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Open Letter to Our School Board
An Open Letter to the School Board of Tredyffrin-Easttown School District
Everyone Reads T/E has been working on one mission for the past eighteen months – to ensure all Tredyffrin/Easttown School District (TESD) students learn to read to the best of their ability.
We have dyslexic children, yet our mission is not about dyslexia, nor about teacher training specific to dyslexia. Our mission is to ensure our "top-notch" school district is invested in training and materials that support evidence-based reading instruction for ALL students – including the nearly 20% who are in reading support, but also all other students in the District.
Unfortunately, our many hours of dialogue with T/E School District leaders have surfaced numerous significant issues with reading instruction:
District administrators have actively avoided sharing TESD reading performance data – raising community concerns that they must have something to hide.
The District is using the weakest curriculum in the K–12 market, as validated by respected third-party reviews.
TESD reading instruction is not aligned with large bodies of evidence on how kids learn to read.
The district's approach to student benchmark assessment is not inline with established best practice.
Teachers and leaders in TESD are not using the collected criterion-referenced benchmark student data to inform reading instruction, because the District has not created systems to support this practice.
District leadership does not appear seriously invested in resolving these issues. In fact, it seems most invested in maintaining the status quo.
Students in TESD are experiencing negative consequences with potentially lifelong outcomes.
This runs counter to the mission of our district, and the needs of our students and our teachers. We regard the teachers in our school district highly and believe they deserve the best support and materials, as we shared in our recent open letter to TESD teachers. In private conversations, we have been told that many teachers applaud our efforts yet fear reprisal if they speak out publicly about issues in the schools (which their contracts prevent them from doing).
Everyone Reads T/E believes the parents and community members of TESD deserve to know of the issues we have uncovered with reading instruction in our "top notch" schools, and that these matters warrant prompt Board attention.
Here are our concerns:
Concern 1: Red Flags About Reading Instruction in TESD
Parents in T/E are accustomed to thinking of the District as high-performing. By the metric of performance in the Pennsylvania State assessment (known as PSSA), this might appear to be the case: Schooldigger ranks TESD 12th in the state based on the 2017-2018 PSSA scores.
What parents may not realize is that TESD has the 7th-lowest 4th-8th grade English Language Arts growth score (called the PVAAS) of the 638 districts in Pennsylvania. This alone might prompt reflection.
Additionally, in the October 2018 Education Committee Meeting, the district verbally shared performance indicators for its reading support programs: across its Elementary Reading Support Programs, students demonstrate a mean of one year of reading growth each year. No data was disseminated to support this assertion. Yet even if we take this at face value, it is worrisome. The goal of a reading intervention program is to help under performing readers catch up with their grade level peers, thus such programs commonly achieve more than 1 year of growth in a school year. In TESD, some students will make more than one year of growth in a year, so the TESD mean of one year shows that many of our students in reading support make less than one year's annual growth. We have sought data from the district to know how many students are in this low-growth situation.
Further, in the last 18 months, we have supported dozens of parents who expressed concerns about TESD reading approaches that mirrored our own troubling experiences. We outline a sample of the parent concerns in Appendix C of this letter.
These red flags prompted us to invest hundreds of hours of personal time in understanding the reading approach in TESD. Our worrisome findings follow.
Concern 2: A lack of transparency about district's own reading performance data
In the last year, we have sought greater transparency about student reading performance in our district, as has the Board – to no avail.
Promises have been broken. In August 2018, District leaders committed to provide reporting on reading performance to our community by March 2019. The District has failed to meet that commitment. Appendix E provides extensive detail on this matter.
We have every reason to believe the district has data on how our students are reading – in fact, it has said as much to the media. Reporter Avi Wolfman-Arent reported for WHYY that Dr. Wendy Towle, TESD Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Staff Development and Planning, said "the district sifted through internal data on its program for struggling readers and found it works for the majority."
Further, student reading data is captured and aggregated in databases. The district has spent $9,000 on one system, SunGard's Performance Tracker, (11/27/18 T/E School Board agenda, page 22). TESD employs a database administrator for $115,000+/year, who can access these databases to provide aggregate insight into student reading performance.
Yet the District leaders offer flimsy excuses for why they cannot share how our students are performing in reading. They are taking pains to avoid and/or delay the sharing of its existing reading data.
Our community is concerned. Dr. Jim Capalupo, former Superintendent of the year in a neighboring district, Associate Dean of Partnerships and Professional Development for the College of Education at West Chester University and TESD parent, made an impassioned plea to TESD administration to share their data in the March 14th T/E School Board Education Committee meeting. Dr. Capolupo asserted that there was no excuse for not presenting the data requested, to overwhelming applause from other attendees.
We must ask as a community: Why is the District not more forthcoming about the data on its reading performance?
Also, when will the Board hold the District administration accountable for its promise to share better data about our students' reading outcomes?
Concern 3: TESD Uses the Weakest Available Curriculum
The current elementary curriculum used by the district, Literacy by Design, received the lowest score of any curriculum in reviews by EdReports, a respected nonprofit that reviews curriculum for alignment to standards. Literacy by Design's "all-red" review specifically states that it "does not meet expectations" of alignment to the Common Core Standards, which are materially similar to Pennsylvania Core Standards.
When we raised questions to the District leaders about the curriculum quality in May 2018, we were provided with research that endorsed Literacy by Design, but when we dug into the research, we found that the study had been funded by the publisher of the curriculum.
Earlier this month, we asked District administrators about their plans to improve the District's curriculum and we shared the ELA curriculum reviews on EdReports. Our curriculum leaders, Dr. Towle and Ms. Michele Staves, seemed unaware of EdReports, and that better curriculum options are available. Later, during her presentation at the March 14th meeting, Ms. Staves said there are many different ways to interpret what makes the best reading program, implying the work by nonprofits like EdReports might not help a district like ours.
The district's use of a reading curriculum that aligns poorly with Pennsylvania standards concerns us greatly. This could be having a substantial adverse impact on reading instruction: extensive research has shown that curriculum can have a strong impact on student achievement.
Further, there has been significant national dialogue about improvements in reading curriculum, and leaders in other districts are clearly making curriculum improvement a priority:
Three district leaders spoke out about their work with improved curriculum in Education Week, writing: "Districts today have many choices among research-aligned, excellent curricula, which was not the case even two years ago… In each of our districts, we have implemented one of the newly available curricula that earned the highest possible rating by EdReports, an independent curriculum review non-profit. District-wide reading improvement followed."
Entire states are using EdReports to identify the best curriculum options for their districts, then supporting districts statewide in learning of these options.
Literacy leader and lead Common Core author Sue Pimentel wrote of a "renaissance" in reading curriculum in Education Week.
We believe the community deserves to know how TESD plans to improve its poorly-rated curriculum.
Concern 4: Misalignment With Evidence-Based Practices
In meetings with the District administrators over the last 10 months, Everyone Reads T/E has expressed repeated concerns that the District literacy instruction does not support foundational reading skill development, which is a disservice to all students, and especially dyslexic students, based on the evidence about how kids learn to read.
We have identified two other areas in which TESD does not follow – or seem aware of – evidence-based reading approaches that are important for all learners, distinct from the specific needs of dyslexic students.
First, we note that elementary reading work is done primarily in leveled reading groups. There is a weak evidence base for this practice, as detailed in Appendix B.
Second: when we met with Dr. Towle and Ms. Staves in February to discuss evidence-based curriculum resources, we asked about aligning our curriculum with well-established research – also detailed in Appendix B – that shows the importance of background knowledge to reading comprehension. They seemed unaware of this research.
Currently, the District is poised to invest in Orton-Gillingham training for teachers, in order to help teachers support students with dyslexia. Such training could be a positive step but only if it is part of a broader professional learning strategy for teachers. The Orton-Gillingham investment could have marginal returns if there is no strategy to help teachers understand and implement a bigger picture for teaching literacy.
Concern 5: Flawed Approaches to Assessment and Use of Data to Inform Teaching
Everyone Reads T/E has identified a number of gaps between best practice and our practice:
The district lacks clear metrics for measuring reading performance. In the March 14th presentation by the District leaders about elementary grades' reading performance, the district leadership articulated a goal of one year of reading growth for "most" students, but did it not have a consistent way to measure that growth for all students. Instead, District leaders offered a menu of assessments, most of which were subjective, that they might use to determine reading level, listed in Appendix A.
We have identified a number of specific areas in which the District's approach to assessment is inconsistent with best practices in other districts, also outlined in Appendix A.
Third parties confirm that TESD's approach to elementary assessment is ineffective and out of date with K–12 education practices. Dr. Stephanie Stollar, Acadience/DIBELS Executive, explained to TESD Board members in March 2019 that TESD's hybrid "benchmark" assessment schedule does not follow recommended protocols; specifically, no kindergarten, 5th or 6th grade norm- or criterion-referenced benchmark assessments are conducted in TESD, and a limited benchmark protocol is conducted in grades 1-4. By not using the full protocol, insight into student growth across grades is impeded.
Today, districts commonly track student assessment data in reporting-friendly systems, both to support individual intervention by teachers and to help district leaders spot areas of strength, concern, and opportunity.
In TESD, district leaders have not prioritized effective use of data: Superintendent Gusick has repeatedly stated that he does not have insight into district reading performance, suggesting that his leadership team does not, either. We are surprised that the District and Board has not prioritized strong insight into the data to support instructional leadership at a district level.
It also appears that principals, instructional coaches, and teachers are unable to report on existing classroom-level and school-level data, in order to drive instruction on a day-to-day basis. It is common practice in many districts to invest in such reports that make it easy to identify students with needs and groups of students with similar learning profiles. TESD teachers do have access to individual student reports, which are currently provided to parents, yet this brings no efficiencies to data-driven teaching.
We believe the District should bring its assessment approaches inline with K–12 education norms and provide clarity about its planned strategies for using data to inform excellent teaching and learning.
Concern 6: Low Investedness of District Curriculum Leadership
As these significant issues have been raised about district-wide reading performance by Everyone Reads T/E, we have been surprised to see that Director of Curriculum, Dr. Towle, has been an inconsistent presence in discussions of these matters. Chris Groppe, the Director of Individualized Student Services (special education), has been leading the District's response to our concerns. Perhaps the District has the impression – or wants to create the impression in our community – that the issues with reading instruction are specific to dyslexic students. They are not.
