Tag Archives: Schools

Some California Schools Not Making The Grade

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A large part of the country’s education systems have long looked to California Schools to demonstrate what works in education. While many California Public Schools are indeed exemplary, there are also many that are struggling. In 1999, the state of California decided that it needed to take a closer look at these struggling schools, and that these California Schools needed help to overcome their problems.

The California Schools in question shared one common characteristic – a relatively high level of student poverty. Many but not all of them have high percentages of students who were English learners and/or Hispanic, a statistic that has been correlated with student poverty. Most have very small populations of white students.

These troubled California Schools tended to be larger than average and were much more likely to be on a multitrack, year-round calendar. This type of school calendar allows the school in question to serve a greater number of students by being open all 12 months of the year; with some California Schools teachers and classes sharing rooms with those who are off on a break.

In terms of staffing, these California Schools had a much higher proportion of teachers not fully credentialed and were also more likely to have a high percentage of first- and second-year teachers.

Principals of the California Schools in question were surveyed to determine the differences in the challenges faced by their particular schools. School district officials were also able to provide more information.

California has operated its school accountability system for nine years now and the average API (Academic Performance Index) scores for all schools have risen. Elementary schools have shown the most progress. However, as a whole, elementary level California Schools have faced greater challenges than their middle- and high-school counterparts.

On average, they had either similar or more challenging proportions of English learners
and students living in poverty. School sizes are modestly large and the proportion of fully credentialed teachers is somewhat lower than middle- and high-school teachers working in California Schools.

Conversely, California Schools in the middle and high school levels have consistently shown less improvement than elementary schools. From a statistical perspective, secondary California Schools often face different challenges than elementary schools do in attempting to meet their API growth targets.

Middle Schools have not had the full benefit of the state’s investment in K-12 education since the mid-to-late 1990s, however. From an instructional perspective, the state has put more focus on improving achievement in the earliest grades, most likely with the belief that if a student’s academic success can be improved upon at an early age, they will continue to be successful throughout their school careers.

While there many changes that need to be made to improve the quality of California Schools, it is indeed heartening to see that the state’s board of education is up to the challenge of helping schools make the improvements needed to produce successful and vital members of tomorrow’s society.

FL Secondary Schools Begin Entrepreneurship Courses

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One of the things I appreciated, only after graduating college graduation, was that my school employed professors, who had “real world” experience. I cannot tell you how many times we heard a professor say, “Okay, that’s what the textbook tells you. Now, let me tell you how it works in the real world.”  

Textbooks only give students a foundation on which to build later in a real job. Often times, the real world does not follow the procedures set forth in or look/act anything like those models in the textbooks, making it difficult to adjust. You expect one thing in a new job but discover another, feeling lost as to how to proceed.

The Florida Schools in partnership with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) are introducing some of the “real world” into the Florida schools. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, high school students in the Florida schools will be able to sign up for a major course in entrepreneurship at participating schools.

In June 2006, then governor Jeb Bush signed the A++ Education Act, which offers 442 additional major coursework in the Florida schools. The entrepreneurship course is one of these offerings.

The importance of teaching such a course to secondary Florida schools’ students is not lost on businesses that complain across the nation that high school graduates are not prepared to enter today’s workforce upon graduation. The Florida schools’ entrepreneurship course will teach students vital business skills that will benefit the entire community and economy. With business being primarily knowledge-based, knowing how to use technology and employ critical thinking skills are essential for Florida schools’ graduates. As well as providing this training, the new Florida schools’ entrepreneurship course will create a new awareness for the students.

The NFTE was instrumental in the development of the entrepreneurship program for the Florida schools. The group is committed to providing entrepreneurship education to low-income and minority youth. They believe that introducing entrepreneurship to high school students gives them greater motivation to stay in school in order to do more with their life after graduation. Entrepreneurship offers hope and an opportunity for many students, who feel that there is nothing for them after high school except minimum wage jobs. It gives them the knowledge and confidence that they can do more.

