Print Sales Rose 5.8% in Christmas Week (publishersweekly.com)

The Postal Regulatory Commission is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding and support through the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to invest in mission-critical information technology infrastructure optimization initiatives. The Commission will use the TMF award to adopt a cloud-based applications system and develop three critical platforms that are essential to its role as the regulator of the U.S Postal Service. Specifically, the Commission will invest in 1) a new user-friendly public-facing website, 2) a replacement of its legacy docketing system, and 3) the development and deployment of a comprehensive data management system. Complementing these initiatives, the Commission recently hired its first chief data officer to lead data governance and open data efforts. The TMF investment will accelerate the agency’s ability to deploy and scale these important projects to meet its mission of ensuring the transparency and accountability of the Postal Service to the American public.

Savvas Learning Company announced that educators in the Middle East will for the first time be able to benefit from SIOP® Professional Learning, a research-based instructional framework for teaching both English language skills and academic content. SIOP® Professional Learning is based on the SIOP® Model that is highly valued by teachers for integrating language learning into everyday instruction while also making grade-level content accessible to all students. Through its SIOP® training partner in the Middle East, SAMA Knowledge Training Institute, Savvas is now offering Middle East educators who work with English learners (ELs) the Savvas SIOP® Training for Teachers Workshop. This in-depth, in-person training provides the professional development necessary to effectively implement the SIOP® Model in schools and classrooms. The introduction of SIOP® to the Middle East comes at a time when several countries in that region have set specific goals to ensure that their students develop English language proficiency in order to successfully compete in the global economy.

Embroiled in a pensions dispute since April, 110,000 Royal Mail Communication Workers Union (CWU) members were due to stage a 48-hour walkout from next Thursday (19 October) at 11am, after 89.1% of those who voted opted for strike action, the first major ballot to take place since the new Trade Union Act came into force. Royal Mail said the action would be unlawful if the CWU did not follow dispute resolution procedures and, according to the BBC, Mr Justice Supperstone, who granted the injunction yesterday (12 October), asked that the “defendant withdraw its strike call until the external mediation process can be exhausted”. A Royal Mail statement said that the High Court had ruled that the contractual dispute resolution procedures under its Agenda for Growth be followed before industrial action take place. Click Read More below for additional information.