We have connected the District administration and the Board with a number of outside experts on literacy, summarized in Appendix D. District administrators have spoken with these experts, yet to date, there are no signs that TESD plans to take the advice of these experts. For example, Dr. Heidi Beverine-Curry spoke with Dr. Gusick for 1.5 hours, and she has advised us that she does not see any of the evidence-based practices she presented reflected in the district's most recently-announced plans, though he verbally agreed with her recommendations during that meeting. The culprit appears to be the District leaders' own low awareness of reading research: our leaders may be misinterpreting the expert advice because they do not understand the evidence-base well enough themselves.
A lack of openness to informed perspectives seems emblematic of TESD district leadership culture. Teachers have shared with us privately that the District leadership is entrenched in its "T/E Way."
Dr. Towle has also misled parents. In the March 14th Education Committee meeting, she was asked by a parent about the District's prospective participation in the Pennsylvania Dyslexia Pilot. Dr. Towle stated that TESD looked into participating, but that TESD was not permitted because the students in the District were too high-performing for TESD to be admitted to the Pilot. This is untrue. Diane Reott – the Executive Director of the PBIDA and a PA Dyslexia Pilot leader – was present, and corrected the facts during and after the meeting with TESD staff, including with Mr. Groppe and Dr. Roberta Hotinski, Education Committee Chair of the Board. Such incidents erode trust.
Concern 7: Consequences for the Students TESD Serves
Parents have reached out to us at Everyone Reads T/E because they see their children struggling and have authentic concerns. They have frequently been told, "your child's reading is fine." They tell us of children losing confidence, overly stressed about school demands, experiencing anxiety and depression, developing self-harming behaviors, and more. While supporting parents and helping them advocate for their children, we have seen firsthand evidence of students' struggles to keep up with the reading demands in middle and high school. Many of these struggling readers are not dyslexic, according to the District.
Research has shown that poor readers are impacted emotionally. To quote one study, "Multi-level logistic regression analyses indicated that poor readers in 3rd grade were more likely to consider themselves as angry, distractible, sad, lonely, and unpopular in 5th grade than those who had not been poor readers in 3rd grade."
As a community that cares about its children's well-being, we need to talk about the role of reading issues in the stress levels and emotional health of our students. At the March, 2019 Education Committee meeting of the School Board, Mr. Groppe requested approval for more mental health support employees in our schools due to rising demand. The irony is not lost on us.
Putting These Serious Issues in Context
These issues are serious and substantive. They will surely surprise many in our community, just as they surprised us, and we think some context may help.
Our district's high PSSA scores have helped it earn a strong reputation and attracted excellent teachers to our schools. Still, there are reasonable explanations for the dissonance between TESD's high scores and strong teachers and these issues with how we teach reading.
Some are noted by the recent WHYY article about the District. Our schools benefit from a community of well-educated, active parents who invest in early reading and pre-school enrichment, which means our children arrive to school more ready for reading than kids in the average district. Also, when students struggle, parents invest in tutoring – or put their kids in private school. These realities in our community may drive test scores to a place that allows weak instructional approaches to go unquestioned.
We must also note that these issues are not unique to TESD. A growing national dialogue about how reading is taught has illuminated issues with reading instruction in many districts, and even in many teacher preparation programs. Teachers and district leaders have been speaking out about their misunderstandings about how kids learn to read. In that light, it's unsurprising that TESD has some reading instruction issues; apparently, they are pervasive nationally. Still, they deserve to be addressed here, just as they are being addressed around the country.
We believe the issues that we have uncovered raise reasonable questions that deserve answers and actions.
Is there any more worthy goal for TESD than getting all of our kids to succeed as readers? We cannot imagine anything more important.
What We Seek
Since November, 2017, Everyone Reads T/E's request of the District has been the same: we recommend the convening of a literacy committee – comprised of teachers, administrators, school board members, parents and outside experts – to analyze the current reading curriculum and reading support program, and to implement a literacy plan for providing high quality curriculum and intervention to all students.
The District has resisted such an approach; Dr. Hotinski, the Education Committee Chair said the Board should leave curriculum to "the professionals" in District offices. Yet parent-involved committee work has a precedent: in the March 14th School Board meeting, Carol Aichele, a former TESD School Board Member and current Pennsylvania Department of Education, Board Member, said she does not understand why TESD fears a literacy committee, noting that as an important part of the process parent/district committees were convened in the early 90's around topical issues such as homework policy and administrator hiring.
We believe that positive change on these issues will require collaboration between all stakeholders, including outside experts. The district's actions and inactions indicate an institutional resistance to change, and also a complacency about its programs, in light of the District's data voids: our leaders cannot be certain District programs are serving all students when they have not fully reviewed them with best practices in mind. We believe outside expertise and transparency are the best corrective measures. While the Board's proposed literacy plan is well intentioned it will not solve the problems we have presented without validation from all stakeholders.
The teachers' union, Tredyffrin/Easttown Education Association, clearly states on their website, "We believe partnership with parents, families, communities, and other stakeholders are essential to quality public education and student success." Let's hold our district leadership to live that virtuous goal articulated by our teacher leadership.
As a board, your responsibility is to oversee educational programs and curriculum choices. We hope you will reflect on the process over the past 18 months and remember that Everyone Reads T/E is working to make sure ALL students in the District have high quality curriculum, ALL students make meaningful growth in reading, and that ALL teachers have professional learning on the science of reading.
We also want the Board to reconsider making significant financial investments, such as Orton-Gillingham training for teachers or the implementation of a database system, without a clear plan that is informed by expert and stakeholder input.
We stand prepared to provide further evidence of our assertions, should it assist the Board in fulfilling your oversight role.
APPENDIX A: FLAWS WITH ASSESSMENT APPROACHES
List of subjective assessments used to determine reading level
In the March 14th Education Committee presentation by the District leaders about TESD reading performance, the District leadership articulated a goal of one year of reading growth for "most" students, but did it not have a consistent way to measure that growth for all students. Instead, district leaders offered this menu of assessments, most of which are subjective, that they might use to determine reading level. In parent/teacher conferences, classroom teachers and reading specialists cannot explain the metrics when asked how specific reading levels have been determined. .
Literacy By Design (LBD) Theme tests / curriculum-related assessments
LBD benchmarks
District benchmarks (i.e. DIBELS, 4Sight, MAZE)
Teacher observation of student acquisition and retention of skills and concepts
Application of reading skills through a variety of instructional activities
Reading conferences with teacher/student
Participation and engagement of student in reading activities
Written response activities
Standardized testing (PSSAs, ERBs)
For students with an IEP, information related to the IEP goal
For some students, an IRI (informal reading inventory) provides more information
Concerns with benchmark assessment approaches versus best practice
Evidence-based recommendations for universal screening require reliability, validity and cost/ease of implementation. The assessments and protocols used in the District do not have these characteristics:
The District-created kindergarten screener is lengthy, not norm-referenced and lacks critical components of reading indicators. Since there is no research on the outcomes of students "benchmarked" with this screener, the District cannot infer outcomes. We have evidence that it misses many at risk students at the most critical time for intervention.
The proposed Shaywitz screener pilot (proposed for Spring 2019) does not include piloting of norm-referenced screeners in conjunction as recommended by publisher.
Prescribed metrics for targeting catch-up growth in reading are not included or articulated. This delays much needed referral to special education services for many children.
TESD's schedule of various benchmarks (3 times per year) do not follow the prescribed publisher protocol.
ERBs given one time per year.
4Sight given 2 times per year.
Dibels Oral Reading Fluency Rate is only given grades 1-4, not 5-6, the recommended rate and retell components are not given at all.
Comprehension is only assessed at one grade level 2nd using AimsWeb MAZE. All other grades have no comprehension benchmarks.
The data derived from the 4Sight and ERB's indicating areas of weakness is not used to drive instruction. Parents frequently ask what weaknesses these tests show and are given composite scores instead of an explanation of weaknesses.
APPENDIX B: ARTICLES ON EVIDENCE-BASED READING PRACTICE
The reading practice concerns we note in our letter have been been validated across multiple studies that are synthesized and summarized here.
Weak Support for Grouping Students Based on Reading Level:
Education Week noted the concerns about leveled reading groups in a 2018 article: Are Classroom Reading Groups the Best Way to Teach Reading? Maybe Not.
Timothy Shanahan, literacy expert and past president of the International Literacy Association, captures the research here and also wrote a journal article about this issue.
Importance of Background Knowledge to Reading Comprehension:
Daniel Willingham wrote a good overview in the New York Times and summarizes the research and instructional implications in this video
This paper features additional topical research
Both of these points are well-established by large bodies of research. We have included some of the best resources for getting to know the evidence above, and we are prepared to make additional information available on request.
APPENDIX C: Parent concerns about reading instruction
Common themes include:
Students are placed in guided reading groups based on reading levels and do not make growth throughout the year, often remaining at the same level over several semesters as reported on progress reports.
Parents also report that their students remain in the same intervention groups for extended periods of time, sometimes the whole year. The amount of intervention and intervention strategies used do not change based on lack of progress.
Parents report that when they asked about reading support goals they are told goals are not set.
There is no clear and consistent process for determining reading level; parents report hearing a hodge-podge of methods used, including the methods described in Appendix B Reading level is reflected as part of elementary report cards in spite of the lack of a clear and consistent assessment approach.
When parents ask for reading support progress monitoring they are told that there is no progress monitoring and that there are no ways to produce graphs of progress (as recommended by RTI research). They are told that they must schedule a call or meeting to receive a narrative from the reading specialist who then does not provide clear data about progress.
Typically, Parents note that high-achieving readers do not get placed more than one grade level above in reading. On occasion, students are tested for gifted reading but must place 3 grade levels above their current grade to qualify. Students are frequently missed for the above-level determination.
Reading Support students are placed in small groups according to benchmark scores. The do not receive diagnostic assessments once they are flagged as at risk. Intervention research supports determining student needs with diagnostic assessments and targeting instruction to those needs once they have been identified with universal screeners as needing reading support. Intervention is the same for all of the students at a tier of intervention and includes all pillars of literacy regardless of areas of need. Ms. Staves explained in a March 20 Interschool Council Meeting that TESD reading support remediates all students in all areas - phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension and fluency because "we can't just work on one area and not the other."
Reading Support implements a myriad of "tools" they use to intervene. There is an impression that they are trying to see what will help a student "pop" without understanding when and why to use a specific strategy, for they are lacking knowledge about the rationale for a given intervention. This is confusing to parents because it sounds like they are doing "all they can" but not understanding that the instructors aren't informed on how to target the intervention.
