On October 20th, 2010 Shining Mountain Waldorf School is thrilled to be hosting a lecture for the public, entitled "Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Kids", facilitated by Kim John Payne, M. Ed.. This workshop provided the inspiration for Kim's book by the same name, which has just been released in soft cover by Random House in August. His message is one that would attract many parents in Boulder and Denver, those with contemplative leanings, and especially those who are interested in childhood development and education.
Tickets are also available online at http://www.smwaldorf.org/kimpayneevent.asp. A special discount is offered to teachers and students.
This is Part 2 of an interview with Venturing Together author, Bill Rossi.
You wrote about the specific benefits students receive when they participate in a substantial, in-depth arts program. I think the components of being substantial and in-depth components were key to providing these benefits - can you talk about the benefits and what you mean by the depth of the arts program?
No matter how technically sophisticated, art is about expression and therefore rooted in emotional experience. A good arts program will develop sophisticated techniques and skills in such a way that they're attached to the student's emotional state – there's no conflict between the two; rather than treating them as something separate, it will work with them in tandem to enhance a more complete expression. When you have the technical and emotional working together you have an in-depth arts program. This can help channel negative emotions into positive expression, which can lead to conflict resolution.
In order to refine their expression, students need to be given both opportunity and good guidance to open emotional avenues and explore their inner landscape while they refine their technical skills. This requires an experienced teacher. The major benefit of this emotional development is that it leads to personal integration – it gets students in touch with inner areas that aren't really known to them. It also help students with socialization and communication beyond the arts, and can help them come to understand their own learning style – what's unique in their style - so they get to know themselves. There should be an empowerment thing that happens.
You mention the cost of an arts program for struggling students being a good investment as compared with the cost of social service treatment or incarceration. I don't think people really get just how important the arts are to some students and how important it is to try to reach them in some positive way. You also talk about the numerous studies done on how the arts improve academic performance and shape community-oriented, well-rounded citizens, yet they are continually marginalized in schools. The arts are held back as a reward for those that can earn them through academic achievement or for those that can afford them, which leaves the students who need them the most. Please explain your thoughts on this.
Regardless of the statistics and abundant living proof of our need for them, the arts don't share the same status as the other academic subjects or sports. Because they don't exist shoulder to shoulder with these endeavors, they are often used as supplemental activities - add-ons that are also expendable. It can make for a neat behavioral category if they're used as reward or punishment or are just expendable.
Established systems naturally resist change – there's a survival and/or security instinct in play here. And even though people within the system may talk about change or actually try to implement change, it has to fit into their boundaries of financial and emotional security – two very powerful forces. In most established systems, the boundaries are usually pretty narrow, making any real change difficult, and often what's touted as new is just a makeover of what's already done - or is something that's very similar.
A good, in-depth arts program promotes freedom in learning, as it should be. But because the creative arts can take people into different areas than the system is used to, students can seem like random "loose cannons" – difficult to manage in traditional ways, and threatening to those not experienced enough with them. This can seem disruptive and uppity to a system, and the more rigid the system is the more disruptive it can seem.
It's the nature of the creative arts to enhance, expand, and even challenge the status quo – to try to build on it, push the envelope – that's the nature of growth and the beauty of the arts. Of course in many instances, systems don't like to be challenged.
An additional problem the arts can encounter within schools is that schools often don't encourage and facilitate different ways of thinking or paces of learning, and don't place much emphasis on alternative ways of viewing the world or personal experience.
The approach for Merge Education is said to combine strengths-based education and mentoring. Can you explain what that looks like?
Passion in learning that taps into what's right with the student are the key points here – Identifying the student's natural inclinations, skills, and talents and building on them while developing strategies to work through challenges.
Again, there is an emotional basis at work in the mentoring part, where a mutual relationship develops between equals who share relevant parts of themselves and their experiences that involve both some of their strengths and their challenges.
Please talk more about how creativity helps students in HOW to think, rather than WHAT to think.
WHAT has to do with memorization and accepting and restating other people's views, and doesn't offer students the opportunity to explore the subject on their own and to more deeply arrive at their own conclusions.
HOW has to do with developing abilities to explore, think about, and come to personal understandings and realizations, and find ways of expressing those understandings. A student who learns HOW to think is better able to meet and process life experience and emotional conflicts –better able to process what he went through and the impact that experience had on him, positive or negative, so he learns about himself and better understands his personal reactions.
Examining and sorting through a conflict can lead to resolving it through his mode of communication. He's able to consider his experience in such a way that he comes to a place where he understand something new or forms a new way of thinking about something, and understands how he can apply these insights to his life. He realizes he can start by encapsulating that experience and then can put it into his way of being and articulate it through his art. Then if he's insightful enough he can apply that to the way he lives his life and interacts with other people. The more whole a person becomes, the healthier he is -- we're talking about a unification of one's actions. These are basic principles in creativity.
What is available with your programs and who can access them?
We've created a comprehensive system of books, manuals, and evaluation software to help people become more creative in their teaching, parenting, and mentoring, and to help an organization develop its own arts program. Individuals wanting to further explore the teaching approach might enjoy Venturing Together; musicians, artists, and even non-artists who want to work with the approach might find our arts curricula useful (Draw on Experience and Play by Heart are currently available), and we've just begun offering our software evaluation tool in beta, for assessment and management of all sorts of programs. We also offer Risks Worth Taking, a soup-to-nuts manual for developing and managing an arts mentoring program. And finally, we offer consultation for any and all of the above.
I was recently invited to attend the annual luncheon of the Public Education and Business Coalition (PE+BC). The keynote speaker was John Medina, who wrote the fascinating book "Brain Rules". Dr. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist and the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University. He is also a Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. After listening to him speak at the conference I was inspired to read his book and I do not regret it. I was worried I would have to slog through a difficult, esoteric book, but the truth is I couldn't't put it down.
The book devotes a chapter to each brain rule, explaining how the brain works with regard to each fact, how it evolved, case studies and stories to illustrate the rule, and how these rules impact education and the workplace. I will highlight each of the brain rules chapters, especially how it is relevant to classrooms across the nation.
It turns out that our brains are designed to walk up to 12 miles a day. Exercise increases the blood vessels created throughout the body and brain. The more blood vessels you have, the more oxygen your brain gets, making it stronger. Not only does exercise significantly cut our risk for dementia, Alzheimer's, stroke and heart attack, it also "improves a whole host of abilities prized in the classroom and at work." In one study children jogged for 30 minutes two or three times a week. After 12 weeks, their cognitive performance had improved significantly compared with pre-jogging levels. When the jogging program stopped, the cognitive performance gains were lost. Dr. Medina says that the way our classrooms are set up, with kids sitting still for many hours a day and the erosion of recess and physical education is to completely ignore this unavoidable fact. He says that cutting off exercise to do better on a test score is like trying to gain weight by starving yourself, and he advocates even more recess (not less) and movement in the classroom – anything to get our brains enough exercise to be at its best.
Our brains are a constant interaction between two features: the database to store knowledge and the ability to improvise off of that. We are designed to use both of these, yet we are often expected to turn off one and prize the other. If we ignore the improvisatory instincts, creativity suffers. To just focus on improvisation, gives no depth of knowledge or mastery. Also, because we have evolved to cooperate, relationships and the emotional environment greatly affect the learning that is possible. If the relationship is not close enough (say, in a classroom of 30 kids where it would be difficult to get to know each student well) or there is a negative relationship, learning will suffer. The success of a student in a classroom is dependent on feelings, so we must attend to them.
Dr. Medina compares a picture of a class in Junior High with brain development. Just as the students in Junior High show incredibly varied physical development (some get to puberty much faster than others, some are growing taller faster than others), so too is their intellectual development incredibly uneven. To expect certain learning goals to be achieved at certain ages is to ignore this rule. He says that 10% of students are not ready to read when we expect them to do so and that these lock-step models based on age are guaranteed to create a counterproductive mismatch to brain biology. A classroom that obeys that brain rule to optimize success for all students would have fewer students so that teachers could understand what is understood by each and every student and enable them to provide individualized instruction. In fact, he advocates for dismantling grade structures based on age.
Back to emotions: they get our attention and impact retention and understanding. Also, we process meaning before detail, so it is important to go from the core concept to the specifics, with plenty of emotion-eliciting examples that support that. Doing so improves learning by 40%. To optimize this rule, he suggests breaking up instruction into 10 minute cycles, with a relevant emotional hook at the beginning or the end of each cycle. Any longer, or with no hooks loses the audience.
Dr. Medina states that we forget 90% of what we learn within 30 days, the majority of which is forgotten in the first few hours. Repetition in timed intervals is the best way to boost retention. Cramming in one session is significantly less effective than spreading the studying over time. Also, concepts that are richly detailed, meaningful and contextual are also powerful ways to aid retention, so an interesting, relevant story will help to fasten a core concept into memory. This is because our brains have a natural predilection for pattern matching and we immediately associate with information that has already been assimilated. He suggests that instead of our typical 50-minute classes, we should perhaps devote 25 minutes to a subject, then after 90 minutes return to that same subject, then do return to it one more time. He finds that learning that is segmented and interleaved is more effective than the way we do it now. He looks at this on a micro and macro level, giving importance to this repetition in intervals daily, weekly (he thinks every third or fourth day should be review days) and even reviews of key concepts reviewed throughout the years. Oh, and he also suggests that we do away with summer vacation in schools if we want to optimize the memory.
Getting enough sleep and taking naps is important to aid learning. By accident scientist discovered that when we sleep, our brains do not rest, but instead seem to constantly rehearse and repeat what is learned while we are awake. This mental rehearsal is critical to learning and retention. A lack of sleep "hurts attention, executive function, working memory, mood, quantitative skills, logical reasoning, and even motor dexterity." Dr. Medina says that the "biological drive for an afternoon nap is universal" and says that naps should be part of the work and school day for everyone (not just Kindergartners, who don't get naps any more now anyway). Just 26 minutes of napping results in a 34% improvement in performance. What other strategy would improve test scores by that much?
Stressed brains don't learn as well. Researchers noticed that a stressful home life greatly impacts learning capacity, so they tried a marital intervention program with impressive results. Not only did that extra help cause family harmony, but that harmony led to significantly higher achievement in the students whose families received the marital intervention. Dr. Medina feels that this kind of program could be more effective and economically feasible than any academic intervention.
A multi-sensory learning environment produces better recall that is longer lasting and more accurate. Learners integrate new information better when more senses are employed in the learning process. In one experiment, the students who were given multi-sensory presentations generated 50%-75% more creative solutions on a problem-solving test than those who saw uni-sensory presentations.
The apparatus in our brain that gives us vision takes up half of the brain's resources and, not coincidentally, is the strongest sense we have. Simply put, pictures are powerful – more powerful than words alone. A study that was done showed that subjects who received text only presentations remembered only 10% of it 72 hours later, while those who had pictures and text retained 65% of the presentation.
Like it or not, male and female brains work differently and social differences affect language, retention, perception, learning, and more. For example, the language girls use emphasizes their focus on relationships, while boys' use of language is more indicative of their tendency to negotiate status in groups. Dr. Medina states that the difference between the genders could be described as the addition of a single powerful word. Boys might say, "Do this." Girls would say "Let's do this." Boys who give orders are perceived as leaders and girls who do so are perceived as bossy. Study after study has shown this gender bias solidifies into adulthood.
It seems that the divide in Language Arts that girls excel in and the math and science that boys excel in can be largely attributed to inherent social styles of both genders. A third grade teacher noticed the growing performance gap with consternation and chose to separately teach each gender. After only two weeks of single gender instruction the performance gap was closed!
Babies model how we learn. They do not learn passively, but instead they are active little scientists who test their environment through observation, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion. We must take advantage of our innate curiosity and learning style and construct active learning environments that take full advantage of this rule, rather than to fight it.
I appreciated Dr. Medina's efforts not only to explain each brain rule so thoroughly and entertainingly, but that he also gave concrete suggestions for how we could make specific, reasonable changes that will capitalize on these brain rules. Wouldn't it be great if schools acknowledged these inexorable facts and did everything possible to create environments that obey them?
There is a movement afoot in education to get all school children lined up for college and their motto is "college starts in Kindergarten". I feel uncomfortable with this on so many levels. I realize that the those who tout this notion have wonderful intentions. Their goal is for students from low socio-economic backgrounds to have equal access to college. The thought is that by setting the expectation and providing a college-prep education, all students will go to college and have higher paying jobs. On the face of it, this seems like a great idea. I, too, want ALL children to be able to attend college if they choose. And who wouldn't want to educate more people and reduce poverty? But we should carefully consider the impact of the "college starts in Kindergarten" mindset.
