Carnegie President Vartan Gregorian To Pay Tribute to
Success of High Schools
Hamilton County Schools Earn High Marks In ‘Schools
for a New Society’ Initiative
Business Wire
Thursday, February 3, 2005
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Academic improvement in Hamilton County public
high schools will be recognized and celebrated Thursday during a
day-long visit by Carnegie Corp. of New York President Vartan
Gregorian.
Dr. Gregorian will be the featured speaker at a celebration at Red
Bank High School to document the improvement of Hamilton County high
schools following a mid-day speech to the downtown Rotary Club. The
event at Red Bank High, which features participation from area high
schools, begins at 3:30 p.m. As part of his visit on Thursday,
Dr. Gregorian will present a video on the “Schools for a New Society”
reform effort, which includes a segment on Hamilton County.
“Three years into the Schools for a New Society initiative, we are
seeing solid results and improvements in student achievement,
attendance, and attitude,” said Dr. Jesse Register, Hamilton County
Schools superintendent. “Hamilton County students know they will
receive personalized instruction and attention from educators and
others who believe in their future. We are proud of the chance to
showcase our achievements for the agency that gave us the financial
opportunity to see these things happen.”
The Hamilton County school system is one of only seven public school
systems nationwide chosen to participate in Schools for a New Society,
a high school reform program funded with an $8 million grant from the
Carnegie Corp. of New York. Awarded in 2001 for a five-year period,
the Carnegie grant funds innovative programs in 16 Hamilton County
high schools with the goal of raising academic achievement. The grant
was awarded to the Public Education Foundation on behalf of the
Hamilton County school system. The Public Education Foundation is
contributing $6 million in matching local funds.
Dr. Gregorian is beginning a tour of the seven school systems funded
by Schools for a New Society grants. Chattanooga was chosen as the
starting point for the tour because of the results the Hamilton County
schools have achieved through the grant, said Dan Challener, president
of the Public Education Foundation.
“Three years ago, Hamilton County competed against more than 20 other
school systems nationwide for these prestigious grants,” Challener
said. “We were chosen because of the broad-based input our reform plan
received from educators, students, parents, and business and community
leaders. Now, our community has demonstrated to the Carnegie Corp. why
we were a good choice. It is an honor for Chattanooga to be the site
of the first stop on Dr. Gregorian’s tour.”
President of the Carnegie Corp. of New York since 1997, Dr. Gregorian
also served as president of Brown University for eight years. He is a
noted historian, educator, author and humanitarian and has received
numerous honors and awards for his academic and philanthropic
accomplishments.
Dr. Gregorian will be joined at the Red Bank High School celebration
by Dr. Register, Challener and Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey.
Due to the wide diversity of Hamilton County’s high schools, each
school has developed its own unique blueprint for reform through the
Schools for a New Society program. Four basic goals have been
addressed:
* Establishing a more challenging and engaging curriculum
* Improving teaching through more professional development
* Creating a more challenging and relevant curriculum
* Allowing more flexibility to meet student needs more effectively
The special needs of ninth-graders adjusting to high school are also
addressed, with each high school developing its own transition plan
for freshmen.
Through the Carnegie grant, most Hamilton County high schools now
include career academies. Examples include a construction academy at
East Ridge High, a health academy at Red Bank High, and an academy of
industry, technology and business systems at Brainerd High. All
academies combine college preparatory courses with a career theme.
Contact:
Hamilton County Schools
Rich Bailey, 423-580-2479
Source: Hamilton County Schools

OSCE mission visits Qubadli District, questions locals
Arminfo
4 Feb 05
YEREVAN
The OSCE factfinding mission today visited Qubadli District which is
under the control of the Nagornyy Karabakh defence army.
Yesterday the experts spent all day studying the situation in Zangilan
District and questioning residents in order to find out who they are
and where they come from, our Arminfo correspondent reports in
Stepanakert.
The OSCE factfinding mission will complete field work on 5 February
and most likely, summarize the results of the monitoring in
Stepanakert. The report for the OSCE Minsk Group will be prepared in
Europe in one or two months.

AZERBAIJANI JOURNALIST TO VISIT STEPANAKERT
Azg/arm
5 Feb 05
Arman Melikian, minister of foreign affairs of Nagorno Karabakh,
called a press conference on February 4 introducing the plans of the
Ministry in new future.
The activities of OSCE monitoring mission in Nagorno Karabakh were in
journalists’ spotlight as was supposed. Arman Melikian said that they
coordinated the activities of both sides before the mission. He added
that the Karabakh authorities made a suggestion to carry out a
monitoring 2-3 years ago but OSCE responded only to Azerbaijan’s late
offer. The minister said that they are looking forward not to the
results of the mission’s activities but to how will the OSCE use these
results.
Answering journalists’ complaint as to being forbidden to accompany
the monitoring group Melikian said that was done at mission members
request as they feared that people won’t feel free to speak out in
journalists’ presence.
Answering daily Azg’s question concerning the possible visit of an
Azerbaijani journalist, Eynula Fatulayev, from Monitor magazine to
Stepanakert the minister said that Fatulayev really expressed
willingness to come to Karabakh and the Karabakh authorities gave
their consent to his visit. He is going to arrive in Stepanakert on
February 10 despite Azeri society’s oppression and will meet
representatives of socio-political circles and mass media. The
minister said that such relations between conflicting sides create an
atmosphere of comprehension within both societies.
By Kim Gabrielian in Stepanakert

