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Friday, November 11, 2011

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Friday, November 11, 2011


Guard killed, customer hurt in Aldi shooting | VIDEO
Chicago police are looking for two suspects involved in a deadly shooting at a South Side grocery store.

Cellini attorney says he will file mistrial motion
Defense attorneys for a millionaire convicted of trying to shake down a Hollywood producer say they will file a mistrial motion next week based on new allegations that one juror didn't disclose two felony convictions.
Approved Metra budget calls for fare increase
Metra's board of directors approved its 2012 budget Friday morning, which includes a fare increase of about 25 percent, the biggest fare increase in four years.
Veterans honored in Chicago, suburbs | VIDEO
Friday is Veterans Day and Americans are honoring members of the nation's armed services.
Four Seasons to close restaurant, renovate
Chicago is losing yet another fine-dining destination after New Year's Eve, as the Four Seasons will close Seasons Restaurant, then drastically renovate the bar, lounge and conservatory area.
Woman burned to death in Matteson crash ID'd
The woman killed Monday in a fiery crash at Vollmer Road and Cicero Avenue in Matteson has been identified as a Park Forest woman, Matteson police said.

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Herman Cain caught on camera joking about Anita Hill | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

Herman Cain caught on camera joking about Anita Hill | The Ticket - Yahoo! News:

Herman Cain caught on camera joking about Anita Hill

Cain in Michigan Thursday (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Herman Cain is defending himself from sexual harassment allegations, but that didn't stop him from joking about Anita Hill, the college professor who made similar allegations against Clarence Thomas during his Supreme Court nomination hearings 20 years ago.

A Fox News camera captured Cain laughing about Hill during a campaign stop in Kalamazoo, Mich., Thursday, when a supporter brought up the professor's name.

"You hear the latest news today? Anita Hill is going to come …" a man told Cain, the conclusion of his statement muffled by the crowd.

"Is she going to endorse me?" Cain joked, as he and the crowd laughed heartily.

You can watch the video here, courtesy Fox News.

Cain insisted Friday he wasn't trying to insult Hill.

"We walked into this room and ... one of my supporters said, 'Anita Hill was trying to contact you' and my response was, 'Is she going to endorse me?'" Cain told New York Post columnist Fred Dicker, per Politico. "He said it in a humorous way. I gave a humorous response."

Cain continues to fend off allegations that he sexually harassed four women when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Cain came under fire again Wednesday for making a condescending remark about House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, when he referred to her as "Princess Nancy" during a Republican presidential debate in Michigan. He later admitted he "probably shouldn't have" made the comment.

In California, Charter Schools Don't Close Racial Gap; Deborahs Pray and Cry For Victim of Violence; Teen Jobs - We Must Do Something Different; Black Star Community PTA Meeting; Listen to Black Male Summits from Omaha


Black Star Logo
In California, Racial Academic Achievement Gap
Unaffected by Charter Schools
Black Star Logo
 
California Charter Schools Don't Narrow Black-White Achievement Gap 
 
Recent report by Golden State charter advocates claiming gains tarnished after review by Arizona State professor
 
Press Release
 
BOULDER, CO (November 10) - In a recent report, the California Charter School Association claims that the state's charter schools are narrowing the Black-White achievement gap. Not so, explains Arizona State University professor David Garcia, an expert on charter school research, in a review of the CCSA study conducted for the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Garcia finds flaws in the report's methods, and he explains that the gap is "largely unaffected by charter enrollment." Further, Garcia pours cold water on the report's claim that innovative practices are at work in charter schools that aren't found in traditional public schools.

Garcia reviewed Chartering and Choice as an Achievement Gap-Closing Reform: The success of California charter schools in promoting African American Achievement, published by the California Charter Schools Association, for the NEPC's Think Twice think tank review project.

In his review,Garcia notes that the report claims that African American students attending California charter schools scored, on average, 19 points higher than the average for African Americans attending traditional schools on California's Academic Performance Index (API), which is derived from statewide standardized tests under the state's accountability system for public schools. The report also claims that California charter schools are reversing the trend of low academic achievement among African American students and effectively closing the Black-White achievement gap.

Garcia observes that the data in the report itself show that "African Americans in California charter schools started out higher and actually lost ground relative to traditional public schools over time," with traditional public schools outgaining charter schools by 6 points. Moreover, he writes, "closing the achievement gap requires that African American students make more gains relative to White students - and by this definition, traditional public schools outperformed charter schools."

