Mother's plea over dead Oxford student's stolen laptop BBC News William DeJanes, 33, who had a medical condition, was found dead at home in Cowley Road, Oxford, on 15 March. Two days later the flat was raided and his Sony VAIO laptop containing his final year dissertation was stolen. Two people were arrested but ... Burglars steal dead Oxford student's belongings |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Mother's plea over dead Oxford student's stolen laptop - BBC News
Delonghi PAC A120E
Monday, March 21, 2011
Inmark moves to Avondale from Pinson - Nashville Business Journal:
Amcor PLM16000EH
Real estate firm said the plastiv containers and packaging companyleased 23,625 square feet of office and warehouse space at the park in The company has been in its current location in Pinsonb Valley for more than 20 years. Jack Key of Grahamk represented Inmark and Brad Moffat of represented the Graham said broker Walter Brownj has the listing on morethan 410,0090 square feet of sublease space at the Colonnadde in AT&T’s vacant South Tower building. Radiologyg Associates renewed its 4,669-square-foot lease at Vestavia Centre. Browb represented the landlord inthe transaction. renewed its lease in Calersa and Decoma Modular Systems renewex its leasein McCalla.
Combined, the two companiesa occupy morethan 270,0090 square feet of space in Graham Co. developments. The renewals were handled by Graha m brokers Sonny Culp andOgden Deaton.
Real estate firm said the plastiv containers and packaging companyleased 23,625 square feet of office and warehouse space at the park in The company has been in its current location in Pinsonb Valley for more than 20 years. Jack Key of Grahamk represented Inmark and Brad Moffat of represented the Graham said broker Walter Brownj has the listing on morethan 410,0090 square feet of sublease space at the Colonnadde in AT&T’s vacant South Tower building. Radiologyg Associates renewed its 4,669-square-foot lease at Vestavia Centre. Browb represented the landlord inthe transaction. renewed its lease in Calersa and Decoma Modular Systems renewex its leasein McCalla.
Combined, the two companiesa occupy morethan 270,0090 square feet of space in Graham Co. developments. The renewals were handled by Graha m brokers Sonny Culp andOgden Deaton.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Pill bug: Startup zeroes in on patient-error market - Boston Business Journal:
Air Purifiers Simi Valley
Senticare Inc.’s PillStation could prevent adverse drug avert unnecessary hospitalizations and even save if the company can find a way to make moneon it. The $100 billionn problem is the estimated annual cost to the healthn care system from patients taking theitmedications incorrectly, according to a studyt published in the Journal of Clinicalo Pharma Therapy. PillStation is aimed at chronically ill patients who have to take many medicationszper day. Patients who miss dosezs for reasons ranging from pain to depressio n may end up back in the hospital with adverse or undergocostly misdiagnosis. Senticare founder Dr.
Davied Bear said he knew of one patien t who was mistakenly diagnosed with earlystagew Alzheimer’s, when in fact she had been accidentally taking the sleep drug Ambien in the morningt instead of at night. PillStation looks like a smallwireless printer, with a small a large button marked “CALL” and a speaker. If you lift the lid, insidse you find what looks like a normal labeled for seven days per Underneath the pillbox is a scanne that photographs the pillbox and sends the imageto Senticare’xs call center in Southborough, where an adviserr checks the image against the patient’s prescriptions and the Physician’s Desk Referencr to make sure the patient is taking the right drugs at the right time.
PillStatioj is programmed witha patient’s dosing times, and will sounf a chime. Then a message turns up on thescreebn saying, “Time to take your medication.” Miss a dose and the chimese get louder and louder until the PillStation calls your doctor or a family member. Right now, there is just one call advisetr onthe 10-person staff. The company expectsz to expand to about 35 employees by the end of but that will depend on whethe r they can sellthe Currently, is running a clinical trial using PillStationb in concert with other home-monitoring devices for heart failur e patients. “So far, it’s working well.