APPENDIX D: LITERACY EXPERTS INTRODUCED TO TESD LEADERSHIP BY EVERYONE READS T/E
Earl Oremus, M.Ed., Headmaster Emeritus of Marburn Academy
Dr. Heidi Beverine-Curry, VP Professional Development, The Reading League
Diane Reott, Executive Director, PBIDA
Stephanie Stollar, PhD., Director of Professional Development, Acadiance
Dr. David Kilpatrick, Associate Professor of Psychology, SUNY Cortland
PATTAN, Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network
APPENDIX E: EVIDENCE AROUND DATA TRANSPARENCY CONCERNS
TESD Data Systems: The District has historically used the Performance Tracker system from SunGard to track data for teachers and administration, at a cost of $9,022 per year.
As parents, we have received copies of individual student reports out of this system or another database system. Yet the District claims that it cannot see aggregate reading performance out of the current data system. That claim has always struck us as questionable. Such data is required in order to participate as a Title 1 School, as TESD does, therefore aggregate data would seem to be attainable.
However, we have taken the Administration's assertions about their data warehousing capabilities at face value, and conversations have focused on the ways that the District can improve insight into its reading data by exporting it from their databases and importing it into another system designed for analyzing and reporting benchmark data to all stakeholders.
We have also been focused on the goal of a system that allows teachers to view and analyze data across their students, to support data-driven instruction.
Timeline for efforts to improve reading data transparency:
Everyone Reads T/E presented to the Administration about the DIBELS system (now called Acadience Reading), which would allow the District to upload and analyze 8 years of historic reading data at an affordable price ($1/student). We shared the contact details of Dr. Stephanie Stoller, the account executive for DIBELS/Acadience, to advise the District on the data upload process. Present at the meeting: Superintendent, Dr. Gusick; Curriculum Director, Dr. Towle; Director of Individualized Student Services, Mr. Groppe, and Student Services Supervisor, Ms. Nicole Roy.
In the August 27, 2018 School Board meeting, a district-level goal around reading was proposed:
"To engage in a review of the Reading Support program in grades K-4 to ensure student needs and learning profiles are being addressed appropriately and that reading goals, objectives and student progress are being effectively measured and communicated with parents." (emphasis added)
Late August / September 2018
In regular School Board meetings on 8/27/18 and 9/24/2018, both the Board and Everyone Reads T/E pushed district leadership for more measurable goals than the goal defined in the August Board meeting, as one can see from recordings of those meetings.
More measurable goals were not agreed, and on 9/24/2018, the general goal that had been proposed on 8/27 was approved.
In response to concerns that the goal was not measurable enough, Board member Ms. Heather Ward asked for a plan for sharing reading performance data. Dr. Gusick agreed to meet with the Board to discuss metrics, and to privately discuss plans for presenting the data at the March Education Committee meeting with the Board members.
During the October 11th Education Committee meeting, School Board members Ms. Kate Murphy and Ms. Tina Whitlow asked about the investigation into the DIBELS tool. Dr. Gusick confirmed that Curriculum Supervisor, Ms. Michele Staves had a call scheduled with DIBELS to discuss the program.
District leaders represented to the media that TESD had reviewed its student data. As Avi Wolfman-Arent reported for WHYY (audio), "Towle said the District sifted through internal data on its program for struggling readers and found it works for the majority."
At the March 14th Education Committee meeting, when the District was due to present reading performance data, the District was unprepared to share any additional insight on student reading performance in TESD.
Regarding the investigation into data collection and reporting tools, Ms. Staves, Dr. Gusick and Dr. Mike Szymendera reflected on their actions in the March 14th Education Committee Meeting and the March 20th Interschool Council Meeting (ISC). Their description of the process left many confused about how the District plans to analyze student performance data, largely because the story changed from meeting to meeting.
Things we heard:
In the Fall, Dr. Szymendera. and Ms. Staves met with several EdTech vendors including DIBELS and Ed Insight to discuss their student performance systems. Ms. Staves explained that the district chose PowerSchool's new Student Information System (SIS) instead of other options like Dibels.net because the other systems would not allow them to include all of the different assessments the district uses to give a "full measure" of student performance inferring that SIS was the best data analysis and reporting tool of those reviewed. (We know this is not the case with Ed Insight's tool).
District officials attempted to focus the conversation on parent-facing reports. Ms. Staves presented a mock-up of a parent report that the team developed in the new SIS. She explained that it took a lot of "man power" to create the sample report noting that it was a challenging process. Ms. Staves did not provide any sample reports for teachers, administrators or board members and made it clear that this tool was only to be used as a static report for parents.
Parents and board members again asked the administration to provide aggregate data showing the efficacy of the reading support program. Dr. Gusick claimed that the task of aggregating and analyzing historical data from its existing database would be too laborious and costly. He explained that the District would not be able to present current benchmark data until October, 2019.
Ms. Murphy, Education Committee Board member, asked why the administration was not using DIBELS to aggregate benchmark data. Dr. Gusick, Superintendent, explained that there had been a recent corporate change that made it difficult to work with DIBELS (now Acadience). [We note that this change occurred in October, 2018, and that it did not affect access to the DIBELS systems; it was a change in name only.] At Ms. Murphy's request, Dr. Gusick agreed to have the IT team look into using Acadience as a parallel system to SIS.
As of March 21st, the Administration has not offered any tools to tools to assist with analyzing and reporting student performance data in the manner requested by the Board. They claim that with their current systems, including the brand new Power School SIS, data analysis and reporting is VERY cumbersome and expensive.
Third Party Concerns
Multiple informed parties have suggested that the District should be able to provide better transparency:
Dr. Stephanie Stollar, Acadience/DIBELS executive, spoke with TESD School Board members and confirmed that migration of data from a legacy system to the Acadience system is a straightforward matter, something "they do daily."
Dr. Capalupo, former "Superintendent of the Year" for a neighboring district and TESD parent, made an impassioned plea to TESD administration to share their data in the School Board meeting on March 14, 2019. He asserted that there was no excuse for not presenting the data requested, to resounding applause from parents and community members.
District leaders have disregarded viable options for analyzing TESD data, even when directed by the School Board to explore those options. The District's story for why it can't share better data keeps changing, which adds to the impression that the District does not have a sound explanation.
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Let no one underestimate it. Barack Obama has won big. He has not only won the Democratic nomination for president. He is going to sweep the elections with a large majority of the Electoral College and a considerable increase in Democratic strength in both houses of the Congress. Before we analyze how far he will go, can go – that is, how much of a change this will actually mean – we must spell out how real is his electoral triumph.
In the long drawn-out contest between him and Hillary Clinton, both the polls and the results showed that each was stronger in certain categories of voters. Obama had greater strength among the younger, the more educated, the African-Americans of course, and the politically further left. But he also seemed more attractive to independent and Republican crossover voters. Clinton had greater strength among the older, the less educated voters, the women of course, the Latinos, and the politically more centrist.
However, the real decision was made by the superdelegates. And they voted on a quite different basis. They seemed convinced that he would be a stronger candidate, and could actually win in some traditionally Republican areas. Or even if he couldn't win a majority in these states, he could help Democratic candidates for Congress to win. It is quite striking that he drew strong support from superdelegates in precisely these states, many of whom were individually among the more centrist, least left-oriented Democratic leaders. Since these superdelegates were anchored in their local situations, they are telling us something of U.S. political realities of 2008.
I have just done an analysis comparing McCain's state by state strength in the latest polls and Bush's proportion of the actual votes in 2004. In 45 of the 50 states, McCain is weaker, often much weaker, than Bush was. And in the other five, he is about the same. Of course, if Bush had won a state by a large margin, McCain will still win it albeit by a smaller one. But in the states that were close in 2004, the tide is in Obama's favor.
Furthermore, we have to realize that McCain is currently at the top of his strength. The Democratic Party is now reunifying and hungry for winning. Obama will lose almost none of the traditional Democratic percentages among women and Jews. He will increase the national percentage among Latinos and will bring in a very large number of young people and African-Americans who otherwise would not have voted. He will also get the votes of the considerable number of independents and Republicans disillusioned with Bush. The people who will vote against Obama because he is African-American were almost all already going to vote Republican. This issue is behind him, not in front of him.
The Republicans, on the other hand, are still deeply divided and quite morose. The Christian right still doesn't trust McCain, and so far is dragging its feet. And we forget too easily the defection of the libertarians. Ron Paul is planning on a convention fight. And while he will of course lose it, his supporters are already disgruntled. With Bob Barr running on a Libertarian Party slate, many of Paul's supporters will vote for him. Barr may be to McCain in 2008 what Nader was to Gore in 2000 – just strong enough to deny him a few states. And in general, McCain's line on the plunging U.S. economy is going to lose him a lot of the support he counts on obtaining among so-called Reagan Democrats.
If one analyzes the situation in detail, state by state, the only state that voted Democratic in 2004 in which McCain seems to be competitive today is Michigan. The states that Bush won in 2004 in which Obama is competitive are numerous – Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, Colorado, Virginia, and maybe Nevada, North Carolina, and Montana. He's even doing well enough in Mississippi that Republicans will have to invest money and time campaigning there. If Obama won all the competitive states except Michigan, he'd have 310-333 electoral votes. He needs 270.
The picture looks even better in senatorial races, where Democrats might win in some states in which Obama cannot quite make it – for example, Kentucky, where the Republican minority leader in the Senate is in serious trouble in this very Republican state.
Now what will this mean? Obama is not planning some revolutionary turnabout in U.S. politics. He is surrounded by a lot of conventional Democratic politicians and advisors. But he will be swept into power by a wave of enthusiasm for change that the United States has not seen since Kennedy's election. True, there is only so much he can do on the world scene, despite the fact that he will be cheered on by the entire rest of the world. The global geopolitical anarchy is far beyond the control of any American president today.
But he will be pushed to make important changes within the United States. Of course, the very election of an African-American will represent a remarkable cultural change, and cannot fail to have a great impact. His electors will expect him to launch the equivalent of another New Deal internally – health care coverage, tax restructuring, job creation, salvaging the pensions. How much he can do depends in part on the global recession, which is largely beyond his control, but even so forceful leadership can play an important role up to a point. The example of Roosevelt shows us that.
Obama has won big. His election will mark – mark, not cause – the end of the counterrevolution of the world right of the 1980s. He has rekindled hope, and created space for a more progressive world. But this space is structurally cramped by the constraints of an ever more anarchic world-system. The basic question is not whether he will transform the world and/or restore U.S. leadership in the world-system – he will do neither – but whether he will do as much as it is possible to do in allowing us all to push our way forward. Even if this is less than the world might wish he could do.


