School Church Furniture

Not so many years ago Jonas Salk Middle School in Sacramento was known for its academic excellence. But over the years the school fell on hard times. Student suspensions skyrocketed. Test scores sagged as the school enrolled more students from low-income families.

Technology instructor Jamal Hicks started teaching at the school seven years ago. "It was frustrating," he said. "I questioned why all these low-functioning kids were grouped together at this school. It was failing. It was like a whole generation of kids was being thrown away."

When California implemented its Academic Performance Index (API) eight years ago, public schools were to move toward a target goal of 800. In 1999, Salk's API stood at a dismal 430. The school was placed on a program improvement plan. Last year, the school API had crept up to 581 but that was down from a high of 595 in 2005.

The San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD)realized it faced the possibility that the state would take over the school. District trustees voted to reorganize the school. SJUSD poured $1 million into computers and technology and reopened the school with a new curriculum last September.

Hicks said the changes have made a huge difference for students. "I think they went from an attitude of feeling like they can't do anything to just 'Oh wow!'

You can see it in how they walk." Hicks' students produce news shows and multi-media assignments. Many don't have computers at home, but have learned at school how to edit on-line. Eighth grader Kevin Vilaysane grinned and said, "I like this. Last year it was boring. And now I think it's more exciting because there's more technology at this school." Worthington Direct, www.worthingtondirect.com, has a trained staff waiting to anwser all of the questions involved in creating a great setting for you school's new technology department. 

The school has 40 teachers. Only 14 interviewed and were able to return. Principal Jamey Schrey said of the teachers who underwent extra training, "Students have highly qualified teachers now. The teachers are having a great deal of professional development to make sure that technology is used for the day-to-day business." Teachers can really take charge with the new Boss multimedia cart offered by Worthington Direct. www.worthingtondirect.com 

Schrey explained computers have given students a way to express themselves through class work. "They're able to write about their families, scan pictures of the grandmother and put music to the project and post it on the Web for the whole world to see."

In addition to doing their own assignments, students also help teachers enhance the curriculum by putting lessons on podcasts that are given to the entire class. continue reading

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An issue that never really goes away is back again this year: the starting age for kindergarten.

Lawmakers in at least three states are debating whether to move the cutoff deadline for kindergarten eligibility to an earlier date so children will be at least 5 years old when they start school. In Arkansas, Connecticut, and Tennessee, where the proposals are at various stages in the legislative process, sponsors say too many children enter kindergarten without the social or academic skills they need to do well—especially given the pressure on schools to make sure children are prepared for tests down the road.  Worthington Direct, www.worthingtondirect.com, carries a wide selection of early childhood and toddler furniture, ranging from reading stations to educational carpets.

Betty B. Davis, the president of the Central Arkansas Association for the Education of Young Children, agrees. “Some children are really too young to be part of kindergarten,” said Ms. Davis, whose group is an affiliate of the Washington-based National Association for the Education of Young Children. “The lack of maturity is perhaps an issue.”

In her state, the Senate already has unanimously passed a bill that gradually would push back the current Sept. 15 cutoff date to Aug. 1 by 2010. Connecticut lawmakers are discussing moving their state’s cutoff from Jan. 1 to the preceding September or October. In Tennessee, the recommendation is to move the Sept. 30 date back three months.

If the legislation passes in Tennessee, it could have a ripple effect on the state’s growing pre-K program. Rep. David Hawk, the Republican legislator sponsoring the bill, has said that he believes the cutoff dates for the two programs should be aligned.

A shift in kindergarten entry times, however, can inconvenience working parents who are eager to stop paying for preschool or child care or who are wondering if their child will be bored with another year of preschool. The most common date by which children need to turn 5 in order to enter kindergarten in the fall is Sept. 1, and most states set their dates at before Oct. 1. California’s is the second-latest, at Dec. 2, and Indiana’s is the earliest, July 1.

‘A Shell Game’

Despite all the discussion it stirs, changing the date may be pointless, many experts in early-childhood education say. “It’s an incredibly interesting political conversation that means very little,” said Kristie Kauerz, a coordinator at the National Center for Children and Families, based at Columbia University in New York City. “I still think it’s a shell game. Simply shifting the date isn’t going to solve anything.”

