Education News: March 23, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending March 23, 2007.

Missouri Officials To Take Over St. Louis Schools
(Source: CNN.com, 3/22/07): On March 22, the Missouri state school board voted to take over the struggling St. Louis school district. As of June 15, the district will be run by a panel of three appointed officials. The district school board will remain in place, but it will not retain any power. The district has failed to meet benchmark requirements for the last four years in a row.

Removing Schools’ Soda is Sticky Point
(Source: The Washington Post, 3/22/07): Despite a pledge signed by major soft drink manufacturers last year, schools are finding it hard to replace high-calorie drinks in vending machines with lower-calorie alternatives. In many cases, school districts are in the midst of extended contracts with bottlers that require them to stock certain beverages for a specified amount of years. If they renege on the agreement, they must give back large sums of money that many districts cannot afford to give back.

Fighting For the Right to Wear Tigger
(Source: The San Francisco Gate, 3/21/07): The Napa Valley Unified School District has a strict dress code that bans certain fabrics and colors from the approved list. Now, the ACLU is suing on behalf of six students. According to the ACLU, freedom of expression is violated when students are given in-school suspension for wearing items such as Tigger socks and breast-cancer-awareness ribbons.

Biology Teacher Fired for Referring to the Bible
(Source: CNN, 3/21/07): A part-time biology teacher was fired after eight days on the job for drawing connections between Planned Parenthood, Nazi Germany and evolution in his classroom. Parents of students in the class became alarmed at the material being taught in the class, but the teacher claims that he was trying to teach about bias and critical thinking.

KIPP Academy Takes a Big Step
(Source: The Houston Chronicle, 3/20/07): With large donations from the Gates Foundation and the Walton family, the KIPP system of charter schools is planning to open five times the amount of schools it currently operates in the Houston area. The project will cost $100 million. While some members of the Houston Independent School District worry that the system will make it harder for the public schools to thrive, others see an opportunity to raise the standards at all Houston schools through this charter school expansion.

Investigation Finds Many Teachers Keep Jobs Despite Misconduct
(Source: The Miami Herald, 3/18/07): A significant number of Florida teachers punished for sexual, physical or verbal misconduct since 1997 still teach in Florida classrooms. This fact brings to light the different policies for disciplining teachers and for revoking teaching licenses. Some state legislators are now considering proposing a new bill to streamline the process.

For Teachers, Middle School Is a Test of Wills
(Source: The New York Times, 3/17/07): While elementary and high school teachers exist in abundance, middle schools have a rough time trying to attract teachers to staff their schools. While elementary students are generally amenable to rules and serious “problem students” tend to drop out or cut class in high school, middle school teachers contend with the “in-between” group. While some teachers thrive in this environment, others are leaving teaching in droves.

FBI: Foreign Extremists Sign Up To Drive School Buses
(Source: CNN, 3/16/07): In a routine FBI bulletin released last week, officials warned local law enforcement personnel around the country to be aware that some foreigners with ties to extremist groups have signed up to be school bus drivers. Officials said there were no known terrorist plots connected to these drivers; however, they warned local officials to be vigilant.