Garcia also points out that the report's confusing and poorly supported claims are due in part to its "shotgun approach": "it includes so many findings that it loses track of which schools are included in which findings."

According to Garcia, the most positive spin that can be put on the evidence is that while the gap is still wide, it might be growing at a slower pace for charter school students. Even this interpretation, however, is not well-supported by the data or analyses in the new report. This is largely because the main statistical model presented in the report has several prominent weaknesses. It accounts for only 3-6 percent of overall variance, meaning that the observed outcome differences are explained overwhelmingly by factors not included in the authors' model. One cannot make reliable policy decisions based on such a weak model.

Moreover, throughout the report, the authors chose to set aside differences in socio-economic status as regards charter elementary and middle schools, not considering the likely effects those differences have on the measured outcomes. The sole exception occurs when the performance numbers appear to favor traditional public high schools, in which case the authors point to socio-economic status differences as the explanation.

The report's greatest strength, Garcia writes, is that it again demonstrates what other studies have found: namely, that "charter schools are of variable quality, and there are very few innovations in charter school practices as a whole that are not also present in traditional public schools." In the main, however, he says: "The most useful policy briefs are concise as well as accurate. This report is lacking on both counts."

Find David Garcia's review on the NEPC website at:
http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-chartering-and-choice.
Find Chartering and Choice as an Achievement Gap-Closing Reform: The success of California charter schools in promoting African American achievement, by Aisha Toney, Samantha Brown-Olivieri, Elizabeth Robitaille, and Myron Castrejon, on the web at:
http://www.calcharters.org/understanding/research/africanamericanreport/

The Think Twice think tank review project (http://thinktankreview.org), a project of the National Education Policy Center, provides the public, policy makers, and the press with timely, academically sound, reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible in part by the support of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

The mission of the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, is to produce and disseminate high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence.  For more information on NEPC, please visit http://nepc.colorado.edu/.

This review is also found on the GLC website at http://www.greatlakescenter.org/.
National PTA's Chicago UFEI Team
and Black Star Community PTA (BSCPTA)
are coming to your neighborhood!
   
Black Star Community PTA
on
 Saturday, November 12, 2011
9:30am - Noon
at
 Thurgood Marshall Library
7506 South Racine Avenue
 Chicago, Illinois 
 
   Topics:
ΓΌStrengthening the Voice of Parents through Community PTAs
ΓΌEnglewood Community Action Council Updates
ΓΌNational PTA's Urban Family Engagement Initiative
ΓΌDora's Beyond the Backpack Checklist
The Deborahs Pray for and Cry For A Young Woman Who Died from Senseless Violence
Hear Deborah Member Charlene Davis, aunt of Chanda Thompson, talk about stopping the violence that cause her niece's death on Radio Station 1690 AM - WVON Chicago by clicking here at 8:07 pm eastern time, 7:07 pm central time, 6:07 pm mountyain time and 5:07 pm pacific time on Friday, November 11, 2011.  Chanda and two other young people were shot to death on the corner of 87th and King Drive on the south side of Chicago on November 5, 2011. 
Black Star Logo
Chanda Thompson, niece of Charlene Davis
Visitation for Chanda Faye Thompson,
Friday, November 11, 2011
4:00 PM until 9:00 PM
Gatlings Funeral Home
10133 S. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60628
 
Funeral services will be at
The Temple of Grace COGIC
25750 S. Dixie Highway
Crete, IL 60417
Wake 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM
Funeral Services 11:00 AM until 12:00 PM
Saturday November 12, 2011.
 
Repast Klubb Karma
15200 Dixie Highway
Harvey, IL 60426
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
708-596-5400 
 
You may call 773.285.9600 for more information. 
Omaha, Nebraska's Black Male Summit Will Be Broadcast On The One 1690 AM
Black Star Logo 
A Campaign for Black Male Achievement,
Improvement and Action Summit
 
November 12, 2011
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
(Mountain Time)
  
Black men are encouraged to listen to the Summit in your cities to hear generated solutions to the problems of Black men and Black people.
 
1690am 'The ONE' will broadcast this historic event to share solutions with Black men in cities across America through our
 
free mobile phone app: 1690am THE ONE
 
role call, to introduce and link 250 Black men who are
doing this work across America.
 