If this we will likely purchase dozens of the machines in a few saidDoug McClure, corporatde manager of technology and operations at Partners HealthCare’zs Center for Connected Health. Senticare officials said they hope the Partnerse HealthCare clinical trial will lend national credibilith to the science behincd PillStation and that will help the compangy sellthe device. Theree is a startup fee of $99 for the system, with a monthlty subscription feeof $79. CEO Michael Staw said Senticarw launched in 2007 witha $5 milliom investment by in New Senticare remains private, has no revenud and has used approximately $3 millionn of the $5 million.
The company’s competitors include Philips Healthcare, with North American headquarterssin Andover, which has an older-generation medicationh monitoring device on the market.
Senticare Inc.’s PillStation could prevent adverse drug avert unnecessary hospitalizations and even save if the company can find a way to make moneon it. The $100 billionn problem is the estimated annual cost to the healthn care system from patients taking theitmedications incorrectly, according to a studyt published in the Journal of Clinicalo Pharma Therapy. PillStation is aimed at chronically ill patients who have to take many medicationszper day. Patients who miss dosezs for reasons ranging from pain to depressio n may end up back in the hospital with adverse or undergocostly misdiagnosis. Senticare founder Dr.
Davied Bear said he knew of one patien t who was mistakenly diagnosed with earlystagew Alzheimer’s, when in fact she had been accidentally taking the sleep drug Ambien in the morningt instead of at night. PillStation looks like a smallwireless printer, with a small a large button marked “CALL” and a speaker. If you lift the lid, insidse you find what looks like a normal labeled for seven days per Underneath the pillbox is a scanne that photographs the pillbox and sends the imageto Senticare’xs call center in Southborough, where an adviserr checks the image against the patient’s prescriptions and the Physician’s Desk Referencr to make sure the patient is taking the right drugs at the right time.
PillStatioj is programmed witha patient’s dosing times, and will sounf a chime. Then a message turns up on thescreebn saying, “Time to take your medication.” Miss a dose and the chimese get louder and louder until the PillStation calls your doctor or a family member. Right now, there is just one call advisetr onthe 10-person staff. The company expectsz to expand to about 35 employees by the end of but that will depend on whethe r they can sellthe Currently, is running a clinical trial using PillStationb in concert with other home-monitoring devices for heart failur e patients. “So far, it’s working well.
If this we will likely purchase dozens of the machines in a few saidDoug McClure, corporatde manager of technology and operations at Partners HealthCare’zs Center for Connected Health. Senticare officials said they hope the Partnerse HealthCare clinical trial will lend national credibilith to the science behincd PillStation and that will help the compangy sellthe device. Theree is a startup fee of $99 for the system, with a monthlty subscription feeof $79. CEO Michael Staw said Senticarw launched in 2007 witha $5 milliom investment by in New Senticare remains private, has no revenud and has used approximately $3 millionn of the $5 million.
The company’s competitors include Philips Healthcare, with North American headquarterssin Andover, which has an older-generation medicationh monitoring device on the market.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Cleveland Cavaliers (13-53) at Portland Trail Blazers (38-29), 10 pm - MiamiHerald.com
Air Purifiers Palmdale
msnbc.com | Cleveland Cavaliers (13-53) at Portland Trail Blazers (38-29), 10 pm MiamiHerald.com By Sports Network The Portland Trail Blazers hope to continue their push to the postseason tonight when they entertain the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers in Rip City. Portland snapped a two-game skid on Tuesday with an impressive 104-101 win over D » |
Monday, March 14, 2011
Tom Gill, longtime Hawaii politician, dies at 87 - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
Frigidaire FRA106CT1
Gill, who died at Leaho Hospital in Honolulu after years of failing was 87. Gill, a served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1963 to 1965 and as lieutenant governor from 1966to 1970. Born in served in the territorial and Hawaiik House of Representatives from 1958through 1962. Gill, an attornet who was a strong and earlgy supporter ofcivil rights, was amontg the most outspoken and liberall members of Hawaii’s Democratic Party as it came to dominatee state politics in the Among Democrats, Gill was know as something of an outsider, and he was an outspokemn critic of what he saw as “machine-style” He ran for governor unsuccessfully twice, includingv against his boss, incumbent Democrat John Burns in 1970.