The nationwide program of the NFTE has shown that entrepreneurship coursework at the high school level decreases the drop out rate and increases the number of students who go on to college. Their claim has been documented by Harvard Graduate School of Education in a multi-year study on the influence of NFTE coursework on school engagement. The NFTE currently has high school coursework programs in 47 states and 16 countries with over 150,000 courses worldwide, and there are 23 Florida schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School District that already successfully use the entrepreneurship program.

With the signing of the Act in 2006, the Florida schools have become the model for school boards across the nation. Florida schools’ officials have been receiving telephone calls from as far away as Arizona and California. Other states wish to emulate the Florida schools and their new entrepreneurship program to bring the “real world” to their high school students, as well.

Cleveland Setting The Standard For Ohio's Charter Schools

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If you’re looking for the latest and most innovative educational trends, you need look no further than Cleveland Schools. Charter schools, schools that are run privately, can be either non-profit or for-profit organizations, and can sometimes be selective of the students they accept. Charters in Cleveland schools often receive district money to run the school.  

In Cleveland Schools, and indeed throughout the state of Ohio, charter schools are referred to as community schools.  They are all independent, public schools.  Even though they are funded by taxpayer money, they operate free from many of the rules and regulations that traditional public schools are obligated to follow.  These Cleveland Schools are financed by a per-pupil allotment from the state tax funds, but do not tend to share in local property tax revenues.  Parents of students within the Cleveland Schools district may choose to send their children to a charter, or community school free, of charge.  These Cleveland Schools are also nonsectarian, and cannot refuse ANY students enrollment for any reason.  

The Cleveland Schools’ board encourages families to make their decisions for the fall as soon as possible.  In some cases, visits will be made to individual families who have not made their choice known.  This will continue until all students in Cleveland Schools are enrolled in the school of their choice.

All around the country, charter schools have had their share of press. In some big cities, like Boston, where poverty-level school districts had been under serving minority students for years, charter schools have caught up with the other schools within four years, and continue to improve. Massachusetts has rigorous standards for its charter schools: it is cautious in approving schools, and maintains tough regulations for those schools.  They are also willing to close the schools that just don’t work.  In contrast, many educational experts describe Ohio’s charter school program as a “hastily assembled, poorly funded, and laxly regulated hodge-podge of educational dice rolls.”

More than half of the charter monies set aside for these community schools (Cleveland Schools included) is going to for-profit companies.  In fact, the state “has an unusually heavy reliance on profit-seekers,” said Gary Miron, the Charter Evaluation Center’s chief of staff.  “For-profit operators aren’t necessarily a problem,” Miron said, “as long as safeguards exist to ensure that they’re serving the public good, not just their own.”  Unfortunately, that’s where Ohio’s charter schools, and those within the Cleveland Schools have fallen short.  

The charter school movement in Ohio has been partisan, ideological, and divisive.  Charter schools throughout Ohio and in Cleveland Schools were promoted as a way to sabotage urban public schools that many people thought to be hopeless.  Ohio jumped into charters, trying to get as many up and running as possible.  Unfortunately, officials just didn’t take the time to stop and think about how to make them work.  According to Miron, “The result was inadequate funding, too rapid growth, ineffective oversight, and a lack of meaningful consequences for schools that simply ignored the rules.”

Attending a charter school within the Cleveland Schools district can be a rewarding experience for students and parents alike.  It is extremely important, however, to go into it with one’s eyes open.

Normal Pop. Cycles, New Funding Laws Cause Decline in Established Phoenix Schools

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Some established Phoenix Schools districts are just a few areas in the Valley that are losing students to charter schools, private schools, and other districts. These Phoenix schools districts have for many years added classrooms and teachers to keep up with their growing populations. Now, they are experiencing decline in enrollments for various reasons.

Since funding is readily available to Phoenix schools that are in a growth cycle, the enrollment decline means loses in badly needed revenues. It also means losses in local, state and federal funding, which also are based upon the student population. This could mean millions in lost funding to the Phoenix schools.

