The Tennessee Department
of Education has released the
list of schools and school districts
that met performance
standards under the federal No
Child Left Behind guidelines
for the 2007-08 school year.
This year, Tennessee reduced
the number of schools on the
high priority list to 134 from
139. This forward momentum
was achieved despite proficiency
benchmarks being raised this
year. Raising these benchmarks
typically makes achieving AYP
more difficult. The state is also
celebrating 28 schools that
came off the high priority list
entirely, an almost 200%
increase over the number of
schools that came off last year.
“Tennessee schools are
showing excellent progress in
meeting the demands of No
Child Left Behind,” Education
Commissioner Tim Webb said.
“However, Tennessee’s primary
focus remains our state’s work
to raise the academic standards
to which we hold students in
order to prepare them for a better
future after high school. The
education Tennessee students
receive, not testing, is our mission.”
In accordance to the
progress report, Mayor Karl
Dean released this statement in
response to the results of No
Child Left Behind for Metro
Nashville Public Schools:
“Several schools have independently
come off the corrective
action list. And I am
extremely proud that for the
first time Maplewood met its
adequate yearly progress
requirements. Our teachers and
administrators responsible for
those successes should be commended.
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by Hazel Trice Edney,
NNPA editor-in-chief
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(NNPA) – Now that
Democratic presidential hopeful
Barack Obama is back in the
U. S. after a rock star-like tour
through the Middle East and
Europe, Republican presidential
hopeful John McCain ought
to take a tour on soil that is foreign
to him–through America's
Black neighborhoods, ravaged
by drugs, poverty and violence
largely because of historic
racism and economic bias.
That’s the sentiment of
some international and African
American affairs experts, who
say Obama trumped the
McCain campaign with his trip
last week that included stops
and meetings with troops and
world leaders in Afghanistan,
Iraq, Jordan, Israel, the West
Bank, Germany, France and
Britain.
“My advice, really, and it’s
very serious advice to John
McCain, is let us let you replicate
trips to the ghettos of
America,” said Clifford
Alexander, who more than 30
years ago became the first
Black secretary of the army in
the Carter Administration. “Go
there. See what’s going on
there. Let us have you go to
some of the schools in America.
See the deficiencies. See the
holes in the ceiling. See the fact
that teachers have to end up
supervising people rather than
teaching people because of the
inadequacies in the numbers of
teachers.
“This is what he needs to
do,” Alexander continued in the
interview with the NNPA News
Service. “All of this talk about
you’ve got to go to Iraq, go to
your cities.”
Obama was seen on the
world stage greeting troops,
shaking hands with leaders
from Iraq’s military commander,
Gen. David H. Petraeus to
Afghan President Hamid
Karzai, speaking to a cheering
crowd of 250,000 in Germany
and even sinking a three-point
basketball shot in Iraq.
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by Robert H. Elliott
With its passage by Congress
and its imminent signing by
President Bush, the ‘homeowner
rescue bill’ is being hailed by
one and all as the right step to
end, or at least slow, the housing
crisis. But upon careful view, it
is simply Washington, D.C.
‘tricknology’ at its best.
Even in high school civics
class, they taught you to read the
fine print. Here is the fine print
in the housing rescue bill:
1) Homeowners in foreclosure
or facing foreclosure can
get a new FHA fixed rate mortgage
if, and only if, their mortgage
company agrees to take a
loss on the loan it has given you.
This bill will not force a
mortgage company to re-do your
loan--you have to ask ‘pretty
please.’ It is up to the mortgage
company to violate the first rule
of business by agreeing to lose
money on its products. There is
no penalty if they say “No, don’t
want to do that” in financing
authority.
2) The $7,500 first time
homebuyers tax credit is not a
gift. You have to pay it back
over 15 years or sooner if you
sell or re-finance your house.
For an explanation on the formula’s
they will use to calculate
how much you will owe, go to -
www.fha.gov.
3) After October 1, 2008
‘down payment assistance’ for
homebuyers, through non-profits,
will no longer be allowed.