Kindergarten used to be a transition year, a year not even considered part of the regular grade school. Attendance at Kindergarten is optional, not mandatory. Now play is disappearing, naps are gone and Kindergartners have homework. We even need to be "prepared" for Kindergarten. Often there is talk about how difficult it is to get your child into the "right" Kindergarten because it will set your child onto a trajectory for the "right" college and a high paying job. This puts tremendous pressure on any child, regardless of background, to look at the long term, big picture, to constantly work towards the goal, and to succeed. On the face of it, these values and behaviors are what we want our children to learn - but at five? Five year old children do not think this way and it is unrealistic to expect them to behave this way. While we can certainly encourage and nurture this way of thinking along the way, to build an education system around this expectation seems to ignore the very population you are hoping to serve. We must provide a developmentally appropriate setting which will nourish children in the way they learn if we truly want them to succeed.
It has been well-researched and documented (see the Alliance for Childhood's "Crisis in the Kindergarten" report here) that children learn through play and must have enough movement, creativity, and rest to properly learn. This is ignored more and more by schools in favor of pushing for academic achievement in just the tested basics at ever earlier ages. "College starts in Kindergarten" only exacerbates this condition. As Sir Ken Robinson says in this wonderful TED presentation here, "a three year old is not half a six year old", meaning that we should children treat as they are, not as we would aspire them to be in later years.
We are already a society that struggles to be present. We have been raised to multi-task and to hurry and to "get things done." This way of thinking permeates every aspect of our lives, to how we eat, how we work, how we spend our free time, and even how we relate to others. Making college begin in Kindergarden increases this "ever forward" way of thinking at the cost of missing out on the present moment. If we are constantly thinking and worrying about the future, we are not experiencing what is happening right here and now and it makes us an anxious society. Childhood should be savored not rushed.
Making college seem like the only valid choice feels wrong to me. There are many kids in every socio-economic category that will not be best served by going to college. There are many different paths to a happy, creative, productive adult life and college is not the only path. If we imply that college is the only way, we create the mindset that money is the single most important factor in choosing a career, ignoring things like strengths, interests, talents, fulfillment, and happiness. A recent New York Times editorial profiled the success of the robust German apprenticeship programs that provide alternatives to a college degree that put their apprentices in higher demand for higher paying jobs than their college graduate counterparts for the same investment of time and for far less expense. The article advocates for more apprentice programs like the Germans have and for the return of vocational choices within our educational system without tracking students in them.
Speaking of investments, attaining that college degree can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but many graduates these days are not finding the high paying jobs they have prepared their whole lives for. The students from low socio-economic backgrounds do not have the resources that are available to others to pay for this degree and so they disproportionately incur a tremendous amount of debt in student loans. This puts them at a significant disadvantage at the beginning of their careers and increases the pressure to find a job that will allow them to pay off their loans to make college worth it.
It seems to me that we should be fixing this societal problem from the end rather than at the beginning: at the job market. Education inflation abounds today. It used to be that a college degree was the exception, now it is the rule. But it is not just a B.A. that is necessary, now we routinely see a master's degree as a requirement for many jobs. A closer look at several job categories will show that it is completely unnecessary to require that much education when experience would be far more valuable. For instance, the job I have had for the last 10 years in telecom sales required a bachelor's degree. It made no difference that my bachelor's degree was in Spanish and English Education, which had nothing to do with the job. All sales people have to learn the specific product or service they are to sell on the job anyway. To require a college degree when it is irrelevant is classist and essentially discriminatory. If jobs that didn't actually need a college degree were opened to a larger pool of talent as they should be, there wouldn't be so much pressure on everyone to get a college degree and all of the baggage that tends to go with it.
I think college is a great choice and provides many significant benefits to be sure. If we put the appropriate value on a college education, vocational education, and apprenticeship programs, we could also value Kindergarten for what it is intended for as well. If the job market ended unnecessary, discriminatory policies and every student had equal access to many paths to a variety of careers, perhaps we could preserve childhood and we'd see many more happy, productive adults unhampered by debt.
There is a new school opening in Denver that is sure to be a success. It is a Denver public charter school serving girls in 6th-12th grade with the expeditionary learning framework. I have had the pleasure of speaking with several of the schools leaders, including Liz Wolfson (founder and Head of School) and Nina Safane (Director of New Schools Development) and they were happy to share more about their school with me.
How was the idea for this school born?
Liz Wolfson created the concept for GALS out of an innate desire to help girls find their voices. She spent most of her adult life implementing visions as a consultant for CEOs, philanthropists, politicians and corporations, and then realized what she wanted to do was implement a vision of her own. After reading and researching and talking to folks in the education world, she realized that a girls' school grounded in mind-body development could offer young woman the opportunity to access the skills and knowledge to be leaders of their own lives as well as the world. It would allow a space where they could find that this path was their birthright. And she realized that this choice was not yet available to parents.
Why just girls? What is the value of separating the genders?
Girls' schools demonstrate wildly successful academic achievement across the country. They provide girls the opportunity to step up in leadership roles, to take risks, and to focus on their academics. Graduates of girls' schools have bigger visions of the world and their own path within it. For GALS specifically, a girl-only environment allows us to focus on how girls learn as well as issues particularly relevant to their development and address them in ways that foster leadership, global responsibility, and positive self-image building.
Explain the importance of engaging health and wellness in education, especially in an urban setting?
GALS draws on health and wellness as a key contributing factor to success in education. At our school this plays out in a number of ways as we consider the whole child on the path to academic success and personal development. We draw on the brain science behind engaging in physical activity/movement before a student's most difficult classes in order to stimulate the neurological and behavioral connections between the brain and the body. We supplement this with the use of active and engaged teaching and learning practices that encourage students to fully participate in the learning process. We foster a community where healthy choices are valued whether that relates to food or relationships or anything else. We also pay particular attention to the psychosocial dynamics of what it means to grow up female in today's world - issues that if not addressed, become barriers or risk factors to academic success and positive self-image building.
What kind of families are attracted to the school?
GALS attracts an incredibly diverse population. It appeals to students from a wide range of backgrounds and will support their diverse needs well. This model is meant to be a choice for any family who believes in single gender education and the importance of health and wellness being integrated into a school philosophy.
Expeditionary Learning allows the student more choice and autonomy in her education. How do you feel this model fits with the GALS mission, as well as the overall success of students who attend the school?
The framework of EL allows students the ability to connect with their education. It integrates subjects when appropriate, draws on their relevancy to the world, and focuses on engaging students at individual access points. It allows school to be relevant and interesting by using projects and drawing on local expertise and resources -- a particularly important framework for a girls' school, and it will allow students entering a classroom with a diversity of skills and knowledge to begin at a place that works for them and work off of a model of individual growth.
I love that every student has an Individual learning plan (ILP), which is something I have advocated for because it helps all students and reduces tension related to giftedness and struggling students, among other benefits. I've heard that "this can't be done" though. How are you making it happen?
First and foremost, GALS is committed to a staff of educators who believe in this model of education. EL provides a great framework for differentiation, but the school will be built on a culture where a student is expected to own her education and work with her peers and faculty achieve appropriate growth.
How might a successful student that graduates from GALS look and sound different than one that graduates from a conventional public school?
A GALS graduate will emerge into the world with the knowledge of how she learns best both intellectually and physically and how she needs to take care of herself in order to succeed. She leaves with courage and commitment as well as a strong sense of the responsibility of communal leadership and well-being. Throughout the course of the journey at GALS, she will explore 10 general physical and character traits that begin with the premise of power and strength and end with an understanding of balance. As she moves into the world, she can come back to these core skills and apply them in her life.
In the last year, hundreds of thousands of people have spoken up for America's children and asked for improvements to the National School Lunch Program. As a result, Congress has drafted a Child Nutrition Bill with the deepest investment and strongest standards in the program's sixty-year history.
But now our progress is on the line: Senate leaders are thinking about postponing the bill's passage for another year or two. Our deadline for changing their minds is tomorrow.
Can you help out today by emailing your Senators?
The progress we've made with this bill is the result of months of hard work on the part of Slow Food USA's network and our many allies in the food movement. As it stands, the bill will equip schools to buy and cook healthier food, strengthen nutrition standards (including for school vending machines), and provide new support for local food and school gardens. Since school lunch is a federal program, the only way to make some of these big improvements is via Congress.
Senators Blanche Lincoln and Saxby Chambliss are circulating a letter asking Senate leaders to schedule time for the bill. The deadline for Senators to add their signature is tomorrow, Wednesday, May 19 -- so please write your Senators today.
A friend recently recommended I read "The Enneagram of Parenting" by Elizabeth Wagele because I was struggling with the fact that discipline strategies that I use on one kid do not work well with the other kid. The book helps you to identify your child as one of nine different types and gives a little insight their habits and behaviors. The point of the book is not to pigeon-hole your child into a static, limited identity, but, as my friend pointed out, it helps to understand that your way is not the only way to relate to the world.
Each type gets a chapter and the book starts each chapter with a quiz that helps you determine whether you or your child are that type. After the eight-question quiz, there are plenty of cartoons that illustrate each type in humerus ways. Toward the end of the chapter there is a section called "Approaching Ten Common Problems with a Child in the _______ Style". This section talks about each type's challenges with such topics as getting to school on time, study habits, manners, getting along with others, decision making, and more.
It turns out that I am a Perfectionist and my husband laughed out loud when I read the quiz that acts as a description for it. As a child I willingly did chores, cleaned my plate and took school work seriously without external pressure. I was (and am) an idealistic leader who likes to share knowledge with others.
My older son is a Romantic, who tends to be melancholy and has feelings that are easily hurt. He has a strong sense of the dramatic and likes to engage in fantasy play. He is a creative, soulful humanitarian. He reacts well to a rational heart-to-heart talk after a cooling down period and I have learned to ride out his dramatic side without getting sucked into it.
My younger son was harder to peg and I read the book for the express purpose of learning how to better parent him! He was a little bit of everything, which didn't help me. A time out for him only serves to fuel his anger, not cool it off. He is also very physical and is not one to talk it out - he'd rather duke it out. But he is also very loving and loves to be with his family the most.
The book is a quick, interesting read that helps to understand others and relate to them in better ways. I would have preferred a lot more examples of kids in each type and more specific strategies for dealing with each type, but I did enjoy the book and it spurred a lot of good conversation about parenting and personalities in our house.
Amy Anderson is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Donnell-Kay Foundation. Her career has shown a commitment to promoting and expanding high performing public schools around the nation from the very beginning. Her work at the foundation includes new school development, social science research, and education policy analysis. Amy and I shared breakfast and our passion for education recently, and she told me about the work that takes place at the Donnell-Kay Foundation.
How did the Donnell-Kay Foundation get started?
The foundation was incorporated in 1965 through a trust by the Kay family. The board of trustees is led by Allen Dines, a former Colorado state legislator, who has an abiding interest in improving public education. The Executive Director is Tony Lewis.
The mission of the Donnell-Kay Foundation is to improve public education and drive systemic school reform in Colorado through solid research, creative dialogue and critical thinking. The Foundation focuses on funding systemic reform and state level policy in the areas of early childhood, K-12, and higher education. The Foundation also provides operating and program funding to school districts and non-profit organizations statewide - with a focus on urban schools in metro-Denver.
What kind of education reform does the foundation support and how does it do it?
A major area of focus is increasing the supply of high performing public schools, especially in areas where a lack of such schools exist. We also have invested considerable resources in efforts to reduce Colorado's drop-out rate. We are also exploring business models to link more Early Childhood Education (ECE) to charters, having them co-located, and recently held a Summit on Blended Learning that introduced leading ideas and approaches for integrating online and innovative technologies into brick and mortar schools and classrooms.
It seems that if a school has a waiting list to get into it, there should be more schools of that ilk that enable more students access to that kind of education. Why aren't there more expeditionary learning schools or more schools like Denver School of the Arts? Why is the supply not keeping up with the demand?
Some schools cannot keep up with the demand, while others, especially new schools, struggle for enrollment. It takes efforts on the district part to close underperforming schools in order to make room for new, higher performing options. And, it takes more marketing and education to help families to understand what their choices are.
One reason why there are not more of the schools you listed above is because it is a lot of work to start a new school. It takes leadership to get a school like this up and running and it is a task that is overwhelming for many people. Some schools are replicating, like DSST, while others are growing to meet increased demand, such as Odyssey will do if it is able to raise the necessary funds to build a new building and grow. As for Expeditionary Learning (EL), that organization is planning on creating a regional center that will foster the creation of more EL schools, develop teacher and leadership pipelines to work in these schools, and provide ongoing support for existing EL schools in the area.
I love how the Donnell-Kay Foundation looks at nearly every aspect of a student's education and where improvements can be made based on research. Tell me about some of the projects that are not academic, but greatly impact student's lives.
Yes, this is largely a function of what our interests are. We are interested in improving the lives of students in a holistic way. We've worked with health foundations and health care providers to expand school-based health initiatives and have spend considerable time over the past couple of years to bring healthier school lunch options to Colorado.
