The James Logan Courier

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Kari McVeigh, whose experience in improving student achievement and enthusiasm for focusing on literacy mirror the goals and strategies of the New Haven Unified School District, tonight was named by the Board of Education as the District’s new Superintendent.

“Kari’s experience and her skill set are a remarkable fit for our district,” Board President Kevin Harper said. “She understands our needs and priorities – she has more than 30 years of experience in dealing with such issues – and she also understands that we’ve started on a course here, with our Strategic Plan, and we need someone to step in and take us to the next level.”

By Jessica Stewart, Courier Editor-in-Chief

Pete Stark visited Logan Live for an hour on Friday and gave students a chance to ask him questions.

Stark, a Democrat, is the member of the House of Representatives who represents the 13th Congressional District, which runs along the east side of the Bay and includes Union City. He has a degree in engineering from MIT and an MBA from UC Berkeley and served in the U.S. Air Force. He has been a member of congress since 1973, where he is a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, which deals with taxes, Medicare, Social Security, trade and public assistance. He currently has four daughters, three sons and eight grandchildren.

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Statement from the Board President
The Board of Education is making progress in the selection process for a new Superintendent; however, we will have no announcement this week. We hope to have an announcement Oct. 31. We appreciate the patience of the New Haven community as we make a decision that is so critical to the education of our children.
-- Kevin W. Harper, Oct. 22, 2008

Board of Education Briefs
The Board of Education on Tuesday night received a report from the Division of Teaching and Learning on student achievement, highlighted by a presentation on how Hillview Crest Elementary achieved a remarkable 71-point on the Academic Performance Index (API).

Courier Staff Report

The Courier returned to operation today after a five day hiatus, during which the online student newspaper moved to a new webhosting set-up.

"Audience growth at The Courier led us to move to a new web hosting service with a newfangled Virtual Server set-up that we think can handle our traffic," said Courier Advisor Patrick Hannigan. "We hoped the switch to the new set-up would be quick and painless, but it didn't turn out that way."

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Veteran administrator Kathy Moniz, Executive Director of Student Services for the New Haven Unified School District, announced today she has accepted a position in the San Juan Unified School District, closer to her Sacramento-area home.

Former James Logan High School Principal Don Montoya will take over as Acting Executive Director of Student Services, pending approval from the Board of Education, until a permanent replacement is hired, Interim Superintendent David Pava said.

By Joe Crawford
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MCT)

ST. LOUIS — His job seems a little zany.

Dan Moran's daily grind involves trying to get monkeys to move objects using only their brains.

But it's not telepathy — it's science. And Moran says he's making progress that could have serious implications in the medical community.

The professor of biomedical engineering and neurobiology at Washington University told an audience at the St. Louis Science Center on Sunday morning it might not be long before his research can be used to help humans suffering from paralysis.

By Melissa M. Scallan
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

BILOXI, Miss. — Elementary and high schools must educate students so they can compete globally, not just locally, Mississippi Superintendent of Education Hank Bounds said Friday. He said an important part of education today includes economics.

Bounds was the keynote speaker at the National Council on Economic Education's annual conference, and he said students need to learn about the economy beginning in kindergarten.

"Economic education can't be a one-shot deal," he said. "I would consider good economic skills to be as important as any other work-force skills."

By Jonathan S. Landay, Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — A nearly completed high-level U.S. intelligence analysis warns that unresolved ethnic and sectarian tensions in Iraq could unleash a new wave of violence, potentially reversing the major security and political gains achieved over the last year.

U.S. officials familiar with the new National Intelligence Estimate said they were unsure when the top-secret report would be completed and whether it would be published before the Nov. 4 presidential election.

By Rohan Kumar, Courier Staff Writer

Despite what some teachers apparently believe, the James Logan Career Center isn’t a magical portal where students can log on to their personal email accounts, accounts they are blocked from accessing on most student-accessible school computers.

Last year, students were able to get on their personal Gmail accounts to use them to retrieve written assignments they've sent themselves, but not Yahoo or Hotmail, through the school's student-accessible computers, but now the school blocks Gmail on student computers, as well. So, as an alternative, some teachers are sending their students to the Career Center, assuming that yahoo email will work on those computers. This, however, is false, and the stream of students who come to the Career Center to try is proving burdensome to the center's staff.

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

The Board of Education on Tuesday night received information from the Division of Teaching and Learning on how instructional coaching is impacting student achievement and helping build more collaborative cultures in our schools.

Principal Tracie Noriega and literacy coaches Rachel Saucedo and Colleen Paltrineri explained how instructional coaching works at Alvarado Elementary School, specifically with the implementation of Writing Workshop. The Board viewed video clips in which Ms. Saucedo modeled classroom management and Mr. Paltrineri gave vocabulary instruction during a Writing Workshop lesson.

By Scott Duke Harris
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — YouTube made a splash last fall when CNN engaged the video-sharing Web site to show mainstream Americans posing questions to candidates in the presidential primaries. Now the "social news" site Digg is bidding to enter the national psyche as well.

Backed by a fresh round of $28.7 million in venture funding last month, San Francisco-based Digg is embarking on a major expansion that aims to substantially raise the profile and reach of the 4-year-old start-up that claims more than 30 million unique visitors a month. Plans call for expansion domestically and globally, adding several new languages.

By Lisa M. Krieger
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Stanford University will construct a new stem cell research center, thanks to a $75 million gift from Atherton-based alum and philanthropist Lorry I. Lokey, founder of the Business Wire.

Lokey's gift to the school of medicine, announced Monday, will help build a 200,000-square-foot facility that will be known as the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building. The modern, four-story building along Campus Drive will house 350 scientists working together to capture the power of these cells in treating diseases as diverse as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

By Jill Zuckman
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

WASHINGTON — In a presidential race marked by unexpected twists, turns and slips, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama enter the last 30 days of the campaign with Obama clinging to a small but significant lead and McCain anxious to change the subject and shake up the dynamic.

The final phase of the general election comes during perhaps the worst economic period in the nation's history since the Great Depression. While the economic system is in turmoil, the military is under strain too, fighting two wars simultaneously. A sweeping majority of the electorate believes the country is on the wrong track, and public sentiment toward the outgoing administration appears to verge on contempt.

By Kevin G. Hall and Dave Montgomery
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — In a historic vote, the Senate approved a massive $700 billion rescue plan for the nation's finance system Wednesday night, but only after tacking on another $110 billion in tax breaks to lure votes from both parties.

A strong bipartisan majority rallied behind the controversial Wall Street bailout package, passing it by 74-25.

The vote sends the measure to an uncertain fate in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers rejected the original version on Monday, 228-205. A new House vote is expected on Friday, and many lawmakers in both parties there remain opposed to it.

By Cait Baca, Courier Staff Writer

Logan students celebrated a Day of Peace at school Sept. 20th. Tomorrow they'll have a chance to celebrate another special day declared by the United Nations, because October 2 is International Day of Non-Violence.

During both lunches, Colt Court was the spot to be on "Peace Day". Students invoked peace by contributing to the a gigantic banner of painted hand prints. The Logan event was sponsored and organized by Logan Leadership.

Visit the Day of Peace website.