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State education officials are requesting an education budget that is smaller than last year’s, but it’s also as equally unlikely to be funded as its predecessor.                                        Already operating under a $5.7 billion education budget that was reduced to $5.32 billion at the start of October, the heads of the state’s K-12 system and its two- and four-year colleges and universities made a pitch to legislators for roughly $5.44 billion in education funds for fiscal 2011.

That number could go up when the presidents of the state’s four-year universities meet with legislators today.

But the two chairmen responsible for crafting the next education budget said the state’s dire economic conditions would make it impossible to honor many of the requests proposed Wednesday.

“I think some of the requests are simply unrealistic,” said state Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, who chairs the House Education Appropriations Committee. “They are pie-in-the-sky requests.”

Lindsey said the state will struggle this budget cycle to not make cuts to programs or personnel.

State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton painted a grim picture for legislators that includes reducing the number of teachers and increasing class sizes if the state doesn’t come up with $235 million in additional funding for K-12 education.

Morton said the state would be forced to shed 3,543 of its 43,100 state-funded teaching positions without the increase.

“That’s tough,” Morton said. “We won’t have that many retire, and that means that some non-tenured teachers are going to get those dreaded pink slips.”

Morton is asking legislators to freeze state appropriations to the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan at the fiscal 2010 level, and he wants lawmakers to instruct the board’s directors to develop a health insurance plan to match available funds. Without that change, Morton said part of any funding for K-12 would go directly to cover the $295 million that teacher insurance and retirement boards have said they need to cover costs.Morton also is asking lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment that would ensure that K-12 education would get at least 70 percent of the budget, based on the fact that they enroll about 70 percent of all public education students.Morton pointed out that unlike two- and four-year colleges and universities, K-12 education does not have any mechanism for raising money.

“I don’t know how you ask a second-grader to solve the problem of potentially his classroom size going up, or that she doesn’t have a textbook, or that there are no funds to put fuel in buses,” Morton said. “I don’t know any third-grader who can go to a bank and ask for a loan for the building of the 2011 budget.”

Morton said the voters should be allowed to decide, but it’s a move that the state’s two- and four-year colleges and universities opposed.

New two-year college Chancellor Frieda Hill told legislators that if higher education only received 30 percent of the education budget it likely would cost two-year colleges about $16.5 million, which would mean layoffs.

Hill said dividing up the budget based on student enrollment rather than what it costs to educate a student would be unfair. The state’s two- and four-year colleges and universities are asking for about $1.6 billion for fiscal 2011.

Hill said, for example, that the cost to educate a student pursuing a nursing degree far outweighs what that student pays in tuition.

Greg Fitch, executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, said it might sound good to divvy up the Education Trust Fund based on full-time enrollment, but in some four-year programs the cost of equipment is more expensive than educating six classes of K-12 students.

“We’ve got to determine how we find a balance,” Fitch said. “Right now we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

State Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, said he’s not sure that funding education can be broken down with a strict formula such as a 70/30 split because there are so many factors.

“What little money we have needs to be used to educate all of the children of Alabama,” he said. “I’m just concerned that we don’t have enough resources to adequately fund education.”

Sanders likened public education to a pyramid with K-12 as its base, two-year colleges in the middle and higher education at the top.

“They’re all important, but if your f

Many moms are caught in a very tedious situation, working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. They also have responsibilities at home, too, and their life has become a never ending drudgery, with no hope in sight. The only way out is through education and a better job, and until now that seemed impossible. However, thanks to Obama’s Scholarships for Moms, the government may be able to elevate many moms and their families into a better standard of living.

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President Obama has placed great emphasis on moms returning to school, and has supported government assistance to help them. This program will accomplish what nothing else can by lifting whole families out of the poverty zone by providing a brighter future for a mother. When a mom gets her college degree, the whole family is impacted in many ways, both financial and otherwise. A new emphasis has been placed on education, and the children will be more likely to finish college themselves. The great thing is that is not a loan, but a scholarship that does not need to be repaid.