We went to Revolutionary Foods in California and recruited them to come here to improve the school lunches in Denver. This was the easy part. It's the policy negotiation, the district hurdles, and the state statutes that are still ongoing that are the difficult part of reforming food service programs. Initially, some of the school districts we met with were resistant to working with a group like Rev Foods and/or revamping their lunch programs in order to serve freshly prepared, non-processed meals. That said, a handful of districts have agreed to release charter schools from their school lunch programs, allowing them to use Revolutionary Foods. We launched and funded this initiative, and much of the work now is being handled by the Colorado League of Charter Schools. Interestingly, this year DPS unveiled a healthier lunch program as a means of trying to attract back some charters that had left, provide different options for non-charter schools, and keep others from opting out in the future. This new optional lunch program will roll-out in selected DPS schools next Fall.
Looking through your website, I see a lot more effort to improve education and very little about accountability/standardized testing. This is a refreshing break from much of the government's focus on education. Tell me about the foundation's general view on the accountability movement.
The testing is necessary to monitor teacher effectiveness and student growth over time, but the success of a school is more than just doing well on a test.
When choosing a school for your child, it is important to understand your family values and look for a school that will be in alignment with those values. If your values are at odds with the school's, it will be difficult to fully support your child's education. Here are a few of my favorite types of schools and what those schools tend to value.
"The Nature and Purpose of Education" by Maurice Holt was originally published by the Center for Ecoliteracy. © Copyright 2004 Center for Ecoliteracy. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
In her celebrated The Classic Italian Cookbook, Marcella Hazan wrote: "What people do with food is an act that reveals how they construe the world."
At the time — 30 years ago — it was a sentiment that needed a word of explanation; the Japanese meal respects aesthetics, the French cuisine respects subtlety, Italian food respects its ingredients.
We now take what we eat much more seriously, and it is timely to ask: What does a school lunch of reheated burger and chips have to say about how we construe the world? For that matter, what does it say about how we construe the nature and purpose of education?
Pausing to ponder the nature and consequences of a burger bar in the center of Rome was how a major eating revolution began. Carlo Petrini, a prominent Italian journalist, was walking past a newly opened McDonald's franchise when he stopped and said: If this is fast food, why not have Slow Food? In much the same way, I was thinking about the standards-based school curriculum, with its emphasis on regurgitated gobbets of knowledge, when I recognized the analogy with fast food. What we have created, with our tests and targets, is the fast school, driven by standardized products. So why not devise a Slow School, driven by an emphasis on how ideas are conceptualized, just as Slow Food is driven by how the innate qualities of ingredients can be realized?
The concept of Slow, as it has emerged from the Slow Food movement, derives its power as a metaphor from its moral force. It is about what it is good to do; to enjoy "quiet material pleasure," as Carlo Petrini has put it, which entails making judgments about conduct, virtue, and balance. In the Slow City, for example, the virtue of courage emboldens citizens to restrict the growth of hypermarkets so that specialist providers are not put out of business. As a result, people can conduct themselves thoughtfully in a society that values personal experience.
Since education is essentially about equipping our children with the ability to act responsibly in a complex society, the idea of a Slow School follows very readily from the metaphor of Slow. It brings to mind an institution where students have time to discuss, argue, and reflect upon knowledge and ideas, and so come to understand themselves and the culture they will inherit. It would be a school that esteems the professional judgment of teachers, that recognizes the differing interests and talents of its pupils, and works with its community to provide a rich variety of learning experiences.
Unfortunately, schools in a number of countries are obliged, by political decisions, to conduct their affairs in a totally different manner. This is particularly the case in England and the United States, where public education has taken as its model not the moral character of Slow Food but the commercial character of fast food.
What matters in fast food is not the process of preparing or educating, but the outcome. And the product itself is so worthless: a burger has little nutritional value, and schooling based on standardized tests and targets treats students as vessels to be filled rather than people who want to understand, to be inspired, to make something of themselves.
These "fast schools" do little to prepare students for the world of tomorrow, based as they are on the idea of "standards," which in practice means comparing performance on content-based tests. If we want our students to look ahead rather than in the rearview mirror, the metaphor of the standards-based school has to be replaced by the metaphor of the Slow School. The metaphor of standards conjures up a folk memory of fighting battles and winning wars, of steadfast purpose and reliable automobiles. It's a powerful image, but it's completely wrong-headed.
The underlying assumption is that if we can make car engines to a high standard, why not turn out students to a high standard? The answer is simple: manufacturing crankshafts is a technical problem, while educating pupils is a moral problem. As Aristotle recognized, different kinds of problems need different methods of solution.
In the case of the Slow School, we have to solve complex, practical problems of a moral nature. So at the heart of the Slow School is the idea of bringing together, when new proposals are to be discussed, the responses of its students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders. In this way the school renders a continuous account of what it is doing to those with a real interest in its work. Accountability is built into the process of curriculum — it's part of a continuing narrative that has real meaning for pupils and parents.
This is much better than the summative form of accountability generated by standards-led schooling. Parents are confronted with tables of comparative performance on tests which baffle rather than illuminate. Numbers alone tell us very little. Who benefits from this emphasis on standards? Certainly not students, who find such a curriculum boring; nor parents, who are totally excluded from real judgments about their children's school. As for teachers, the effect is to lower their morale and undermine their professionalism. Only the politicians benefit; when the numbers go up, they take the credit, and when they go down they blame the schools.
Support is growing for the Slow School movement. Some schools, already on the right track, are beginning to discover that they are really Slow Schools! And an inspired way to get the Slow metaphor into schools is to confront the burger-based lunch and show students how to devise their own, home-grown, slow lunch. At a stroke, they have to challenge received opinion, think about fundamentals, and devise alternative strategies. It's a good recipe for learning how to build a Slow School curriculum.
For more information, visit www.ecoliteracy.org .
I have spent a lot of time on this blog talking about the challenges of public education, but in all of my research I have learned that there is no perfect educational setting. I also learned this week that there are plenty of things that are good about public education. Even in Ronan's fourth day back in public school it is clear to see that there are many good things about it, however imperfect it may be.
- The socialization factor is significant. Because we were eclectic in our approach and non-religious, we had a difficult time finding age-appropriate homeschooling peers to interact with on a regular basis. It is probably easier if you are pure in your approach, like homeschooling with only Waldorf materials and lesson plans. At a public school there is a built-in rich social structure with age-appropriate peers of different races, religions and socio-economic backgrounds.
- The public school we attend is considered a neighborhood school, which tends to strengthen neighborhoods and build communities. In only four days, I have gotten to know a few of the parents of Ronan's new friends and we will both likely deepen those friendships and create more through time and common experiences. This tends to create a web of relationships that support and nurture those who are part of it. It also creates a stronger sense of place for our whole family within our community.
- The separation of the roles of mother and teacher proved to be important in the health of my relationship with Ronan. He had a hard time with making errors because I think it seemed important to him that I saw him as very capable or smart. Every mistake was regarded by him as proof against these traits he so valued, rather than an opportunity to learn. It is often remarked that our kids seem to behave differently with other groups of people than they do within the family. Maybe the stakes aren't so high if a teacher sees mistakes. Also, as a friend who also tried homeschooling for a short time said, being your child's teacher seems to magnify the inherent challenges in your relationship. A separation of those roles helps to reduce the tension that comes from those challenges.
- There is something to be said for having a trained, passionate teacher with a prepared curriculum, who has plenty of support in place to educate your child. The teachers that Ronan has have already found ways to motivate him with novel materials and approaches. It is also helpful for children to learn to cope with different styles of leadership, as they will do throughout the school years.
- Peer pressure sometimes works in our favor. Ronan saw his brother Jude doing a lot of playing and he naturally wanted to join him and not do school work. Now he is with a group of kids who are doing school work when they are supposed to and he wants to gain the level of competence and ability that he observes in some of his classmates.
- Although I have had plenty to say against school bells and rigid schedules, there are positive attributes to it. Kids like routine and like knowing what is coming next. It also helps to have consistent exposure to each subject. I loved the flexibility of the homeschooling day, but that flexibility didn't provide as much consistency and routine that Ronan seems to thrive on now.
- Support and involvement of a school is a great way to be a part of something bigger than yourself. It is the most natural way of doing good and working with a group toward a common goal. This kind of civic duty is one of the earliest examples of philanthropy and altruism your kids can observe and someday emulate.
- A public education is (mostly) free! In that way it has the potential to be the great equalizer in that everyone has an opportunity to learn and better themselves.
I can see the benefits of homeschooling, neighborhood schools, magnet schools, charter schools, and private schools. After having tried nearly all of these options, I know there is no perfect solution. What works for one family may not work for another. What works right now, may not work well later. I am grateful to have so many choices. What riches we have before us for learning and growing! I am especially grateful that our current choice is going so well and has produced a lot of happiness and relief for everyone in our family. After all the negatives I have pointed out in the past, I can't help but appreciate a public education right now.
I recently toured St. Elizabeth's Episcopal School in Denver and asked many questions of Walter McCoy, the charismatic Head of School and the parent representative that graciously guided us around the school and told us all about it. Here is what I learned about the school.
I understand that socio-economic integration is a chief goal of the school. Why is that so important and how do you ensure that goal is met?
Part of the main mission of the school is to integrate children for different socio-economic backgrounds because that actually helps improve learning. By having a sliding scale for all families, it ensures that more students, regardless of family income, have the choice to attend a private school such as ours.
The largest class size is 18. That is much lower than Denver Public School's cap on class sizes. Why is this important and why 18 as a cut off?
Small class sizes are critical to good learning environments.
Arts are featured heavily in your school. What do you offer, how often and why?
There is music and visual arts offered multiple days a week. We feel it is important – creativity stimulates the senses and improves education and performance.
Do you use standardized testing?
There is no standardized testing. Teachers routinely assess each child as the year progresses and communicate the progress to parents.
St. Elizabeth's is an Episcopal school, yet it is said that students from all religions are welcomed. How would a Buddhist or a Jewish person feel at the school? How much of a role does religion play at the school. Please describe the beliefs and traditions of an Episcopalian.
The Episcopal Church is liturgical, similar to Catholic and Lutheran churches, and there is "chapel" time twice a week for 20 minutes followed by a Faith Studies class that looks at what all the world's religions offer. Episcopal schools enroll a wide range of Christian and even non-Christian families. We do not proselytize, and we hope that whatever faith a family brings to schools will be stronger when they leave.
Describe the community feeling at your school. How do parents and students integrate with others of different socio-economic, religious, or racial backgrounds? How is community nurtured and encouraged at the school?
There is a strong Parent Association that is very active. We have events that foster community and there is a lot of volunteer work that unites people. Play dates and birthday parties abound. Our sliding scale tuition, the Family Commitment Plan, unites families in a sense that all contribute according to their financial ability.
How long has the school existed? Where do most of your students come from and why did they choose the school?
The school has been around for 2 years now and most of our students come from varied socio-economic backgrounds from the Park Hill, Stapleton, and Five Points neighborhoods.
Respect and dignity are mentioned more than once on your website. How is this fostered? How are learning styles and speeds honored? How do you handle a child who is reading below grade level or not doing as well at math as a second grader might do?
There is a learning specialist that helps students who need help. Reading is a big focus.
Do you have a pre-school? Do you have an after care program? What are the hours of the school?
There is no pre-school, it is currently K-2 and we'll add a grade each year. School lets out at 3:10 and there is an after-care program until 6:00.
I saw some "workbooks" and understood that worksheets are sent home for homework. How much do worksheets and textbooks comprise the work and homework?
Kindergarten: We do not send home homework. Most of our classroom time is spent manipulating and investigating new concepts and then followed up with showing that knowledge on paper.
First Grade: Our homework in first grade goes home to students on Monday and is due on Friday each week. We have a reading chart on each assignment sheet so kids can track how many minutes they read each night. The written homework is comprised of weekly spelling lists (that follow phonetic patterns) to study, a language arts worksheet, and a math worksheet. We also have occasional special projects, such as our mathematical masks for the 100th day of school for which students gathered 100 items for the masks at home.
Combined First/Second Grade: Worksheets and textbooks are used for daily lessons as well as for homework. All work is interrelated for a classroom theme or subject. I would say we use them about 50% of the time. The rest of the time, we are using Morning Journals, Literature Logs, and guided or leveled readers.
As for class work, we are a traditional program in the sense that we do expect our students to complete written work that coincides with our thematic units. We keep the classroom work balanced, however, so that kids are completing written work, doing art projects, and working together in different hands-on centers.
How are science, social studies and history learned? Do you use textbooks?
Kindergarten: Our science, social studies and history are all comprised by the teacher and based somewhat on core knowledge content standards as well as standards used in other schools we chose to model our program from. We do not use textbooks.
First Grade: We align our science and social studies units with the Colorado state standards, but do not use textbooks. Judy, Kim, and I have met to determine what units the kids should be learning in each grade level so there isn't much overlap. Judy and I integrate our thematic units, which usually pertain to social studies and/or science, into our daily language arts work in order to help students make meaningful connections. Kids complete written work, do research projects, and delve into hands-on work as they learn about science and social studies. Our field trips are almost always designed to enrich our science/social studies units.
Combined 1st/2nd grade: Science and Social Studies are taught at the first and second grade levels. We create our own units through various resources. We do not have textbooks for these two subjects.


