Pointing to the disparities between wealthy and impoverished school districts in areas where revenue depends primarily upon local taxes, reformers repeatedly call for the centralization of school funding. Their proposals meet resistance from citizens, elected officials, and school administrators who fear the loss of local autonomy. Bryan Shelly finds, however, that local autonomy has already been compromised by federal and state governments, which exercise a tremendous amount of control over public education despite their small contribution to a school system's funding. This disproportionate relationship between funding and control allows state and federal officials to pass education policy yet excuses them from supplying adequate funding for new programs. The resulting unfunded and underfunded mandates and regulations, Shelly insists, are the true cause of the loss of community control over public education. Shelly outlines the effects of the most infamous of underfunded federal mandates, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), and explores why schools implemented it despite its unpopularity and out-of-pocket costs. Shelly's findings hold significant implications for school finance reform, NCLB, and the future of intergovernmental relations.
Under quarantine, the people living in the rural community of Harper's Glen are isolated and terrified while a horrible disease ravages their home and armed soldiers roam their streets. Shelly Christianson's life is turned upside down when Martin Fallon is brought into the hospital out of a terrible winter storm near the end of her fourteen-hour shift. Pursued by the relentless Colonel Aldridge, Fallon-along with the mysterious and deadly disease following him-has been cornered. As more troops arrive and the town is quarantined from the outside world, Fallon enlists Shelly's help to escape. Meanwhile, her friends and neighbors are falling ill and dying around her, and tensions between the soldiers and imprisoned populous sparks violence. As Shelly and Fallon attempt to escape the net surrounding them, the military resorts to drastic measures to capture them and contain the deadly outbreak. In Vector Zero by Bryan McBee, conflicting political agendas, military action, and duplicity, set against the backdrop of a deadly epidemic, are brought to life in chilling detail.
Film festivals have had varied and complex histories starting with Benito Mussolini's invention of the form in Venice in 1932. Since then (and too often) festivals are thought of only in terms of the Hollywood film industry. This text is a celebration of all things un-dependently cinematic. The essays contained in this volume explore the cultural value of alternative film festivals from a wide range of perspectives and experiences. Contributors to this book include Gene Youngblood, Sasha Waters Freyer, Roger Beebe, Michael Betancourt, Charles Lum, Caryn Cline, Alexie Dmitriev, Clint Enns, Leslie Supnet, Chip Lord, Ben Popp, Kristen Lauth Shaeffer, Tina Wasserman, Gerry Fialka, Kamila Kuc, Steve Polta, Bryan Konefsky, Caroline Koebel, and Bart Weiss.
“Bryan Davis writes with the scope of Tolkien, the focus of Lewis, the grandeur of Verne, and most of all the heart of Christ.” —Jeremiah F., reader Billy and Bonnie won the battle but how will they win the war? Billy and Bonnie’s hard-won victory in Circles of Seven came at a great cost as a vicious evil was unleashed on the earth. With Billy’s father missing, Billy and Bonnie must lead the dragons into war against the demonic beings known as Watchers. But in order to win the war, an ultimate sacrifice must be made, and Billy and Bonnie will be forced to make the greatest decision of their lives—a choice that will change their world forever. The fourth and final installment in the Dragons in our Midst series will leave you cheering, crying, and wishing for more adventures with these two friends.
A collection of three Powerpuff Girls stories in which Blossom tries to resist the hypnotizing power of high fashion, Bubbles cares for a peculiar pet while also trying to save the day, and Buttercup tries to knock out evil for good with her ultra-rad science fair project.
The Dragons in Our Midst series is a modern-day Arthurian adventure following a boy with fire breath and a girl with dragon wings as they battle against a thousand-year-old dragon slayer. Readers will be drawn to the hair-raising adventure with relevant themes like trusting friends, compassion, forgiveness, loyalty to family, faith, and light triumphing over darkness. This complete set includes the four books in the Dragons in Our Midst series: Raising Dragons: Outcasts Billy and Bonnie must come together to preserve a thousand-year-old secret legacy. Thrust into an evil war they didn’t even know existed; the teens’ newly formed friendship will be tested as they battle a blood thirsty dragon slayer who wields a powerful, medieval weapon. This unlikely pair will try to save their dragon heritage before it’s destroyed forever. The Candlestone: Billy and Bonnie learn to use their unique strengths as they battle powerful enemies wielding the candlestone, an ancient gemstone weapon used against dragons. Circles of Seven: Billy and Bonnie discover seven evil circles in a multidimensional world. Tears of a Dragon: Billy and Bonnie will be forced to make the greatest decision of their lives—a choice that will change their world forever. Dive into a world filled with knights, dragons, fair maidens in a war against good and evil.
Why are there often sudden abrupt changes in public opinion on political issues? Or total reversals in congressional support for specific legislation? Jones aims to answer these questions by connecting insights from cognitive science and rational-choice theory to political life.
Toronto’s Poor reveals the long and too often forgotten history of poor people’s resistance. It details how people without housing, people living in poverty, and unemployed people have struggled to survive and secure food and shelter in the wake of the many panics, downturns, recessions, and depressions that punctuate the years from the 1830s to the present. Written by a historian of the working class and a poor people’s activist, this is a rebellious book that links past and present in an almost two-hundred year story of struggle and resistance. It is about men, women, and children relegated to lives of desperation by an uncaring system, and how they have refused to be defeated. In that refusal, and in winning better conditions for themselves, Toronto’s poor create the possibility of a new kind of society, one ordered not by acquisition and individual advance, but by appreciations of collective rights and responsibilities.
Every significant event in the Bible happened because someone said yes to God. Start living the adventure of yes today! In this whimsical yet inspiring book, Shelene tells the stories of real-life paths God took her on to learn some simple truths that changed everything in her life—everything for the better. By loving how our Creator made us to love; skipping comfort and safety to help those who can never repay us; and taking a risk to jump into the epic journey God has for our lives, the reality is we are all just one yes away from changing everything. Don’t miss out on the incredible adventure God has for you. Say yes to God—love, skip, and jump your way to his plans for you!
This Harvard Business Review digital collection will give you the confidence and tools you need to write and speak successfully. It includes the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, by presentation expert Nancy Duarte; the HBR Guide to Better Business Writing, by writing expert Bryan A. Garner; the HBR Guide to Negotiating, by negotiation expert Jeff Weiss; Failure to Communicate, by consultant and coach Holly Weeks; as well as HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Communication, Giving Effective Feedback, Running Meetings, How to Run a Meeting, and Managing Difficult Interactions.
These tales are true stories about American missionaries and British colonists, who were able to inspire the people in northeastern India with Anglo-American educational ideals and ideas. This is not a history in the true sense of the term but is as authentic as an historical account. This is not a collection of biographies but is as revealing. The author has kept the historical and biographical events in tact without in any way twisting the events or the characters of the historic personalities. This is not a fiction but the author has injected some fictional elements to give a better understanding of the time, the people, and the strength of the souls that he is trying to reveal.
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