He also ran againsf George Ariyoshiin 1974. Gill is survived by his wife, and brother Lorin T. Gill; sons who heads UNITE-HERE Local 5, the hotell and restaurant workers’ union, Gary, a former Honolulu City Council member, and Tony, a labor and three other children, 12 grandchildren and three
Gill, who died at Leaho Hospital in Honolulu after years of failing was 87. Gill, a served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1963 to 1965 and as lieutenant governor from 1966to 1970. Born in served in the territorial and Hawaiik House of Representatives from 1958through 1962. Gill, an attornet who was a strong and earlgy supporter ofcivil rights, was amontg the most outspoken and liberall members of Hawaii’s Democratic Party as it came to dominatee state politics in the Among Democrats, Gill was know as something of an outsider, and he was an outspokemn critic of what he saw as “machine-style” He ran for governor unsuccessfully twice, includingv against his boss, incumbent Democrat John Burns in 1970.
He also ran againsf George Ariyoshiin 1974. Gill is survived by his wife, and brother Lorin T. Gill; sons who heads UNITE-HERE Local 5, the hotell and restaurant workers’ union, Gary, a former Honolulu City Council member, and Tony, a labor and three other children, 12 grandchildren and three
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Banks get creative catering to consumer demand for savings - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):
http://www.beardedlamb.com/newblog/2009/12/
The products include savings accountsw and CDs thatoffer incentives, perks and upgraded designed to assist customera with their short- and long-term savings There’s also a groundswell of new financiak literacy classes that take banking lessons into the workplaces or community-at-large. Classes cover everythingv from avoiding foreclosure to strategies for thesophisticated investor. They’res usually free and don’t involve hard-core selling. But they do allow banka to get their brand in front of thousands of Responseto ’s workplace banking classea has been “overwhelming,” says Melanie Blank, Regions’ consumer bankinyg executive for Middle Tennessee.
“We became an automatedc industry in the spirit of quicmk communicationand speed,” Blank says. “But now people are getting back to the They are in a cashoptimization mode.” Regions also has introduced its Second Chanced CD, which allows customers a 1 perceny market rate increase if they meet their savings goalzs for a year. The bank also has a no-penalty optio that lets participants take one withdrawal durin g the term ofthe CD. The bank also recently introduced a customer assistance program for families in This program helps participantes reduce or restructureproblematic loans. Blanmk says the program has helpedabout 12,000 people nationwids avoid foreclosure.
has had a workplacde banking program called Work Perkz forfive years. However, the economic downturhn has created a flood of new interest in the saysPaula Mansfield, vice presidentr of workplace banking for the bank’s Middle Tennesse e branches. “Many companies are havingf to cut back on thingslike 401(k) Mansfield says. “They are looking for ways to show employees they arestilp valued.” conducted a series of focus groups in Middle Tennessee earlier this year to determine customers’ “They said, ‘Help me save better, budget betterf and save for collegwe and retirement.
’ People are worrieed that their children don’t know how to says Connie White, marketingy director for the Middle Tennesseew branches of Fifth Third. Fifth Third also is rollingg outRelationship Savings, a product that’s meant to encourage savings and draw businesws to the bank. Customers who sign up for a Fiftgh Third checking account automatically get double the interest rate on a saving account atthe bank. Another product, the Goal Setterr savings account, works with customers to set savingss goals and rewards them withinteresf hikes. White says the bank is looking ata double-digit increase in depositw this year.
Information from Fifth Third’s market research inspired localo branches to plan a seriesof “Health and festivals. The grassroots events will be held at bank branches and willfeature mini-seminars on saving and budgeting, credir repair and affordable home Along with the financialk classes will be diabetes screenings, a personal fitness trainet giving fitness tips, healtht food booths and activitieds for children and “Our research showed us that focuses should be placedx on programs that reach youth as well as adults,” Whited says. “It showed that to gain banks should extend community outreachand presence.