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Hopes lessons can be taken from A40 tragedy
THE family of Johnny Stevens, who was killed by a lorry on the A40, has urged the NHS to learn from his death. An inquest heard Mr Stevens died after being struck by a lorry on the Northern Bypass Road on July 5 last year, just hours after being discharged from the John Radcliffe Hospital[1] for a previous car crash. It happened in the early hours and Oxford Coroner's Court was told the 33-year-old was struck as he lay in the road after attempting to walk home.
Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter concluded he may have been suffering from concussion or confusion at the time as a result of injuring his head earlier. During the previous crash at 10.30pm on July 4 in Oxford Road, Horspath, Mr Stevens rolled his car after swerving to miss an animal in the road, hitting his head, and was taken to hospital. In giving his narrative verdict, Mr Salter said Mr Stevens, from Horspath, was given a CT scan at hospital which came back normal before being discharged about 3am.
He added: "At approximately 3.40am Johnny Stevens was lying in lane two of the A40 Northern Bypass Road, when he was run over by a HGV vehicle. "The reason he was in laying in the carriageway is unknown but may have been due to concussion or confusion. "There was no third party involvement or suspicious circumstances.
"It therefore appears he placed himself on the carriageway but there is insufficient evidence to conclude he intended to take his own life." Mr Stevens' family were at the inquest yesterday and questioned why the hospital let him leave without a responsible adult to look after him. His dad Mark Stevens said during the inquest: "Our main concern is Johnny had a bad car accident and by statement was travelling about 45mph.
He must've had a really bad impact." He added: "He was in hospital for three hours, was bandaged up with blood on his shirt and all over his trousers. "He had been dealing with anxiety and bad sleeping, then at 3am was let out into the night."
The inquest heard Mr Stevens was given a note by the hospital saying he should be with a responsible adult for the next 24 hours after discharge. Speaking at the inquest on behalf of Oxford University[2] NHS Trust, Dr Philip Hormbrey said although a CT scan might not show minor concussion, the hospital would not have been able to insist Mr Stevens stayed to be picked up. He said: "With all patients we have to take into account any risks to them in the future.
"In Johnny's case, doctors had assessed him and did not perceive was at risk to himself from his head injury or from any other underlying psychological problems."
Dr Hormbrey agreed to take back the concerns to the trust and look at how they can better insist patients in leaving overnight are picked up by a family member.
Mr Stevens' dad thanked the NHS and police for their help during a difficult time adding that he hoped something positive could come from Johnny's death.
^ John Radcliffe Hospital (www.oxfordtimes.co.uk)
^ Oxford University (www.oxfordtimes.co.uk)
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The March 14, 2019 regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting has been canceled. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2019.
The January 10, 2019 regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting has been canceled. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Thursday, February 14, 2019.


