Quick Hits (12.22.11)

Not exactly a Christmas wish. U.S. Department of Education officials sent a stern letter to Hawaii, blocking access to the state’s remaining Race to the Top funds, because officials there have not made adequate progress. Also, federal folks will visit in early 2012 for an “extensive on-site review.”   (Education Week)

Real experience. Teachers-in-training at the University of South Dakota are spending the entire school year in the classroom, rather than just one semester, as part of a pilot program that seeks to better prepare teachers by giving them more hands-on experience. (Argus Leader)

Where’s the holiday cheer? A school superintendent in Massachusetts, who previously prohibited Santa Claus from visiting classrooms but later reversed it, reportedly received death threats. (Boston Globe)

They apparently don’t like things with flavor. Students in Los Angeles Unified School District are rejecting the district’s attempt at healthy food fare, so much so that officials said they were recording huge waste. This month, they decided to revise the menu. They tossed beef jambalaya, vegetable curry, pad Thai, lentil and brown rice cutlets, and quinoa and black-eyed pea salads. Instead, they’ve brought back daily hamburgers. (Los Angeles Times)