Question: How should an employer correct an employee's 401(k) contribution that is mistakenly deleted from a payroll process?
Answer: Depending on the timing between the error and the correction, the employer may be able to make the correction within the next pay period. If the error only spans a single calendar/tax year, then it should be relatively easy to correct. The employer will need to review the error with the employee and contact the plan administrator. The employer will want to make arrangements with the employee regarding payroll contributions and deposits into the account. Because the employee missed out on certain opportunities, the employer will need to pay restitution on the total amount that should have been originally deducted from pay. If the plan administrator is unable to provide assistance and detailed guidance, employers should work with a qualified tax professional specializing in retirement planning or another subject matter expert to correct the mistake and mitigate the risk of exposure to further financial liability.


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Casper police car and SUV crashes at an intersection on Friday. There were no injuries" – Oil City News
CASPER, Wyo. There was no medical transportation was needed on Friday following the crash of a Casper police car and an SUV collided at the junction between South Poplar Street and CY Avenue in an official statement from Wyoming Highway Patrol Sergeant Clint Christensen.
"Fortunately this is a minor accident that did not cause any personal injuries," Christensen said.
The accident occurred at 12:35 p.m.
"Preliminary analysis suggests that the CPD vehicle was equipped with emergency gear in place, which included sirens and lights, during the time of the accident, and it responded to an urgent," Christensen said.
"Three passengers were involved in the two vehicles. emergency medical professionals were on scene to evaluate the entire group of people affected. There was no transport into the medical facility.
"There there was no evidence that there was any impairment. Inattention of the driver is the primary cause of the accident," Christensen added.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol will continue conducting investigations.
"We recommend that drivers pay attention to their surroundings when driving an automobile, in particular when there is a high volume of vehicle traffic, and at intersections or turning into intersections" Christensen said.
How to Avoid Getting Hit With a Halloween DUI
Do Insurance Companies Allowed To Spy on people in Ontario? – Personal Injury – Canada – Mondaq


