Living Education eTalk Radio

We are proud to announce our new line up on Living Education eTalk Radio: The Ashley Hill Show: hosted by Ashley Hill; Know It All ABCs of Education: hosted By Allison Brown, Esq.; Parent Talk Live: hosted by Dr. Mike Robinson; The iCollege Tour Series: hosted by Michel Davis-Robinson’ The Dr. Stephen Jones Show: hosted by Dr. Stephen Jones and The Total Tutor Show: hosted by Neil Haley and The Student2Teacher radio show hosted by Dr. Danita Applewhite and The College Savvy radio show hosted by Sia Knight

Listen To Living Education eTalk Radio: www.live365.com/stations/etalkradio

A SPECIAL PARENT TALK LIVE!

A SPECIAL PARENT TALK LIVE! Hosted by: Dr. Mike Robinson Join Dr. Mike Robinson for a very special Parent Talk Live Saturday, July 7th from 9am-11am.  Dr. Mike Robinson will discuss the future of Prince George's County Public Schools. After the recent departures of Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bonita Coleman Potter and Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite, Jr. how will the educational landscape of our County change? There are many questions: What will be the impact on the educational landscape in Prince George’s County given the shake-up of the system’s leadership? Who will serve on an interim basis? What role will County Executive Rushern Baker’s Education Commission consisting of some the best minds in the K-12, post-secondary, policy development, research analysis and leadership in the field of education both locally and nationally have in shaping the future of education in the county? How does the specter of a changing Board of Education impact the search process? What role will the community have in the selections process? Whatever the answers, it is clear the educational system in Prince George’s County is primed for some real changes. Join the discussion, our guest will included You and many others: Dr. Anna Bucy, a nationally recognized expert in Board of Education Professional Development and a former member of her local board of education. Mrs. Zabrina Epps, current candidate for the Prince George's County Board of Education District 1. Mrs. Jennifer Harris, Political Commentator and national Blogger. Mr. Micah Watson current candidate for the Prince George's County Board of Education District 4. Ms Carletta Fellows current candidate for the Prince George's County Board of Education District 7. Special Parent Talk Live Subject: The future of Prince George's County Public Schools: What is the impact of the recent departures of Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bonita Coleman Potter and Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite, Jr.? Date: Saturday, July 7, 2012 Time: 9am-11am Listen online: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/talk-live-with-dr-mike-robinson/2012/07/07/what-are-the-opportunities-and-challenges-ahead-for-pgcps Call-in number: (347) 838-8303

Parent Talk Live Discusses PGCPS with Dr. William R. Hite, Jr

Dr. William R. Hite, Jr.

Superintendent

Prince George’s County Public Schools

Dr. William R. Hite, Jr. was named Superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) on April 3, 2009, by the Prince George’s County Board of Education, after serving as Interim Superintendent since December 1, 2008.  In June 2006, Dr. Hite was hired as Deputy Superintendent of PGCPS, Maryland’s second largest school system and the 18th largest system in the nation. During his tenure, he focused on student access and educational equity to ensure that all students graduate college-and work-ready. 

Parent Talk Live: Hosted by: Dr. Mike Robinson

Guest: Dr. William Hite, Jr. Superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools

Subject: Prince George’s County Public Schools

Air Date: June 3, 2012

Time: 8:30pm

Call in Number: (646) 716-5649

Listen Online: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/parent-talk-live/2012/06/04/parent-talk-live-prince-georges-county-public-schools

Twitter Questions: https://twitter.com/DrMikeRobinson  

Facebook Questions: Facebook.com/DrMikeRobinson

Mrs. Nikki Guy-Dixon Talks About The Reasons, Facts and Challenges of Becoming a Home School Parent

Parent Talk Live

Hosted by

Dr. Mike Robinson

Parent Talk Live host Dr. Mike Robinson will discussed Home Schooling with a former educator who has turned home school parent. Listen to this interesting discussion regarding the reasons, facts and challenges of becoming a home school parent with Dr. Robinson and his guest Mrs. Nikki Guy-Dixon.

