Recently, 17 Madison County Schools applied for a grant offered by PE4Life. The grant will benefit the district in their participation in improving physical education and student nutrition.
With a grant amounting from $100,000 to $750,000, the county schools will implement new physical education curriculum including the Farristown Middle School which is scheduled to open in fall at Berea.
The 2010 Physical Education Program is a part of the Carol White Education Program. The PE4Life is a national non-profit organization which awards millions of dollars to schools and community-based organizations in promoting and improving physical and health education.
PE4life envisions a country healthy children and youth by increasing access to quality physical education solutions through and interactive and fun way. PE4Life offers professional development to educators and school administrators desiring for change and enhancement to their school and communities.
Madison County along with its administrators is looking forward to be included in the grantees this year despite being unfavorable last year. The county is confident to be chosen because of grant writer Artie Kamiya. According to Todd, Kamiya understands the mechanics and nature of the grant with its 30 years of experience. Kamiya is a retired P.E. teacher which they believe gives them a 33 percent success rate.
The county is also heavily supported by its central board office at laying the groundwork for coordinated school health which is the main concern of the grant for this year. Madison county schools have been extensively laying ground work on physical activity and nutrition which they believe is their ace and the key in winning the grant.
Despite the grant outcome, Madison County will still continue their mission in enhancing physical education, nutrition and health. And will still focus and put heavy attention on wellness and will always act as a supportive educational institute along with its administration.
The Midway College Online had granted an approval of launching an online Associate of Science in the field of Medical Coding into this season of fall 2010. Students are entirely been excited and school faculty currently prepared for it. With this expected growth rating for just an about 18% through 2016, the Medical Coding are entirely been consider to become a thriving career course as to accommodate that includes the growing profession of Midway College that had been designed for school curriculum that entirely provides a best instruction into this field. With that, this Midway’s Medical Coding online degree program will be offering an accelerated career online course as to provide a friendly classroom environment, flexible and convenient schedule intended for those who might not got an easy access for Midway’s school campus. Medical Coding degree program will also be creating a foundation intended for an additional study in the field of healthcare support field that allows learners as to further their career advancement.
According to Dr. William B. Drake Jr.; who is the current President of Midway College that this Midway College got a longer history of training learners into this respective healthcare field. Through this ongoing growth of healthcare industry and growing need that particularly intended in the field of medical coders, this will be consider as a natural program for the College to offer it on. Through putting this in online setting, they entirely serve the learners that no matter where they entirely been located and provided them mere flexibility of setting their own respective schedule.
Associate of Science in the field of Medical Coding will entirely prepare learners of taking required medical certification exams from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) or American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) as to entirely become certified medical coder. Midway College already offered different degree programs for about 100% online setting. Meanwhile, the online degree courses program of Midway College will allow various busy adults of pursuing newer and rewarding career while still working in full time basis.
The mere convenience of this online learning program provides students mere chances of taking their career courses just around its schedule time. Offering a convenient and well flexible online degree programs, the Midway College will be working in partnership with The Learning House, Inc. that serve as total online educational solution provider that entirely creates a well comprehensive educational online school campus that customizes the academic needs for each partner. With that, this Midway College becomes accredited through this Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or Commission on Colleges (SACS/COC) as to provide grant of baccalaureate and associate degree programs.
The State Health Department conducted a study entitled, The Indian Youth Risk Behavior Study and found out that Indiana has a smoking rate of 23.5 percent which is beyond the national average of 19.5 percent. It also points that 10.7 percent of Indiana students had used smokeless tobacco in the 30 days previous to the study. It has become a rising dilemma for the state with its rising number of 7.3 percent in 2003.
In response to the growing problem of tobacco addiction, some students worldwide have solemnly taken part in promoting a tobacco-free society. Students of middle and high schools in Michigan City have joined the anti-tobacco campaign. The groups have been engaging in peer education activities under the Safe harbor Program.
The program is supervised and supported by the Indiana Tobacco Prevention Council with the recent participation of students in activities like; Kick Butts Day in March and World No Tobacco Day in May. “They have so much passion and initiative that they want to get the word out to their peers that smoking is bad for you,” said Sandy Gleim said, executive director of Healthy Communities of La Porte.
Other program launched is the “Quit Now Indiana” –a contest executed by Healthy Communities where people are urged to quit smoking by winning prizes. The group Voice will also take part by passing out fliers and let citizens sign an anti-tobacco petition. Higgen, the program coordinator said that it’s been a successful year for the program.
The programs have been found effective; an example is a graduate from Elston Middle School Michigan who convinced her mother to a quit a 12-year smoking habit. The main target of the campaign is to educate the youth and women about the marketing tactics of tobacco companies.
Mount Anthony Union High School will now open its education portals to the globe. Students can now join in classes all over students worldwide. This is made possible with MAU Virtual High School. A selected number of qualified students will have the chance to have education online through the program.
Beginning this fall, students may enjoy the hassle-free and convenience of distance learning with different curriculum made by teachers worldwide. The program provides flexibility of study options enabling qualified students to dig through certain interests which are not included in their regular classes. It also expands learning with the global, national and local interactions online.
