A weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else — from the nation’s leading voice on education innovation and opportunity.
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM - AND A SOLUTION. Thousands of parents will rally this Wednesday on the eve of the next Democratic Debate to warn candidates that education opportunity means more to them than hollow promises to special interest groups. At issue is the position of most of the candidates on charter schools, which since they declared and despite prior support by some, they’ve virtually waged war on, criticizing and promising to stop the innovative, successful schools that have saved millions of minority students. Started by prominent and well respected African-American and Hispanic leaders, Save Our Charter Schools kicks off the first of what will be many demonstrations with a “Pack The Park” rally in Houston to show the candidates - and the public - that they mean business. You cannot afford to be a sunshine patriot in this fight. If you’re in the area, get off that couch and go to the rally! And if you’re in the media, this deserves your coverage more than any other issue today!
THE LAND OF DIS-ENCHANTMENT. Prime example of the negativism the candidates have created, the Albuquerque Public Schools Board recently denied Voz Collegiate Preparatory Charter School a charter by the Board, after they claimed that the application had “set a new bar,” that the governing board of directors was “among the most impressive” they’d seen and hearing more than a dozen community members stand in support. Despite a recommendation of approval from APS staff, the APS board voted 5-2 against the charter. It’s not that Voz Collegiate didn’t sound like a good idea, they reasoned; Albuquerque just doesn’t need another school. On second thought, this isn’t dis-enchantment, this is rank stupidity. Rally, anyone?
WHY THE ATTACKS ON EXCELLENCE? It’s still the same old story, not as Dooley Wilson sang of “love and glory” but as Woodward and Bernstein found of “follow the money”. Sad examples from New York and California illustrate that if actually providing quality education is on the union’s agenda at all, it is far down the list. We present these and the above not to depress - there are no Eeyore’s at CER, but rather to illustrate that we are not exaggerating the scope and magnitude of the onslaught against all forms of choice.
NOT ALL NEWS IS BAD FROM CALIFORNIA. From one of the prettiest cities in America comes the welcome news that Sycamore Creek Community Charter School has opened in Huntington Beach, California. Providing this option to local kids was of course met by opposition from the usual suspects - those who think a business model that hasn’t changed in 150 years is appropriate for 2019 - but happily wiser heads prevailed at the local School Board. Sycamore Creek’s curriculum is based on the principles of public Waldorf education, a model that focuses on students’ creativity and incorporates art into all parts of its teaching.
BIGGEST FIGHT IN D.C. DOESN’T INVOLVE THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS. It is between the city and the people who have created schools to serve the people of the District of Columbia. CER Founder & CEO Jeanne Allen highlights this fight - and some hopeful signs - in this week’s Reality Check podcast with the incredibly compelling civil rights leader Dr. Ramona Edelin of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools and Shawn Hardnett, Founder and Executive Director of Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys Public Charter School in Washington, DC. In what world does it make sense to close the doors of opportunity? Edelin and Hardnett provide the obvious answer - it doesn’t, as well as a means to open the doors at End The List. Pay a visit and sign up!
CHARTERS & CHOICE COME IN MANY SHAPES AND SIZES. The stories abound - the proof of concept concept behind charters and education choice is providing individual learning to fit the individual needs of the widest variety of students. From Bridge Preparatory Charter School in Staten Island, specifically created to serve dyslexic students to the success of “virtual schooling” at the statewide virtual school Alabama Connections Academy and through a network of traditional and charter virtual schools in North Carolina, these offerings are life-saving options. To the unions who fight them, these kids apparently are just “collateral damage”.
Students enrolled at Alabama Connections Academy have their photo made beneath a rocket at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. Despite being an online school, students enrolled in ACA participate in field trips.
COURTS DELIVER GOOD NEWS. Despite what the National Charter School Ranking and Scorecard considers a weak law with only a D grade, the courts in the Magnolia State ruled that Mississippi’s charter law is indeed constitutional, and that public funds for the charters are indeed going to the right place - public schools! Another critical court case about money and its use for the public good is making its way through the US Supreme Court, as it gathers next month to hear a challenge to so-called “Blaine Amendments” to state constitutions in THIRTY EIGHT states which prohibit parents from directing the flow of tax dollars allocated for their childrens’ education to a religious organization. CER is teaming up with organizations around the country to make our case on that. More to come.
As always, please drop us a line, with any input and suggestions.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
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Your audience and stakeholders may be interested to know that Utah State University has received an NRC Faculty Development Grant Award, which encourages careers and research in the nuclear-related fields for future workforce needs in your community. See the details below:
@Utah State University for $431,628 to Faculty Development Program to Integrate New Faculty in Nuclear Engineering Research at Utah State University
We have made available some multimedia elements, such as a map of the states where the FY19 NRC Grants have been awarded and photos of NRC fellowship recipients in action working at the NRC.
To view and download the images, please go to the NRC Flickr site.