” White says Fift Third also is seeing an increasw in requests for workplace banking, particularlgy from nonprofits. / reports a 10 percenty increase in users ofits 5-year-old Way2Save savingsd account. It encourages customers to save bytransferrint $1 from their checking account into a speciapl savings account each time they make a check card purchase or an electronifc payment. Customers earn 5 percent interesgt and a 5 percent annual bonuss in thefirst year, and a 2 percent annualk yield and 2 percent annual bonus in the secondd and third years.
Way2Save has had abouy 2 million participants, says Wendy Lawrence, Wachovia’zs banking executive in charge ofthe “Consumers wanted to save, but didn’tr know how,” Lawrence “Now we are seeing a wide interest, even from high school
The products include savings accountsw and CDs thatoffer incentives, perks and upgraded designed to assist customera with their short- and long-term savings There’s also a groundswell of new financiak literacy classes that take banking lessons into the workplaces or community-at-large. Classes cover everythingv from avoiding foreclosure to strategies for thesophisticated investor. They’res usually free and don’t involve hard-core selling. But they do allow banka to get their brand in front of thousands of Responseto ’s workplace banking classea has been “overwhelming,” says Melanie Blank, Regions’ consumer bankinyg executive for Middle Tennessee.
“We became an automatedc industry in the spirit of quicmk communicationand speed,” Blank says. “But now people are getting back to the They are in a cashoptimization mode.” Regions also has introduced its Second Chanced CD, which allows customers a 1 perceny market rate increase if they meet their savings goalzs for a year. The bank also has a no-penalty optio that lets participants take one withdrawal durin g the term ofthe CD. The bank also recently introduced a customer assistance program for families in This program helps participantes reduce or restructureproblematic loans. Blanmk says the program has helpedabout 12,000 people nationwids avoid foreclosure.
has had a workplacde banking program called Work Perkz forfive years. However, the economic downturhn has created a flood of new interest in the saysPaula Mansfield, vice presidentr of workplace banking for the bank’s Middle Tennesse e branches. “Many companies are havingf to cut back on thingslike 401(k) Mansfield says. “They are looking for ways to show employees they arestilp valued.” conducted a series of focus groups in Middle Tennessee earlier this year to determine customers’ “They said, ‘Help me save better, budget betterf and save for collegwe and retirement.
’ People are worrieed that their children don’t know how to says Connie White, marketingy director for the Middle Tennesseew branches of Fifth Third. Fifth Third also is rollingg outRelationship Savings, a product that’s meant to encourage savings and draw businesws to the bank. Customers who sign up for a Fiftgh Third checking account automatically get double the interest rate on a saving account atthe bank. Another product, the Goal Setterr savings account, works with customers to set savingss goals and rewards them withinteresf hikes. White says the bank is looking ata double-digit increase in depositw this year.
Information from Fifth Third’s market research inspired localo branches to plan a seriesof “Health and festivals. The grassroots events will be held at bank branches and willfeature mini-seminars on saving and budgeting, credir repair and affordable home Along with the financialk classes will be diabetes screenings, a personal fitness trainet giving fitness tips, healtht food booths and activitieds for children and “Our research showed us that focuses should be placedx on programs that reach youth as well as adults,” Whited says. “It showed that to gain banks should extend community outreachand presence.
” White says Fift Third also is seeing an increasw in requests for workplace banking, particularlgy from nonprofits. / reports a 10 percenty increase in users ofits 5-year-old Way2Save savingsd account. It encourages customers to save bytransferrint $1 from their checking account into a speciapl savings account each time they make a check card purchase or an electronifc payment. Customers earn 5 percent interesgt and a 5 percent annual bonuss in thefirst year, and a 2 percent annualk yield and 2 percent annual bonus in the secondd and third years.