1690am The ONE will Broadcast 'Live' and rebroadcast in segments the Summit for those who can't attend but wants to participate or needs enlightenment by the process. 
 
Teen Jobs 
"There is no hope in doing things the exact same way we've been doing them for the past 20, 30, 40 years.  The violence in our communities is economic violence for the most part.  The solution has to be more than just a government decision: The answers and solutions have got to be community-driven."

Phillip Jackson
The Black Star Project
Black Star Logo 
 
Town hall meeting:
Let's get teens working
by Chloe Riley
November 8, 2011

Black Star LogoTeen unemployment was the major focus at a town hall meeting last week, with local teens and elected officials sharing the same platform.

Columbia Links, Columbia College's journalism program for teens, sponsored the event, which featured a panel discussion and the release of Columbia Links' spring 2011 R Wurd magazine that features a story titled "Not Hiring: The Plight of Jobless Teens."

Recent census data shows the last two summers had the lowest teen employment rates since the end of World War II.

In Chicago alone, 54.9 percent of black teens were out of work, compared to 32.5 percent Hispanics and 30.9 percent whites, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

Laura Washington, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and ABC 7 political analyst, moderated the panel discussion. Washington began the night by paralleling teen joblessness to Occupy Chicago.

"Many of those occupiers are young people who are really worried about our staggering economy, our desperate economy," she said. "There's frustration out there, even desperation in the air, particularly among the young."
 
Philip Jackson, the president and founder of the Black Star Project, said he thinks a fundamental societal change will empower young people.
 
"There is no hope in doing things the exact same way we've been doing them for the past 20, 30, 40 years," he said. "The violence in our communities is economic violence for the most part."
Jackson said the solution has to be more than just a government decision: "The answers and solutions have got to be community-driven.
 
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who represents Austin in the Illinois House, also participated in the panel discussion.
 
He said he believes legislators should take teen joblessness seriously.
 
"Everyone says that the youth is the future," he said. "But if they're really the future, then we should focus on ways to make sure that we include them in the workforce."
 
As a young adult, Ford said he was lucky to have work.
 
"I was able to find jobs, thank goodness. When I was in college I was a teacher's assistant, so I was fortunate enough to get a job and go to school during the evening," he said.
 
Earlier this year, Ford sponsored legislation that would create a commission focused solely on increasing employment in state government for young adults ages 18 to 25.
 
Ashley Wright, an Austin resident who attends Westinghouse College Prep, said she's been regularly
handing out her resumes but consistently comes back empty-handed.
 
"I just went to three job interviews this month," she said. "I went to Fridays, Chili's and Mariano's Fresh Market, and didn't get called back from one."
 
The 17-year-old said potential employers view her curfew and her school hours as hindrances to hiring her.
 
Out of all who spoke at the event, Wright said she found the words of a young lady her age the most inspiring.
 
"I liked Ashley Walker," she said. "I liked her speech because she was speaking to us the real deal. She was speaking the truth. And I felt like what she was saying was true because we shouldn't be focusing on money right now, we should be focusing on school."
 
Walker, a Columbia Links student who had work published in Columbia Link's R Wurd magazine, said earlier in the night, "school is a job and I'm not getting paid, but I am getting paid in the long run."
 