Along with schools in Mesa and Scottsdale, the Phoenix schools are taking aggressive action. Some school districts are aggressively marketing to recruit students from neighboring districts, as well as to reacquire students who have moved to private schools. Street banners announce the start of schools in some districts, beefing up the Phoenix schools image in others.

The Phoenix schools are battling to keep their current student enrollment levels, while searching for methods to recruit more students. The Phoenix schools face increasing competition from charter schools, as well as private schools that offer more exclusivity to the Phoenix schools’ students.

Enrollment throughout the Valley, overall, continues to increase; thus, supporting the findings of an enrollment study for Paradise Valley school district by Applied Economics. They found that charter and private schools were luring students from the district at increasing rates.

The Phoenix schools districts know that new residential housing developments are planned within their districts. The problem is how to plan for such increase in student population – Will they attend the traditional Phoenix schools or opt for a charter or private school. By the time the Phoenix schools have an answer to this quandary, it will be too late to build the needed facilities. Overcrowding in the Phoenix schools already will have been felt.

The Phoenix schools are hurt further by the state law on school funding. When the Phoenix schools experience a decline in student enrollment, they lose funding. Additionally, according to this law, there is a mandated drop in how much additional funding the Phoenix schools can obtain, even through local funding sources.

Lastly, additional funding for construction and renovation of facilities that is available during a growth cycle of the Phoenix schools is nonexistent during an enrollment decline. This makes the average ,000 per student with extra for students with various types of situations and disabilities, less than adequate for schools that already are dealing with budget and funding concerns.

Will San Jose Schools Achieve Desegregation Targets?

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You know that racial gap that’s getting so much attention? Well, I’m thrilled that it’s on the minds of politicians, because it’s a problem. Unfortunately, it’s a problem with some pretty deep roots. In 1971, San Jose Public Schools had a dilemma. It seemed to parents that the schools were knowingly and purposely segregating students. Hispanics were the group most targeted in this segregation. So some parents filed a class action suit with the intention of forcing the district to remedy the situation.

San Jose Schools began to address and remedy the problem. For 18 years – from 1985 when the Federal Court Order was settled, to 2003 when they were able to demonstrate that they had complied with it, the district has implemented the changes required by the court order.

A large urban school district, San Jose Schools serve approximately 32,000 students. San Jose Schools are located fifty miles south of San Francisco, in the heart of the Silicon Valley. This is a geographic area of over fifty square miles. The eleventh largest urban school district in California, it has thirty-one elementary schools, seven middle schools, and seven high schools.

The student population is:

31% Anglo 49% Hispanic 13% Asian
3% Black 4% other.

From 1985 to 2003, San Jose Schools followed the plan to desegregate all of its schools in accordance with a Federal Court Order signed on behalf of the Hispanic student population. The decision is based primarily on making school choices available in the San Jose Schools. School choice is another hot topic. Frankly, I think that choice pushes all schools to improve. But not everyone aggress.

The court order was modified in 1998 to allow elementary age students to attend their neighborhood schools. As a result of the Federal Court Order, the San Jose School offers parents and students a wide variety of middle and high school program and school choices.

In 1971, when segregation of schools in San Jose Schools was examined, San Jose Schools were the only schools in California to have been found guilty of intentional discrimination. The Court Order consisted of two main goals: 1) to minimize racial isolation by allowing parents to choose their schools; and, 2) to enhance academic achievement of all Latino students.

In 2003, San Jose Schools were found to be in compliance with the order, and were released for Federal Court Oversight. The decision is of historical and national significance, as San Jose Schools are one of the only districts approaching agreement in partnership with plaintiffs rather than through contentious litigation.

But here we are in 2007, and all the desegregation effort find San Jose Schools, and the nations, still struggling with a racial achievement gap. Perhaps the answer doesn’t lie in is desegregation. Perhaps it lies in the quality of each school

5 Best Private Schools You May Not Have Heard Of

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Not all British private schools are as easy to name-check as Eton, Harrow or Rugby, in fact some of the country’s finest independent schools are much less well known. Schools such as Kingswood School in Bath, Hurtwood House in Dorking, St Peter’s School in York, Uppingham School in Rutland and Bromsgrove School are known in their local areas to be among the top independent schools in the country, but are nationally less well known than their more famous counterparts.