After that date you will have to
have a real down payment saved
from wages or ‘gifted’ by family
members.
4) The Housing Trust Fund
will have a permanent source of
funding, but that will not kick-in
until 2011 when the
Congressional Budget Office
(CBO) figures the housing crisis
will have finally ebbed.
The over-all thrust of the bill,
$100 billion, is for the rescue of
FNMA and FHLMC, which
even the bills main sponsor Sen.
Christopher Dodd (D–Conn.)
says, “They probably won’t ever
need to borrow this money but
just in case they need to, the
authority is there.” Dodd admits
that investor confidence is the
main thrust of this bill: “I'm
worried about the dual role.
Investor confidence and taxpayer
exposure—walking that thin
line is not an easy path,
but...doing nothing is not an
option at this juncture. We have
to shore up that confidence."
Besides stock market
investors, there is some good
news in the bill for some consumers–
military personnel. The
bill will increase the time after
being on active-duty during
which a foreclosure can commence.
It also sets limits on interest
rates for existing debts, including
mortgages, when an armed
forces member goes on active
duty. The final score: investor’s
100, consumers 1.
Save almost 10% during
weekend’s Sales Tax Holiday
The annual Sales Tax
Holiday begins Friday, August
1, providing timely savings to
Tennesseans who are experiencing
the effects of a slowing
national economy here in the
state. Shoppers can save almost
10% on tax-free clothing,
school and art supplies and
computer purchases.
The holiday begins at 12:01
am on Friday and ends on
Sunday, August 3 at 11:59 pm.
During the designated three-day
weekend, consumers may purchase
select clothing with a
price of $100 or less per item,
school and art supplies with a
price of $100 or less per item,
and computers with a price of
$1,500 or less without paying
Tennessee's state and local sales
tax.
The average family will
spend nearly $600 on back-toschool
purchases, according to
a National Retail Federation
estimate. Although anyone can
take advantage of the holiday,
back-to-school shoppers looking
to save money can save
almost $50 on supplies by purchasing
them during the holiday,
equaling a significant portion
of one visit to the gas
pump.
Consumers can also save
money by shopping at home and
saving gas money. The holiday
also includes purchases of qualified
items sold via mail, telephone,
e-mail or Internet if the
customer orders and pays for
the item and the retailer accepts
the order during the exemption
period for immediate shipment,
even if delivery is made after
the exemption period.
Examples of exempt items
include:
• Clothing: Shirts, dresses,
pants, coats, gloves and mittens,
hats and caps, hosiery, neckties,
belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms
whether athletic or non-athletic
and scarves
• School Supplies: Binders,
book bags, calculators, tape,
chalk, crayons, erasers, folders,
glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes,
notebooks, paper, rulers and
scissors
• Art Supplies: Clay and
glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil
paints; paintbrushes for artwork;
sketch and drawing pads;
and watercolors
• Computers: Central processing
unit (CPU), along with
various other components
including monitor, keyboard,
mouse, cables to connect components
and preloaded software
(Note: While the CPU may be
purchased separately, other
items must be part of a bundled
computer package in order to be
eligible.)
The Sales Tax Holiday is an
ideal way to prepare your children
for a successful school
year, but school supplies are not
all that is needed.
Ensure a healthy school year
for your children by enrolling
them in CoverKids, Tennessee’s
free health insurance program
for children 18 and under. Visit
www.covertn.gov to learn more
or enroll.
Visit the Sales Tax Holiday
website at www.tntaxholiday
.com to learn more about the
items exempt from sales tax.
The Tennessee Department of
Revenue also offers assistance
to consumers via e-mail,
Salestax.Holiday @state.tn.us,
and through its toll-free
statewide telephone hot line,
(800) 342-1003. Staff is available
to answer questions
Monday through Friday 7 am to
5 pm, CST. [Out-of-state and
Nashville-area callers, please
dial (615) 253-0600.]
Office of Neighborhoods kicks off
new intiative at Mayor’s Night Out
A new initiative from the
Mayor’s Office of
Neighborhoods designed to
provide a sustained period of
response to concerns in specific
communities launched this
week at the Mayor’s Night Out
meeting in Inglewood.
