Accelerated Learning Resources

We know great principals and great teachers can make all the difference in a child’s education.

In Colorado, we want to recruit, retain and reward more great teachers and school leaders.

In response, the state legislature passed a new law last year that garnered national attention to dramatically change the way teachers and principals are evaluated and compensated.

Colorado now has common statewide definitions of teacher and principal effectiveness, clearer expectations for job performance, and consistent scoring guides to rate job performance.

Leading this bold effort is the State Council for Educator Effectiveness. Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., appointed its 15 members in March 2010.

Over the last year, the Council held in-depth conversations about what effective teaching and school leadership are, how they are measured, and strategies for continuous improvement.

The Council studied research and best practices, and spoke with experts in local school districts and across the country. A

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Legislation that helps parents send their children to private school is again up for debate in a South Carolina House subcommittee.

A House Ways and Means panel is set to take up the legislation Wednesday afternoon. It will be its third meeting this year on the proposal.

The idea of using tax credits to help parents foot the bill for private tuition has died repeatedly in the Legislature and divided Republicans.

The latest proposal says parents who already have children in private school would be limited to a reduced tax break after several years.

State economic advisers estimate the latest proposal would cost the state $133 million when fully implemented. Supporters question the figures. They think more students would transfer from public school, saving the state money.

Tags: Private School, School

COLUMBIA – Freddy Dubose cooks meals at The Oliver Gospel Mission its something he’s done for the last five years.

“They gave me my life back. I was dead in the streets,” says Freddy Dubose.

He says he wants to give back to the homeless because he’s been in their shoes.

“I found myself down the same alley on drugs, nowhere to go, nobody to turn to. But I came to the mission. They’re the only ones who welcomed me with open arms,” says Dubose.

Dubose says he heard about the mission through community outreach.

Officials at the center says he went through an extensive recovery program.

Dubose says the center helped turned his life around and helped him get off drugs.

“Came in got into the program, worked the program got hired on as a cook here and after I finished the program, I decided to give back what they gave to me,” says Dubose.

He says cooking is his method of ministry.

“I’m able to talk to them and put myself in there position and tell them it can be done. You d

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Tags: Gospel Mission, Mission, Oliver Gospel, Oliver Gospel Mission

CLEMSON, S.C. — Architecture students at Clemson University are showing off their skills with the creation of a piece of urban furniture.

Students are building something they’re calling a HATCHpad for an arts festival getting under way Thursday in Asheville, N.C.

The piece is serving as a bus stop and information hub during the four-day festival. It’s made by assembling layers of rigid foam into a small outdoor room with ventilation and seating.

The HATCHpad also features iPads, speakers and projectors with information and pictures about the project.

Tags: Students, Students Project

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A federal judge has upheld a Spartanburg school district’s program to give credit for students who take an off-campus religious class.

The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reported the judge last week agreed to allow Spartanburg District 7 to continue to offer credit for students who participate in the Bible education class.

The course has been offered by Spartanburg County Bible Education in School Time at a church next to Spartanburg High School since 2007.

Robert Moss, Ellen Tillett and the Freedom from Religious Foundation sued in 2009, saying that giving credit violates the First Amendment separation of church and state.

South Carolina law allows credit if the evaluation is based on secular criteria and no public money is used.

Moss and the others plan to appeal the decision.

Tags: Religious Class, School