 

Take, for example, 500 year old Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire. Founded in the middle ages, this erstwhile Tudor grammar school is described as “outstanding” by both The Good Schools Guide and Ofsted. If you are looking at league tables you will find Bromsgrove listed in the top 10 and some years in the top 5.

 

Bromsgrove School may be 500 years old, but it is as modern an independent school as you could hope to find, with a forward thinking headmaster keen to distinguish his school from other stuffy boarding schools. They even offer the globally accepted International Baccalaureate as an alternative to A Levels.

 

In contrast to Bromsgrove, Hurtwood School in Surrey was founded as recently as 1970, yet despite this short history, Hurtwood regularly tops the tables as Best Co-educational School in the UK. Unlike Bromsgrove, which offers classes through from preparatory up to A level, Hurtwood focuses on the two years leading up to university with students usually aged from 16-19.

 

St Peter’s school in York is one of the oldest schools in the UK, established in AD 627, it is the senior school to Clifton pre-prep and St Olave’s prep school. With ground stretching to the edge of the River Ouse, this school is arguably as impressive looking as Eton. St Peter’s has famous alumni as diverse and Guy Fawkes, of the gunpowder plot fame, through to the composer John Barry who’s film scores include no less than eleven Bond soundtracks.

 

Uppingham School in Rutland, known simply as Uppingham, though less well known than some of its counterparts is very much a stalwart of the UK public school. Notably, Uppingham has the greatest acreage of any English school. With so many playing fields, you might expect Uppingham alumni to include many notable sportsmen and indeed it does, but includes a plethora of other well-known names from TV chef Rick Stein, to musician Cecil Sharp. Uppingham also has a strong military tradition with at least three old boys having won the Victoria Cross.

 

Kingswood School in Somerset was established by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in order to educating the sons of clergy who could ill afford to pay a private tutor. Today, of course, its pupils come from a wider range of backgrounds. An early adopter of the Eco-schools project, Kingswood was one of the first Somerset schools to be awarded a ‘green flag’ for its work to reduce waste and care for the environment. They received their third in 2010.

 

Those in the know have of course long been aware of these schools, but it may give new prospective parents hope, when searching for an independent school for their child, that the UK boasts so many unique and outstanding private schools to choose from.

Fairfax, VA Schools Offer More Than Remedial Summer Ed

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Ever wonder what to do with your Fairfax County Schools

student over the summer? Are you reluctant to place your elementary student in daycare or let your middle or high school student “just hang out”? The summer programs at Fairfax, VA Schools may be for you! Studies suggest that students can lose the knowledge they have gained during the school year over the summer holidays. No matter how academically successful kids are, most of them choose entertainments such as arcades, beaches, lakes, or water parks, being with friends, or going to the movies over learning activities.

However, this is not always what Fairfax, VA Schools parents want for their kids over the summer. While it’s extremely important for kids to enjoy some downtime from the school year’s more rigorous schedule, there’s no reason that some learning can’t be thrown into a child’s summer plans.

For some Fairfax, VA Schools students, summer school is a necessity. While all kids can be successful in school, there are those students who struggle. For them, attending a summer school class in the subject area they struggle with the most is a must, and may even be required by some schools. Kids who are in danger of be retained in their current grade level may actually avoid retention by attending summer school. Fairfax, VA Schools students who are below grade level and need the extra boost that a general education summer school class can give, have the option to attend school for free in Fairfax, VA Schools. In this school zone, students who wish, need, or are required to go to a general education class in summer school pay no tuition, and may qualify for transportation depending on the program or location of the Fairfax, VA Schools offering the class.