Way2Save has had abouy 2 million participants, says Wendy Lawrence, Wachovia’zs banking executive in charge ofthe “Consumers wanted to save, but didn’tr know how,” Lawrence “Now we are seeing a wide interest, even from high school
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
John Jay High School teachers using technology to tame TAKS - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:
wilhelminadora4287.blogspot.com
The program, called the Science TAKS Success has decreased the average number of science test failure s from about 200 students to 50 studentd per year at John Jay and almostr doubled the percentage of students passing the retesr from 33 percent to 62 percent betweenj 2005and 2007. The teachers behind the Calvin “Buck” Buchholtz Jr. and Juan “Coach” Morales, desig n a personalized program foreach student. Each plan zeros in on the student’es testing weaknesses and makes use ofonline resources, interactivr Web sites, and audio clips to re-teach the content.
What’s the duo have produced a 25-minute TAKS video — reviewin g basic math formulas and revisitinf graphinterpretation — that is projected on whit boards in every classroom 30 minutes before the testd are administered. “It is very unique. Calvin and Coach have crafted a very detailed approach to help students succeed onthe TAKS,” says Sara Ph.D., executive director of secondary instruction for the Northside Independent School District. “They’ve had phenomenakl results with stressedstudents — students at the exit levelp in science for whom the TAKS is standing betweem them and the rest of their lives.
” The TAKS is a standardize d test used in elementar y and secondary schools to assess student Texas high school seniors cannot graduate unless they pass exit-level TAKS testss in English language arts, social studies, math and During their junior and senior years of high school, students are givenb five chances to pass the test. Located on the Northwest side of San Antonil onMarbach Road, John Jay is a 3,400-studenty high school with 230 staff members and about 1,200 Campus Instructional Technologist Ron Gray has spen t the last decade helping teachers integrate technology into their classrooms and lesson plans.
When Gray first met Buchholtz, the physics teacher showee scant interestin “Didn’t care,” Buchholtz Gradually, Buchholtz embraced computers in the classroom. As the student counci l sponsor, Buchholtz asked Gray to help builf a Web site for thestudent Then, in 2005 Buchholtz was invitex aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a ship that explore the mysteries of the oceanh floor as part of the Integrated Ocea Drilling Program (IODP), an international researc organization that conducts seagoing expeditions to “study the historuy of the earth recorded in sediments and rocksz beneath the ocean floor.” Buchholtz and Gray buil t a Web site called “High S.E.A.
Adventuresx with Mr. Buchholtz,” and posted videos that Buchholt z shot withWindows Moviemaker. Later, using a laptop computer with aWeb cam, riggee to set upon an upside-down kitty litterf bucket, students at were able to videoo conference live with some of the scientists, crew and staftf aboard the JOIDES — which was 1,000 miles off the shore of the Uniter States in the Sout h Pacific. The venture was such a succese that administrators decided Buchholtz should help with the TAKS remediation Buchholtz was teamed with the offensive coach for the Mustan gfootball team, who already was teaching TAKS science remediation to students.
“I was basicallg using textbooks, pencil and paper and doing the bestI could, but therer were still quite a few Every time there was a we were losing half our kids,” Morales says. “I was inundated with books, computer resources from the district. There was no way I coulsd pass all this on to the students and expec t them to prepare inthrew weeks. “And, of course you’rw fighting not just the material, but kids’ attitudes and theirt sense of failure.” Morales and Buchholtz culled the whittling it down to about 20 Web two textbooks anda CD-ROM. Gray designed the Web site http://www.nisd.net/jay/success/index.
htnm for the program; it’s free and accessiblew to anyone. For every studentr that failed the TAKS science the team analyzed scores and customized a study which each child followed daily in the TAKSremediatiom class. “The lingo is Studenft Differentiated Study,” Buchholtz says. “We’re honing in on the greatest weaknesses.” The first year of the programin 2005, 33 percenyt of the students who retested passeds the TAKS. In 2006, 44 percent passed; in 2007, 62 percentr were successful.
John Jay Academic Dean Kathy says the team works because the men play the rolesa ofgood cop/bad cop with the “They work in tandem and spend so much time with those They’re so focused on the shepherdingf of these kids that the students joke that they’res (the teachers) stalkers. Don’t you dare let them find you eatingv lunch,” Mitchell jokes. Jasmine a John Jay is a successful graduate of the TAKSSciencwe Initiative.