Yerkir, January 28, 2005
Alert film
Within only December, 31 homeless peopled died in basements or
construction premises of cold in Yerevan. Only 15 of them died of
freezing on December 19.
The atmosphere at the Narekatsi cultural center was depressing. It
hosted the event of demonstration of `The nameless graves’ documentary
organized by Yerkir Media TV company and accompanied by photos of Onik
Grigorian. Many bums shot in the film by Hayk Ordian (director), Edik
Baghdasarian and Irina Hovhannisian (script writers) are no longer alive.
`Let us honor the memory of those 31 dead people for whom nobody said a
prayer or lit a candle,’ said Edik Baghdasarian. `Perhaps, it will make
us less negligent to these people.’
The tombs in the Nubarashen cemetery only have numbers: no names, no
birth or death dates. And each tomb covers a whole human history, would
the great German writer Goethe say.
;exp=culture&month=01&year05&number=28&id=5102

YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY TO PROTECT ITS RIGHTS TO TRADE MARKS IN RUSSIA
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 4. ARMINFO. Yerevan Brandy Company is going to
protect its rights to trade marks in Russia.
The YBC press service reports that during the Feb 7 lawsuit between
two Russian companies at the Arbitration Court of the Rostov region
(Russia) YBC, the producer of ArArAt brandy and the Russian market
leader, will protect the image and the belonging of its trade marks
confirmed by the highest courts of Moscow and the Russian Patent
Service three years ago.
YBC is going to protect its trade marks and to guarantee the right of
the Russian consumer to buy a production meeting the international
quality standards.

NKR CENTRAL ELECTION COMMITTEE MEETING
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
04 Feb 05
On January 29 the meeting of the NKR Central Election Committee took
place which discussed the question of dissolution of the committee. By
the decision of the meeting, according to the Point 1 of the Article
137 of the NKR Election Code the committee was dissolved. By the same
decision the chairman of the NKR CEC Sergey Davtian, deputy chairman
Sergey Shahverdian and secretary Seyran Hayrapetian were relieved of
their positions. During the meeting NKR prime minister Anoushavan
Danielian commended the five years of work of the committee in the
name of the NKR government emphasizing that all the four previous
elections were held according to the election law, at a high level,
providing legality, objectivity, transparency, which favoured the
principles of democracy in the republic. The unbiased work of the
central and the other election committees were highly evaluated by
international and local observers as well. On the same day the first
meeting of the newly elected Central Election Committee took place
conducted by the former chairman of the committee Sergey Davtian. By
open vote Sergey Nasibian was elected chairman of the committee,
Seyran Hayrapetian was elected deputy chairman and Raya Nazarian was
elected secretary of the committee.
AA.
04-02-2005

