School Technical Ideas

An audit highlighting failings at hundreds of schools across Northern Ireland should not have been made public and puts increased pressure on an already stressed system, principals have warned.

The president of The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) Raymond McFeeters said that he feared that parents and school staff will now be left fearing for their future.

His reaction comes in the wake of the publication of an audit of schools in Northern Ireland which showed that over 500 are failing Government targets in education, finance or enrolment, and was highlighted in wednesday’s Belfast Telegraph.

Some 15 schools are failing in all three areas and Education Minister John O’Dowd has said that he would have no hesitation in closing those failing to meet targets in order to protect pupil education.

NAHT president Raymond McFeeters said that the publication of the audit may discourage parents from sending their own children to schools which are failing in education or financially.

“There are schools everybody knows need to close,” he said. “But there are others that are under stress and parents may see this and be put off. That’s not a fair way to operate. It puts additional stress on an already stressed system.”

Mark Langhammer, director of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said that the stark results set out “just how socially segregated our system is”.

Ronnie Hassard, principal of Ballymena Academy, said the figures — although necessary — do not tell the whole story about an individual school’s “life and work”.

Meanwhile, Avril Hall Callaghan of the Ulster Teachers’ Union said that the release of in depth and detailed figures regarding each school was “dangerous”.

“We need a wider picture. It’s so important that we don’t have a knee jerk reaction to this,” she added.

What next?

The Education Minister will be writing to schools in the coming weeks following the publication of a viability audit which highlighted failings at schools across Northern Ireland. The information will now be used to draw up an Area Plan for the future of the Northern Ireland schools’ estate. It’s expected that over the next 18 months it will be made clearer which schools are facing closure. Proposals for closures are expected to be published in February, with those earmarked beginning to shut in August 2013.

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Saturday announced the creation of a 48-member state Education Technology Task Force that will have among its goals the alignment of its own state ed-tech plan, published in 2005, with the National Education Technology Plan put out by the U.S. Department of Education in 2010.

While the creation of such organizations is “not super unusual,” according to State Educational Technology Directors Association Executive Director Douglas Levin, it is notable because of California’s size and its unique position as the home of Silicon Valley, he said in an email.

And while California’s state budget is particularly crunched, Torlakson in a press release said that the task force’s work now would be crucial to allow schools to better implement technology when more funding becomes available in the future.

“Many schools have been all but left out of the technology revolution,” Torlakson said in the release. “If we’re serious about providing students a world-class education, we need a plan that leaves no school and no child offline.”

The task force will explore ed-tech by focusing on five areas—learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity—in a manner similar to the organization of the National Education Technology Plan. (The national plan also includes a sixth focus on research and development.) The organization will likely present recommendations to Torlakson and develop a “California Educational Blueprint over the next few months,” according to the release.

United States Deputy Director of Education Technology Steve Midgley is part of the 48-member volunteer group, as are representatives from state ed-tech advocate Computer-Using Educators, nonprofit research group WestEd, youth media watchdog Common Sense Media, and the philanthropic Silicon Valley Education Foundation.

The California task force is not the first such group, Levin said, with states such as Arizona, Nevada, and New York having standing committees on education technology within their state education departments. Other efforts in Idaho, Ohio and Wisconsin are also among the most noteworthy, Levin indicated.

Breaking News Update.

Assistant Secretary Janice L. Jacobs announced new USA visa renewal program to streamline the visa renewal process for Indian visa applicants.

• This new program will permit consular officers to waive interviews for some qualified applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 months or four years, of expiration of their previous visa and within the same classification as the previous visa.
• It will apply for tourists, business travellers, crew members and for students (F1 visa).
• The new rules will apply to those within categories of B1, B2, C and D.
• Not all applicants will be accepted for streamlined processing.

Other HighLights

• 670,000 Non-immigrant Visas Issued in 2011
• 67,105 H1B Visas
• 100,000+ Indian Students Study in USA

H1B Visa and L1 Visa applicants would still have to attend the visa interview.

USA recently announced such programs  for Chinese and Brazil Citizens.

Its good to see Indian Citizens can renew USA Visa without having to attend the visa interview.

As the report says, Not all applicants will be accepted for streamlined processing.

We have to wait for more details from US Embassy in India on this New USA Visa Renewal Rules Interview Waived for Indian Citizens will be implemented and when the New USA visa rules will go into effect.

• Initial F1 Visa approved for 2 years.
• Couldnt complete Masters degree in 2 years.
• I-20 expended for 1 more year.
• Student  could get F1 Visa renewed without attending F1 Visa interview again while traveling to India after initial 2 years.

Filed Under: US Visa Tagged With: USA Visa Renewal

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