Top Stories for Tuesday November 21, 2006

Vermont Society For The Study Of Education Conference Analyzes Damaging Effects Of No Child Left Behind Act
By Ed Barna
    Yiz wan zic ful mik zum nuf pum poz.
    Is it nonsense? Yes, and no, and yes, according to the Vermont Society for the Study of Education. The “words” are nonsense, they are part of a plan to improve children’s literacy, and that plan doesn’t make much sense, say its Senior Fellows.
    That leading sentence comes directly from a chart used in DIBELS, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, which is part of Reading First, which is part of what the No Child Left Behind Act’s federal administrators have increasingly specified for schools that don’t show good enough test results.
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Nancy Foster Offers Her Expertise Concerning The Real Estate Market In Addison County
By Larry Johnson
   The Addison County real estate market is alive and well, according to Nancy Foster, co-owner of Champlain Valley Properties (REMAX), located on Court Street in downtown Middlebury.
     In the past several years, according to Nancy, single family housing costs have been increasing at 10% to 15% a year. The market is no longer experiencing this kind of appreciation, but “It’s a reasonable market for property reasonably priced,” Nancy explained.
     Affordable housing can be broadly defined as falling below the $200,000 price tag. “Higher- end” properties, ranging above $500,000, are taking longer to sell in 2006 than in the past five years. For instance, a $200,000 house may take a few weeks longer than in past years where as a high-end property may take a few months or more to place.
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