is used in dance.

The first “Wellness” Workshop was co-chaired by Dr. Marilyn Hughes, the director of nutrition administration for Atlanta Schools, and Billette Owens-Ashford, Atlanta Schools’ director of physical education and athletics. The goal of the “Wellness” Workshop Project is improve the health of the students by identifying health-related problems. It has been proven that health related issues can often have a direct affect on a student’s academic achievement.

The inaugural “Wellness” Workshop for the Atlanta Schools had a variety of speakers and displays that provided resources on nutritional based activities and physical education activities. The keynote speaker was Dr. Yvonne Butler. Dr. Butler is a noted author whose book, “Healthy Kids, Smart Kids,” discusses the impact of diet and exercise on learning and academic performance. Other speakers included Olympic track-and-field gold medalist Gail Severs who spoke about importance of exercise to health and how to stay physically fit.

Atlanta Schools’ “Wellness” Workshop Project is part of a broad program that aims to provide both fitness and nutrition strategies for students and staff in all Atlanta Schools. Innovative strategies that will be used include yoga classes for teachers and students, vegetarian cafeteria lines, and walking trails. The overall plan was developed by the Atlanta Schools’ Board of Education. The Board of Education will offer guidelines on how to implement the program and how the schools will be evaluated.

A major part of the plan is establishing wellness councils. These councils will be comprised of teachers, parents, administrators, students, and community and business partners. The council will assist Atlanta Schools in integrating nutrition and physical education into the current curriculum. The wellness council will also have a presence at events throughout the Atlanta Schools.

Recently, Atlanta Schools’ wellness plan received a boost from the involvement of an Atlanta Schools’ parent. Linton Hopkins has two children attending E. Rivers Elementary School. Hopkins is concerned about the nutritional value of cafeteria offerings at the E. Rivers Elementary School but unlike other parents, Hopkins is the executive chef of Atlanta’s Restaurant Eugene and winner of this year’s Atlanta “Iron Chef” competition. Hopkins has joined the Local School Wellness Council to help evaluate the school’s cafeteria. Hopkins isn’t the only trained chef to join the E. Rivers Elementary School’s wellness council. Elisa Gambino, owner of pasta emporium Via Elisa, has along with eleven other parents joined the wellness council. Parental involvement is an important element to the success of the wellness councils. Currently, approximately 90 percent of Atlanta Schools’ elementary and 65 percent of high schools have parents actively involved with the wellness council of their school.