Education News: July 14, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending July 14, 2006.

Schools Go On Health Kick As Federal Law Takes Hold
(Source: CNN, 07/14/06) Before the 2006-2007 school year begins, public schools in America are required to write their own nutrition and health/wellness plans, due to a new law passed by Congress. Educators, alarmed by rising obesity rates in America, are looking at ways to curb childhood obesity and to promote exercise and healthy living. School districts are being creative about implementation of these plans because the law offers them a wide degree of latitude. One school district in New Hampshire is seeking to provide "at least two colors other than white and brown as part of their lunch meal," while another school district is looking to ban candy and soda from the classroom. One difficulty that will arise from measures to curb junk food and soda vending is a large loss of revenue from sponsors. However, the necessity of teaching children a healthy lifestyle prompts reform of school nutrition standards.

Upper Grades, Lower Reading Skills
(Source: The Washington Post, 07/13/06) Washington-based policy research firm Alliance for Excellent Education has released an alarming statistic that claims six million secondary school children in the United States suffer from sub-par reading levels. This basic problem is compounded by the fact that satisfactory reading skills are a focus of early elementary education, causing them to fall by the wayside in secondary schools. Students who have trouble reading try to avoid reading, further cementing their lackluster reading capability. Education specialists are urging the federal government to supply greater quantities of funding to combat the problem.

More Iowa Schools Go Year-Round
(Source: : Des Moines Register, 07/13/06) At least 18 schools in the state of Iowa are now on the year-round schooling track. Year round schooling uses roughly the same amount of days as the nine-month calendar but it adds in lengthy vacation breaks such as a three week fall break and a three week spring break. The biggest advantage to this system is that the “summer brain drain” that affects students on the September-June schedule is avoided. However, scheduling family vacations and coordinating family schedules can be made more difficult by the year-round schooling rotation. According to the National Association for Year-Round Education, 3.045 schools across the nation were on the year-round schedule during the 2005-2006 period.

Parents To Sue Over Schools’ Cellphone Ban
(Source: The New York Times, 07/13/06) Parents of children in New York City schools are angered over the ban of cellphones in school, and the head of the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council filed a brief against the ban on the 13th in Manhattan. The ban, which is supported by Mayor Bloomberg, makes it possible for schools to randomly scan students and take away disruptive electronic devices, including cellphones and pagers. Parents against the ban argue that in our present-day culture, students and parents need to be in touch frequently, and cellphones are the medium of exchange.

Homework: How much help from parents is too much?
(Source: CNN, 07/12/06) The age-old question of parental versus student involvement in the homework debate rages on today. How much help should parents be affording their children with homework? How much is too much and how will students benefit the most from doing their homework? Richard Bavaria, president of Sylvan Learning Centers, says that homework should be used as a reinforcement of classroom lessons. Parents anxious to help their children succeed should lead the way, helping their children through the process, rather than doing all of the legwork for them.

Schrenko Gets 8 Years, Ordered To Repay $414,000
(Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 07/12/06) Linda Schrenko, the former Georgia state superintendent of schools, was sentenced to complete eight years in prison, one hundred days of community service, and the repayment of $414,000 to the state in restitution for the money that she pilfered from the state coffers in order to finance her gubernatorial campaign and an alleged facelift. These penalties were less harsh than they might have been because Schrenko agreed to a plea bargain. Schrenko is quoted as saying she hopes that there are women she can teach to read in prison so that she can pass the time quickly.

Students and Parents Line Up To Register For School in Fall
(Source: The Times-Picayune, 07/11/06) Students and their parents have been lining up outside of public schools in New Orleans to register themselves for classes in the fall at various schools that will be up and running. Registration, which can also be done over the telephone or online, is operating on a first-come first-served basis. Parents and students are anxious and confronted with a great deal of uncertainty. Which school will they attend in the fall? Will the teachers that are being hired right now be competent? Will the school districts improve dramatically over what they were before Hurricane Katrina? “I made the decision to come back and rebuild, but what about my kids?" asks one parent. The question could not be more timely.

5-Year-Old 'Girl' Starting School Is Really A Boy
(Source: Miami Herald, 07/10/06) The Broward county district is preparing to admit a five year old boy who believes that he is a girl to school this upcoming fall. Affected by gender dysphorial, Pat reacts negatively to male body and instead lives a stereotypically female life. His parents, after taking him to multiple doctors and having him diagnosed, have decided that it is best to allow Pat to live as a girl. School district officials concur with the agreement and they are prepared to treat Pat as a girl. The family is accumulating extensive documentation so that other concerned parents do not mistakenly identify Pat’s gender treatment as a form of abuse.