According to a notice on the Santa Clara County government web site, the site was simplified to enable increased web traffic in response to the national swine flu outbreak and the upcoming elections. A special swine flu update page has the latest information about swine flu incidents in the county.

There have been four cases of suspected swine flu in the county, but none have been confirmed as swine flu by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The first of these cases was a Branham High School student, prompting the county to close the school until Wednesday, May 6.

There have been 14 confirmed cases of swine flu in California, and 91 total confirmed cases around the U.S. as of mid-day today.

Spanish and Vietnamese-language information, slightly outdated, is also linked from the bottom of the county update page.

Times are tough for everyone these days, but that’s exactly what Superintendent Bob Nunez is proposing for the East Side Union High School District. According to Nunez, the expected cuts in current funding levels will force the district to choose between academics and athletics. Current funding levels could allow athletics to continue, but the state’s guaranteed to cut the budget even further.

Why is this happening now? The state is strong-arming our schools to show how they will balance their budgets by mid-December… it’s kind of like the kettle calling the cauldron black, if you ask me.

The ESUHSD isn’t alone in figuring out how to address today’s budgetary crisis. I hope that Bob Nunez’s proposal doesn’t become a trend. The difficulty is that schools have been facing diminishing funding over the years, so cutting any more starts cutting into non-academic programs as well as the quality of education.

As a former high school non-jock, I didn’t understand the importance of athletics. Fast forward to 2008, where I’ve seen the positive effects of high school athletics. Admitedly, my child will be one of the kids affected if this proposal becomes reality, but while my child earns good grades regardless of sports, there are a great number of kids who’s grades are lifted because of eligibility requirements. In some cases, these kids see athletics as the light at the end of the tunnel in many ways. Some see it as the highlight of their day, while others see it as a way of earning their way into college through the virtue of grades and sports. To take this away is simply unfair to these kids and their future.

Help prevent the loss of the East Side Union High School District’s athletic program by voicing your support either on the comment board on this site, or by attending tonight’s special board meeting at the ESUHSD Board Room at:

Special Board Meeting: December 11, 2008 at 6pm

East Side Union High School District
830 N. Capitol Avenue
San Jose, California 95133

This week from Sept. 27-Oct. 4 kicks off an annual celebration of freedom of thought and speech — Banned Books Week.

Check out the American Library Association’s website on banned books here, check out a list of frequently banned books here and here, or become a fan of Banned Books Week on Facebook or Myspace.

The MLK library is already planning some activities:

Sat, Oct 4
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
150 E. San Fernando St. – Rooms 225/229, 2nd Floor
(408) 536-6046

Speakers Dr. Jim Schmidt, professor at the School of Library and Information Science, will speak on Intellectual Freedom, and Amy Sonnie will speak on her challenged book, Revolutionary Voices. There will also be games as well as people reading passages from their favorite banned or challenged books. For additional information contact Heather Devine (408) 536-6046. This event is sponsored by ALASC and LISSTEN.”

Yesterday word got out about San Jose State’s foray into the digital world, of which they’re supposed to be located smack dab in the middle but still find creative ways to be behind.

A bit of that is changing now. I am talking about SJSU’s entry into iTunesU, a section of iTunes that offers podcasts and videocasts from over 100 institutions of higher learning, from Stanford to Yale to Berkeley. Professors can choose whether to publish their podcasts to the knowledge-thirsty public, or distribute their lectures to too-lazy-to-go-to-class students. And although I lovingly chide SJSU about its ironic techno-lag, credit must be given to SJSU for being the first in the California State University system to partner up with iTunesU.

Right now, SJSU doesn’t have many full lectures per se, although a physics teacher has been getting busy with the lecture podcasting. But most downloads available are more like short snippets of audio information, ranging mostly from 3-20 minutes long. Still, much of it is interesting, from the economics professor to the library grad students to counseling, recreation and career center services.

SJSU is also unique in that it is one of two universities on the iTunesU network to be fully accessible by those with disabilities. Namely, PDF transcripts are posted alongside the podcasts if you’re hearing-impaired. (Read more about it here.)

Not only can you read what’s being said, but professors can also post additional material, flyers and handouts in their virtual classrooms.

Exciting stuff. I’ve been a fan of iTunesU even before I was officially a student. I already downloaded several fantastic podcasts from the Stanford iTunes U site, so it’s great to see SJSU joining the bandwagon. Its offerings are a bit meager at first, compared to Stanford’s at least, but no one here is comparing SJSU to Stanford. I’m just excited to see the huge potential for the public who want to learn but don’t have the time or the funds.

Click here to see everything iTunesU has to offer, or click on the button below to see SJSU’s offerings for yourself. (Note: Both links will open your iTunes.)

If you are looking for the ideal school for your child or maybe yourself (Adult Ed), the State of California provides access to data from the California Department of Education on California public schools. The information includes academic performance, graduation rates, student-teacher ratio, course offerings, along with other topics as district finances, teacher salaries and credentials, and enrollments.

You can get lists of schools in each district and districts in each county. Be aware that many schools are now requiring proof-of-residency. High-performing schools have seen enrollment increases putting a burden on staffing and physical constraints.

Some of the school types listed include Charter Schools, Adult Education, Special Education, along with Elementary, Middle, Junior High, and High Schools.

California School Finder – compare schools side-by-side with the latest school rankings, academic performance, graduation rates, student-teacher ratio, course offerings

Ed-Data – student demographics and performance, plus information about staffing, including teacher salaries, lists of schools in each district

Education.com – provides a plethora of information on public schools in all 50 states