Education News: January 20, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending January 20, 2006.

Government to prepare kids for terror, disasters
(Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, 01/20/06) The Department of Homeland Security says that it plans to launch a preparedness program next month aimed at alerting and preparing children for terror attacks and natural disasters. The program, called Ready Kids, will include age-appropriate TV ads, school programs, activities, and events while giving lessons on preparedness. The launch of the program is set for February 2 in Chicago and is part of the Department of Homeland Security’s $100 million campaign to prepare Americans for terror disasters.

South Burlington to let high schoolers sleep in
(Source: Boston Globe, 01/20/06) In South Burlington, Vermont, middle school and high school students will now be getting an extra hour of sleep starting this fall, but the younger students will have to get up earlier. The South Burlington School Board came to this decision as a result of growing evidence suggesting that it is hard for teenagers to wake up at 6am. The high school start time changed from 7:40am to 8:35am, the middle school start time changed from 7:40am to 8:40am, but the elementary school start time will now begin at 8am rather than 8:30am. It is hoped that the extra sleep will make the students more productive. At the meeting, there were no parents that stepped forth to complain about the new start times, as many already drop their children off early for a no-cost, before-school program.

All-boys charter school is denied
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, 01/19/06) The Philadelphia School Reform Commission turned down a proposal for an all-boys charter high school yesterday. The decision came one week after leaders from the Women’s Law Project in Center City urged commissioners to reject the proposal on the grounds that a single-sex charter school would violate state and federal law. David P. Hardy, one of the founders of the proposed Southwest Philadelphia Academy for Boys Charter School, said the founders will enlist more legal aid to pursue the matter and remain hopeful that they can persuade the commission to reconsider their application, being that there are already 3 single-sex public schools in Philadelphia. However, the Education Law Center, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania oppose the proposal, and might sue if the commission granted the charter.  

Parents who volunteer at school help their kids learn
(Source: Arizona Republic, 01/19/06) Parents who volunteer at their child’s school can increase their child’s self-confidence, academic performance and success in future careers, experts say. Parents, after all, serve as great role models. Parent volunteerism in school helps ease the teachers’ heavy workload, allowing teachers to focus on instruction and less on gathering supplies, making copies, and performing other small tasks. But then those parents who cross the line, doing their child’s work for them and being overly involved, can negatively impact their kid’s self-confidence and ability to solve problems independently, while annoying teachers and making their roles more difficult. However, those parents that do volunteer occasionally quickly learn about the classroom environment, help busy teachers, and ultimately show their children support.

Nagin’s school panel issues reforms
(Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 01/18/06) Altering little of its original proposal introduced more than a month ago, the education committee of Mayor Ray Nagin’s Bring New Orleans Back Commission on Tuesday laid out the plan for improving public education in the city which has featured some of the lowest test scores and graduation rates in the US. The final plan calls on more parent choice, having public schools organized into “networks” of either charter or district-run schools, allowing the schools to have more control over their money and staff, and drops a previous recommendation of having future school boards be appointed. The report was second of seven to be presented to the mayor’s full commission, showing the importance New Orleans now places on education while rebuilding the city. The Louisiana Department of Education will have final say on which proposed reforms will be implemented.

Millions sought to recruit teachers
(Source: Miami Herald, 01/18/06) The Florida Board of Education will ask the Florida Legislature for money to retain the teachers they presently have from going to other states where there are better salaries and to recruit approximately 30,000 more new teachers. The demand for additional teachers comes as the Board of Education is trying to keep pace with Florida’s growing population and meet a constitutional requirement for reduced class sizes. “Florida will be hiring more teachers than any other state in the coming year,” board chairman Phil Handy said. The K-12 Chancellor, Cheri Pierson Yecke, will incorporate a more aggressive marketing strategy to entice more teachers via the Internet and face-to-face meetings at job fairs and conventions. The board endorsed in August a $19.3 billion education budget for the upcoming school year, a $1.3 billion increase from the current budget. The amount may vary after Gov. Jeb Bush submits his own recommendations.

Teens’ bold blogs alarm area schools
(Source: Washington Post, 01/17/06) Several schools in the Washington, D.C. area have begun to take action against the use of blog sites, particularly Facebook.com, MySpace.com, Xanga.com, which allow teenagers, and sometimes younger children, to post details of their lives for all to see. The Barrie School in Silver Spring, has even recently asked a student to leave over the misuse of a blog. Exclusive private schools, such as the Barrie School, have been far more aggressive than public schools in targeting the use of blogs, but local public schools have begun to warn parents and students about the dangers associated with blogs. Some colleges have expelled teenagers for violating codes of conduct after uncovering photos of underage students with kegs or writing about drinking binges, and employees are beginning to look up job candidates on the sites, reported Parry Aftab, and Internet lawyer and the executive director of Wiredsafety.org.