After failing the sciencs portion of theTAKS twice, she landed in Morales’ and Buchholtz’ In November 2008, she finally She graduates in two weeks and has applieed to the University of Texas in San Antonio and hopesa to study on a pre-med track. “Ik found out at Thanksgiving that I passed and was so Garcia says. “I was worrieed that if I didn’t pass that I wouldn’r graduate.” Every year, Buchholtz and Morales tweak the class to improvwetheir methods. Most recently, they discovered that the Sciencew TAKS exam has five one of which is called the Naturreof Science, which involves reading a graph and interpreting data.
“Ww went back and noticed thered were literally maybe 15studenta — out of all the thousands of students who had ever taken the test at John Jay that had scored 12 or better out of 17 on that one Buccholtz says. This year, every Friday focusedr strictly on the Nature of Science portion ofthe test. Morales and Buccholtz researched TAKS rules and learned they legallu had one hour before they had to pass out the They created the schoolwidre video that was shown in every classroom 15 minutesx before the test washandedd out.
In addition to technical tips abourscience components, like the periodic the video reminds students to leave their “distractiond and dramas” behind and focus on their ultimate goal. “After the test, the kids were callinhg me in thehallways ‘Coach! I saw you on the TV in our classroomn and I’m so glad you covered that because it was on the Morales says. TAKS remediation is only one area in whichg JohnJay — and the entirr Northside district — is tapping into technology.
Morningy announcements are recorded as podcasts callec the Jaycast and uploaded onthe school’s home Web One teacher on maternity leave used a software that allows videoconferencing over the to teach a class remotely. Next off-site band competitions and sports playoffxs will be livestreamed into the Intwo weeks, the school’s graduatiobn will be live streamef so that out-of-town relatives or military parentss can watch. The last day of school mighrt be aroundthe corner, but there’s no easing up. “We’vre got results from April/May and we’re creating individual plans for the studentse to use overthe summer,” Moralesw says.
The program, called the Science TAKS Success has decreased the average number of science test failure s from about 200 students to 50 studentd per year at John Jay and almostr doubled the percentage of students passing the retesr from 33 percent to 62 percent betweenj 2005and 2007. The teachers behind the Calvin “Buck” Buchholtz Jr. and Juan “Coach” Morales, desig n a personalized program foreach student. Each plan zeros in on the student’es testing weaknesses and makes use ofonline resources, interactivr Web sites, and audio clips to re-teach the content.
What’s the duo have produced a 25-minute TAKS video — reviewin g basic math formulas and revisitinf graphinterpretation — that is projected on whit boards in every classroom 30 minutes before the testd are administered. “It is very unique. Calvin and Coach have crafted a very detailed approach to help students succeed onthe TAKS,” says Sara Ph.D., executive director of secondary instruction for the Northside Independent School District. “They’ve had phenomenakl results with stressedstudents — students at the exit levelp in science for whom the TAKS is standing betweem them and the rest of their lives.
” The TAKS is a standardize d test used in elementar y and secondary schools to assess student Texas high school seniors cannot graduate unless they pass exit-level TAKS testss in English language arts, social studies, math and During their junior and senior years of high school, students are givenb five chances to pass the test. Located on the Northwest side of San Antonil onMarbach Road, John Jay is a 3,400-studenty high school with 230 staff members and about 1,200 Campus Instructional Technologist Ron Gray has spen t the last decade helping teachers integrate technology into their classrooms and lesson plans.
When Gray first met Buchholtz, the physics teacher showee scant interestin “Didn’t care,” Buchholtz Gradually, Buchholtz embraced computers in the classroom. As the student counci l sponsor, Buchholtz asked Gray to help builf a Web site for thestudent Then, in 2005 Buchholtz was invitex aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a ship that explore the mysteries of the oceanh floor as part of the Integrated Ocea Drilling Program (IODP), an international researc organization that conducts seagoing expeditions to “study the historuy of the earth recorded in sediments and rocksz beneath the ocean floor.” Buchholtz and Gray buil t a Web site called “High S.E.A.