Many experts say that no matter what date is set, teachers will have roughly a 12-month distribution in the skills of children in their classrooms. “There will always be variability in kids’ skills that is correlated with their age,” said Robert Pianta, an education professor at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, and an expert on the transition into kindergarten. Some observers argue that if academic expectations weren’t being pushed down from 1st grade into kindergarten, teachers wouldn’t be so aware of the differences in children’s abilities.

But Ms. Davis said she doesn’t see the pendulum swinging toward less academic rigor any time soon. “We’re in a global economy,” she said. “And we’re constantly getting reports of how children in other countries are outperforming ours.”

Ms. Kaurez also suggests that there may be, in effect, a “push up” from the early-childhood-education field because of the continuing expansion of public preschool programs, as well as attention to building high-quality programs with specific learning standards. “Kids are entering public schools more ready. They’re coming with different skill sets,” Ms. Kaurez said. But because of what she called an “inequitable distribution” of programs—meaning not all children attend preschool—wide disparities remain in children’s social and academic abilities. continue reading

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While schools are busy preparing themselves for the upcoming school year and purchasing great products from Worthington Direct, www.worthingtondirect.com, students are left with less obvious options.

Summer can be tough for the middle-schoolers and young high-schoolers who are too old for day camp but too young to be left alone.

Luckily, there are alternatives. More and more recreation centers, schools, museums, even colleges are catering to this age group with classes and programs. Volunteer centers are often looking for young preteens and teens to lend a hand. And it's never too early to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit. This age group may be beyond the general day camp approach so the key is cultivating special interests your preteen or teen has and being creative in finding programs to match. Don't be surprised if no single program will fill up your preteen's summer days, but by being resourceful, you can find a number of activities to make this an active, engaging summer, and still reserve a little time "just to hang out." Here are 10 tips to get you started. And do start early in planning for programs that require advance registration. Popular programs generally fill up quickly.

• Ask at your child's school. Many middle and high schools run special enrichment programs during the summer and/or can offer parents suggestions on summer activities.
• Check with local community colleges and universities. Many community colleges and universities host summer programs for middle and high school students on their campuses. It's a great way to introduce these students to what's ahead, to get them thinking about higher education, and what they need to learn in middle and high school in order to succeed in college.

Point Park University in Pittsburg, PA, for example, hosts several week-long classes with enticing subject matter on their campus specifically geared to middle-school and high-school students. Offerings include an introduction to cartoon art, learning how to build "cool things" in an engineering class, applying math to woodworking and radio theater. Scholarships are available.

At the University of California at Riverside Alpha Center summer offerings include a "Healthy Body, Healthy Mind" program which focuses on fitness and nutrition for middle-schools students and GEMS — Girls Excelling in Mathematics With Success.

• Check with your local library. Many collect resources on summer programs. The Vermont Library, for example, has a Web page devoted to summer activities for middle- and high-school students. Most libraries will also have books with resources on teen summer activities, as well as community bulletin boards with fliers advertising local programs.
• Volunteer! Middle-schoolers may be too young to work but many are just the right age to volunteer. Check with local food banks, hospitals, libraries, senior centers and humane societies. Churches and recreation centers with summer programs for children often look for younger teens to be assistants or junior counselors to help older teens serving as paid counselors.
• Up for an adventure? There are many organized adventure camps and outdoor skills camps that offer programs for middle and high school students. The National Outdoor Leadership School lists classes by activity and age-level on their Web site. Outward Bound offers special classes for young teens and tweens that are geared to give younger teens " a chance to master new skills, experience physical and group challenges and uncover newfound confidence."
• Follow their interests. Whether it's sports, art, music, drama, computers, animals, cooking or carpentry, you're bound to find a summer program that fits the bill. The local soccer, tennis or softball league may offer a summer camp and competitive play. Many communities are home to local theater companies geared to youth, offering classes and the opportunity to perform. The Marin Theatre Company in Northern California, for example, offers several theater camps with classes in the morning and rehearsals in the afternoon.  continue reading

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As curriculum in the classroom changes and more teachers are seeking ways to integrate learning opportunities for their students, classroom furniture must also change. The old traditional rectangle is fading and new designs that foster "cooperative learning environments" are emerging. As teachers present more multi-sensory lesson plans for students, the ability to arrange the desks and chairs within their rooms has increased. Cooperative learning environments require furniture that responds to mobility, functionality, comfort, versatility and durability.