This provides expansion of course offerings for the school according to Kristyn Harrington (co-site coordinator of the program). Students can access online and assignments are due weekly.
Students will receive high school credit for the completion of the virtual school. Some students may also take the virtual high school program in substitute of their scheduled classes to have more time in the course work. Some would make it as additional in order to finish the course earlier.
Harrington emphasized the virtue of self motivation and excellent time management considering success in an online education. There will be a full support of instructors to their student so when students have questions or comments about the lessons, they can post in a forum or have a conversation with privately with their teacher.
To qualify in a Virtual High School, a student must secure a teacher and a counselor’s recommendation and take an online self assessment if the virtual high school fits the student. The virtual high school is granted to 25 qualified students each semester in recognition of the curriculum in anatomy and psychology course formulated a MAU teacher (Diane Moore) for the Virtual High School.
The program is on a first come first serve basis and recently more than half of the available slots are filled in. Students can enroll and fill in by contacting the nearest high school.
Recently, classes from all sectors have been suspended due to typhoon “Basyang”. The Department of Education suspended classes ahead of time. The announcement was directed specifically to all public and private schools in Metro Manila and Region 4a areas where typhoon storms Signals No.1 and No. 2 have been declared.
Classes in all public and private schools have been suspended as of 11:00 pm, July 13, 2010 (Tuesday). Elementary and high schools in Manila area have been suspended as announced by DepEd National Capital Region regional Director Flordeliza Magday. At 11:30 Wednesday, classes were also suspended for both public and private, elementary and high school in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Calabarzon as ordered by the DepEd Calabarzon Regional Director. Meanwhile, Provinces in the Central Luzon had their class suspension in advance as instructed by Regional Director Teofila Villanueva.
The Department of Education added that in Signal No. 1 areas which the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) have declared, all public and private pre-schools should be automatically suspended. If Signal No. 2 is declared, all public and private classes should be suspended from pre-school, elementary and high schools.
But the suspension of classes in private schools in all levels will depend on the school administrators according to the Education Secretary. And the college level suspensions are also within discretion of the school administrators according to the Higher Education Commission (CHED).
University belts in Manila area such as; Centro Escolar University, San Beda College, College of Holy Spirit, University of Santo Tomas, St. Scholastica’s College, Far Eastern University, University of the East, and Polytechnic University of the Philippines had earlier school suspensions. Classes in colleges and universities were also suspended specifically in areas hit by Signal No.3 including Aurora, Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Northern Quezon, and Polillo Islands.
President Obama cited in his recent speech the problem of increased high school dropouts. Such kids experienced severe academic disengagements and minimal encouragement from school and homes. The No Child Left Behind policy demands that all high school student must earn a diploma and have technical training for future purposes. The policy addresses the problem of inability to complete high school education which is a major cause of unemployment. Without a high school diploma, it would be very hard to find a descent job compared to finishing high school. More often, it will always result to living in poverty, having children at a young age and health issues. The U.S. Census Bauru pointed that high school graduates can earn as much as 23% more per year compared to someone who did not receive a diploma. This is what the state government is concerned about.
On the same side, with the purpose of providing specialized knowledge to people of all ages and backgrounds with the most convenient way, Ashworth Online College teamed up with North Texas Jobs Corps to deliver accredited diploma to every youth from 16 to 24 years of age. By providing accessible career education, the partnership guarantees positive results. Job corps is a no cost education and career technical training program administered by the US Department of Labor aimed for the improvement of lives academic and technical training.
With this partnership, both parties will be able to maximize effort in offering distance education to all students, especially adult and working students. F. Milton Miller, EdD. (Ashworth Vice President, Education) said that Ashworth’s high school diploma programs are developed to specifically address the needs of working adults and non traditional high school students. Miller expressed his eagerness and excitement working with North Texas Job Corps which has the same ideology as them –teaching young people skills needed to become employable by completing their high school education.
Ashworth College is leader in online education offering more than 100 degrees, online certificate programs, online career trainings, and online high school diplomas. Ashworth is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council and its high school programs are accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement.
Education is a main concern for today’s world and government and educational institutions are eyeing on the best possible techniques on improvement of its quality. Added with some problems, some universities never ignored the environmental issues on their schools. And these are the top 20 eco friendly college community ranked by U.S.N. or the U.S.
- Warren Wilson College, Asheville, N.C. –The first college to earn the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design’s (LEED) highest rating.
- University of Colorado at Boulder –Top rater in Sierra Club’s greenest college in 2009. It’s partnership with National Renewable Energy Labs gave Colorado a wind turbine regulated energy.
- Ithaca College, Ithaca N.Y. –Opened in 2008, a Business and Sustainable Enterprise School being eco-friendly with its vegetated roof that reuses storm water runoff. The first business school to won the LEED platinum certification.
- The Evergreen State College, Olympia –It utilizes its rich resources with its organic farm while its raw products are consumed in campuses, agricultural communities and local food banks.
- University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H. –The first to built and utilizes landfill fueled campus through its EcoLine landfill gas-to-energy project.
