RAPSA - Publications

Publications

California Kids Use—and Teach—Digital Story-Telling

Can't find tech mentors? How about the ones sitting in front of you?

by Suzie Boss, Edutopia, September, 2009

Veteran fourth-grade teacher Don Kinslow often hears colleagues say they would use technology if they had the time to get training. At Parkview Elementary School, in Chico, California, he has found a practical solution to this dilemma: He engages students as technology mentors.

Dropout rate declines almost 17% in L.A. schools

The decline is one of the largest in the state. Officials credit teams that identify and help at-risk students and the conversion of larger high schools into clusters of smaller academies.

By Howard Blume and Jason Song, Los Angeles Times, August 4, 2009

The dropout rate in the Los Angeles Unified School District declined almost 17% -- welcome news in a school system beleaguered by budget cuts and ongoing battles over future reforms.

Special needs kids 101: Basics of the special education process under IDEA

By Sharon Gillson, Des Moines Special Needs Kids Examiner, August 23, 2009

The writing of each student’s IEP takes place within the larger picture of the special education process under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Before taking a detailed look at the IEP, it may be helpful to look briefly at how a student is identified as having a disability and needing special education and related services and, thus, an IEP.

A $5 Billion Bet on Better Education

By Albert R. Hunt, The New York Times, August 23, 2009

WASHINGTON — Over these next few weeks, 56 million American kids will start kindergarten through 12th grade. Even before an assignment or test is handed out, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has a grade for the system: B.