Closing the achievement gap in education is an important goal for many educators. American education experienced a long and sustained period of school reform, fraught with significant challenges. Both legislators and governors have made the school reform movement their top project priority since the 1980s. The school reform movement has experienced profound achievements in the past and continues to face significant challenges, although it has achieved its goal of creating change in school conditions, student performance and institutional policy. One of the main objectives is to close the achievement gap in education.

Understand the achievement gap

Closing the achievement gap is about equalizing opportunities between people of different races and / or economic backgrounds. There is a growing difference in the performance of underprivileged minority students compared to the performance of white students at the same grade level. This achievement gap is a clear question of racism and the effects of the power of privilege. Educational institutions, educators and policy makers face a genuine lack of understanding in creating and developing schools that can cope with the context of a diversified society. The challenge continues with creating the right policy that could help close the performance gap.

Policies to close the achievement gap

The National Governors Association for Best Practices is investigating the achievement gap challenge facing schools today. This requires the creation of new policies and the development of old policies to close the achievement gap that occurs in the United States and around the world, between the poor and ethnic minority groups. The policy manual reveals the nature of the performance problem, its history, and the efforts of different states to solve the existing problem. The primer also discusses alternative solutions and strategies at the state level, including important issues and factors to avoid when implementing solutions.

The No Child Left Behind Act or NCLB is an attempt by the federal government to close the achievement gap. The policy established a new accountability practice for American schools to set the same standards with a detailed plan for evaluating performance to ensure students meet pre-established school standards. The NCLB framework allows a student to transfer to other schools located in the same district if they fail the achievement test established by the school. It is the responsibility of the school district to provide supplemental services to students who persistently fail, as well as options to study at other schools operating within the same district. The school needs to demonstrate adequate progress on the problems of consistently failing students. Not showing progress makes them open to corrective action under state law.

Schools focus their performance goals based on the conditions of students with disabilities and who come from disadvantaged families. This includes students who possess limited English language skills and proficiency. However, well-performing schools still need to modify school practices, policies, and governance to accelerate and enhance the educational experience of the disadvantaged group of students. The state considers a school to perform well only when it closes the achievement gap. The intervention of the new federal law in the educational arena has created quite a stir among schools struggling to comply with the new set of policies and criteria.

All right, so you woke up one day, checked your Swiss bank account, called your family office planner, had breakfast with your private customer service wealth manager, called your tax accountant on the phone, and between three of you, You decided to invest your proceeds from the Merger or Acquisition of your last company are not going to a dubious hedge fund or a start-up biotech company, but to financing Hollywood movies because you think you need the State Tax Credits, the federal tax write-offs, as well as good income coverage from some movies.

Now this may not sound very good initially to your neighboring hedge fund managers in Connecticut or your oil and gas investor friends in Bahrain or Dubai, but aren’t these the same guys who are funding Hollywood blockbusters? And the only question for you, how do you get into the game without feeling like the uncle of the film school student who wrote his nephew a check for $ 1,000,000 for a movie starring his classmates from the theater department and ended up as free download on youtube? .com?

So, after doing your share of the homework, here’s what you discover a chance to spice up your rich but boring life may be:

* Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Fred Smith, CEO of Federal Express, Norman Waitt, co-founder of Gateway Computers, Jeff Skoll of Ebay, Todd Wagner and Marc Cuban (formerly of broadcast.com), Max Levchin and David Grodnick of PAYPAL, Marc Turtletaub of The Money Store, Roger Marino of EMC Corp, former Chicago Bulls co-owner Jim Stern, Sidney Kimmel of Jones Apparel Group, Minnesota Twins owner Bill Pohlad; Real Estate Developers Tom Rosenberg, Bob Yari; and financiers Robert Sturm, Sheikh Waleed Al Ibrahim, Zeid Masri of SilverHaze Partners, Michael Singer, Mark Esses, David Larcher, Michael Goguen, Richard Landry, Michael Reilly, Rafael Fogel and Philip Anschutz are just a handful of high net worth entrepreneurs who entered the motion picture film production and financing business with successful results.

* There are several state, federal and international negotiable tax credit incentives that would offer a premium based on an equity position. Assuming there is a movie with a $ 10 million budget, where 50% is in equity and 50% is through international distribution guarantees prior to release. Now suppose there is a tax credit of 20-25% on the total amount of $ 10 million, which will immediately translate into a tax credit of $ 2-2.5 million for an investor.

* Numerous hedge funds such as Reed, Conner & Birdwell (DISNEY), Legendary Fund (Warner Brothers), Melrose Fund (Paramount Pictures), Ingenious Media’s 700 Million dollar Float on London’s AIM, Benjamin Waisbren Investments and a number of other funds and the Fund managers are entering the field of film finance.

* The explosion of international DVD, pay-per-view, home video, cable, megaplex cinemas, the future of multi-language video-on-demand downloads over the Internet, and cross-market digital distribution, including digital theatrical projection of low cost, the film industry. it is accelerating at an unprecedented rate of growth.

* The United States Job Creation Act of 2004, amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, became law. The Law creates three tax incentives expressly applicable to cinematographic films, one of which, article 181 of the Internal Revenue Code, is especially significant for independent film producers and their passive investors in qualified films with budgets of less than 20 million euros. Dollars.

* The film and entertainment sectors consistently outperform and exceed analysts’ expectations for growth, and are the only industries resilient to untimely global events and adverse economic conditions.

* Movie Investor returns may be more favorable and more liquid than holding direct equity positions in most public entertainment companies and other public companies, real estate investments, and other alternative investments.