In Florida, Working to Save Black Boys from Poor Schools, Violence, the Streets and Prisons 
Black Star Logo
Black males face tougher odds in school
Black Star Logo
Hillsborough Assistant Superintendent Lewis Brinson assists a student with his tie at Benjamin Franklin Middle School on the first day of class. (Andy Jones/Staff)
By SHERRI ACKERMAN 
November 04, 2011 
     TAMPA -- At 14, Shawn Turner-McGee is a convicted felon, arrested last spring for pushing his teacher and grabbing her arms.
     He said it was a misunderstanding, one that he wrote a written apology for and served probation.
     Last month, Greco Middle School officials suspended the seventh-grader twice for shoving and provoking another boy in the hall.
     On Thursday, during his first week back on campus, Shawn was in trouble again following another scuffle and school lockdown.
     "I don't want him to be labeled a bad kid,'' said his mother, Christy Turner. "I want him to get his education.''
     But it won't be easy. Shawn and other black males are among the most at-risk students in the district and the nation.
     Part of the blame may point to strict discipline policies, but progress could be coming through new diversion programs.
     And while the gap in graduation rates between black males and boys of other races may be narrowing, it's still an issue that leads to future consequences.
     "It's a serious problem,'' said Ross Anderson, a resource teacher and intervention specialist who works with young black males at Van Buren Middle School and Steinbrenner High.
     "We are losing a lot of boys.''
     Losing them in school, where black male students in Hillsborough County are less likely to graduate than their white peers and more often suspended and expelled.
     Then to the street, where they face more incidents of violence and incarceration.
     Only 47 percent of America's black males graduate high school, according to a 2010 report by the Schott Foundation, a Cambridge, Mass.-based organization that funds programs to help public schools.
     In Florida, state Department of Education records show that 61 percent of black male students graduated high school in 2008.
     That number rose two years later to 68 percent with 75 percent of black males in Hillsborough graduating with classmates who started high school the same year.
     Compare that to 88 percent of white males matriculating in the county, and it shows the gap between black and white male students is closing, education leaders say.
     Adding more teachers and programs that target at-risk students and actively engaging parents seem to help.
     But there's still work to be done when it comes to keeping black boys in school.
* * * * *
     Black males are twice as likely in Florida to face suspensions or expulsions than white and Hispanic males, a Tampa Tribune analysis found.
     In Hillsborough, black males are three times more likely to be suspended from school than white males and five times more likely to be expelled.
     A 2010 study by the civil rights advocate Southern Policy Law Center blames zero-tolerance disciplinary policies for the high rates.
     Despite two decades of the practice, the policies don't necessarily improve safety or learning, the law center said.
     In Hillsborough, which has zero tolerance for incidents like violence against teachers or bringing weapons to school, officials recognize the high rate of suspensions is a problem.
     Like other districts across the country, they're searching for solutions.
     One may be reducing the number of suspensions by influencing behavior, said Lewis Brinson, the district's assistant superintendent for principals.
     But sometimes, a suspension or expulsion is the only way to teach a child no matter the race right from wrong while ensuring other students are safe and able to learn, he said.
     Hillsborough uses additional resource teachers to provide afterschool tutoring, extra help in reading and math, and other support.
     The district also has embraced academic programs to keep struggling students on track.
Anderson, the resource teacher, and other mentors are just one more way to reach out.
* * * * *
     The former Verizon employee left the corporate world to teach, creating Men of Vision in 2005.
     He started the program with 21 boys at Sligh Middle School. Last year, 14 of the original members graduated from high school while four got their GED.
     The other three boys are foundering, said Anderson, whose program has grown to 125 boys at six schools. "I'm still working with them.''
     With other teachers he has trained, Anderson works predominately with black males to motivate them in school and life.
     "A lot of these boys feel defeated,'' he said.
     Some don't have support at home. They start getting into trouble then assume their teacher or principal doesn't like them.
     If they get suspended from school, it can lead to a downward cycle, Anderson said.
     Parents have the option of putting their children in an alternative school program that keeps students from being penalized for the missed days and lets them make up assignments.
     But not everyone takes advantage of the program, said Anderson, who wants the district to make it mandatory.
     Once students get behind in their class work, it sets in motion a downward spiral, he said.         
     Soon, they're living up to an expectation that they can't or won't succeed.
     He tells his boys, "Your school record is the first impression for a teacher or principal.''
     If there are discipline referrals, suspensions, arrests, "a red flag goes up,'' he explains. "You get labeled.''
* * * * *
     That's what Christy Turner fears is happening to her son.
     "He's a good kid,'' the 30-year-old single mom said recently from her Temple Terrace apartment, where she cares for Shawn and his younger brother and sister.
     Shawn is on the track team and loves playing baseball. He comes home from school to homework and chores such as washing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom.
     He has to make his bed every morning.
     Mess up at home or at school, his mom said, and Shawn loses privileges like his cell phone, video games and his me-time.
     She tries to teach him right from wrong. It's a lesson Turner, a King High School dropout with two convictions for battery, has struggled with as well.
     "It's not a good life,'' she tells her son. "You lose a lot of stuff.''
     Shawn gets that, he said last week outside Greco Middle School on Fowler Avenue.
     "I want to go somewhere in life,'' he said. "I want to be a lawyer.''
     First, he has to survive middle school and that means learning to get along with others - or avoiding them. His mother plans to enroll him in Walton Academy next school year. She hopes the smaller charter school will provide a different atmosphere for her son.
     "I've got to stay away from the incidents,'' Shawn reminds himself.
     But turning the other cheek can be difficult - especially for teenage boys.
     "A lot of times, kids like this, they don't know how to walk away,'' said Brinson, a longtime educator and former principal. "We have to teach them they have a choice.''
     Parents need to step up and become a partner with the district.
     "It takes all of us,'' Brinson said. "We can't write a kid off.
     "If we write a kid off at age 14, what are we saying?''
Senior researcher Buddy Jaudon and reporter Kevin Wiatrowski contributed to this report.  
 