text:
Q: Game Center Leaderboards with cocos2d Cause Unresponsive App OK, so I'm trying to show Apple Game Center Leaderboards called from within my cocos2d game.
I've had some trouble doing so.
I did eventually stumble upon this and I implemented the following in one of my CCScene classes (I slightly modified the original code to prevent a compiler warning).
- (void)showLeaderboardForCategory:(NSString *)category
{
    // Create leaderboard view with default Game Center style
    leaderboardController = [[GKLeaderboardViewController alloc] init];

    // If view controller was successfully created...
    if (leaderboardController != nil)
    {
        // Leaderboard config
        leaderboardController.leaderboardDelegate = self; // leaderboardController will send messages to this object
        leaderboardController.category = category;
        leaderboardController.timeScope = GKLeaderboardTimeScopeAllTime;

        // Create an additional UIViewController to attach the GKLeaderboardViewController to
        vc = [[UIViewController alloc] init];

        // Add the temporary UIViewController to the main view
        [[CCDirector sharedDirector].view.window addSubview:vc.view];

        // Tell UIViewController to present the leaderboard
        [vc presentModalViewController:leaderboardController animated:YES];
    }
}

- (void)leaderboardViewControllerDidFinish:(GKLeaderboardViewController *)viewController
{
    [vc dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];
}

And, it works! At least when I call it, it does display the Leaderboard properly.
The only problem is, when I tap "Done" on the Leaderboard and the modal view dismisses, my CCScene no longer responds to tap events.
What do I need to do to regain responsiveness?

A: Refer sample plain cocos2d project:
     -(void)showLeaderboard
      {
        GKLeaderboardViewController *leaderboardViewController = [[GKLeaderboardViewController alloc] init];
        leaderboardViewController.leaderboardDelegate = self;
        AppController *app = (AppController*) [[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];
        [[app navController] presentModalViewController:leaderboardViewController animated:YES];
        [leaderboardViewController release];
     }

Delegate Function:
-(void) leaderboardViewControllerDidFinish:(GKLeaderboardViewController *)viewController
{
    AppController *app = (AppController*) [[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];
    [[app navController] dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
In my Phonology of English course I used to give my students a homework task as follows. I am sure the readers of this blog would have no difficulty in answering this question. We all know that the choice between preconsonantal a and prevocalic an is generally determined by pronunciation, not by spelling.
• We say and write an uncle, an urgent message ən ˈʌŋkl̩, ən ˈɜːdʒənt ˈmesɪdʒ but a unit, a Eurocrat ə ˈjuːnɪt, ə ˈjʊərəkræt, because unit and Eurocrat, despite being spelt with an initial vowel letter, begin with the sound j, and in English the two semivowels count as consonant sounds.
• We say and write a house, a heavy weight ə ˈhaʊs, ə ˈhevi ˈweɪt but an hour, an honourable man ən ˈaʊə, ən ˈɒnərəbl̩ ˈmæn, because hour and honourable, despite being spelt with an initial consonant letter, are pronounced with an initial vowel sound (the h being 'silent').
There's a little problem that crops up in words beginning with the letter h in an unstressed syllable: words such as historic and hotel. Nowadays we normally say ə hɪˈstɒrɪk ɪˈvent, ə həʊˈtel. Do we write, correspondingly, a historic event, a hotel? Yes, most of us do. But some people prefer an historic event, an hotel (which to me could suggest a certain literary prissiness or conscious archaizing). Anyhow, both are accepted in writing. The Concise Oxford Dictionary puts it thus:
The h used to be dropped in these words precisely because it was in an unstressed syllable, and in polite Victorian-era English the sound h was apparently restricted to the position before a stressed vowel. A few people, not vulgar h-droppers, perhaps still today pronounce historic(al), historian with no h, at least when preceded by the indefinite article.
So far so good. But over the weekend I was reading the legal judgment in the case before the Court of Appeal concerning the Christian owners of a bed-and-breakfast who had refused a room to a gay couple. The learned justices had frequent occasion in this judgment to use the words homosexual and heterosexual preceded by the indefinite article. And in their written report they chose the form an.
This does seem strange. The initial syllables in these words do not bear the main word stress, but they do bear a lexical secondary stress, which (i) protects the vowel from reduction and (ii) is often realized as a rhythmic beat. I have never previously seen a published (non-dialectal) text that uses an in this position.
I wonder if the judge(s) in question pronounced the phrases with the n when delivering the judgment. I think it unlikely that they would have dropped the initial h.
Interestingly, the legal regulations that the judges quote refer to "a hotel".
For what it's worth, "an homosexual" gets about 31,700 results on Google. "an heterosexual" gets about 12,100 results
Of course, it's hard to tell whether the writers are native speakers, but a cursory glance suggests that they are literate.
Ed 13 February 2012 at 12:14
I have read the phrase "an hereditary peer" a few times, which seems strange to me. There is a book that uses this in the title.
(I don't mean this as a response to David. For some reason, the button to create a new comment is not appearing.)
This really is a reply to Ed
Googling "an hereditary" produced about 221,000 results. Some are by punters querying the usage. Most seems to be instances of "an hereditary monarchy" or "an hereditary disease". The latter appear to be from serious medical sites.
Hereditary is of course in the same category as historic and hotel, i.e. with h in an UNstressed syllable. What was unusual about homosexual and heterosexual is that the h is in a (secondarily) STRESSED syllable.
Doesn't that imply that for some speakers the primary stress in on the first syllable? Especially if they're contrasting homosexual and heterosexual.
Not exactly. It implies that under certain circumstances all speakers will place primary stress there in running speech, namely when "stress shift" and/or contrastive focus kick in.
Yes, I'm suggesting that such 'running speech' was playing in the speakers head s at the time of writing.
vp 13 February 2012 at 15:56
The Google Ngram for "an homosexual" vs. "a homosexual" shows the former to be invisibly rare. By contrast, "an hotel" is reasonably common.