"We call it thinking-outside-the-rectangle," said Molly Risdall, Director of Marketing for Smith System, "because the furniture needs to be able to be used individually, in pairs, triads or groups so angles are essential." On one day the teacher may need rows and on the next two days, she may need the students to work on applications of a concept in pairs or by small group. Whenever students moving twenty or twenty-four desks and chairs within the week, their new design standards arise.

Throughout the Worthington Direct (www.worthingtondirect.com) catalog and their website, principals and teachers can find hundreds of new cooperative learning choices. "It is important to us to feature the newest innovations within the classroom, "said Kevin Worthington, President of Worthington Direct. "The classrooms of today must have new offerings that are constructed from lighter weight plastics and feature options for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms." One age group might need an oversized desktop for laptops and another group might need chairs that are comfortable whether the student weighs 75 or 175 pounds.

The more versatile the classroom and the more the furniture moves within a week, the more wear and tear the desks and chairs receive. Durable, sturdy designs that feature strong leg construction, heavy gauge steel mounting brackets and optional casters are quickly becoming new standards within classroom manufacturing. Virco Manufacturing, Royal Seating, ScholarCraft and Smith System are all re-designing new classroom products that offer school administrators a variety of choice when selecting furniture that can create cooperative learning classrooms.

Working with school furniture sales professionals at Worthington Direct can aid decision-makers during a critical buying experience. "It was time for us to re-design the elementary schools within our district and we needed to compare quality, cost and efficiencies," said Joe Brown, Highland Oaks Academy. "Consulting with Lane Hunter at Worthington Direct let me walk through my specific school needs. He helped me consider the various sizes, classroom configurations and color options available. It made my job so much easier. Now our elementary school teachers have the freedom to create multiple learning centers and cooperative learning environments using new furniture purchased from Worthington Direct."

To learn more about Smith System products available from Worthington Direct, use the links provided below:

Smith System Product Overview

3-2-1 Desk

Diamond Desk

Husky Chair

Astute Chair

After spending over 30 years in the school supply, church and equipment industry, Worthington Direct (www.worthingtondirect.com) knows what is important - selection, service, price and timing. Our goal is to make your purchasing job easier. With competitive pricing, knowledgeable sales associates, and "In Stock" products for quick, efficient shipping...Worthington Direct is committed to be your furniture resource. Schools and churches look to Worthington Direct for competitive pricing for school furniture, church furniture, preschool furniture, early childhood furniture, library furniture, desks, wholesale furniture, computer furniture, classroom furniture, chalkboards, office furniture, room dividers, storage cabinets, easels, display cases, cafeteria tables, activity tables, classroom desks, computer tables, desk chairs, lecterns, literature racks, office desks and risers among its large stock. continue reading

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Make Gardening Child Friendly

To make gardening easier and more appealing to young children, be sure to offer them child-size tools. A three-year-old will become frustrated in trying to manage an adult-size watering can. Watch his confidence and interest in gardening soar when he’s given a watering can just his size. This same idea applies to gardening gloves, trowels, and wheelbarrows, too.

In addition to offering appropriate tools, you’ll want to plan gardening activities that are appropriate to the children’s age and developmental skills. Three and four-year-olds love digging in the dirt, putting plants and seeds in the ground, and watering growing plants. Visit Worthington Direct ( www.worthingtondirect.com ) to see our quality selection of indoor/outdoor sand and water tables. School-age children, on the other hand, will enjoy planning what will go into the garden and harvesting the fruits, vegetables, and flowers. They can also help in maintaining the garden by removing weeds. As you engage in these activities, remember that gardening is a wonderful opportunity to incorporate science and math skills. Children will need to measure the rows, learn about composting, and make sure plants have the proper sun and nutrients. Further incorporate lessons from science class by having the students collect their own bug specimens with the new Science Lab System offered by Worthington Direct.

