21st Century Scholar

by Bill Tierney Since this is my last blog of the year and the holidays are right around the corner, I thought it might be useful to help Santa figure out who’s been naughty and who’s been nice in order to determine who gets coal in his/her stocking, and who gets a present: Citizens of [...]

Roughly five states face budget cuts that approximate 30% of the state budget.  One of those states is Arizona.  If taxes are unpalatable, then a state is inevitably going to look to schools and universities as one place that will help balance the budget, and that is what is happening in Arizona.  In response, a [...]

CHEPA has a program where we mentor low-income 12th-graders and advise them how to get into college (Increasing Access via Mentoring – I AM).  For the last five years we have mentored roughly 120 seniors every year.  I work with students as well.  One of them is about to graduate from Stanford; two are at [...]

The voters have rejected the various measures the Governor and legislature jerry-rigged to help balance the state budget.  The result is that we are over 20 billion dollars in debt.  Education funding will be cut by over 5 billion dollars; the school year will be shortened, more teachers will be laid off, and ‘extras’ such [...]

The economic down-turn – What’s an educational leader to do? As reductions in education revenue sources work their way through our education system, I am struck by the great variety of impacts and responses.  Per Tom Vander Ark’s lament, most responses are not good, but some seem worse than others.  Beyond variations on “no new [...]