- University of California, Santa Barbara –The first to earn two LEED Platinum certifications. Featuring its recycled material solar panels to help power the building.
- College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine –The student’s residences and dining hall has compost bins. The college focuses on food composting for its organic gardens.
- Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona –Features energy and water efficient fixtures, recycled flooring and rooftop wind turbines. ASU won the LEED Silver certification.
- University of California, Santa Cruz –Its unique method of tray-less dining program reduced food its food waste by 40 % and 30 gallons f water.
- Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt. –its $12 million biomass plant is a factor of becoming carbon neutral by 2016, reduces 40 % of the carbon emissions, and 20 % electricity generated.
Education will no longer be deprived and will be freely shared to any one on the web. Open Education –as defined by Wikipedia; a collective term that refers to forms of education in which knowledge, ideas or important aspects of teaching methodology or infrastructure are shared freely over the internet. Such education requires minimal requirements, an internet connection and basic knowledge about downloading programs and unzipping files. A current example is the Cape Town Open Education Declaration. It emerged trough a conference held on September 14 and 15, 2007 with the goal of promoting open resources and techniques concerning education.
Such principle closed the boundary of having educated without spending too much. Many universities has adopted the concept and been trying to upload education materials such as videos, audio files and other shared resources. These allowed almost anyone to study at their dream university without stepping on the campus. The Open Yale courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers at Yale University. With courses ranging from Astronomy department down to Religious studies, distance education students can browse through each courses provided with online materials, like video streams, html transcripts and mp3.
Another is the MITOpenCourseware by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Open education is made possible through OCW (Open Course Ware) and being utilized as an open virtual publication very available to the world. MIT OCW offers about 1,900 online courses and has dominated the high school department providing fun to know courses like; building a stereo and guitars as well as help for students taking AP math and science courses. A lot more universities are adopting the Open Course Ware program such as; university of Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, the iTunes University, Berkeley, Duke, and Stanford University.
The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs honors Colorado University’s Surgical Technology and grants accreditation to its Denver campus. The CAAHEP is the largest programmatic accreditor in the health service field its work is to accredited 20 different programs in health services. Accreditation is important because it is a way to access the quality of an institution, its programs and services measuring them against agreed-upon standards and assuring that they met those standards. Graduates of accredited health programs can proceed and are eligible of taking the voluntary Certified Surgical Technologist (CST). Accreditation in the health related disciplines also serves as a very important public interest. Along with certification and licensure, accreditation is a tool intended to help assure a well prepared and qualified workforce. Enrolling in an accredited university will help students to succeed in their course especially an online course.
An online study is also granted at CTU Denver. Students may also study online and attend campus classes providing flexible options for busy students. The university offers courses in the areas of health sciences, engineering and computer science, business and management, criminal justice, and information systems. Colorado University is a network of technology advanced campuses that enables full control for students on the ways they study and the location where they study. The University is designed to fit into the student’s lifestyle and current responsibilities. With its innovated technology the university guarantees a mobile education connecting students with social media, interact and chat with classmates and instructors online with FaceBook, MySpace, YouTube and LinkedIn, and download course lectures and study materials on iPods and mobile devices for studying on the go.
Financial Aids and Financial Plans are also granted by CTU. U.S. citizens can avail the aid by completing a free Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Non U.S. citizens can apply through loans provided that they apply with a credit-worthy U.S. citizen. The university also grants military education benefits such as Veteran Programs and Military Tuition Assistance.
All schools in the district will have new principals. Principals’ assignment weren’t announced until few weeks before classes begin. This was made earlier than the past few years in order to give time for principals to make some plans especially they were expected to have new assignments. Superintendent Art Stellar said it’s been a general rule of thumb in Burke County to move principals to new schools in order to sharpen principals and also put a consideration to their career path. Stellar believe that there is no perfect principal for a school despite the surprised faces of parent’s loosing a popular principal. There are lots of options to choose from if they consider selecting principals outside but the school district suggest that they place principals inside the county and some of the principals will be assigned as assistant principals of merging schools. The N.C. Department of instruction will allocate finances for the assistant principals according to the number of student enrollment. This effort was made in order to line up the number of assistant principals with the state budget and to reduce school expenses. Also to end the practice of paying extra expenses using the local fund.
The county decided to merge six schools into three and each high school will have two assistant principals by 2010-11 and four middle schools will share two principals at once. The list of merging schools are; Mountain View and Hillcrest elementary into all new Mountain Crest Elementary School in Morganton, Drexel Primary’s K-2 program with Hallyburton Elementary third through fifth grades into Drexel Elementary School, two alternative high schools in Hildebran and Morganton into Hallyburton Academy. With the exchange of principals like; Lisa Lane Dale from Hillcrests succeeds Jill King in Mull Elementary School, Jill King succeeds Kathy Amos of Oak Hill Elementary, and Becky Roach from Rutherford College elementary will succeed Shance Mace of Ray Childers Elementary, and Ross Rumbaugh from Hallyburton succeeds Becky Roach. While all current middle school principals will remain in position.