Choose Plants That Grow Easily

To make your school garden successful, you will want to choose seeds that are easy for young children to plant. Pumpkins, green beans, sunflowers, and peas are nice big seeds appropriate for preschoolers.

Quick growing vegetables and flowers also make appropriate choices in school gardens. Young children like to see results quickly. They’ll ask if they can pick the vegetables and fruits the day after planting! Radishes, peas, green beans, lettuce, baby carrots, and sunflowers all make excellent choices because they grow very quickly. For quick results in the flowerbed, purchase seedlings from a nursery. Flats of flowers and veggies produce results children can see right away.

Pick a Theme

If you really want your children to get into gardening, pick a theme for your garden. Try one of the following suggestions or come up your own. The possibilities are endless!

• Pizza Garden – Everything you need to make a pizza can be grown in a garden: Roma tomatoes, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, oregano, basil, green onions, parsley, and chives.
• Scented Herb Garden – Basil, lemon thyme, mint, scented geraniums, dill, and lavender make a wonderfully scented garden.
• Petting Zoo – This garden will include plants that are fun to touch, such as Sea Pink, Lamb’s Ear, and mint.
• Peter Rabbit’s Garden – Beets, radishes, mint, lemon balm, lavender, chamomile, hyssop, sage, rosemary, and strawberries are all featured plants in the classic story. 
• Fourth of July Garden – Show your patriotic spirit with a garden filled with red, white, and blue flowers.
• Animal Garden – This type of garden features with animal names: pussy willow, dogwood, cowslip, horse daisy, tiger lily, Lamb’s Ear, spider plant, snapdragon, and catnip.
• Sensory Garden – Plant a garden that includes things that involve all five senses: Lamb’s Ear for touch, lavender for scent, basil for taste, poppy for eyes (bright colors), and snapdragons for the ear to hear. Conclusion No matter what you and your children decide to grow, it’s the fun and excitement of making something special that you’ll enjoy the most. Whether you plant cherry tomatoes in window box or prize-winning marigolds in a flower bed – the learning you share with the children will blossom into something that will endure after the last plant has been picked. continue reading

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We believe conservation is key. Did you know...

• For every ton of paper that is recycled, the following is saved: 7,000 gallons of water; 380 gallons of oil; and enough electricity to power an average house for six months.
• You can run a TV for six hours on the amount of electricity that is saved by recycling one aluminum can.
• Recent studies show that 66% of Americans said "worse" when asked if they believed the nations air quality had gotten better or worse in the last 10 years.

Smith System has partnered with a new vendor who is interested in using the recycled plastic from chair shells, moldings and other scraps from the production process. To date, 50,000 pounds of re-usable plastic have been spared from landfills and instead utilized in other products. Creativity and partnership are key ingredients for Smith System in protecting the environment while still providing the highest quality furniture and educational products available.

Improving recycling efforts, reducing waste and educating students on how they can help protect the environment offers countless benefits to us all. Smith gains valuable recycled material to re-use in the construction of innovative and durable new classroom furniture while students gain a respect for the natural environment, and learn it is everyone’s responsibility to protect it.

Programs to raise awareness within the education industry have increased, and encourage each school and its administrators to raise the standards in their classroom furniture. Worthington Direct is proud to distribute Smith System classroom furniture online and in its 2007 catalog.

After spending over 30 years in the school supply, church and equipment industry, Worthington Direct (www.worthingtondirect.com ) knows what is important - selection, service, price and timing. Our goal is to make your purchasing job easier. With competitive pricing, knowledgeable sales associates, and "In Stock" products for quick, efficient shipping...Worthington Direct is committed to being your furniture resource.

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Like so many other schools in Southern California and across the nation, Santa Monica Boulevard Elementary Charter School was extremely cramped for space. Filing cabinets were being used to separate one large multipurpose room into a technology center, storage area, office and one-on-one learning environments for special education students.