Do you ever use your phone like a Magic 8 ball? Do the 'wonder-urges' take over your time? You know, all those little questions like I wonder how much a new hammock costs, or I wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow, or I wonder how to cook dried beans in the oven.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, what's the most addictive of them all?
You know what? I recently discovered that it turns out I don't need to find the answers to all of them right away.
I'm not a quitter. Well, not usually. But my phone and I have been spending waaaaay too much time together. While I've been averaging just under two hours a day, sometimes it's been upwards of 3+ hours! Not in big chunks, mind you, but it might even be worse if it's sprinkled all throughout the day.
In an effort to be more in the present moment and less in the FB feed, I've been tinkering with ways to cut back slowly. So far, so good. But I will say I've been reading a lot more. That's escape, too, isn't it?
All of them. Even email. I had most turned off, but email notifications still drew my attention every time. Now I have to actually pick up my phone, unlock, navigate to my mail app, open it, and refresh to see if I have mail.
It's amazing how this little tweak reduced the number of times I glance at my phone, thereby reducing the overall unlocks, which inevitably lead to a quick glance at my Instagram feed, and the over to my Goodreads account. You get the idea.
Make this change by going to the app's settings, or going to the notifications setting.
For years my phone's charging station has been my bedside. Because my phone is also my alarm clock! Duh.
But often, setting the alarm leads to checking those social media feeds. And then sometimes, an hour later, I'm exhausted, haven't read a page of my book, and still haven't reached the end of the damn feed! It happens. A lot.
But last week I went to the thrift store and bought a cute little alarm clock for $2.50, and relocated the phone charging to my desk downstairs.
It's a miracle! I've finished two books this week already!
Ok, this one actually requires acquiring a new app, which seems counterintuitive, but I promise it's not.
You need an app that will help you monitor your usage. I found and use Quality Time, which tells me not only how much time I spend looking at my phone, but also breaks it down by app.
This is how I know I average just under 2 hours a day on my phone, spend waaaay to much time on social media, and also how I know that my cut-back strategies are working. Data collection is important, people!
This one is a no-brainer. Now that you know how you're spending your time (see point 3, above), decide what to quit (or cut back).
I didn't even have the Facebook app on my phone, but still managed to use it quite a bit from the web browser. Logging out meant I had to reenter my credentials, which I conveniently forgot, so in this way I made FB disappear. This, not surprisingly, led to more IG usage. But c'mon, a girl needs some distraction. I'm working on it.
How have you managed your own screen time?
Look, even that cute little flip phone had me riveted.
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Each of Ray's Food Place store locations has a budget for donations. The store manager will review the completed donation request form and determine whether the request will be approved. Approved requests for in-store donations are up to $100 in gift cards.
If the request exceeds the store's donation budget or requires special arrangements, the form will be forwarded to the corporate office for processing. In any case, the person making the request will be notified whether or not the request has been approved and where the gift card or check will need to be picked up and donation form signed.
All organizations must have a 501(C)(3) status and include federal tax ID number.
All letters must be on official organization letterhead. Computer generated flyers, e-mail and invitations are not formal letters and therefore are not considered proper request procedures for a donation, but may be attached to the donation form.
The donation form must contain the date of the event, organization's tax ID number, address and phone number, the contact person's name, driver's license number, address and phone number, the type of fundraiser and in what capacity will the proceeds be utilized.
Requests must be received at least thirty (30) days prior to the event.
We do not donate through a second or third party request. Donations are given directly to the benefiting organization.
Only one request from an organization can be submitted each calendar year.
Ray's Food Place evaluates each request in the context of Ray's Food Place' focus areas, company priorities, geographic relevance, available budget and eligible activities/restrictions.
All incomplete request forms will be returned to the originating store or organization and will be re-scheduled for the next donation review meeting, which is typically every two weeks.
Please note that Ray's Food Place receives a significant volume of requests and is therefore unable to accommodate all, no matter how much we might wish to do so.
Regardless of the level of funding requested, the process begins with a donation request form. This document is available in all Ray's Food Place locations or by downloading the PDF file from our web site.
Simply complete the form, attach any supporting information and forward it to the local store manager. All donation requests must be submitted a minimum thirty (30) days in advance of the date that the donation is needed. Responses may take as long as two weeks to process once the donation is approved.


text:
Q: crystal report showing duplicate records i have a student table , i want to show the Student Name as a heading , and then his/her details in a whole row, but the report is showing every student record twice. how to do this? i have added the Student Name and all the columns in the Detail Section.
These are the columns from the Student table:
StudentName | Class|  section| Course| DOB
I want that the display is like this:
----------------------Student1 Name  ---this would be the heading
Class|  section| Course| DOB**
----------------------Student 2 Name  ---this would be the heading
Class|  section| Course| DOB**
----------------------Student 3 Name  ---this would be the heading
Class|  section| Course| DOB**

A: You should use the "group by" option (Menu Insert\Group), choose studentName field as group by field. Delete the studentName field from your detail\header lines, and it will then appear as requested