For other Fairfax, VA Schools students, enrichment camps are the way to go. Keeping a student busy is important during the months of summer vacation. What better way to challenge them and give them the opportunity to learn something they are interested in which may not be offered during the regular Fairfax, VA Schools school year than going to a Fairfax, VA Schools summer school? Let’s face it, most, if not all kids are eager to go back to school in the fall. While they have been missing their friends and the social opportunities that school offers, they are most likely, although secretly, also missing the mental stimulation that school provides. They might not even know that’s what they miss about school, but they miss it all the same. Kids thrive on routine – they feel secure knowing what’s going to happen on any given day, and school provides that for them. Attending summer school at one of the Fairfax, VA Schools, whether for general education or for enrichment, is a smart way to meet this need for any child. Programs offered in Fairfax, VA Schools cover all grade levels, K-12.

Is The Future Of Chicago More Charter Schools?

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Ever since George W. Bush took the oath of president of the United States, he and his administration have instituted many federally mandated changes for public schools across the nation. Now, according to Margaret Spellings, education secretary for the Bush Administration, there may be more that directly affect the Chicago Schools and the state of Illinois. Currently, the states of Illinois, Michigan and New York have the lowest caps on the number of public charter schools allowed. Illinois has the lowest cap of 60, then New York with a cap of 100, and Michigan with 150.

At one of the charter Chicago schools in late January, Spellings stated that the president wants all school districts across the country to change their restrictions on the number of public charter schools allowed, giving school districts, like the Chicago schools, the ability to convert as many failing traditional schools to charters as they wish.

Chicago schools’ officials see this as a positive move. Over the years, they have aggressively pursued the conversion of failing schools to charters. The Chicago schools currently have 29 of their allowed 30 charter schools in place and running. With a current 185 low performing schools, the Chicago schools’ officials see conversion to public charter schools as a possible solution to improve the schools’ performance. Otherwise, their only option is to make major staff changes, since they can only convert one more traditional school to charter under current state guidelines.

Chicago schools’ officials believe that more drastic interventions are required to make these failing schools successful. Charters within the Chicago schools have more freedom over their curriculum, budgeting and scheduling than traditional schools do. They also have more accountability to the Chicago schools.

Opponents to the Bush Administration proposal for changing the state’s public charter school cap believe the president is going too far. Legislators involved in drafting Illinois’ cap are some of those opposed to the proposal. The state’s teachers’ union also is against the proposal.  

Representative Monique Davis, who is a Democrat representing Chicago (and the Chicago schools) and vice chairwoman of the House Education Committee, stated in response to the proposal that the legislators of Illinois believe, as many others across the nation, that charter schools still are in the experimental stage. Expansion of the number of public charter schools should be held back until they prove themselves as a viable and successful alternative for the future. They just are not there yet.

Regardless of what the Illinois legislators believe, the proposal will soon be in Congress. If the bill passes, it takes the matter out of state hands, since the federal government can impose whatever mandates they desire when contributing federal funding to schools. This means the Chicago schools’ officials may soon be able to enact some serious interventions for their 185 low performing schools.

Indian Schools Bring Students on the Way

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India is one of the emerging countries since independence. Lots of development and growth have been seen in various sectors ranging from education to technology, science and mainly in infrastructure. For developing countries, it is not an easy task to get over their society problems and backwardness. But for India, it seems something different, just after 35 years of its independence; it had started to come over its problems and backward of societies. There are number of evidence that depicts how difficult is for India to compete with developed countries after getting from British rule of 200 years. Its growth development rate and growth per capita depicts how well it comes over with its problem from last few decades. Among the various sectors, education is one of the concerned areas that have bought tremendous development in the country of India.                

Since independence, the importance of primary and girls education is very much evident in India. Indian government has taken several initiative steps in order to improve the standard of primary and secondary education of India. Many schools have been opened from last five years and numbers of girls education programs have been promoted with the help of state government and local societies. All these initiative steps have bought schooling education at a development phase. Here, students of India can expect much more improvement in schooling education in terms of safe environment, experienced teachers, sports and general activities and many more development phases are to be made in the field of primary education.         