The initiative called
Community Matters partners
key neighborhood-oriented
Metro departments to provide
two months of coordinated
assistance in a community to
alleviate codes and health violations,
and remove litter and
large bulk items.
“It is critical for government
to be accessible and
responsive to citizens’ needs,”
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean
said. “Community Matters will
ensure that we not only fix the
specific problems brought up
at the Night Out events, but
that we address the issues
affecting the quality of life in
our communities on a larger
scale.”
Mayor’s Night Out is an
opportunity for citizens to meet
one-on-one with the mayor and
department heads to discuss
concerns about their community.
On Tuesday July 29, Dean
held Mayor’s Night Out at the
South Inglewood Community
Center at 1625 Rebecca Ave.
Community Matters targeted
the communities of
Inglewood and East Nashville
following the meeting.
Community Matters
includes:
Codes Department providing
training in N.O.T.I.C.E., a
neighborhoods codes abatement
program, for neighborhood
leaders
Metro Beautification coordinating
neighborhood cleanup
events
Codes and Health departments
identifying neighborhood
‘hot spots’ for violations
and issuing citations
Davidson County Sheriff’s
Office providing pick-up assistance
for those receiving citations
for excessive bulk items.
Funeral services held for Everett Maxwell “Mac” Rucker
Funeral services held for
Everett Maxwell “Mac” Rucker,
August 1, 2008 at Clark
Memorial United Methodist
Church, 1014 14th Avenue
North, Nashville, TN.
Visitation
from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon;
Special Service - 11:45 a.m.;
Funeral - 12:00 noon.
The Rev.
Harold Martin, pastor, Clark
Memorial UMC, officiant; and
the Rev. Bruce Maxwell, eulogist.
The beloved is in the care of
Lewis & Wright Funeral Home,
2500 Clarksville Highway.
TSU Tigerbelle head coach
Chandra Cheeseborough will be
making her fourth Olympic
appearance, this time as a
coach. Cheeseborough, a threetime
Olympic athlete and multiple-
medal winner, becomes the
second Tennessee State
University track and field head
coach to garner an Olympic
coaching assignment. She follows
the legendary Edward S.
Temple, who guided the
Olympic Team as head coach
during the 1960 and 1964
games.
“It is an honor to once again
represent the United States in
the Summer Olympics,” said
Coach Cheeseborough. “As an
athlete, you dream of one day
coaching in the Summer
Games. I am extremely excited
about the opportunity and look
forward to coaching our athletes
to a successful performance.”
Coach Cheeseborough will
serve as the assistant sprint and
hurdle coach of the women’s
team at the 2008 Beijing
Olympics and departed for
London, England on July 23 to
begin one of two relay team
selection pools. The relay pool
concluded in Herculis, Monaco
on July 29.
The Olympic coaches use
the pool to determine the best
possible relay legs and hand-off
combinations for the 4x100 and
4x400 meter relays.
Cheeseborough and the USA
Track and Field Team will then
move on to Beijing, China on
August 1 to compete in the
Olympic Games.
While attending the
Olympic Games August 8–24,
Coach Cheeseborough will be
inducted into the Florida Sports
Hall of Fame’s Class of 2007 on
August 23. Cheeseborough and
the Class of 2007 will be
inducted on the same night with
the Class of 2008.
by Hazel Trice Edney,
NNPA editor-in-chief
A new initiative from the
Mayor’s Office of
Neighborhoods designed to
provide a sustained period of
response to concerns in specific
communities launched this
week at the Mayor’s Night Out
meeting in Inglewood.
TSU Tigerbelle head coach
Chandra Cheeseborough will be
making her fourth Olympic
appearance, this time as a
coach. Cheeseborough, a threetime
Olympic athlete and multiple-
medal winner, becomes the
second Tennessee State
University track and field head
coach to garner an Olympic
coaching assignment. She follows
the legendary Edward S.
Temple, who guided the
Olympic Team as head coach
during the 1960 and 1964
games.