text:
gold ore grinding in washington state
Gold Panning in Washington State The Best Places for
Rules for mineral prospecting and placer mining
Jun 11, 2020· Mineral prospecting and placer mining activities in or near water qualify as hydraulic projects and require a permit (Chapter 77.55 RCW).The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) regulates some of these activities through the Gold and Fish pamphlet.. People who operate within the rules of the Gold and Fish pamphlet do not need to apply for an individual Hydraulic Project
Gold Prospecting in Washington. Finding Gold Panning in WA
The vast majority of the gold found has been from lode mining. Placers produce mainly fine gold. Okanogan County is in the northern part of Washington on the east slopes of the Cascades. The Columbia, Methows, and Okanogan Rivers all contain gold.
Bulletin 42, Gold in Washington
State of Washington ARTHUR B. LANGLIE, Governor Department of Conservation and Development W. A. GALBRAITH, Director DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY SHELDON L. GLOVER, Supervisor Bulletin No. 42 GOLD IN WASHINGTON By MARSHALL T. HUNTTING
WASHINGTON GOLD MAPS, GOLD PLACERS AND GOLD
History The Caribou Gold Rush in the colony of British Columbia just to the north of Washington state, was from 1861 1866. As a result of the gold rush in Canada, gold was found in Washington. However, this was Indian land and not open to mining and prospecting until 1886 when the Indian reservation was relocated to its present day location.
Division of Geology and Earth Resources
a stream, heavy minerals (including gold) settle into crevices and any other depressions in the streambed and form placer de-posits. Gold in the sand and gravel in the streambed can be recovered by panning. PANNING IN WASHINGTON The state's streams that contain placer gold are also important for the plant and animal communities they support
Where Can I Find Gold In Washington State?
Mar 06, 2019· So it's time to touch Washington. I'm coming back over to the west coast and we're going to visit that and show you what's going on in this state map. I created this Washington state gold map using the USGS MRDs system as I talked about in the "Government Gold Maps" how to instruction report (a.k.a GGM.)
abandoned gold mines in washington state Solution for
and an additional gross revenue royalty of at least 2 percent for gold mining operations on state lands. State: Washington; Estimated number of abandoned Gold Maps Online: Washington Gold Panning Maps. Our Washington gold panning map shows there are currently 607 active gold mining claims and 14,950 abandoned claims located
There are lots of gold mining opportunities in Washington state. Fine placer gold can be found in the Columbia River and its tributaries, as well as numerous creeks and rivers west of the Cascades. Panning for gold is a great way to find gold, or you can step up to a sluice or dredge and move some material.
25 Rivers in Washington Where You Can Find Gold
Apr 04, 2017· One great thing about prospecting in Washington is that gold can be found in just about every part of the state. Placer gold is probably most prevalent in the creeks and rivers of the Cascade Range, but central and eastern Washington also have some great areas to prospect for gold
Washington Mines Western Mining History
Distribution of mines in Washington. Yellow dots are mines with gold listed as a primary commodity. Black dots are mines without gold as a primary commodity, but may have gold listed as a secondary or tertiary commodity. A dynamic version of this map can be viewed on our Mining Towns page.
washington state gold ore Page 2 Gold Refining Forum
Aug 16, 2017· Re: washington state gold ore Post by Richard36 » July 18th, 2010, 9:50 pm It sounds like you pretty much already know close to what all you need to know.
Washington Gold Finding Gold in the State of Washington
Washington gold was discovered in Chelan County in 1860. Some of the early records are not accurate, but by best estamates Chelan County has produced around 1,565,425 ounces of gold. There were 139 lode mines and 24 placer mines in operation in this county, some still working today.
7 Rivers in Oregon that are Full of Gold Nuggets
Nov 09, 2016· Oregon is a great state to do some gold prospecting. Some incredible gold nuggets have been found in the state, and there are countless creeks and rivers where gold is hidden within the gravels. The major gold-bearing areas in Oregon are primarily in the southern part (Grants Pass & Medford area) and the eastern part of the state (Baker City
The Republic district, which is 25 miles south of Canada, is the most consistent gold producer in Washington State. It had a total recorded production of 836,393 gold ounces from 1896-1959. SW of Republic .5 miles, is the Republic Mine. It consisted of 13 patented claims that produced lode gold
2 new major finds may extend Nevada's gold boom for years
Mar 04, 2020· Grinding steel balls, used to extract gold and other precious metals in ore mineral processing, are seen at the Goldstrike autoclave at Nevada Gold
Arrastra Wikipedia
For gold ore, the gold was typically recovered by amalgamation with quicksilver. The miner would add clean mercury to the ground ore, continue grinding, rinse out the fines, then add more ore and repeat the process. At cleanup, the gold amalgam was carefully recovered from the low places and crevices in the arrastra floor.
kinross ore crushing processing crushing plant washington
12 Feb 2020 and processing of gold-containing ore, and reclamation of gold hydroelectric power plants in the State of Goias, Brazil from a As a result of the suspension of mining and crushing activities at Maricunga, there was no ore mined and Superior Court's ruling to the State of Washington Court of Appeals. Get Price
washington state gold ore Gold Refining Forum
Aug 29, 2009· Re: washington state gold ore Post by Richard36 » August 29th, 2009, 8:24 pm Platdigger wrote: Well, one part per million is aproxamately 1 gram per ton.
A Recent Visit to Liberty Washington Gold Mining Town
Liberty is by far the richest gold mining town in Washington State. There have been some amazing gold nuggets found here over the years, and even recently a few huge nuggets were found. No doubt that panning in Swauk Creek or Williams Creek would still produce some nice gold today.
S3E6 Washington State Gold Mining Prospecting Creek #1 wth
Mar 10, 2015· Revisited Creek #1 and had a very successful day. Didn't move a lot of material, but found a fair amount of gold right where we thought it ought to be! I jus.
Author: Dennis Petersen
Assessment method for epithermal gold deposits in
Washington State (fig. 1). Exploration for gold has been concentrated around operating mines in Ferry and adjacent counties, including epithermal (or hot spring) gold deposits at Republic, Kettle, K-2 and Orient. The report, in particular, addresses about one-half of the study area, or 23,600 km2 that
Washington Prospectors Mining Association
The WPMA has access to 1665 acres of claims available for members to use. The claims are located in the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. You keep all the gold you find on the claims. Click here to see our latest list of available claims. When panning or visiting a claim we need a claim report for each trip Please use the Mining
More Washington State Treasures Just Waiting to Be Found
If a treasure is buried there, it will have to stay hidden, as the historic fort is now a Washington State Park. Stevens County The Lost Doukhober Mine, discovered in 1929, is said to be located in the northern part of Stevens County. Ore from this mine assayed at 1,000 oz of silver per ton.
Washington state gold prospecting YouTube
Testing a spot near my house for future sluice box runs
Washington Obituaries Legacy
Browse the most recent Washington obituaries and condolences. Celebrate and remember the lives we have lost in Washington.
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Home » Forza Horizon 5 Passes 15 Million Players In Two Months
Forza Horizon 5 Passes 15 Million Players In Two Months
Forza Horizon 5 is still zooming in on the charts as it has now passed 15 million players. The in-game player counter reveals the new song, as shared on social media (via TheGamer).
Of course, not that many copies have been sold per se, since the racing title is available on Xbox Game Pass. Either way, it's a huge milestone for Playground's latest.
The game reached 4.5 million players across console, PC, and the cloud right out of the gate, and it enjoyed the "biggest launch day" for an Xbox Game Studios title. It also reached a maximum concurrent player count that was 3x greater than Forza Horizon 4's maximum concurrent record.
Playground will continue to update and support Forza Horizon 5 in the future with multiple expansions and other updates. This is all happening as Playground's second team develops a new Fable game. In another notable development, Playground's co-founder Gavin Raeburn has left the studio.
While we've learned a lot about how well Forza Horizon 5 performs in the market, the same can't be said for Microsoft's more recent big game, Halo Infinite. Microsoft has not shared any player or sales statistics for the game, whose multiplayer was released in November and the campaign in December.
This Minecraft map turns the blocky builder into a rad Doom game
PUBG Mobile 1.8 latest beta APK download link, file size and more
Shadow Warrior 3 March Release Date Seemingly Leaks


will join together showing that water molecules attract each other.
reduces the surface tension of water.
4. Take the pail of bubble solution outdoors with your "Bubble Thing"
Cassidy, John, The Unbelievable Bubble Book, Klutz Press, 1987.


Mitch Haniger hit a two-out, solo home run in the top of the 9th to break a 5-all tie. Roenis Elias came on in the 9th for the save and Seattle improved to a Major-League-best 12-and-2.
Haniger's home run helped the Mariners tie the 2002 Cleveland Indians for the Major League record of games to open a season with a long ball at 14. In addition, it was the M's 34th homer of the season, tying the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals for the most home runs by any team in the first 14-games.
Yusei Kikuchi gave up two home runs early but ended up throwing 6-innings in a no-decision. Anthony Swarzak got the final two outs in the 8th for his first win. For Elias, it was his second save.
At the plate, Malix Smith led off and finished 2-for-4 with 2-RBI's. Edwin Encarnacion also went 2-for-4 with 2-RBI's.
It's Game 5 of the Interior Division Finals between Wenatchee and Vernon from the Town Toyota Center. Watch the game in its entirety tonight at 7.


•	Soul programming into the subconscious, which connects the reptilian brain and the Lower Mind. The Lower Mind regulates your survival issues and basic physiology. If your Lower Mind thinks the world is a scary place, it will become so. If a belief in security dominates, you will find the world a safe place and will attract prosperity.
•	Subconscious programming into the unconscious, which links the mammalian brain and the Middle Mind. Your Middle Mind manufactures feelings, thoughts, and emotions, which in turn determine your everyday behaviors. Negative programs result in negative behaviors and emotional issues including depression or anxiety. Positive programs will draw positive people and situations to you.
•	Unconscious programming into consciousness, which bonds the higher or learning brain and the Higher Mind. Dharmic programs, if believed, can override karmic patterns, setting off a chain reaction in the body that results in achievement of spiritual purpose and easy manifesting. If karmic beliefs rule, life will be challenging and difficult. You will constantly feel like you are not living the life you are meant to have.
•	The conscious self or Higher Mind opening to the supraconscious, a part of your spirit that interrelates the soul and the world. Your supraconscious is connected to the spiritual realms, higher truths, and divine assistance. Once located in the supraconscious, karma is automatically transformed to dharma. The problems and pains of the past can now be interpreted as "perfect," in that they led to learning and growth. This is not a justification for abuse. It is a healing process, one that recognizes the innate wholeness of every being and invites this wholeness into every corner of life.


am i the only one planning to raise my dd vegetarian (as both her father and i are)? i'd love advice, as little sweetie won't be eating solids for a few months.
We are not vegetarian but I just wanted to let you know that I make my own baby food and that way there are way more options and combos you can put together than what comes in the jars. Foods which contain lots of protein and which you can start giving your lo anywhere between 6-8 months are: Soft tofu, Black beans, chickpeas, lima bean ect. I give my lo tofu about 1x a week and I mix it with a fruit or sweet tasting veggie to improve the flavour of the plain tofu. Do you eat fish? if so that is another protein source. GL!
Oh yes, I do eat fish! I hope she likes beans haha. I imagine tofu to be great, since like you said, has no flavor, just picks up the flavor of whatever it is with.


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Q: SASS / source maps not loading with nested structures I went from all the SASS files being in the same directory, to a nested structure as follows.  Now, when I inspect an element in chrome, it takes me to the incorrect source map.  For example, when I inspect a button, instead of going to the _buttons partial, it goes to a different random partial that is unrelated.  Anyone know why this is happening?  Does something need to change in my gulp file?

A: You have *.scss files, but in your gulpjs config.input.sass. May be wrong files format.
I use compass and it looks like this
gulp.task('compass', function() {
    gulp.src(inputDir+'/*.'+fileType)
        .pipe(compass({
            css: outputDir,
            sass: inputDir,
            sourcemap: true
        }))
        .pipe(gulp.dest(outputDir))
        .pipe(connect.reload());
});

This is my working example. You can see generated main.css.map
You need to install
https://www.npmjs.com/package/gulp-sass
https://www.npmjs.com/package/gulp-sourcemaps

A: https://www.npmjs.com/package/sass-module-importer
The issue had to do with how we were importing the sass and css files together in the main.scss file, and doing the copy of css files in the gulp file.  The easiest solution was to include the sass-module-importer. The gulp file is updated below with the final solution.