Today in India, you will find numbers of top rated schools that are famous offering world class education programs. India with twenty seven states and seven union territories houses long list of primary and secondary schools. Like schools in delhi where you will find delhi public schools, modern school, Army Public School, Cambridge School¸ Air Force Bal Bharti School are some of the famous schools for Delhi. Apart from these Bhonsala Military School, New Era High School, A .H. Wadia High School, St. Xavier’s High School and Holy Cross English School are some of the famous schools for Maharashtra. Similarly, different states and cities are famous for their schools and educational institutes. Besides these, Adams New Found Town English School, Amara Jyothi English Medium School, Bishop Cotton Girls’ High School, Jain International Residential School, Poornaprajna Education Centre are some of the famous schools for Karnataka. Likewise Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Cochin, Noida, Kolkata and many more are famous for quality schooling education offered by their schools.

All these schools in India are famous safe and quality education that definitely makes their way towards higher education. In this when their high competition in the international market regarding career and jobs, these schools in India have played a vital role while offering quality and valuable base to their students. Therefore, schooling education is start of the education phase for the students where they have to learn various educational subjects with complete dedication and concentration in order to move towards selective career path.    

San Francisco Schools' Small Schools Program

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San Francisco Schools’ Small Schools are Effective

The Small Schools program in San Francisco Schools was established back in 2000. One successful example of a small school is the San Francisco Schools’ Leadership High School. This high school has a total of only 345 students, uses high standards and close relationship with teachers to help at risk students. Leadership High School was established about 5 years ago and now has some of the highest test scores in all of the San Francisco Schools. Mainly the idea is to take large schools, usually high schools, into several smaller schools that can focus on the students needs better.

San Francisco Schools have become a leader in a growing trend that has spread across Northern California. The idea behind breaking up large schools is an attempt to provide an alternative to the status quo. Students in a small school tend to have higher rates of graduation, higher attendance rates, and higher university attendance. The small school environment succeeds due to a more personalized learning environment. The small schools of the San Francisco Schools use a mentor system that gives guidance to that they are personally engaged in their work. Students are motivated while being connected to the school community. The National Longitudinal Study for Adolescent Health reports that students in a small school environment were less likely to use alcohol, illegal drugs, become pregnant, or experience emotional distress.

San Francisco Schools’ Small Schools for Equity

The Small Schools for Equity program is an innovative partnership between San Francisco Schools and a local university. This high school has one hundred students from all of the San Francisco Schools. This high school will be housed on the university’s campus and be supported by the College of Education while being managed and funded by San Francisco Schools. The students, teachers and administration will have a say in curriculum development. Students who attend the Small Schools for Equity program were chosen by San Francisco Schools’ officials. The high school students will study a rigid curriculum that will include high school level math, science, English, humanities, world language, art and Japanese. No college courses will be offered.

The Small Schools for Equity program provides the College of Education with a great opportunity in teacher education. San Francisco Schools has allowed university students seeking teaching credentials to teach and observe in schools throughout the San Francisco School district for years, now the College of Education will have a high school on campus that will benefit from modern educational theory and practices. The high school will be housed in Burk Hall and run a full school day from 8AM to 3PM, the rest of the day Burk Hall will be used by education students.

San Francisco Schools Board of Education Reviews Small Schools

The San Francisco Schools Board of Education is, this summer, reviewing a policy that would support the San Francisco Schools Small Schools By Design. The policy is being introduced by San Francisco Schools Acting Superintendent Gwen Chan and is supported by school board president Norman Yee and San Francisco Organizing Project, a community organization that supports the small schools initiative. San Francisco Organizing Project is a collection of religious congregations, schools and community centers. Those opposed to the program claim that the money spent does not equal the benefits but supporters say that the Small Schools offset the difficulties of declining student enrollment and the flight of families from San Francisco Schools. The current policy up for vote would create a task force to determine the locations and needs of San Francisco Schools which would benefit most from Small Schools.