* There is a high demand, audience and a growing distribution structure for specialized independent films, crime, horror and other low budget films, as evidenced by the success of such films as “Brokeback Mountain”, “Sideways”, “Capote”, ” Garden State “,” Napolean Dynamite “,” Y Tu Mama Tambien “,” My Big Fat Greek Wedding “,” Memento “,” Crash “,” Saw 1 & 2 “, Friday The 13th”, “Halloween”, “Texas Chain Saw Massacre, “” Hostel, “and” WOLF CREEK, “which was made for $ 800,000, purchased for nearly $ 4 million prior to release by Dimension, as well as” Hustle and Flow, “which was made for $ 2 million. dollars. and purchased for $ 16 million by Paramount Pictures.

* Aside from blockbusters such as “King Kong,” “Harry Potter,” and other large-scale studio films, most studio-produced films have underperformed at the box office. All the films that have been successful for the studios were externally financed or co-financed with studios, sold for 2-3 times their costs, and most of them retained overseas sales rights to maximize revenue.

So after seeing all the great benefits, how can you find a deal or movie project where you’re sure a Hollywood producer won’t use half of your money as a down payment for a new mansion in the Pacific? Palisades?

The key that separates successful movie financiers vs. Rookie oil moguls who come to Los Angeles with a pocket of money and end up going with a half pocket of money are called by various names: structured finance, leverage, risk minimization, multiple exit strategies, tax credits, and the ethical conscience of the filmmaker / producer.

What does that translate to you in a real world setting? Suppose you want to finance 100% of a $ 1.5 million low budget genre film whose worst case scenario is a DVD release and the proceeds from international sales and maybe some other capital sweeteners in converting the securities that you subscribe as part of the deal. Well, if you write a check for $ 1.5 million and the movie is shot in a state that has 30% tax credits, you get $ 450,000 in tax credits + under Section 181, you can write off that amount in Federal. So you are already doing well before the profit shows up. So imagine that you sell the film to 50 countries and, if you are very lucky, you sell the film to a studio for 3-4 times what it costs at a fancy festival like Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, etc. Do this for 5-10 movies and you can make a very profitable name among the Hollywood elite.

But let’s take it a step further and see how the bigger kids take advantage of the investment in movies because they can land a bigger star, which can translate into higher sales abroad. Let’s say a filmmaker / producer has a $ 10 million movie and you want to get in on the action. He would park $ 5 million in equity, he would receive a 20-30% tax credit on $ 10 million that will be $ 2 to $ 3 million, the producer will get the biggest star he can, get a studio to kick the other $ 5 million dollars, you won’t worry about seeing a penny from the theatrical release because you know your DVD earnings and international sales will cover your capital position. Make sense?

Now take advantage of this with different budgets, genres, stars, distribution, places where you can get high tax credits (that is, Puerto Rico is 40%), other exit strategies where you can find your shares in the London AIM, and you are already in. his new career path as a sophisticated and educated financial movie. Of course, if you want to go even further and guarantee 100% of your capital, that also has tricks.

• Touch your leg under the table, especially the inner thigh. But don’t move your hand towards your genitals. Just gently rub the inner thigh for a few minutes and remove your hand. This will drive her crazy.
• Whispering dirty thoughts to her: “I was looking at you when you were there, you look so sexy” or “I can’t wait to take you home” or “things I’ll do to you when we’re alone.”
• Take her to a small and discreet place and start kissing you passionately. Kiss her on the neck, lick her ear, gently pull her hair if you can. Then stop and continue your normal activity.
• Take her hand and play with her palm. Do this when no one can see. This is a sexual taunt. Tickle the inside of his palm with your fingers while holding his hand.
• When no one is looking, stroke her lightly and cup her chest, if you’re standing from behind. Kiss her on the neck and whisper mischievous thoughts in her ear.
• Dancing is very sexual. Any chance you get to dance with your wife, use it!
• When no one is looking, take their hand gently and place it over your crotch. Especially if you are aroused, this will make her want you more.
• Write her naughty notes and hide them in her purse.
• When you are alone for a minute, whisper in detail what you are going to do to him the second they get home.
• Paint provocative scenarios in her mind with words, when no one can hear you both, tell her how you fantasize about having sex with her in that closet over there or on this table.

Law School admissions officers are often asked “can you become a lawyer if you have a DUI?” The fact is, there is a small barrier to law school with a DUI.

The reason the question arises regarding law school and not other graduate programs is that law students will presumably apply for admission to the bar of at least one state. And the board of legal examiners requires a certificate of good moral character to obtain the license.

As part of your background check, the state bar association will conduct a thorough background check. This will include extracting your criminal record, credit history, and more. You will even have to list all the addresses that you have lived in at some point in your life.

The bar will specifically look for signs of “moral turpitude.” In an attempt to protect the profession, they will exclude anyone who might force a client’s money or have a bad image of the profession.

Because law schools know that you will eventually have to go through this scrutiny, they try to see if you will be disqualified before accepting you. They don’t want to spend their time and money on an education that they can’t use.

The law school will ask you if you have ever been arrested for a crime. You will need to list all arrests and convictions, even if they occurred when you were a minor, and even if they were removed.

Having said all that, will a DUI disqualify you from going to law school? Not on himself. If your record shows that you are an honest person of moral character, you may still be admitted to law school. However, multiple arrests or a single arrest with great bodily injury may put your application in question.

Be honest with the law schools you apply to about your record. Don’t assume you can hide anything. Even if the law school doesn’t find out about your DUI, the bar will. And they will also discover that he lied to law school, which further questions his moral character.

You can go to law school after a DUI, but you will have to go the extra mile to show that you have the character it takes to get into law school.