Adventuresx with Mr. Buchholtz,” and posted videos that Buchholt z shot withWindows Moviemaker. Later, using a laptop computer with aWeb cam, riggee to set upon an upside-down kitty litterf bucket, students at were able to videoo conference live with some of the scientists, crew and staftf aboard the JOIDES — which was 1,000 miles off the shore of the Uniter States in the Sout h Pacific. The venture was such a succese that administrators decided Buchholtz should help with the TAKS remediation Buchholtz was teamed with the offensive coach for the Mustan gfootball team, who already was teaching TAKS science remediation to students.
“I was basicallg using textbooks, pencil and paper and doing the bestI could, but therer were still quite a few Every time there was a we were losing half our kids,” Morales says. “I was inundated with books, computer resources from the district. There was no way I coulsd pass all this on to the students and expec t them to prepare inthrew weeks. “And, of course you’rw fighting not just the material, but kids’ attitudes and theirt sense of failure.” Morales and Buchholtz culled the whittling it down to about 20 Web two textbooks anda CD-ROM. Gray designed the Web site http://www.nisd.net/jay/success/index.
htnm for the program; it’s free and accessiblew to anyone. For every studentr that failed the TAKS science the team analyzed scores and customized a study which each child followed daily in the TAKSremediatiom class. “The lingo is Studenft Differentiated Study,” Buchholtz says. “We’re honing in on the greatest weaknesses.” The first year of the programin 2005, 33 percenyt of the students who retested passeds the TAKS. In 2006, 44 percent passed; in 2007, 62 percentr were successful.
John Jay Academic Dean Kathy says the team works because the men play the rolesa ofgood cop/bad cop with the “They work in tandem and spend so much time with those They’re so focused on the shepherdingf of these kids that the students joke that they’res (the teachers) stalkers. Don’t you dare let them find you eatingv lunch,” Mitchell jokes. Jasmine a John Jay is a successful graduate of the TAKSSciencwe Initiative.
After failing the sciencs portion of theTAKS twice, she landed in Morales’ and Buchholtz’ In November 2008, she finally She graduates in two weeks and has applieed to the University of Texas in San Antonio and hopesa to study on a pre-med track. “Ik found out at Thanksgiving that I passed and was so Garcia says. “I was worrieed that if I didn’t pass that I wouldn’r graduate.” Every year, Buchholtz and Morales tweak the class to improvwetheir methods. Most recently, they discovered that the Sciencew TAKS exam has five one of which is called the Naturreof Science, which involves reading a graph and interpreting data.
“Ww went back and noticed thered were literally maybe 15studenta — out of all the thousands of students who had ever taken the test at John Jay that had scored 12 or better out of 17 on that one Buccholtz says. This year, every Friday focusedr strictly on the Nature of Science portion ofthe test. Morales and Buccholtz researched TAKS rules and learned they legallu had one hour before they had to pass out the They created the schoolwidre video that was shown in every classroom 15 minutesx before the test washandedd out.
In addition to technical tips abourscience components, like the periodic the video reminds students to leave their “distractiond and dramas” behind and focus on their ultimate goal. “After the test, the kids were callinhg me in thehallways ‘Coach! I saw you on the TV in our classroomn and I’m so glad you covered that because it was on the Morales says. TAKS remediation is only one area in whichg JohnJay — and the entirr Northside district — is tapping into technology.
Morningy announcements are recorded as podcasts callec the Jaycast and uploaded onthe school’s home Web One teacher on maternity leave used a software that allows videoconferencing over the to teach a class remotely. Next off-site band competitions and sports playoffxs will be livestreamed into the Intwo weeks, the school’s graduatiobn will be live streamef so that out-of-town relatives or military parentss can watch. The last day of school mighrt be aroundthe corner, but there’s no easing up. “We’vre got results from April/May and we’re creating individual plans for the studentse to use overthe summer,” Moralesw says.
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