 

 Nikki Guy-Dixon is the wife of Terence Dixon and the mother of four beautiful children (Mackenzie, Sydney, Kennedy, and Terence Jr.). She is a former Maryland public school teacher turned home school mom and entrepreneur.  Nikki is a graduate of the Prince George’s County Public School system. She holds a dual degree from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College.

Listen online: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/parent-talk-live/2012/05/11/parent-talk-live-home-schooling-with-nikki-guy-dixon

US Labor Dep't bans hiring of Pinoy teachers in Maryland county

by Rodney Jaleco, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

OXON HILL, Maryland - Hundreds of Filipinos teachers trooped to the Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) in a desperate bid to hold on to their jobs by carrying letters of appeal, following the decision of the US Department of Labor to bar it from hiring Filipino and other foreign teachers for 2 years.

The DOL reaffirmed a decision last April that concluded the PGCPS willfully violated H-1B visa rules by requiring an estimated 800 Filipino teachers to pay visa and other fees that should have been shouldered by the school system. The PGCPS has already agreed to pay back $4.2 million in back wages to the teachers.

Both the PGCPS and Filipino teachers appealed the DOL's findings, many of the mentors saying they paid the fees voluntarily and were more concerned about keeping their jobs.

A majority of them have been working in the Prince George's public schools for the past 4-5 years, with a smaller number who arrived last year and presumably, were still working off the expenses of resettling in Maryland.

"Under the statute governing the H-1B program," the DOL statement read, "willful wage violations are subject to a debarment period of at least two years. Violations are willful when an employer knew or acted in reckless disregard for whether its actions were impermissible."

"Due to the willful nature of some of the violations, PGCPS also has agreed to pay $100,000 in civil money penalties and to be debarred for two years from filing new petitions, requests for extensions or requests for permanent residency for foreign workers under any employment-based visa program," the statement read further.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis stressed that "the Labor Department has the responsibility for ensuring that employers who use the H-1B program follow the law and do not place U.S. workers at a disadvantage to H-1B workers."

The Filipino teachers vowed to challenge what they saw a "unjust labor practices", pointing out that they are being penalized for a wrong committed by their school employer.

"They will be performing a series of actions geared towards ultimately attaining what is most precious to them, which is keeping their jobs," declared Maricris Urbano in a statement given to ABS-CBN News.

She said this afternoon's "silent walk-through" at the PGCPS Board of Education office in Upper Marlboro, Maryland was just the beginning. They are blaming the school system for "unfair terminations as they capriciously allowed working visas to expire."

Urbano feared these developments would eventually lead to an exodus of Filipino teachers back to the Philippines.

The Filipino teachers have also hastily organized a town hall meeting with visiting Philippine Congressman Erin Tanada at the Philippine Multicultural Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland this evening. They will be asking for help from the Philippine government.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, in his Independence Day address at the Philippine Embassy here last month, cited the struggle of the Filipino teachers in Prince George's county. They were able to convince PGCPS officials to reverse their decision not to renew work visas for Filipino teachers in "non-critical" subjects; but that victory has been erased by the DOL decision.

If the DOL decision is upheld – it still has to be approved by an administrative law judge – only a handful of Filipino teachers will survive the cut. They belong mostly to the first batch of mentors recruited in the Philippines in 2003-2004 and who've gained legal permanent residency status or the so-called "green card". But they are very few.

Maryland schools sought teachers from the Philippines to fill vacancies and help meet federally-mandated "No Child Left Behind" standards imposed by former President George W. Bush.

The DOL order does not cover about 600 Filipino teachers in Baltimore, Maryland public schools, who were subjected to the same hiring practices that got the Prince George's public school system in hot water. The Baltimore Public School System (BPSS) is trying to avoid a similar fate by reportedly quietly paying back the fees that were illegally collected from their Filipino teachers.

The collection of fees from the Filipino teachers brought about a disparity in wages between foreign and local teachers doing the same job. "The H-1B program allows employers to hire foreign professionals in certain specialty occupations to work temporarily in the U.S," the DOL explained.

"Workers hired under the H-1B program must be paid at least the same wage rates and benefits as those paid to U.S. workers doing the same job in the same area, so that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers are not adversely affected."