Sentiment detection automatically identifies emotions in textual data. The increasing amount of emotive documents available in corporate databases and on the World Wide Web calls for automated methods to process this important source of knowledge. Sentiment detection draws attention from researchers and practitioners alike - to enrich business intelligence applications, for example, or to measure the impact of customer reviews on purchasing decisions. Most sentiment detection approaches do not consider language ambiguity, despite the fact that one and the same sentiment term might differ in polarity depending on the context, in which a statement is made. To address this shortcoming, this paper introduces a novel method that uses Naïve Bayes to identify ambiguous terms. A contextualized sentiment lexicon stores the polarity of these terms, together with a set of co-occurring context terms. A formal evaluation of the assigned polarities confirms that considering the usage context of ambiguous terms improves the accuracy of high-throughput sentiment detection methods. Such methods are a prerequisite for using sentiment as a metadata element in storage and distributed file-level intelligence applications, as well as in enterprise portals that provide a semantic repository of an organization's information assets.


Since 1949, AMS Bekins has led the local moving and storage industry with our world-class customer service and our high-quality professional moving support. As a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated business, we've upheld our pledge to deliver only the most customer-oriented services—earning us an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, membership in the California Moving and Storage Association, and ProMover status from the American Moving and Storage Association. Most importantly for you, we're a proud agent of Bekins Van Lines, one of the most trusted moving networks in the country. Through this professional network, our Los Gatos movers have the capability, technology, and equipment to successfully complete a move of any size, anywhere in the United States!
With several decades of experience, we're equipped to handle household moves of any size. Whether your needs are big or small, we always begin with a free in-home consultation and written estimate of your moving costs. Because we care about meeting your needs, we offer flexible service packages—from simple relocation services to full-service, end-to-end moving support. Whichever level of service you choose, our experienced employees will treat you with courtesy and your belongings with the utmost care.
Need to move your office down the street? Or maybe you're relocating your entire business—along with your employees—across the country? Whatever your commercial moving needs are, AMS Bekins has the expertise and professional team to make it happen for you, within budget and with minimal downtime. We offer employee relocation services as part of, or completely independent of, your office move. To make sure your move is efficient and on schedule, we'll assign a move coordinator to handle each and every aspect of your office move. With our highly trained Los Gatos movers, your company and its valuable assets are in trusted hands.
Are you ready to learn how our movers in Los Gatos can make your local or long-distance move simple and hassle-free? Call us today to speak with a moving specialist, or complete our online quote form now to request your free moving estimate!


Project experience includes: Construction Management at Risk; Design-Build; health care facilities; educational and university projects; as well as correctional and industrial work.
Professional Organizations: Associated General Contractors; Central Illinois Builders of AGC; and Greater Peoria Contractors and Suppliers Association.
Mr. Hoelscher is responsible for the company's finance, accounting, insurance, and IT systems.
Member: Central Illinois Builders of AGC, Greater Peoria Contractors and Suppliers Association.
Mr. Bursott's duties include quantity take-off pricing, subcontractor procurement, and packaging of financial bids. He is also responsible for maintaining a detailed historical cost system derived from field data sources, assuring that bids are current with actual productivities.
In addition to his extensive experience in wastewater / water treatment, correctional facilities, and parking structures. Mr. Bursott is also quite practiced in developing and preparing bids for industrial customers, athletic facilities, universities, military installations, and zoos. He is skilled in preparing estimates from completed documents and has worked with architects on design/build projects, preparing conceptual estimates from partially completed documents as well.
Main area of responsibility is coordinating and supervising project superintendents for all construction activities originating from the Benton, Illinois office.
Professional Organizations: Southern Illinois Builders Association (Board of Directors); The Society of American Military Engineers; Southwestern Illinois Leadership Council; and State of Illinois Capital Development Board Advisory Committee.
Mr. Kampwerth currently serves as Principal-in-Charge of projects originating from the Benton, Illinois office.
Project experience includes: water and wastewater treatment facilities; educational facilities including elementary, high school and universities; manufacturing and commercial facilities; and Design-Build projects.
Mr. Gerdes is currently responsible for overseeing project management in the East Peoria, Illinois office.
Professional Organizations: ASHE Member; United States Green Building Council Member; Greater Peoria Contractors & Suppliers Association, and Central Illinois Builders Association of A.G.C.
Project experience includes: Pre-Construction Services; Construction Management at Risk; Design-Build; Integrated Project Delivery; health care facilities; educational and university projects.
Ms. Skuse is currently responsible for Pre-Construction Services in all locations.


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Paratelmatobius is een geslacht van kikkers uit de familie fluitkikkers (Leptodactylidae) en de onderfamilie Paratelmatobiinae. De groep werd voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door Berta Lutz en Antenor Leitão de Carvalho in 1958.

Er zijn zes soorten, inclusief de pas in 2009 voor het eerst beschreven soort Paratelmatobius yepiranga. Alle soorten komen endemisch voor in zuidoostelijk Brazilië.

Taxonomie
Geslacht Paratelmatobius
 Soort Paratelmatobius cardosoi
 Soort Paratelmatobius gaigeae
 Soort Paratelmatobius lutzii
 Soort Paratelmatobius mantiqueira
 Soort Paratelmatobius poecilogaster
 Soort Paratelmatobius yepiranga

