Direct Education Scheduler

While its cliche, the end of the year is always a great time to reflect. It helps put the next year or the one after into perspective. The couple of years, Ive completed a year in review. Its fun to remember all the great experiences I have had and know that even better ones are on the horizon. Here are the Great Things About 2011:

1. July 16 Darden friends in town, engaged to my best friend and a fabulous engagement/birthday celebration to cap off the night
2. Derby 2011 (where my brother was engaged after the 6th race)
3. Great American Beer Festival (Why did I wait so long to go?)
4. Wedding dress shopping (Definitely found the one)
5. Moving to Chicago
6. Charlottesville reunion weekend
7. April 11 Cubs game followed by Uberstein and Art of Pizza
8. Monday nights at Tokyo sushi (I miss those!)
9. Vegas soccer tournament (still one of my favorite weekends every year)
10. Cooking Fools pasta making class
11. Q101 Jamboree Concert
12. Getting our Pottery Barn couch
13. Discovering Pilates
14.

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Parents will be able to take a series of classes taught by GTCC instructors as part of the Guilford Parent Academy’s spring offerings.

Guilford County Schools’ outreach program released its spring events calendar today. This semester, the academy partnered with the local community college to offer free classes on computer and job skills and financial education.

The first of the series, PC Skills for Today’s Worker, starts Jan. 17 at Smith High and consists of six classes. Skills for Employment begins Feb. 9, and Money Smart begins Feb. 28.

Parents are encouraged to register in advance for workshops. However, walk-in registrations will be accepted.

Guilford Parent Academy provides information and training on a variety of topics at no charge for parents, grandparents and family members caring for children in Guilford County. Parents also can access educational resources online at no charge.

Learn more by visiting the site at gcsnc.com/parentacademy.

Michael Gove, who described those opposed to academies as ‘ideologues happy with failure’. Chris Ison/PA

The education secretary, Michael Gove, has risked infuriating thousands of teachers and councillors by describing those opposed to academies as “ideologues happy with failure”.

In his sharpest attack yet on those against academies – one of the coalition’s flagship education reforms – Gove warned that he would plough on with the programme regardless of critics.

“Change is coming. And to those who want to get in the way, I have just two words: hands off,” he said in a speech at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College, an academy in south-east London.

Gove said he was frustrated by some “obstructive” local authorities and areas, such as Haringey in north London, where he said he had been asked “not to challenge the leadership of the lowest performing schools”.

“For years hundreds of children have grown up effectively illiterate and innumerate ,” he said. “In

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That was a somewhat surprising take-away from a survey unveiled today on attitudes about education — and especially IPS.

The survey was commissioned by Stand for Children, the local affiliate of a national group that advocates for school reform.

MORE COVERAGE: PDF: Stand for Children Marion County results summary. MORE COVERAGE: PDF: Presentation of Stand for Children Marion County results.

a difference that was within the survey’s margin of error.

“That is surprising,” said David Dresslar, executive director of the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis. “This either means there is a general level of dissatisfaction that pervades IPS and township districts, or that the level of dissatisfaction in IPS isn’t as great as was anticipated.”

Karega Rausch, the Indianapolis director of Stand for Children, thinks it’s the former.

“We all have work to do, at least that’s what we’re hearing from the voices of our residents in the county,” Rausch said.

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