Invitation to Q&A Session with Superintendent Candidates for the Philadelphia School District

June 21, 2012

Dear Parents and Guardians

On behalf of the School Reform Commission and the Superintendent Search Team, it is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the second phase of our community engagement process.

This coming week, our finalists will introduce themselves to various stakeholders and participate in question and answer forums.  We believe that parents are an integral of the process and hope you are able to join us at the session reserved for you.  We solicit your feedback to be submitted to the School Reform Commission to inform their final decision.  The selection of a new Superintendent is one which requires your insight.

Parent groups are invited to meet the candidates in the Atrium of the School District’s Central Offices at 440 North Broad Street.  Please join us to meet the first candidate on Monday, June 25, 2012 at 5:00 PM and the second candidate on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 4:15 PM. If you are unable to join us, we encourage you follow the live stream at www.philasd.org. Feel free to contact us with questions via email at SRC@philasd.org or via phone at 215 400- 4010. The names of the candidates and biographies will be available at www.philasd.org and at the meetings.  We look forward to seeing you on Monday and Tuesday.

SEPARATE SESSION FOR CLERGY

Dear members of Philadelphia Clergy,

On behalf of the School Reform Commission and the Superintendent Search Team, it is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the second phase of our community engagement process.

This coming week, our finalists will introduce themselves to various stakeholders and participate in question and answer forums.  We believe that faith-based leaders are an integral of the process and hope you are able to join us at the session reserved for you.  We solicit your feedback to be submitted to the School Reform Commission to inform their final decision.  The selection of a new Superintendent is one which requires your insight.

Clergy are invited to meet the candidates in Room 1069 of the School District’s Central Offices at 440 North Broad Street.  Please join us to meet the first candidate on Monday, June 25, 2012 at 2:30 PM and the second candidate on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 3:15 PM. If you are unable to join us, we encourage you follow the live stream at www.philasd.org. Feel free to contact us with questions via email at SRC@philasd.org or via phone at 215 400- 4010.  The names of the candidates and biographies will be available at www.philasd.org and at the meetings.  We look forward to seeing you on Monday and Tuesday.

Sincerely,

Wendell Pritchett

Give your college freshman some money tips

For better or worse, habits formed during the early years of college often harden into long-term lifestyles. This is especially evident in the area of finances. Discipline learned during the college years often pays dividends well into the future. Financial mistakes, on the other hand, may take years to undo. Start your college freshman on the right track with these three tips:

• Live within a budget. A simple spreadsheet with two columns — one for budgeted amounts, another for actual spending — is all that's needed. For most young people starting college, the budget should be relatively simple. A schedule that includes tuition, books, room and board, clothes, spending money (the expense side of the equation) and grants, loans, part-time jobs, dollars provided by Mom and Dad (the income side) can be easily prepared. Of course having a budget and living within a budget are not the same thing. But learning to deny oneself a current pleasure (dinner at a fancy restaurant, the latest and greatest video game) in exchange for a future benefit (a nicer car, money for a post-graduation trip) is part of responsible adulthood.

• Go easy on credit. Credit card issuers seem to hover like vultures around college campuses. Teach your college freshman to look beyond the colorful t-shirt and fancy water bottle. Point out the pitfalls of those seemingly innocuous pieces of plastic. Watch out for student loans as well. The average college graduate heads into the job market with over $20,000 in student loans. Add graduate school and your home mortgage begins to look small in comparison. If debt becomes necessary, the cost of borrowing should be fully researched before signing.

• Save, then save some more. Show your freshman the benefits of saving even a little each week. If, for example, your son can scrounge up $20 a week which he deposits in a mutual fund from age twenty to age thirty (assuming an annual return of 6%), he'll accumulate over $14,000. If he stops contributing and leaves that money alone (again assuming a 6% return), he'll have over $109,000 by age 65. For relatively little sacrifice, he can get a great start on a retirement nest egg. In addition, encourage your son or daughter to develop a habit of setting aside money for emergencies and short-term expenses during those initial college years.

www.atconnercpa.com

When do you need to create a trademark or register a patent?

Every week I’m asked questions by small business owners, and sometimes I get a question that makes me want to call one of my experts to get the perfect answer.
This week’s question: When do you need to create a trademark or register a patent for your concept? How do you determine which one to use and when do you need to take action? This time I called Nellie Akalp, the CEO of CorpNet.com, for help. www.Corpnet.com is an online legal document filing service, that helps entrepreneurs Incorporate or Form an LLC for their new businesses.

Answer:Nellie Akalp: A company’s Intellectual Property can be just as important as the balance sheet and financial results, so I do suggest spending some time to explore what’s needed to protect your new website and business. In terms of a trademark vs. patent, here’s what you need to know:

You should obtain a trademark for a product name, company name, logo, and/or tagline. This will help prevent anyone else from trying to use your property (i.e. your logo) for their own business.

A patent gives an inventor exclusive rights to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years. If you’ve invented something, you should patent it; otherwise, you don’t have to worry about getting a patent for your business. However, you may also want to consider seeking copyright protection for your website copy. As soon as you write and publish the copy on your website, you automatically own a copyright for the work, but copyright registration provides a public record of ownership, making it much easier to prove ownership should someone copy your website material without permission.

If you are considering getting a trademark, here are a few more details. You’re not actually required by law to register a trademark; use of a name gives you ‘common law’ rights as an owner. But you should consider formally registering a trademark for stronger protection (especially if you’re doing business in more than one state). Registering a Trademark application with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) is a relatively easy process. Expect to pay approximately $325 in application fees per class and the process can take anywhere from 9-12 months once your application is submitted. Note that the process for a Patent is a bit more complicated and can take up to six years to complete so entrepreneurs normally bring in an attorney which can lead to about $7 – $15k in fees.

Do you have a small business question? Do not hesitate to ask.
For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.
Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is America’s #1 small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. She writes a weekly column for the New York Times You’re the Boss Blog. She hosts #SmallBizChatWednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

Celebrating Black Music Month: Hip Hop, Rap and the Generation Gap

Hip Hop, Rap and the Generation Gap 06/10 by Helpful Educational Resources | Blog Talk Radio

by:  Seandra Sims
The month of June spotlights “Black Music Month,” and over the years, the contributions of Black Americans to the world music scene are undeniable.

Long before slavery was abolished, Jim Crow laws were overturned, and the rebellion of the Civil Rights Movement, Black folks found a way to transform their music into the voice of a people – to convey happiness, creativity, and secret messages, and to channel their collective pain. From those early days came Jazz, Blues, Gospel, R&B, soul, Hip-Hop, Reggae, and even Rock –- all uniquely Black in origin.

These days, Black music has expanded and innovated to the point of permanently changing the global Pop Culture landscape. Some would argue that Hip-Hop, the youngest of the African-inspired genres, is the most influential due to its overwhelming marketing and cultural dominance. Since its introduction in the 70s, when DJs started sampling soul greats such as James Brown over simple break beats, to the red-black-and-green political days of the ’80s, to the flossy, techno-infused international sounds of today, make no mistake. Rap has mattered.