"Needless to say, it wasn’t working out," said Linda Lee, Technology Coordinator at the school. "The students could see right into the other work areas and it was extremely noisy and distracting for everyone."

But like so many other schools, Lee knew she would have to make the most of the space she had to work with. The charter simply couldn’t afford any additional classrooms, and even if it could, waiting was not an option. The campus was expecting 1500 students in the fall and her special education students would be out a private place where resource specialists could conduct speech therapy, if she didn’t move fast.

After a quick search on the Internet, Lee found Screenflex Portable Partitions, an Illinois based manufacturer of versatile, flexible partitions. The company offers online planning information as well as free information kits to help make the decision-making process easier for facilities managers and other district personnel.

"Everything I needed was tight there on their website," said Lee. "I placed the order and in less that three months, I had the space I needed at a cost our school could afford".

For approximately $10,000, Santa Monica Elementary School’s large 26 feet by 24 feel multipurpose room was transformed into one 9-by-13, one 15-by-13, and one 17-by-9 room, as well as a 7-by-9 storage area. The walls are 6 feet tall and include three doors, which help to create more private study and work areas, as well as mallard green designer fabric that blends in nicely with the school’s décor and surroundings.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com and receive free shipping when you order quantity 3 or more Screenflex units through March 31, 2007.

Screenflex designed the partitions so that speech therapy could be conducted in one area, teachers could prepare lesson plans in another, and items could be stored in the remaining section. All of the partitions are on casters so they can be easily wheeled away and stored in just minutes. They fold neatly and compactly, accordion-style, so that the large multipurpose room can still be used for assemblies, programs or special events as often as necessary.

"As your needs change you can open a room back up and you would never know the partitions were there," said Dan Cornell, Planning and Sales Consultant at Screenflex. "That is the beauty of portable partitions."

Cornell said this versatility makes partitions an excellent alternative not only to conventional construction, but to modular classrooms as well.

"A school may have tremendous growth one year but a significant decline the next, " said Cornell. "Portable partitions allow your school to change its use of space as its needs change, at a much lower cost than using modular classrooms."

In addition to portability and versatility, Screenflex Partitions also offer a look schools can be proud of. They come in 31 different colors, including fabric and vinyl finishes that are tackable and can be conveniently used to display students’ artwork or papers. Partitions are also readily available in six different heights: 4’, 5’, 6’, 6’-8", 7’-4", 8’ and lengths come in sixes from 5’-9" – 24’-1". In addition, Screenflex’s trademarked multiple FREEstanding partitions can be locked together to form unlimited lengths, depending on your own school’s needs.

Doors, windows, dry-erase marker boards, and a variety of other features can be also be added to make your dividers more aesthetically pleasing and functional. All Screenflex partitions are shippable by truck and require no assembly upon arrival. Costs start at $485 and many partitions are available in-stock for immediate delivery.

High schools, colleges, churches, hospitals and even minor league baseball teams today are using portable partitions. They can transform a gymnasium into a Sunday school, a cafeteria into a study hall, or a conference room into a private meeting place.

"The options are as endless as the imagination," said Cornell. "There are really no limits to what you can do with them."

After spending over 30 years in the school supply, church and equipment industry, Worthington Direct knows what is important - selection, service, price and timing. Our goal is to make your purchasing job easier. With competitive pricing, knowledgeable sales associates, and "In Stock" products for quick, efficient shipping...Worthington Direct is committed to being your furniture resource.

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With seven additional plastic book box colors for 2007, Virco’s popular model 785 open front student desk has a whole new look. This expanded book box color line is available when ordered with a Fusion Maple top and Silver Mist upper-leg frame. Choose from exciting colors of Blueberry, Navy, Cucumber, Forest Green, Purple Iris, Red, and Squash. Pair these colorful desks with Virco’s stack chairs such as the classic 9000 or 2000 Series, the ergonomic IQ Series, or the recently expanded ZUMA line of products.

