Audit: Missouri schools could have gotten $21M more if lawmakers hadn’t changed casino measure

Audit says Mo. schools could have gotten $21M more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri could be spending an additional $21 million on public schools if lawmakers had followed the wishes of voters when distributing new casino revenues, Auditor Susan Montee said Thursday.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Rob Mayer said Montee’s audit is wrong, and that schools are …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Audit: Missouri schools could have gotten $21M more if lawmakers hadn’t changed casino measure.

Education Department awards $442M in grants for teacher, principal merit pay programs

Education Dept. grants $442M for teacher merit pay

WASHINGTON – The Education Department is giving school districts and nonprofit organizations from across the country $442 million to create merit pay programs for teachers and principals.
The Teacher Incentive Fund is aimed at attracting and rewarding quality educators and encouraging them to work in the country’s highest need …. Source article  : Education Department awards $442M in grants for teacher, principal merit pay programs.

Texas sues over federal rejection of state’s application for $830 million in education aid

Texas sues feds over $830M in education aid

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas officials filed a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Department of Education, seeking to overturn the federal agency’s rejection of the state’s application for more than $830 million in aid that has been tied up in political wrangling.
A state-specific provision inserted into a federal law …. Source article  : Texas sues over federal rejection of state’s application for $830 million in education aid.

Facebook founder donates $100 mn to Newark schools

NEW YORK – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is donating $100 million to the school system in Newark, New Jersey, one of the poorest in the country, it was announced Thursday.

The huge donation came just days before the release in the US of a major Hollywood film about the founding of Facebook, which portrays Zuckerberg in …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Facebook founder donates $100 mn to Newark schools.

50 kids sent home from ‘overcrowded’ New York school

NEW YORK – Over 50 children in a school in New York’s Brooklyn area were asked to leave because officials thought it was “overcrowded”.

The 54 students had spent a full two weeks into the school year at the Marine Park middle school when they got the news.
Joy Solomon, an 11-year-old whose parents enrolled her … Original article on : 50 kids sent home from ‘overcrowded’ New York school.

NJ 5th-grader suspended from school after he found lighter; administators consider it a weapon

Boy who found lighter suspended from NJ school

JAMESBURG, N.J. – Officials suspended a fifth-grader in New Jersey who found a lighter on his way to school.
Jamesburg school superintendent Gail Verona told The Home News Tribune of East Brunswick the lighter had the potential to compromise student safety.
But the 11-year-old boy’s father questioned why school officials …. Original source  : NJ 5th-grader suspended from school after he found lighter; administators consider it a weapon.

School girl’s claims of discrimination illustrate language still bitter issue in South Africa

Language still bitter issue in S. Africa schools

JOHANNESBURG – A 16-year-old who believes she was kicked out of class for speaking her first language at school has prompted government investigations, and the case is demonstrating how volatile the issue of language in education remains in South Africa.
School officials insist a disciplinary problem and not racism … Read this article on Gaea Times at : School girl’s claims of discrimination illustrate language still bitter issue in South Africa.

Text me UR … equations? SAfrican social networking site offers math tutoring via cell phone

SAfrican students study math via cell phone

JOHANNESBURG – A South African think tank said Thursday they have lined up volunteers to tutor on a popular mobile phone platform after a nationwide teachers’ strike left students unprepared for final exams.
With exams for graduating students a month away, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is concentrating …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Text me UR … equations? SAfrican social networking site offers math tutoring via cell phone.

Troubled school system in NJ’s biggest city to receive $100M donation from Facebook founder

Newark, NJ, schools to get $100M Facebook donation

NEWARK, N.J. – Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-year-old wunderkind behind Facebook is making a move to become a player in philanthropy just before the opening of a film that portrays him as less than charitable.
The recipient of his $100 million donation – thought to be the biggest of his … Read more : Troubled school system in NJ’s biggest city to receive $100M donation from Facebook founder.

Kalam to be honoured by Canadian university

TORONTO – A top Canadian university will confer an honorary doctorate degree on former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam next week.

The University of Waterloo, in the city of BlackBerry, will host the renowned space scientist and honour him with an honorary degree in the humanities. The world famous university had also hosted the former Indian …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Kalam to be honoured by Canadian university.