#NRC NEWS RELEASE: NRC Awards Fiscal Year 2019 Academic Grants
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded 45 grants to 33 academic institutions in 19 states and Puerto Rico, totaling $15 million in fiscal year 2019.
Recipients include four-year universities and colleges, two-year trade school and community colleges, and minority serving institutions, which are a federally recognized category of educational establishments.
Congress authorized the NRC to provide federal funding opportunities to qualified academic institutions to encourage careers and research in nuclear, mechanical and electrical engineering, health physics, and related fields to meet expected future workforce needs. Recipients are to use the grants for scholarships, fellowships and faculty development.
More than 5,200 students in 35 states and Puerto Rico have been recipients of the NRC program over its 10-year tenure. Through this program, NRC has funded multiple research and development, educational and training, and experiential learning projects to enhance academic excellence and to produce a skilled future workforce.
The NRC announces grant opportunities on www.grants.gov, which enables the public to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. Information regarding the review process also is available. A panel of reviewers, from academia and the NRC, evaluates the grant proposals. The panel composition is diverse, with most reviewers having experience reviewing proposals for government agencies and advanced credentials in nuclear engineering, health physics, radiochemistry or related disciplines. All panelists must certify no conflict of interest for the proposals they evaluate.
The complete list of grants awarded and general information about the grant program are available on the NRC’s website.
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Your audience and stakeholders may be interested to know that Utah State University has received an NRC Faculty Development Grant Award, which encourages careers and research in the nuclear-related fields for future workforce needs in your community. See the details below:
@Utah State University for $431,628 to Faculty Development Program to Integrate New Faculty in Nuclear Engineering Research at Utah State University
We have made available some multimedia elements, such as a map of the states where the FY19 NRC Grants have been awarded and photos of NRC fellowship recipients in action working at the NRC.
To view and download the images, please go to the NRC Flickr site.
#NRC NEWS RELEASE: NRC Awards Fiscal Year 2019 Academic Grants
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded 45 grants to 33 academic institutions in 19 states and Puerto Rico, totaling $15 million in fiscal year 2019.
Recipients include four-year universities and colleges, two-year trade school and community colleges, and minority serving institutions, which are a federally recognized category of educational establishments.
Congress authorized the NRC to provide federal funding opportunities to qualified academic institutions to encourage careers and research in nuclear, mechanical and electrical engineering, health physics, and related fields to meet expected future workforce needs. Recipients are to use the grants for scholarships, fellowships and faculty development.
More than 5,200 students in 35 states and Puerto Rico have been recipients of the NRC program over its 10-year tenure. Through this program, NRC has funded multiple research and development, educational and training, and experiential learning projects to enhance academic excellence and to produce a skilled future workforce.
The NRC announces grant opportunities on www.grants.gov, which enables the public to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. Information regarding the review process also is available. A panel of reviewers, from academia and the NRC, evaluates the grant proposals. The panel composition is diverse, with most reviewers having experience reviewing proposals for government agencies and advanced credentials in nuclear engineering, health physics, radiochemistry or related disciplines. All panelists must certify no conflict of interest for the proposals they evaluate.
The complete list of grants awarded and general information about the grant program are available on the NRC’s website.
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‘America’s violinist’ to perform at Sutherland’s annual gala
SALT LAKE CITY—Sutherland Institute announced today that Grammy-nominated, Billboard No. 1 performer and recording artist Jenny Oaks Baker will perform at its 25th Anniversary Gala.
Baker will perform as part of Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four (her four children). The group has performed with orchestras and choirs throughout the United States, England, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Albania, Japan and Taiwan. Last week they performed with the Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square – in a program viewed throughout the world – to honor President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Family Four are also featured on many popular music videos and on Jenny Oaks Baker’s newest CD, “The Spirit of God.” Their debut album, “Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four,” will be released in late summer of 2019.
“In public policy and in politics, we often speak of touching hearts and minds,” said Rick B. Larsen, Sutherland Institute president. “Jenny Oaks Baker’s performances have the power to do that. They are moving, memorable and momentous. She is a musician of the highest caliber. We are thrilled she and her family will celebrate a significant milestone with us.”
Sutherland Institute’s 25th Anniversary Gala will take place on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 9. It will be open to media who RSVP in advance to kelsey@sifreedom.org. Interviews with Baker and family will be arranged on a limited and first-come, first-served basis.
As Sutherland announced in August, the world-renowned presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will keynote this event.
Priority registration is now open. For sponsorship information, email candice@sifreedom.org.
In the news:
“Trust me, you’re missing a spiritual feast if you’ve never heard Jenny play live. If heaven released a soundtrack, it would come from the strings of Jenny’s violin.”
– Jason F. Wright, New York Times best-selling author
“Grammy Nominee Jenny Oaks Baker is one of America’s most accomplished classical violinists. She’s known fondly as ‘America’s Violinist,’ an expression that was actually coined by the Director of most of her videos, Danny Drysdale, because he felt as if it fit her brand of being a violinist who performs music that everyone throughout America can enjoy, while trying to be a role model of family-centered American living.”
