Press Release

San Antonio, Texas and Gibbstown, N.J. - June 30, 2008 - (NECC 2008, booth #0930) - OnCourse Systems for Education, a provider of award-winning, web-based tools that streamline and automate educational processes for public and private school districts, announced today it will implement its Student Information System (SIS) for seven New Jersey school districts. The 100 percent online solution will assist these school districts in improving the productivity and quality of record keeping for teachers and administrators.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – June 30, 2008 – According to data reported in Diplomas Count 2008 from Education Week, 1.23 million students will fail to graduate in 2008. SAM Learning (www.samlearning.com) – a U.K. company that publishes a web-based learning program – is hoping to stem the tide by bringing its successful High School Exit Exam (HSEE) prep program to U.S. schools. The program will be introduced this week at the National Educational Computing Conference in San Antonio.

FLORENCE, Ky. - June 30, 2008 - Middle school is considered a transitional period for students as they adjust from the single-teacher environment of elementary school to a middle school day filled with multiple teachers and subjects. Most students adjust quickly and make the transition to high school without difficulty. For some, however, the shift is tricky and there are always a few middle schoolers who require deft handling. At Boone County Schools in Kentucky, they found a helpful learning tool to make the transition a little bit easier.

Grand Prize Winners of the Next Contest, "Technology in Motion 2: Community of the Future," Set to Win $400,000 in Video Software and Hardware
SAN ANTONIO, TX - July 1, 2008 (NECC; National Educational Computing Conference, Booth #9054) - Sony Creative Software, a leading provider of professional video and audio editing software applications, today announced the winners of its first national student film contest, Technology in Motion: Vision of the Future. Selected from hundreds of film entries created with Sony Vegas Pro 8, Ashland High School in Ohio is the grand prize winner for its submission, Contact. Second place was awarded to the film,

Alexandria, Va. – Joyce Chai of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. was named the U.S. winner of the 2008 Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) – the most prestigious international competition for water-related research – during a ceremony this weekend at the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Fla.

New Vocabulary-Based Children's Series from WGBH
Debuts on PBS KIDS on Labor Day, September 1, 2008 (check local listings)
"The letters in the soup went up to Martha's brain instead of down to her stomach. That evening, Martha spoke."
BOSTON, MA June 30, 2008-What would happen if your dog suddenly were able to talk? Would your pet be anything like Martha, the charming canine with an appetite for life who will make her PBS KIDS debut this fall?

Vallejo, CA – It has been a high profile year for autism. A severely autistic Minnesota boy was banned from church. An autistic kindergartner in Florida was voted out of class. A mother and her autistic son were thrown off an American Airlines flight at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. And another mother and autistic toddler were kicked off an airplane in Huston reportedly because the boy was repeating ‘bye, bye plane’ during the safety speech.

NIEA and colleagues from the Campaign for High School Equity (CHSE) discussed new findings in culturally based curriculum and its positive outcomes. Facilitated by the Campaign for High School Equity, the panel's gave first-hand accounts of how culturally based curriculum is playing out in schools and communities. The CHSE is a diverse coalition of national civil rights groups addressing education quality and equality, focusing on the effectiveness of culturally based teaching.

During the next LD Talk, our expert, Candace Cortiella, will answer your questions about No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and discuss how and why the National Center for Learning Disabilities is a strong proponent for many of the provisions under NCLB, as they relate to students with learning disabilities.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Eighth-graders from Rutgers' home communities of Newark, Camden, New Brunswick and Piscataway were officially welcomed today as the first participants in the Rutgers Future Scholars Program, a groundbreaking initiative that aims to make a tuition-free college education possible for academically promising students who will be the first in their families to earn a four-year degree.

The prize was developed to encourage and reward writers whose published works promote the institutions of a free society: limited government, rule of law brokered by an independent judiciary, protection of private property, free markets, free speech, and sound science.

Hailed as One of Denver’s Most Gifted Educators and a Leading National Voice for Children with Learning Differences
James Loan, one of the most highly influential educators in teaching students with learning differences, will retire as Head of School at Denver Academy on June 30, 2008 after more than 30 years of service. He will be recognized at a gala event on June 3 in Denver, attended by students past and present, as well as leaders in the Denver community.

(Washington, D.C.)- Despite the many advantages of computer-aided instruction, standard notebook computers are restricted by their keyboard and mouse inputs. Not so with tablet PCs. "Tablet PCs in K-12 Education," a new release from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE(r)), explains that by using the tablet PC--basically a notebook computer with an interactive screen--teachers and students can write, draw and sketch directly onto any computer document in real time, and at a fraction of the cost of hard copy documents.

National Call for Research Papers and Notice of Upcoming Conference: "Looking to the Future: Legal and Policy Options for Racially Integrated Education in the South"

Over 400 Educators, Students and Business Partners Convene in Rancho Mirage