Royal Seating launches the newly improved 1600 desk series. In 2006, Royal reengineered the 1600 open front desks to accommodate larger classroom chairs such as the 1102 Super Shell Chair. These desks were slightly altered again for 2007. The newest generation of 1600 desks features the same benefits, dimensions and overall construction, but with a slight change in the placement of two ¾" steel supports on the front and back of the frame. This change allows more flexibility, without changing the overall construction. Models in the 1600 series include the popular 1607 open front desk, the solid plastic 1657 open front desk, and the 1687 lift lid desk. Pair these desks with Royal’s line of chairs including the classic 1101 series stack chairs and the solid plastic 4102 Liberty Series stack chairs.

After spending over 30 years in the school supply, church and equipment industry, Worthington Direct knows what is important - selection, service, price and timing. Our goal is to make your purchasing job easier. With competitive pricing, knowledgeable sales associates, and "In Stock" products for quick, efficient shipping...Worthington Direct is committed to be your furniture resource.  Visit us at www.worthingtondirect.com

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Your child may tell you that slinging that fully loaded backpack over one shoulder is cool, but it’s an invitation to injury. Here is what health professionals say you need to know to avoid the muscle pain and posture problems that can result from using a backpack incorrectly:

What to Look For When You Buy

• Select a backpack with well-padded shoulder straps to help protect the shoulders and neck. These straps should be adjusted so the pack fits snugly against your child’s back.
• Select a smaller backpack for your younger child. The backpack itself should be light in weight.
• Consider a pack with a waist belt to help distribute the weight of the pack evenly.
• Consider buying a pack on wheels, similar to the carry-on valise used by airplane travelers. Caution: These carriers are not for everyone, as they are difficult to maneuver in snow, and up and down stairs. Some schools don't allow them.
• Purchase backpacks with hanging loops, as many schools have desks with backpack pegs for storing them during class.  If your child's school does not currently have these desks, have them contact Worthington Direct to provide desks that do at a reasonable price.  www.worthingtondirect.com

How to Carry It Safely

• A loaded backpack should weigh between 10 and 20% of a child’s body weight, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. For example, a child weighing 100 pounds shouldn’t carry more than 20 pounds.
• Help your child learn to carry the pack evenly weighted with straps over each shoulder.
• Place heavier items at the bottom of the backpack.
• Encourage your child to check the contents daily and leave unnecessary items at home or at school.
• Show your child how to bend at the knees when putting on a backpack. She shouldn't bend over at the waist when wearing or lifting a heavy backpack.
• Help your child learn back-strengthening exercises to build up the muscles required to carry a backpack. A pediatrician, health professional or athletic trainer can suggest some proper exercises.
• Encourage your child or teen-ager to tell you if he’s feeling back or neck pain, and get your pediatrician’s advice if he does. (continue reading)

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The National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C., has published its first themed list of 15 classic books for young readers at different grade levels.

This year's theme is "courage." NEH selected books "that will help young readers explore the meaning of courage and our nation's culture and history." In addition, this year NEH updated its list of 300 classic books for young readers, with the expertise of the American Library Association. Worthington Direct carries all of your book storage and display needs in addition to, comfortable group seating for young readers. www.worthingtondirect.com

That list includes such enduring authors as Beatrix Potter, A.A. Milne, Maurice Sendak, Rudyard Kipling, C.S. Lewis, Maya Angelou, Thornton Wilder, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Carl Sandburg, Leo Tolstoy, John Updike and Herman Wouk. How do parents get their children to read the classics? The same way they encourage their children to read, says Barbara W. Rooks, Hillsborough County schools supervisor of library media services, kindergarten through fifth grades. (continue reading)

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Lindsay Knippenberg believes she was teaching sound science when she showed her South Lake High School environmental class a documentary about global warming.  Worthington Direct, www.worthingtondirect.com, offers new products that are both environmentally friendly through their manufacturing process and are GreenGuard certified for the classroom.

"It's a good movie to show to kids, because it explains things visually in a way that's easy for them to comprehend," she said. 