– Huffington Post
"She isn't just a flash violinist. She's super trained. She's not just an entertainer, she's a solid musician. She combines a good entertainment value with a concert musicianship that is exquisite."
– John Pew, director and founder of the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra.
More about Jenny Oaks Baker:
She received her master of music degree from the Juilliard School and her bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. Baker has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress, and as a guest soloist with The National Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Utah Symphony and the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square. Baker has released 14 studio albums, which have sold nearly a million copies and consistently chart on Billboard. Music from her Grammy-nominated album, “Wish Upon a Star,” is featured at Disney World and Disneyland to introduce the nightly fireworks show. Baker’s popular music videos can be viewed at www.youtube.com/JennyOaksBaker; for more information visit www.jennyoaksbaker.com. Baker, her husband, Matthew, and their four children (Family Four) reside in Salt Lake City.
For more information:
Kelsey Witt | Communications Director
kelsey@sifreedom.org
c: 801.497.1562 (text or call) o: 801.355.1272 ext. 115
www.sutherlandinstitute.org
Hemp, Inc. Subsidiary, The Hemp University, Announces Success of Largest Hemp Workshop in Oregon to Date
Las Vegas, NV, Sept. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP), a global leader in the industrial hemp industry with bi-coastal processing centers, announced today that The Hemp University, a subsidiary of Hemp, Inc., hosted its largest sold-out hemp workshop, “The Pre-Harvest Symposium”, to date.
Corporate sponsors of The Pre-Harvest Symposium on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, included The Caputo Group, which works with brewing and hemp industries, and Oath Insurance Group, an insurance group for hemp and cannabis. Additionally, Green Leaf Lab, whose main focus is compliance testing, and Johnson Controls, an international company in technology solutions, were among the event’s corporate sponsors.
“It is incredible to see each Hemp University workshop in Oregon get better and bigger than the last,” said Hemp, Inc. CEO Bruce Perlowin. “The demand and interest in hemp is real, and this is demonstrated through our new corporate sponsors and the sold-out event. As the industry grows and more people in Southern Oregon gain interest in the crop, I am excited to continue hosting these types of workshops to continue moving the industry forward and helping farmers, investors, and entrepreneurs along the way.”
At the Pre-Harvest workshop, the Hemp University launched the idea of creating a regional identity for Southern Oregon, which is for the area to become known as the “Napa Valley of Hemp”. Hemp, Inc. has dedicated time to studying the Napa Valley and researching what the area has done in the past and hope that by doing so, they can create a true regional identity for Southern Oregon.
Key issues discussed at the workshop included harvesting, processing, and profit channels. Panels included discussions on ethics, profits and sustainability, and regional identity, specifically tailored for Southern Oregon-grown hemp. At the workshop, there was an Entrepreneur's Market that showcased various products and services that align with a prosperous harvest season.
The last Hemp University in Oregon of the year will be on Saturday, November 30, 2019, and will be in partnership with Southern Oregon Hemp Co-Op. The all-day event will host a workshop during the day to educate farmers on how to be profitable. In the evening, there will be an awards gala that will feature the Golden Grow Awards initiative, which will help facilitate the regional identity initiative.
“We always need ways for our community to continue to build synergies and ways to empower the people at the frontlines of this industry. Southern Oregon Hemp Co-Op is an incredible partner for the next Hemp University because they are true advocates for farmers and can help create an environment with standards in place to support these farmers’ prosperity,” added Perlowin.
To listen to past Hemp University workshops, please visit hemp-university.teachable.com.
To see one-minute videos of Hemp, Inc.’s current activities, visit Bruce Perlowin’s personal Facebook page, where he shares daily posts of Hemp, Inc.’s activities around the country.
WHAT IS HEMP, INC.?
What is Hemp, Inc.? With a deep-rooted social and environmental mission at its core, Hemp, Inc. seeks to build a business constituency for the American small farmer, the American veteran, and other groups experiencing the ever-increasing disparity between tapering income and soaring expenses. As a leader in the industrial hemp industry with ownership of the largest commercial multi-purpose industrial hemp processing facility in North America, Hemp, Inc. believes there can be tangible benefits reaped from adhering to a corporate social responsibility plan.
FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER AND DISCLOSURES
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. To clarify the issue of OTC placing a stop sign next to Hemp, Inc.’s stock trading symbol, that symbol indicates Hemp, Inc. does not report their financials. As a non-reporting pink sheet company, Hemp, Inc. is not required to report. The company does, however, choose to publicly report its quarterly and yearly financials on its website. According to the company’s CEO, the OTC stop sign is a misrepresentation of that reporting fact. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties.
Contact:
Hemp, Inc.
855-436-7688
ir@hempinc.com
Source: Hemp, Inc.
