ProfNet Wire: Education & Science: Funding for Pre-K Programs

ROUND-UPS

Funding for Pre-K Programs (continued, 1 expert)
No Child Left Behind (continued, 1 expert)

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LEADS

1. Education: Colleges Play Role in Declining Number of Students in Sciences
2. Education: Do Homework Before Hiring Financial Aid Consultants
3. Environment: LED Lights Beat Rising Energy/Environmental Concerns
4. Environment: Habits of Manatees

ROUND-UP: FUNDING FOR PRE-K PROGRAMS (continued)

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**1. RUBY TAKANISHI, president of the FOUNDATION FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT: "Pre- kindergarten is necessary but not sufficient to improve academic achievement. To make sure that children have the academic and social skills they need to succeed, pre-kindergarten must be aligned with what happens in kindergarten through third grade. This concept, PK-3, ensures that educators align standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment both within and across grades. PK-3 schools integrate the subject-matter emphasis of K-3 education with the child development emphasis of early education, creating a cohesive learning experience for children from pre-kindergarten through third grade." News Contact: Sara Appleyard, sara.appleyard@widmeyer.com Phone: +1-202-667- 0901 (8/8/06)

ROUND-UP: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (continued)

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**1. STEVE PEHA, president of TEACHING THAT MAKES SENSE, INC.: "Viewing educational progress through the lens of test scores gives us a dangerously false impression of progress relative to the problem we're trying to solve. We're trying to do a better job of preparing kids for life in the 21st century. For the most part, that means better jobs. In reality, kids who pass state tests may be no more ready for life in the coming years than kids who didn't even take those tests before reform began." News Contact: Margot Lester, margotlester@earthlink.net Phone: +1-919-967-3712 (8/8/06)

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**1. EDUCATION: COLLEGES PLAY ROLE IN DECLINING NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN SCIENCES. DR. MELVYN SCHIAVELLI, president and professor of organic chemistry (Ph.D. from Berkeley) at HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: "The GAO released a report recently showing that the percentage of U.S. students in the sciences continues to shrink. The nation's own universities and colleges have contributed to this decline in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines. Many U.S. colleges treat these majors as if they are private clubs. Freshman chemistry, engineering or other science courses at many campuses, for example, are 'weeding out' courses, not 'gathering in' courses. They are set up in such a way that people leave the STEM disciplines while in college. It is unfortunate because these are disciplines that people leave, not join late." News Contact: Steven Infanti, sinfanti@harrisburgu.net Phone: +1-717-901-5146 (8/8/06)

**2. EDUCATION: DO HOMEWORK BEFORE HIRING FINANCIAL AID CONSULTANTS. FRANCINE JACKSON, director of financial aid at HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY in Pennsylvania: "There are a number of 'financial aid consultants' in the market, charging fees to help students and families find ways to pay for a college diploma. Students and their families must be very careful about using the services of financial aid consultants, as they may not be what they claim. There are a lot of scams out there that prey upon those families seeking financial support to pay for college; however, there are also some legitimate consultants out there providing services that range from college selection to securing funding." News Contact: Steven Infanti, sinfanti@harrisburgu.net Phone: +1-717-901-5146 (8/8/06)

**3. ENVIRONMENT: LED LIGHTS BEAT HEAT WAVES AND RISING ENERGY/ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. BILL SIMS, CEO of COLOR KINETICS, a leading innovator of LED lights: "Record heat waves lead to record energy usage. LED lights can ease environmental and energy concerns. Of the energy generated by old-fashioned light bulbs, 90 percent is heat and only 10 percent is light. This creates the need to pump up ACs in homes, offices and retailers even more. LED lights are four times more efficient, and are cool to the touch, reducing the strain on the power grid." Sims can talk about the environmental and energy benefits of LED lights, used in thousands of locations around the world, and offers as a case study The Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe, which saves $41,000/year using LED lights (see URL below). News Contact: Norman Birnbach, birnbach@birnbachcom.com Phone: +1-781-639-6701 Web site: http://www.colorkinetics.com/showcase/installs/?id=93&p=0&c=0&s=0&cntry=54&sta te=28 (8/8/06)

**4. ENVIRONMENT: HABITS OF MANATEES. DR. JAMES "BUDDY" POWELL is the vice president for National and Aquatic Conservation programs of WILDLIFE TRUST, a non-profit research and conservation organization: "We tend to think of manatees as exclusively Florida residents, but, in actuality, they are seen fairly frequently as far north as the Chesapeake during the summer and have been sighted in the Potomac River and, very rarely, in New York. They are extremely gentle and inquisitive animals, and will often approach boats. It's important for people not to try to feed the manatee, so it keeps moving, stays away from boat propellers and returns back home to Florida when the weather gets cooler." During his 30-year-plus career, Powell has studied manatees in such diverse regions as Belize, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, the Caribbean and Florida. He spent nearly 10 years living in extremely remote areas of West Africa while studying manatees, rain forest biodiversity and the habits of the little-known forest elephant. News Contact: Anthony Ramos, ramos@wildlifetrust.org Phone: +1-212-380-4469 (8/8/06)