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In today’s world, it takes a lot of income to just make the basic expenses of raising a family. Prices of groceries and everything else continue to rise. The only way to significantly increase one’s income is through education. By returning to school, mothers can get better paying jobs and better afford all household expenses.

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Money is not the only obstacle a mother faces when considering returning to college for a degree. Mothers have little time as it is, and they can’t imagine how they could have time for classes! This government funding also applies to online studies, and that works so well for moms. By working from the comfort of home, moms can supervise the children, run a load of wash, and attend class at the same time! This eliminates the need for additional childcare, too.

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Having a degree can change the entire scope of a mom’s life, and it also will impact her children’s lives, as well. Education improves the actual quality of life, but the increased paycheck is also a factor!

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Mothers should take advantage of Obama’s Scholarships for Moms and begin to work toward a more successful future. The basic facts can be found online, and you are on the way to completing your education!

On the Senate side, the final committee for SB 132 is Senate Finance . The Hispanic Education Act has gained momentum as a way to focus attention and resources on closing the “achievement gap” between Anglo and Hispanic students. …

Continue reading here:
Hispanic Education Act waits on Senate Finance Committee, UPDATED …

Much of a student’s success in school depends upon having parents who are supportive at home. The earlier a parent gets involved in their child’s education, the better. One study shows that the three most important factors of parental involvement include: their perception about whether their child or school even wants them involved; how much they believe they can positively influence their child’s education; and what is okay for them to do with and for their child regarding school. In addition, when parents model behavior that shows education is important, it will have a positive impact on them. Children need to feel that school is an important part of their family life. You’re a teacher – but where do you start?

1. Quite simply: just ask parents to get involved! Sometimes it isn’t a matter of parents not wanting to be involved — it’s a matter of them not knowing how to start. When you have a list of tasks to accomplish for your classroom, don’t assume you must do it all yourself. There are parents who would be happy to help, if they were just asked.

2. Identify the talents, strengths and interests of parents. Those skills could be extremely helpful to the classroom. Send a list home of what opportunities your school has for parents and ask them which ones they are interested in helping with. Jobs could include coordinating fundraisers, managing volunteers, working as paraprofessionals or being a community advocate for their school.

3. If a parent is resistant to becoming more involved, they need to know this: Research has consistently shown that students whose parents are regularly involved in their child’s education will have better school attendance, improved grades and will demonstrate a higher level of motivation and self-esteem than kids whose parents aren’t involved. In addition, parents will be less likely to have to deal with their child dropping out of school, getting suspended, using drugs and alcohol or being violent. That’s convincing evidence!

4. Become a partner with parents, and make them feel part of the team. Some parents feel it is a teacher’s job to teach and don’t know how they, as parents, can help. Offer parents a guideline of everything they can do to support their child’s education at home. This might include suggestions for creating an effective study environment for their child or how they can help their child study. Encourage parents to go on field trips or watch educational programs with their child, which will reinforce your teaching efforts from home.

5. While many parents get involved with school when their child first enters kindergarten, parental involvement drops sharply with each passing grade level. Find ways to keep parents involved as their child progresses through school. If possible, have a space designated at school that serves as a parent room to encourage continued involvement at school.

6. Don’t pre-judge who you think will, or won’t, want to become involved. Even though a child might come from a single-parent or low-income home, it doesn’t mean that parent isn’t just as concerned about their child’s education as others are. Give these parents the same chance to participate in their child’s education as you would middle-class or two-parent families.

Though it may take time getting used to for some, technology has revolutionized college student’s educational experiences by making learning easier, more interactive and sometimes more entertaining.

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UH turns more to technology « – College Media Network News

Free Technology for Teachers. A review of free technology resources and how teachers can use them. Ideas for technology integration in education

Link:
Free Technology for Teachers: "The Class" – Satire on Technology …

Social factors- differences in our artificially created everyday living conditions- are the real keys to human health .

Read more:
The Oil Drum: Campfire | Medical Dark Matter: Living Conditions …