"Take a Young Black Man to Worship Day" 
On Sunday, November 20, 2011, if your faith-based institution is not inviting, embracing and supporting young Black men, WHY NOT?  On this day, every Black man is a father. You have plenty time to organize a successful "Take a Young Black Man to Worship Day." Call Bruce at 773.285.9600 for an organizing kit or to register your faith-based organization. 
Take a young Black man to worship at your church, mosque, temple, synagogue or place of worship in your home town on November 20, 2011. 
Black Star Logo 
The Black Star Project's Million Father Movement is partnering with the most dynamic force in the Black community--the Black church.  Black churches, mosques, temples and synagogues across the country are working together on "Take a Black Male to Worship Day," Sunday, November 20, 2011.  Faith-based institutions throughout America are participating in this event.
  
We are especially asking fathers, grandfathers, foster fathers, stepfathers, uncles, cousins, big brothers, mentors, deacons, trustees, male choir members, significant male caregivers and family friends to join The Black Star Project in this movement.  Women and men of all ethnicities are also encouraged to "Take a Black Male to Worship Day." 
  
Please email blackstar1000@ameritech.net or call Bruce Walker at 773.285.9600 to bring this effort to your city, to receive a complete organizing kit or for guidance concerning this event.   Participating faith-based institutions will be listed in our national directory.
  
If your faith institution is not participating, why not?

 
Please ask your faith leader to ensure that your faith-based institution participates in this event.  If you wish to participate in or lead the effort in your city or in your congregation on Sunday, November 20, 2011, (or your day of worship near this date), please call Bruce Walker at 773.285.9600 for an organizing kit and to register or email blackstar1000@ameritech.net.  

Those who want to educate their children rather than wait for others to educate their children should join The Black Star Project in this effort at 773.285.9600 or visit our educational programs at www.blackstarproject.org.
Support the Work of
The Black Star Project
For more information on our other programs and how you can get involved, click on these links below or please call 773.285.9600:




Friday's Daily Brief

Friday, November 11, 2011
POLITICS
Herman Cain Cracks Joke About Anita Hill
POLITICS
Rufus Gifford: The Man Behind Obama's Historic Fundraising Machine
SPORTS
Assistant Who Witnessed Unspeakable Act Receives 'Multiple Threats'
MEDIA
Charlie Rose, Gayle King To Join Revamped CBS Morning Show
TECHNOLOGY
Family Secrets: Parents Prey On Children's Identities As Victims Stay Silent
BLOG POSTS
Jamie Lee Curtis: Hindsight
"If I knew then what I know now" doesn't count for Paterno or Penn State. There is no excuse. There is no apology. Just tell the truth. The truth is what we all want and they should all spend the rest of their lives working on behalf of the victims and their recovery.
Marlo Thomas: She Who Serves
If your image of a troubled veteran is a homeless man, you're half-right. Yes, he needs your help. But so does his military sister.
Adam McKay: The 6 Dumbest Protests Ever
With Penn State students protesting and rioting over the firing of football coach Joe Paterno, many have wondered what those students could possibly be thinking. With that in mind, we here at Funny or Die decided to find the six dumbest protests ever.
Lee Woodruff: Who Will Care For The Caregiver?
Each Veteran's Day we spend a great deal of effort honoring those who have served. And rightly so. But this year let's also honor the loved ones here at home who serve every day in unsung roles.
Rabbi Michael Lerner: Praying With Our Feet at Occupy Oakland
I'm hoping that more people committed to nonviolence will show up at the General Assembly meetings held by Occupy Oakland and change the vibe from one which prioritizes "unity" to one in which people understand that nonviolence is the best and only strategy.
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