But the film, "An Inconvenient Truth," isn't just any documentary. Winner for best documentary feature at 79th Academy Awards, the film narrated by former Vice President Al Gore has rekindled the classroom debate about where science ends and where politics begin.

It also has contributed to controversy over the best way to teach global warming -- a constantly evolving subject fraught with conflicting scientific viewpoints -- in the classroom.

Some say the movie is propaganda that relies on scare tactics to further a political agenda that contends that humans are contributing to global warming. They say it shouldn't be presented as fact, and certainly not without presenting an alternative view.

Others -- including Knippenberg -- insist that no alternative viewpoint is needed and say the state requires public high school teachers to cover the subjects of global warming and the greenhouse effect. The requirement is part of new high school graduation standards adopted by the Michigan Department of Education last year with an eye toward preparing students for the 21st Century. (continue reading)

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Cdigix, a provider of digital entertainment and educational media, is dropping its online music and movie service to focus solely on delivering on-demand educational content.

Cdigix has provided an educational content delivery system, called C-Labs, to schools for a number of years. Now, as of this fall, C-Labs is slated to become the company's one and only focus. Cdigix is leaving behind its C-Trax solution, an online music and video download service that colleges and universities have used since 2004.

"This is not a departure for us," said Cdigix CEO Larry Jacobson. "I'd characterize it more as a refocus toward the educational side of our business, which we think has a real need ... and a lot of support from schools."  Worthington Direct, www.worthingtondirect.com has a wide range of technology furniture to support all of your growing technology needs.

Jacobson cited a number of reasons for the company's decision to move away from the digital entertainment side of its business. "When we talked to administrators on campus as to how we could help them best, they kept focusing us more and more on education and saying that this is what they really needed," he said. (Continue reading)

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In recent years, the ACT — an alternative to the SAT — has become more popular and widely accepted as a college entry exam. Some students who perform poorly on the SAT find success on the ACT. Johnson says that nearly half of the students that come to Prep Matters now take the ACT, at least just to see how they do. "It's a more straight-forward test," he says, "and some people think, maybe, that there's not as much trickery." The ACT isn't as long as the SAT and includes fewer sections, so it's potentially less stressful for some students.

A few years back, college admissions offices started taking the ACT more seriously as a substitute for the SAT. But the SAT isn't the same as it used to be, either. Two years ago, the College Board revamped the reading comprehension questions and added a writing section. But Johnson fears the writing section may only serve to lengthen the test. He takes the exam himself, whenever possible, and admits that even he has trouble completing the timed essays — which always appear first on the exam. "If people aren't happy with their essay at the beginning," he says, "it can rattle a student for the rest of the test." (Continue reading)

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Negotiations over the federal government's 2007 education budget appear to have drawn to a close: On Jan. 30, Democratic leaders of the U.S. House and Senate appropriations committees unveiled a plan that would boost federal spending on public education by more than $1 billion for the remainder of the fiscal year, though funding for educational technology and many other programs would remain stagnant. 

The bill includes increases for students with disabilities, underprivileged schools, and early childhood education. But the majority of education initiatives--including the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) block-grant program, the primary source of federal funding for school technology--would be "level-funded" under the deal, meaning they would get the same funding as in 2006. Last year, EETT received $273 million, down from $496 million in 2005. President Bush has asked Congress to eliminate the program entirely in each of the last four budget cycles--including his 2008 budget proposal.  

As news of the budget deal spread throughout the nation's capital, education advocates who spoke with eSchool News said they hoped the agreement would enable lawmakers to focus their attention on Bush's 2008 budget request. The federal government has been running on a series of continuing resolutions since the 2007 fiscal year began in October. "Failure to fund the Enhancing Education Through Technology program at all in 2007 would have been devastating," said Don Knezek, chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education. "This sends a powerful message of the value this new Congress places on education."

Still, ed-tech advocates say, the true test is yet to come. "Level funding for 2007 is good news," said Keith Krueger, chief executive officer of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). "But the more important fight is for FY 2008 ... where the new Congress has an opportunity to revisit the issue of investment in our nation's future through educational technology." (Continue reading)

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