Fluitkikkers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Ant Group to join IPO rush
Summary: In an IPO market that is to date nothing short of exuberant, the biggest this year is yet to come. Ant Group, China's dominant mobile payments firm, are set to dominate the listed fintech space with their upcoming, humongous, record setting IPO. The Chinese fintech company founded by former Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) Executive Chairman Jack Ma operates the e-commerce giant's Alipay payment service and could be the largest IPO ever when it dual-lists on the Hong Kong and Shanghai's Nasdaq-style STAR Market exchanges later this year.
Ant is expected to fetch a market valuation of around $US225 billion, minting a few fresh billionaires from the executive ranks of both Alibaba and Ant along the way. The company didn't disclose the size or timing for the listing in the draft IPO prospectuses filed with the exchanges, but the application for the Shanghai listing is set to be reviewed September 18 2020. According to those familiar, the company will issue at least 10% in new shares in the IPO, which Bloomberg estimates will raise close to $30 billion, a figure that would top Saudi Aramco's $29 billion listing.
Source: Bloomberg
Ant Group's move to list at home and in Hong Kong comes as sentiment for technology offerings in public markets runs high but also against the backdrop of the ongoing US/China disentanglement, with the phase 1 trade deal remaining a deal in name only. Smoke and mirrors. The US Senate has passed a bill in May 2020 that that could force Chinese companies to give up their listings on US exchanges, hence the homeward bound shift. There is no going back to the pre-trade war relationship, and tensions continue to mount with the COVID-19 blame game only fuelling the fire, which makes listing closer to home the obvious choice. The ideological differences and political fragmentations that drive US/SINO confrontations are on full display and tectonic shifts such as, the tech cold war, splinternet and supply chain relocations we discussed at length when the US/CH trade tensions first emerged are now coming to fruition.
In the current market environment, growth and technology offerings with earnings duration are garnering sky-high valuations. Ant Group will be capitalising on that. Newly listed companies are having a stellar year and the Renaissance IPO ETF, which invests in companies that have listed in the last two years, is hovering around record highs. Investors have a seemingly insatiable appetite for growth businesses, new names/ideas and blue-sky stories and they are willing to pay up for a slice of these businesses. Speculation is rife. Ant Group with their 700mn+ monthly active users, 30% profit margins and control of more than half of the Chinese market in payments, ticks those boxes; in addition, the listing has been long anticipated and expectations are running high. Notwithstanding the likely popularity for home investors with China's state media recently urging the public to load up on domestic stocks.
However, it is not that easy. Competing rivals, Tencent and JD.com, pose a long-term threat to the payments and lucrative technology service businesses. Alongside a fickle regulatory environment that is difficult to predict, just last week Beijing approved new regulatory rules that impact Ant Group, geopolitical risks and lack of comparables, all combine to make Ant Group's trajectory harder to estimate and a difficult beast to value. Although if the bubble-icious environment is anything to go by, the fintech behemoth should score a home run at listing, but we wait for more information to be provided before drawing any conclusions. Particularly on whether Ant Group's growth rate will justify the valuation once the hype fades.
The problem with sentiment driven momentum and pricing behaviour is that it is fickle and if the delivery falls short of expectations, disappointment can bring vicious readjustments. Paying up for growth is not always an issue, but generally, you must be looking at the best in breed, or industry winner.
The 674-page draft IPO prospectus filed at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has much of the crucial information redacted. This includes the number of shares on offer, the price of shares, and the company's total valuation.
Whilst we have to wait for further details on the above, the prospectus does deliver detailed financial data showing the size and scale of Ant Group's business.
Source: Draft IPO prospectus filed at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Profits and Growth Potential
Ant Group's prospectus outlines the company made RMB 21.2 billion in net profit for the six months to June 2020, on revenue of RMB 72.5 billion, representing a YoY increase of 38%, and implying a net profit margin close to 30%.
43% of revenues in 2019 came from digital payment and merchant services, which houses the mobile payment services. Monthly active users of mobile payment app Alipay reached 711 million monthly active users as of end June 30 2020, and more than 1 billion annual active users, according to Ant's draft filing. Ant also stated transaction volume for the app reached RMB 118 trillion in mainland China during the 12 months ended June 30. Alipay charge fees based on a percentage of transaction volumes and with more than 80 million businesses using the mobile app, it is easy to see the allure of the payments giant.
Payments services are a core revenue component; however, the fees collected from merchants are in some cases just 5 basis points. Ant Group's real growth is delivered by the company's digital finance technology platform arm, which has grown 56% YoY in the 6 months ended June 30, relative to the corresponding period the year before. These revenues are generated from "technology-service fees" paid by banks, asset managers and insurance companies that use the Alipay app as one stop shop to write loans, sell wealth management products, insurance and other financial services products to users. Where Ant group essentially acts as the intermediary connecting service providers with end users but also helping the vendors to asses risks based off the huge amounts of proprietary customer spending data Ant Group holds.
Within this segment the CreditTech business, which operates a suite of loan services, is the growth powerhouse. CreditTech revenue grew 59.5% year on year in the first six months of 2020 to RMB 28.6 billion, accounting for 39.4% of Ant Group's total revenue in the 6 months ended June 30.
For investors looking for exposure to China's growing online financial services sector and $US16 trillion digital payments industry, we can see the appeal.
Financial Services to Technology
The draft prospectus also clearly highlights the shift from payments services to technology provider that has been undertaken by the company alongside its transformation to financial services super-app. In 2017 payment services accounted for 55% of revenues, but this has declined as what was then Ant Financial repositioned itself as a "financial supermarket" of credit, insurance and wealth management services and rebranded to Ant Group.
The split of payment services vs. technology today is now close to 36%:64%. If Ant can continue to charge the same high "technology-service fees" and grow market share within China's vast financial services industry this spilt can continue to decline as Ant Group grows the company's digital finance technology platform arm.
Regulatory Risk factors
Ant's draft prospectus flagged regulation in China as a potential risk factor, just last week Beijing approved new regulatory rules that impact Ant Group and will increase scrutiny on the business. Although the regulation broadly is aimed at promoting financial stability and avoiding Wirecard-esque scandals, China's increasing focus on anti-monopoly laws mean any crack down on the hefty service fees Ant Group charges vendors will be felt on the bottom line.
Ant also outlined the heightened geopolitical tensions between the US and China which pose the risk of increased regulations. Particularly as the battle between the two nations is centred around technology, and the bid for dominance, Ant Group, a fintech behemoth, could well find itself a target of heightened restrictions on Chinese technology companies. One only has to look at the fate of Huawei and TikTok to appreciate this risk factor.
Internal Interests
According to Ant Group's filings, Ant is majority-controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, co-founder and retired chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and China's richest person, while Alibaba with 32.65% has no control over the company. Although conflicts of interest between Alibaba and Ant Group clearly still exist.
Following the public offering, internal interests will still own more than 80% of Ant. Junhan and Junao together control about half of the company:
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2010 BCS National Championship Auburn Tigers "All In" at Talladega Superspeedway
Friday, Apr 01 2891
The 2010 BCS National Champion Auburn Tigers will be "all in" at Talladega Superspeedway with head football coach Gene Chizik serving as Grand Marshall for the Aaron's 499 and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Michael Waltrip competing in an Auburn-themed No. 15 Toyota Camry.
"We are excited to welcome Coach Chizik to Talladega," said Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch. "The Auburn Tigers made the entire state proud by bringing another BCS National Championship trophy home with them from Glendale. Of course, Auburn may play a part in another trophy celebration since Michael Waltrip is always a threat to win here at Talladega. Thanks to our friends at Aaron's for making all of this a possibility."
"I am very excited and looking forward to serving as Grand Marshall for the Aaron's 499," stated Coach Gene Chizik. "It's truly an honor to be involved in an event that is huge for our state each spring. The Talladega Superspeedway is one of the greatest race tracks in the country and it will be special to have Auburn University represented in the race with the No. 15 car. We'll be pulling for Michael Waltrip to take the checkered flag in the Aaron's No. 15 Auburn car."
"Aaron's is proud to partner with Gene Chizik and Auburn University to celebrate their fantastic accomplishment as BCS National Champions," said Ken Butler of Aaron's, Inc. "Our company and this race team believes it takes dedication, team work and enthusiasm to achieve dreams. What better place than the Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega to recognize Auburn for making their dreams a reality. We will be thrilled to see Michael in the blue and orange Aaron's Dream Machine leading the pack on race day."
"It's great to partner with Aaron's and celebrate Auburn's national championship," said Michael Waltrip. "I get to be in an Auburn car to let the fans cheer as I race towards the front. If the Alabama fans want to boo, that's cool too because that means they are taking notice of the Aaron's car."
In addition to the Aaron's 499, Waltrip will also pilot the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 99 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron's 312 Saturday, April 16. The racecar will feature a special paint scheme designed by the winner of Aaron's national Color Your Way to Talladega promotion, nine year old Shelby Miller from Layton, UT.
"Aaron's does a great promotion with Color Your Way to Talladega," Waltrip continued. "They let a kid design my car and I am really proud of that. I will be racing Shelby's car for her at the Aaron's 312. There are a few races during the course of the year that I think I can still win and Talladega is one of them. That's the goal. Race for the win."
Talladega Superspeedway PR
« Richmond International Raceway Adds More Fan Amenities Dover International Speedway creates new Monster FunZone for race weekend »
Odd Tony Stewart Talladega Post Race Q&A
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Aarons 499 results from Talladega
Carl Edwards post Talladega wreck quote
Q&A with Johnson and Newman on Engine Issues at Talladega


Find out to handle your costs habits. The more you spend on things that you do not require, the less cash you will have for the future. There is absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing things that appear nice at the time. The point is that you need to invest your loan wisely.
Stay out of financial obligation. Settle your charge card costs and try to eliminate your debts. There likewise numerous credit counselors, you can speak with that will help you develop a strategy to get out of debt.
These are some of the ways to manage your stress and anxieties and stresses of handling your finances. Even if you do not make a lot of money, there are ways to minimize your costs and establish a sound budget plan. The secret is to understand how to handle the money you do have.


Through the application of deep tissue massage and acupressure techniques, this treatment will be performed using compression, friction, swing, pinching and grasping, percussion and vibration. These techniques help in removing blockages of QI, improve blood circulation and relieve muscular tension in various parts of the body. This massage will help to balance, relax and calm the yin and yang of your body and mind.
This treatment will focus on the most tired area's of the body; back, shoulder and neck area's, using deep acupressure point massage technique's to help remove blockages of QI, improve blood circulation and relieve muscular stiffness.
This chinese herbal compress is filled with natural herb ingredients and is steamed and applied over any tension area. This is followed by a deep acupressure massage to increase blood circulation, release muscular pain and stiffness.
This heavenly scalp massage using acupressure massage to release energy blockage and increase blood circulation. This massage helps relieve tension headache and sleep problem's, leaving you feeling more energized and relaxed....perfect to add on with any facial or massage treatment.
Using the finest essential oil creates a soothing and relaxing effect to a tired body. It is the synergistic blend of mandarin, orange, lavender, marjoram, grapefruit, petitgrain and ylang ylang that collectively calm the mind, strengthen the nervous system helping to restore balance and harmony.
Our finely ground sea salt infused with essential oils of jasmine and ylang ylang soothe the senses while the dull, dry skin cells are buffed away. Skin drenching moisturizers conclude the treatment leaving skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.
Gua Sha is an ancient chinese therapy, using special tools to gently stroke around the face. Prefect to combine with any facial treatment, Gua Sha will help detoxify the skin leaving it feeling firm and lifted. Suitable for most skin types, but not recommended for very delicate skin types.