All Products - 42 products.
La-Z-Boy Briggs power reclining loveseat is the perfect combination of cool and comfortable. Generously scaled and cushioned with soft shirring on the back and footrests, and supportive chaise reclining end seats. Dimensions: 42H x 64W x 40D.
La-Z-Boy Tripoli Reclina-Way® reclining sofa. Dimensions: 43H x 83W x 38D.Please measure to make sure it will fit in your space.
La-Z-Boy Briggs console loveseat is the perfect combination of cool and comfortable. Generously scaled and cushioned with soft shirring on the back and footrests, and supportive chaise reclining end seats. Dimensions: 42H x 79W x 40D.
La-Z-Boy Briggs reclining sofa. The La-Z-Boy Briggs reclining group is the perfect combination of cool and comfortable. Generously scaled and cushioned with soft shirring on the back and footrests, and supportive chaise reclining end seats. Dimensions: 42Hx87Wx40D.
Its easy to see why the Amy sleeper sofa is everyones friend. It works nicely with so many different pieces. And with its slightly flared arms, beautiful wood legs, semi-attached seat back cushions and throw pillows, its surely a sight to behold. Dimensions: 38H x 81W x 39D.
This group has irresistible curves and amazing comfort. Stylish with clean design.Loveseat dimensions: 41H x 63W x 37D.Please measure to make sure it will fit your space.Fabric content: 100% Polyester.
This group has irresistible curves and amazing comfort. Stylish with clean design.Sofa dimensions: 41H x 85W x 37D.Please measure to make sure it will fit your space.Fabric content: 100% Polyester.
La-Z-Boy Briggs power reclining sofa is the perfect combination of cool and comfortable. Generously scaled and cushioned with soft shirring on the back and footrests, and supportive chaise reclining end seats. Dimensions: 42H x 87W x 40D.
La-Z-Boy Tripoli Reclina-Way® reclining loveseat. Dimensions: 43H x 59W x 38D.Please measure to make sure it will fit in your space.
La-Z-Boy Briggs power console loveseat. The Briggs reclining group is the perfect combination of cool and comfortable. Generously scaled and cushioned with soft shirring on the back and footrests, and supportive chaise reclining end seats. Dimensions: 42Hx79Wx40D.
La-Z-Boy Briggs reclining loveseat is the perfect combination of cool and comfortable. Generously scaled and cushioned with soft shirring on the back and footrests, and supportive chaise reclining end seats.Dimensions: 42H x 64W x 40D.Please measure to make sure it will fit your space.
This Pinnacle console has two cupholders and two storage drawers for your convenience. Genuine La-Z-Boy quality. The group is made in the USA. Please measure to make sure it will fit your space.Please measure to make sure it will fit your space.


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Hicham M. Jaber (ou Hisham Jaber ; né le ) est un général de division, politologue et historien libanais.

Biographie
Jaber est né à Nabatieh, au sud du Liban. À la fin de sa scolarité à l'école militaire de l'armée libanaise, il effectue sa formation spécialisée à l'école d'application de l'infanterie à Saint-Maixent-l'École.

Il poursuit, en 1976, des cours de relations publiques et d'information à la Defense Information School (DINFOS) dans l'Indiana aux États-Unis. Il poursuit ensuite ses études en guerre psychologique à Fort Bragg, en Caroline du Nord. En 1982, Jaber est diplômé d'une maîtrise en sciences militaires du Command and General Staff College à Fort Leavenworth, au Kansas, et obtient par la même occasion une maîtrise en communication de masse de l'Université du Kansas. En 1993, Jaber obtient un DEA en histoire contemporaine à l'Université Paris IV, et en 1997, un doctorat en histoire politique contemporaine, également à Paris IV, sous la direction de Dominique Chevallier. Le général Jaber a présenté sa thèse en présence de nombreuses personnalités dont le ministre français des Affaires étrangères Hervé de Charette, le député Gérard Bapt, l'écrivain Lucien Bitterlin et l'homme d'état libanais Raymond Eddé.

Il fut recommandé par l'ambassadeur français à Beyrouth, auprès du Ministère français de la Défense, pour la médaille de l'Ordre national du Mérite pour son rôle dans la libération des otages français au Liban.

Commandement
1982 - Il fut chef du bureau de liaison entre les forces armées américaines (dans le cadre de la Force multinationale de sécurité à Beyrouth) et l'armée libanaise durant la Guerre du Liban.
1986 - Il fut commandant du Centre de Sport Militaire.
1991 - Il fut attaché militaire à l'ambassade du Liban à Paris.
1993 - Il devient enseignant en guerre psychologique, terrorisme et guerre asymétrique à l'école de formation pour les officiers supérieurs d'état-major de l'armée libanaise.
1996 - Il fut commandant de l'institut d'enseignement de l'armée libanaise.
1997 - Dans son dernier mandat au sein de l'armée libanaise, Jaber est devenu gouverneur militaire de Beyrouth.
2000 - Le général passe à la retraite et fonde Help & Data, un cabinet de relations publiques, lobbying et renseignements économiques (business intelligence) basé à Beyrouth, puisqu'il entretient d'excellentes relations avec plusieurs chefs d'État en Afrique de l'Ouest et dans les pays arabes.

Notes et références
  Hisham Jaber Curriculum Vitae sur Help and Data (H&D), the Middle-East Center for Studies and Public Relations
  A decisive peace or continued uncertainty?  CNN, Your World Today, interview avec Jaber, Isaac Herzog et David Gergen
  Bomb under road may have killed Hariri, , Associated Press article citant Jaber, sur MSNBC
  Lebanon's Army , Al Jazeera English, Inside Story, interview avec Jaber

Général libanais
Naissance en septembre 1942
Naissance à Nabatieh

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Nelsie Yang will challenge Dan Bostrom for St….
Nelsie Yang will challenge Dan Bostrom for St. Paul council seat in 2019
Undated courtesy photo, circa July 2018, of Nelsie Yang, an organizer with TakeAction Minnesota, who has announced her candidacy for the Ward 6 seat on the St. Paul City Council. The ward spans the Greater East Side neighborhoods of Frost Lake, Hayden Heights, Hazel Park, Payne-Phalen, Phalen Village and Prosperity. Council Member Dan Bostrom has represented the ward since 1996. (Courtesy of Nelsie Yang)
By Frederick Melo | fmelo@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: July 23, 2018 at 3:04 pm | UPDATED: July 24, 2018 at 11:18 am
Nelsie Yang, an organizer with TakeAction Minnesota, has announced her intent to run for the Ward 6 seat on the St. Paul City Council next year.
The seat is currently held by Dan Bostrom, a former St. Paul police sergeant who has represented the ward since 1996. The ward spans the northeast corner of the city — the Greater East Side neighborhoods of Frost Lake, Hayden Heights, Hazel Park, Payne-Phalen, Phalen Village and Prosperity.
In a written statement, Yang described herself as a "grassroots organizer and social justice activist" and "renter, millennial, and working-class neighbor."
She was the communications director for Marny Xiong's 2017 campaign for the St. Paul Public School board and a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Also in 2016, Yang ran DFL operations for five Mankato-area political campaigns for state and congressional office. Yang's campaign co-chair is Paul Winkelaar, an employee of Education Minnesota, the teacher's union.
Her campaign kick-off is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 19 at Arlington Hills Community Center. The ranked-choice election will take place in November 2019.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter to deliver 2020 budget remarks Aug. 15
Legal appeal fights mill and overlay charges, seeks to move them onto St. Paul property taxes
Hillcrest funding would add $5 to median St. Paul property tax for 25 years
St. Paul City Council approves turning vacant land into dog park
In St. Paul, a look at rules and regulations that need to go away
St. Paul City Council
Frederick Melo
Frederick Melo was once sued by a reader for $2 million but kept on writing. He came to the Pioneer Press in 2005 and brings a testy East Coast attitude to St. Paul beat reporting. He spent nearly six years covering crime in the Dakota County courts before switching focus to the St. Paul mayor's office, city council, and all things neighborhood-related, from the city's churches to its parks and light rail. A resident of Hamline-Midway, he is married to a Frogtown woman. He Tweets with manic intensity at @FrederickMelo.
Follow Frederick Melo	@FrederickMelo
Judge: Twin Cities German Immersion School demolition on hold but opponents must raise $2M in a week
A Ramsey County District judge on Monday granted a temporary restraining order sought by residents opposed to the demolition of the former St. Andrew's Church. The restraining order delays the Twin Cities German Immersion School's plan to demolish the building for an expansion project, but perhaps not for long. As part of her order, Judge Jennifer Frisch required residents opposed...
It's a sculpture, it's an aardvark, it's a … storage shed? Western Sculpture Park celebrates a functional new piece.
The Aardvark in the Park Festival in St. Paul on Saturday, July 27, will celebrate a quirky new sculpture. An aardvark joined the Western Sculpture Park's 15-piece collection last month. The work will serve as both art and a storage shed for youth workshops and other park programs. It provides 128 square feet of interior space to store art materials...
Congestion growing on Twin Cities metro freeways, study shows
Freeway congestion in the metro ticked up slightly last year, according to a new report. The percent of congested freeway miles was 24.2 percent last year -- up from 23.2 percent in 2017, according to the 2018 Metropolitan Freeway System Congestion Report released Monday. That's the highest percentage of congestion in the last 10 years. The analysis by the Minnesota...
Mall of America to open walk-in health clinic this fall
A walk-in clinic will open at the Mall of America in November, offering services for both workers and customers alike. The new clinic was announced Tuesday, and will be part of M Health Fairview, a partnership between Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota. To be located on the third floor of the Bloomington mall's east end, the 2,300-square-foot...
Lake Elmo Airport neighbors opposed to its expansion to meet
Neighbors opposed to the $10.9 million runway relocation and expansion project at the Lake Elmo Airport will meet this week. Lake Elmo Airport opened in 1951 and is one of 83 intermediate airports located in Minnesota. It's one of the state's busiest, but its 2,850-foot runway is the fifth shortest. The Metropolitan Airports Commission says a longer runway will be...
Giving is living: Twin Cities No. 1 in volunteering
Kathleen McNamara enters the classroom, pushing though the paper vines and monkeys dangling from the ceiling. She sits down in a ring of 13 preschoolers, and picks up the book "One Red Rooster." "The chicken book!" shouts one kid. "You wrote that book?" No, she says, and starts reading aloud -- her third act of volunteerism that day. McNamara is...