RED CROSS IN KARABAKH
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
04 Feb 05
In Nagorni Karabakh the International Committee of the Red Cross works
in three main directions: protection of people who suffered from the
armed conflict, aid to civilians and international humanitarian
rights. The director of the NKR office of the organization Mireille
Benard said that the Red Cross will work in the region until the
consequences of the war are felt, and the neutral mediation of the
organization in the solution of humanitarian problems is
necessary. `Being a neutral, impartial and independent organizationthe
ICRC fulfills an absolutely humanitarian mission for protecting the
dignity and life of victims of armed conflicts and home disorders. For
this reason the ICRC has worked in NKR since 1992. And today when
active military actions have been stopped, the Red Cross continues and
will continue to work until the consequences of the war are felt and
the neutral mediation of the organization for the solution of
humanitarian issues is a necessity. Therefore it is difficult to
predict when the activity of the ICRC will finish here,’ said
M. Benard. She mentioned that an important part of the organization’s
activity is the problem of the missing. Many families in Nagorni
Karabakh do not know anything about the fate of their relatives. The
Red Cross continues reminding the corresponding organizations about
their duties and this year they sent to these organizations the
renewed lists of the missing where more than 3000 names were
included. They are the people whose relatives directly turned to the
Red Cross. Mireille Benard appealed to the relatives of the missing to
apply to the Red Cross if they have not yet done. Mireille Benard
informed that the visits of the ICRC to the penitentiaries are
strictly confidential and observations are discussed only with the
corresponding bodies. Generally, along with the easing tensions ofthe
conflict the range of the activities of the Red Cross becomes
narrower. The large programs of aid have already been completed. The
program of first medical aid to the population still goes
on. Finishing the reconstruction of the 66 medical institutions of the
republic and providing necessary knowledge and materials to the
medical staff the Red Cross still supplies medicine to the regional
polyclinics of Martuni, Martakert and Hadrut and about 63 far-away
settlements. Although it is not in the framework of their
responsibilities,Mireille Benard said the Red Cross provides limited
aid to the poor families of Stepanakert which have missing relatives,
as well as sole pensioners who donot get any aid. According to her,
after the program of raising alertness of the population against mines
and unexploded ordnance in 2003 together with the Norwegian Red Cross
the ICRC launched the program of building safe playgrounds. The
program, according to M. Benard, is special as the village communities
actively participated in it. 40 playgrounds have been built. This
program has also been completed but the Karabakh office of the ICRC
will share its experience with those who wish to create such
playgrounds in other villages as well. In spreading the international
humanitarian right too the ICRC does important work. M. Benard said,
in secondary schools the fifth and seventh grade pupils get acquainted
with the international humanitarian principles through the Red Cross
textbooks.
SRBUHI VANIAN.
04-02-2005
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PARLIAMENT PREPARES FOR THE UPCOMING MEETING
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
04 Feb 05
The National Assembly resumed its work after the winter holidays. The
head of the NA state and legal committee Youri Hayrapetian said the
new session is heavily loaded. The committee is presently working on
about 10 bills part of which will be discussed at the upcoming
meeting. Among these is the NKR bill `On Human Rights Defender’
(undertaken by the head of the NA committee for foreign relations,
interparliamentary links and information V. Atanessian) which was
adopted at the first reading. According to Y. Hayrapetian, the
suggestions made by the committee are presently discussed by the
author of the bill. The state and legal committee is working on the
amendments to the bill `On Administrative Division of NKR’ presented
by the government, which concern the status of certain settlements. By
the bill `On Civil Service’ the Executive suggests introducing a new
order of appealing the results of the competition before going to the
court. There is also a suggestion to clarify the order of work of the
competition and qualification commissions. In the current year the
National Assembly prepares for the adoption of the country’s most
important document – the Constitution. Therefore there occurred the
necessity for amendments to the law `On the Order of Adoption of the
Constitution’. According to the bill presented by the government, the
Constitution must be adopted through a referendum undertaken by the
president or the National Assembly. It is alsonecessary to make
changes in the NA regulations which will maintain the mechanism of
discussion of the draft constitution in the parliament meeting. The
state and legal committee gave a positive conclusion for the bills `On
Amendments to the NKR NA Regulations’ and `On Amendments to the Law on
the National Assembly’ but both the committee and Vahram Atanessian
(the author) preferred to present them at the end of the
session. `These bills may cause structural changes in the parliament
(change of names of committees, creation of new committees, etc.) so
it is convenient that they should work under the National Assembly of
the fourth convocation,’ said Y. Hayrapetian. The amendments provided
for by the bills start from the necessity of clarifying the rights and
responsibilities of the NA standing committees and improving the
effectiveness of the legislative activity of the National Assembly.
AA.
04-02-2005

DLU BECAME A PARTY
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
04 Feb 05
On January 30 the third extraordinary meeting of the public-political
organization Democratic Liberal Union took place. To the meeting were
also invited NKR National Assembly speaker Oleg Yessayan, prime
minister Anoushavan Danielian, members of parliament and government,
representatives of public and political organizations. Opening the
meeting the chairman of the central council Ashot Ghulian pointed out
the importance of the mission of the DLU in the home political,
social, economic and cultural spheres. According to the spokesperson,
the DLU had a significant role in the democratic reforms in the
country. Taking into account the regular course of accomplishment, as
well as the requirements of the law on political parties the necessity
of restructuringthe public and political organization into a political
party occurred. Along with the report on the works done before the
question of restructuring into a political party was on the
agenda. Assessing the activities of the Democratic LiberalUnion in
four years Ashot Ghulian emphasized their consistency in preserving
the positive and the necessity of not avoiding drawbacks and
mistakes. In comparison to other political forces DLU has had better
possibilities to impact the policy implemented by the government
thereby assuming its share of responsibility in state governance. In
this respect the work done by the union is significant. At the same
time, DLU also bears responsibility for the unsettled problems and
becomes a target of criticism on the part of other political forces.
Although the positive changes in the country in the past five years
are obvious, to which DLU has had an important contribution, it causes
anxiety that recently different political forces have set out in a
race for the prerogative of a standard-bearer of democracy. This will
have an instructive role in reconsidering and reevaluating the
strategy of future activity of the party. Restructuring into a
political party will become the fist step in its fulfillment. The new
political party was named `Democratic Party of Artsakh’. The
Regulations and the Program of the party were adopted. According to
the Regulations, the central council consisting of 25 members will
control the political activity of the party. Ashot Ghulian was elected
chairman of the central council of the Democratic Party of Artsakh.
SVETLANA KHACHATRIAN.
04-02-2005

CONSULTATION AT THE NA
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
04 Feb 05
After the winter holidays the first consultation of the NKR National
Assembly took place on January 31 with the participation of the
leadership of the National Assembly and the representatives of the
administration. The topic of the consultation was the preparations for
the February plenary meeting of the tenth session. During the
discussion the agenda of the upcoming meeting was outlined, the future
plans were agreed upon.
AA.
04-02-2005