Tax saving is a struggle. We got you sorted.
One of the most commonly used option to save taxes is Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. According to this section, if an individual invests or spends on specified areas then up to ₹1.5 lakh of the money spent/invested can be claimed as a deduction from the gross total income. The deduction can only be claimed from the same financial year as the specified investment. Apart from investments in certain areas, specified expenditures can also qualify as deductions under this section.
What comes under Section 80C?
Your contribution to provident funds such as EPF, VPF and PPF or any superannuation funds.
Investment in a notified Equity Linked Saving Scheme of a mutual fund.
Repaying a principal loan which you might have taken out for the purchase or construction of a house.
How much tax can I save under Section 80C?
While section 80C is a relief for many taxpayers, there are a few key things you need to keep in mind before claiming your deductions. You won't be able to claim your deductions under this section if your income comprises only capital gains. This happens usually when the value of your capital asset increases. Also, the amount of tax saved under section 80C directly depends on the tax slab that your income falls under. This means that if your income deducted from the gross total income falls under the 30 per cent plus three per cent cess bracket then the amount of tax saved will also fall under the same category. If your income falls under the minimum exemption limit, then you would not be saving any tax under section 80C.
There are two more sections under section 80C which further help you save your tax. According to Section 80CCC, you are eligible for a deduction for any amount paid or deposited in an annuity plan of LIC or any other insurer. But the catch is that this plan must be for receiving a pension from a fund which, upon surrender of the annuity, will be taxable in the year of receipt.
Section 80CCD talks about deduction from gross total income for any contribution made to pension schemes of the Central Government. But you would need to follow a few conditions to avail the benefit under this section. As per section 80CCD, the deduction will only be allowed for contributions made to the notified pension scheme and only if the same does not exceed 10 per cent of your salary or 20 per cent of the gross total income in case you are self-employed.
Apart from these, the total amount claimed as the deduction under these two sections cannot exceed the limit of ₹1.5 lakh as notified.


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Hyderabad News.HMDA is ready with the preliminary feasibility study for the 290km Regional Ring Road in Hyderabad
Hyderabad News. TOI 17.06.2016
(Excl Ventures News.)The 158-km Jawaharlal Nehru Outer Ring Road (ORR), that circles the city, will soon have a companion: A 290km Regional Ring Road (RRR)If the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority''s (HMDA) plans are anything to go by , work on the project is expected to start soon.
When contacted, HMDA officials said a consultant engaged by the authority recently prepared a preliminary feasibility study for the RRR which would be sent to the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) for administrative sanction.
The RRR is expected to have a 90-metre `right of way'' (six lanes) and will pass through areas such as Toopran, Shivampet, Narsapur, Ismailkhanpet, Chevella, Shabad, Shadnagar, Kothur, Gudur, Malkapur, Kothiyal, Mulugu and another 125 villages.
The proposed ring road will subsume 210 km of existing road and land acquisition is required to widen these stretches.The rest of the 80 km will be new. �The feasibility (report) of the RRR has already been prepared. The estimated cost for the new ring road is between Rs 7,000 crore and Rs 8,000 crore including the cost of land acquisition.
According to the Times of India, the financial model for the project is being worked out by the government. Initially , the authority wants to take up one stretch on a pilot basis,� HMDA metropolitan commissioner T Chiranjeevulu
The urban authority had earlier used different financial models for different stretches of the ORR. While the Phase I of ORR from Gachibowli to Shamshabad was taken up with its own funds, other stretches like Pedda Amberpet to Shamshabad, Narsingi to Patancheru, Patancheru to Shamirpet, Shamirpet to Ghatkesar and Ghatkesar to Pedda Amberpet were taken up under the annuity model and with financial assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency . Recently, the HMDA completed the last stretch from Shamirpet to Ghatkesar, which is to be opened for general public soon.
The HMDA had proposed the RRR under the Metropolitan Development Plan (MDP)-2031 for the 7,200-sq km Hyderabad Metropolitan Region a couple of years ago. The RRR was proposed to improve connectivity to urban nodes and urban centres beyond the existing ORR. It was also expected to connect ORR and centres such as IT special economic zones and upcoming projects like Pharma City at Mucherla.
Officials claimed that proper care had been taken while preparing the feasibility report and a decision was taken not to disturb the natural environment, human habitation and heritage sites. It was also decided to complete the project with minimum land acquisition by identifying alternative routes to avoid major acquisition.
Keyword Tags Hyderabad News,Regional Ring Road


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Averi Harper
Averi Harper is an award-winning multi-platform reporter and producer. Averi has been honored with awards from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists and for her storytelling.
Averi currently travels the country covering the 2020 presidential election for ABC News.
Prior to joining ABC News, she was a general assignment reporter at hyperlocal news network News 12. She also hosted and co-produced a magazine show focused on minority issues called Diverse Long Island. Averi also worked as a morning reporter for KRON 4 News in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even though she isn't a sports reporter, she got the chance to report on Super Bowl 50, the 2016 and 2017 NBA Finals, and the 2016 Stanley Cup. She started her career at WCTI NewsChannel 12 in Greenville, North Carolina, as a bureau reporter and fill-in anchor. On the Carolina coast, she covered severe weather and crime.
She is an alumna of The School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied broadcast journalism. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She is a proud member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Averi resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Twitter: @AveriHarper


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Mihail Vartolomei es un deportista rumano que compitió en piragüismo en la modalidad de aguas tranquilas. Ganó seis medallas en el Campeonato Mundial de Piragüismo en los años 2001 y 2002, y cinco medallas en el Campeonato Europeo de Piragüismo en los años 2001 y 2002.

Palmarés internacional

Referencias

Piragüistas de Rumania
Campeones mundiales de piragüismo


Despite its name, momentum investing is arguably not investing at all. In reality, momentum investors tend to be shorter-term market participants that focus on stocks or sectors in response to their recent price behaviour. In other words, they buy assets when they have risen in price and sell assets when the price has fallen. As such, momentum-investing tends to be valuation-insensitive and is not linked to fundamentals.
Momentum investing is always a feature in markets but it tends to be short-term. In certain market conditions, however, momentum investing can have a more lasting impact on market behaviour. A good example of this would be the late-nineties technology bubble where momentum drove the price of internet-related stocks to extreme levels that could not be justified by fundamentals. Ultimately, however, fundamentals always reassert themselves as the predominant driver of share price behaviour.


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Meadows In The Mountains 2013 - Live In Smolyan, Bulgaria
Unlike any other festival in the world...
ClashLive
ClashLive /
The less said about the gruelling, 15-hour journey from Blighty to Polkovnik Serafimovo, the better.
Thankfully, when we do arrive in this remote village in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains, the scenery is spectacular: vertiginous, forest-clad peaks soar into the sky while ramshackle houses sit in verdant fields along with some bewildered looking goats. To be fair, they're probably not used to their home being invaded by 500 luridly-clad ravers, ready for the three-day dance mash-up that is Meadows In The Mountains.
Now in its third year, Meadows is a family-run labour of love, the dream-made-reality of The Brothers Sasse: Damian and Ben. They're assisted by Mama and Papa Sasse, who do endearingly parent-y stuff like selling old cagoules out of the back of a Land Rover. The whole operation is personal and cheerfully shambolic, and with an emphasis on group interaction and involvement.
It's damp and cloudy as we ascend the mountain to the festival, but spirits are high as we enter the muddy site. There's not much going on at 5pm, so we avail ourselves of the trampoline and get familiar with the slightly cumbersome drink tokens system. The site itself is a delightful, DIY jumble of colourful wooden bars, inflatable tents and quirky creations. Most things are sustainable and constructed with the environment in mind. Everyone is exceedingly nice.
The first tunes of the day come from multi-talented whizz kid, Cosmo Sheldrake, and his fleet of loop pedals. Refreshingly original, he creates quirky, off-kilter, beat-driven numbers you can dance to. Particularly charming is 'The Fly', which borrows lyrics from the William Blake poem of the same name and proves that the revolutionary poet can rock the 21st century with the best of them. In too short a time Sheldrake's set is over and he scampers back into the woods, never to be seen again.
Given that there are no line-up details, it's always a pleasant surprise when someone new takes to the stage, although some warning wouldn't go amiss. Next up is wild-haired DJ and Amsterdam clubster San Proper, who, apart from looking like a benign werewolf, is an animal (sorry) on the decks. After a thumping first hour, he drops 'Thriller' into the mix, and soon happy festival goers are raising their paws in the air, Jackson-style - the party has well and truly started.
With the weather showing no sign of abating the following day, we don our recently purchased Bulgarian fishing boots and cagoule and climb the mountain once more. As we slither into the festival site, however, the sky suddenly clears, revealing a million stars. To our delight, we find new favourite DJ, San Proper, commanding the main stage again, followed by house and techno gurus, the Just Jack DJs, and acid techno house god Seb Voigt, who takes us through to the wee small hours.
Before we know it, it's 5am and time to head up to the Sunrise Stage – with good reason. To the dulcet, chilled-out tones of Moomin and Baby Prince, we watch the horizon gradually lighten, illuminating the cloud-swathed mountains on the opposite side of the valley. As the sun finally crests the highest peak, a hushed cheer goes up from the crowd watching from the grassy bank. It's a moment worth the entire cost of a ticket.
The following evening is a far more chilled-out affair, although we know some hardcore partiers made it through until 6pm the following day. We relax to the gorgeous dream-pop of Mt Wolf and have one last dance to house techies Dead Echo, before we admit defeat.
With its remarkable setting, family feel and beyond laidback attitude, Meadows is quite unlike any other festival in the world. Currently in a transitional phase, the organisers now need to decide whether to keep it small, intimate and, admittedly, a bit chaotic; or whether to sharpen up operations and expand.
Either way, the love and commitment from both the brothers and the extended Meadows family should ensure that it loses none of its charm.
Words: Theresa Heath
Photos: Michael Parker
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Meadows in the Mountains
Seb Voigt
Baby Prince
Mt Wolf
Dead Echo


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University of Suffolkadmin2017-05-16T14:49:59+01:00
The University of Suffolk opened in 2007 and is one of the newest Higher Education institutions in the UK. Originally known as University Campus Suffolk.
The University of Suffolk was granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in November 2015, and in May 2016 it was awarded University status by the Privy Council. As a consequence of this, UCS was renamed The University of Suffolk on 1 August 2016.
Up until it became independent it was a collaboration between the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia which sponsored its formation and validated its degrees. UOS accepted its first students in September 2007. Until then Suffolk was one of only four counties in England which did not have a University campus.
In 2003, Suffolk County Council established a "stakeholder group" made up of representatives from the University of East Anglia, the University of Essex, Suffolk College, the East of England Development Agency, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Suffolk Learning and Skills Council, Suffolk County Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk Chief Executive's Group and the Suffolk Development Agency. The aim of the group was to investigate the possibility of establishing a university in the county.
The University was granted taught degree awarding powers by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in November 2015, and in May 2016 it was awarded University status by the Privy Council. As a consequence of this, UCS was renamed The University of Suffolk in August 2016.
The University's teaching is split into two faculties:
Arts, Business and Applied Social Sciences
Individual entry requirements will vary according to the course the students have chosen.
Typical entry requirements (UCAS points) are foundation degrees 200, honours degrees 280.
In order to ensure that applicants applying for Honours and Foundation degrees have sufficient depth of knowledge and understanding, they are normally required to have studied at least two subjects to A Level standard or equivalent, together with three GCSEs grade C or above.
Please note that many courses require a grade C or above in English and Maths.
Two faculties, which are supported by academic departments: Applied Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Suffolk Business School, Nursing and Midwifery, Health and Science and Technology.
The expertise within the Departments is complemented by more than 50 Visiting Professors and Senior Fellows who contribute to research, enterprise and teaching and learning within their specialised fields.
Academics maintain strong working relationships with key employers and leading industry figures to actively promote student career aspirations and potential research and knowledge transfer.
In 2014 the overall NSS satisfaction rating at UCS was 83%.
Their courses to score 100% overall satisfaction include Business Management, Nutrition and Human Health, Sport and Exercise Science and Person-Centred Counselling.
History has achieved an average of 99% overall student satisfaction over the past four years.
In July 2014 Psychology was awarded accreditation by the British Psychological Society.
The University of Suffolk achieved an employability rating of 92% in the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DHLE) Survey 2014 and ranks UCS in the top third of UK higher education institutions.
The Careers and Employability Service provides support for students with one to one careers advice and guidance, including workshops in writing CVs and applications, successful interview techniques and networking and communication skills. The service also includes access to an online JobShop advertising the latest opportunities.
They engage with a range of local, national and international employers in order to provide guidance, advice and internships for students with potential employers.
This support continues for three years after graduation, offering full access to all of these services.


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What Is Grid Edge?
Grid edge solutions are at the center of the electricity market's evolution.
Olivia Chen January 01, 2017
Olivia Chen
Senior Marketing Associate
GTM Research
What is grid edge? The grid edge describes the technologies and business models that are advancing the transition to the next-gen electric grid
What does grid edge mean? Here, we explain the different facets of change in the electricity market and why we use the term grid edge to describe the technologies and business models advancing this transition.
Sweeping changes are occurring in the electricity sector
The electricity market is changing fast. Technology advancements, evolving consumer preferences, and new policies are leading to a surge of adoption of solar, energy storage, microgrids, electric vehicles, and other new energy technologies. These distributed energy resources are forcing utilities and regulators to rethink how the grid works. Consequently, new models for customer energy management, grid infrastructure and electricity market design are arising to address these changes.
These changes require a new and transformative framework
Historically, the electricity market was comprised of centralized power stations, with centralized, top-down monitoring and control of the grid. It was a platform comprised of one-way energy transactions; generators produced power, distributors and service providers laid down access to consumers, and end users consumed power. The rise of distributed energy resources is decentralizing power generation and delivery, creating new types of interactions on a two-way grid. These new relationships and transactions are redefining the role of end users (who are now power producers) and traditional energy players (who are becoming service providers). To understand these emerging dynamics, a new understanding of the electricity landscape is required.
What is the Grid Edge? And how does it define these changes?
Innovation and disruption often play out at the boundary, or edge, of traditionally stable and well-understood industries. Over time, change moves inward. Greentech Media calls this phenomenon in the electricity sector the Grid Edge. The Grid Edge comprises technologies, solutions and business models advancing the transition toward a decentralized, distributed and transactive electric grid.
How does the evolution of the Grid Edge alter the electricity business?
End users in the electricity sector have traditionally only been consumers. However, new technologies and business models are allowing them to generate and store their own power. Consumers are now "prosumers" of energy, while utilities are looking to become platforms for brokering these new transactions. As a result, a new grid architecture is evolving to accommodate technological changes. At the same time, regulators and policymakers are looking at how new rate designs can enable a marketplace of services for customer-sited, "behind-the-meter" projects – and use them to benefit the grid.
Andrew Mulherkar, Senior Grid Edge Analyst discusses the impact of these changes on consumers and utilities:
What are the technologies, solutions and business models included in the Grid Edge?
Technologies at the Grid Edge can be categorized into four categories: physical infrastructure assets, network or control, applications, and analytics. These technologies and solutions form an "internet-of-things" that can be networked to improve power delivery. Utilities and third-party service providers are exploring how to improve grid operations through aggregation of these distributed resources, using a combination of power electronics, communications tools and analytics software. Entire new business models are being formed around delivering these distributed energy services.
Who are the major players this electricity market?
A variety of stakeholders are involved in this new market construct. Traditional energy players include grid operators, utilities, energy service providers, regulators, and policy advocates. Newer players include third-party companies that are aggregating resources like solar and storage; industrial energy companies building new types of hardware to accommodate distributed resources; and a range of software companies developing analytical tools.
Steve Propper, Director, Consulting, explains how utilities are adapting to this new market:
What is the size of the Grid Edge market?
GTM Research (now Wood Mackenzie) tracks deployments and investments in 10 separate markets along the Grid Edge, including advanced metering infrastructure, customer energy management, DER services, distribution automation, electric vehicle infrastructure, energy storage, grid edge customer analytics, grid edge network analytics, utility back office, and utility network operations. Between 2010 to 2016, there were over 4,000 deployments of Grid Edge technologies. In 2016, $1 billion in venture capital and private equity funding flowed into the Grid Edge sector, while the M&A market was worth $4.3 billion with 36 deals in 2016. Learn more about our Grid Edge Data Hub.
Find out more about the Grid Edge
Looking to keep up with the steady stream of new developments in the space? You can read the latest Grid Edge news from our editorial team at Greentech Media. If you're looking for deeper editorial insights, read Jeff St. John's weekly analysis for GTM Squared, called "Dispatches From the Grid Edge."
Looking to do business in the space? You'll find endless networking and thought leadership at our conferences, especially our flagship Grid Edge event, Grid Edge World Forum.
Looking for even deeper insights and market tracking? You can get in-depth analysis and data on the Grid Edge from our team at GTM Research, now Wood Mackenzie.
Want ongoing research spanning the grid edge? Learn more about Wood Mackenzie's Grid Edge Service.
Wood Mackenzie Grid Edge Service