http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/publicschools/ en-us Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:39:11 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285892/posts The bullying seemed inescapable. His family and friends say it followed Iain Steele from junior high to high school -- from hallways, where one tormentor shoved him into lockers, to cyberspace, where another posted a video on Facebook making fun of his taste for heavy metal music. "At one point, [a bully] had told [Iain] he wished he would kill himself," said Matt Sikora, Iain's close friend. Iain's parents know their son had other problems, but they believe the harassment contributed to a deepening depression that hospitalized the 15-year-old twice this year. On June 3, while his classmates were taking... Chicago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285892/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:39:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285922/posts A slew of research shows that America is losing the conservative Christian youth in massive droves. These studies show a generation being increasingly won over to a socialistic/secular-humanistic worldview in spite of the American church increasing their apologetic courses, children's programs, youth rallies and books and sermon series on child training. What is happening? Could it be that we are doing something wrong? I would make the case that we are blatantly sinning in sending our kids to places that are, in fact, causing them to fall away. Let me lay out the case in three simple points. ( SNIP)... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285922/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:36:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285695/posts ... Despite budget cuts, many schools and community groups are expanding their efforts to feed children from poor and struggling families this summer as the lingering recession deepens longstanding concerns that those who qualify for free meals go hungry once classes end. The number of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunches was up about 5 percent nationwide this spring, to nearly 19.4 million from 18.4 million the previous year, according to federal officials. These new programs extend beyond school hours to feed children on weekends and in the summer, and they have spread from impoverished urban areas to suburban... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285695/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 01:00:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284777/posts Video: "Indoctrinating America's Youth" Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284777/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:03:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283256/posts ... [Bloomberg has] overseen a large expansion in annual school spending, to $22 billion from $13 billion, with the additional money pumped in from Mr. Bloomberg’s budget and from the state. And that has allowed them to reshape the system to reflect the central elements of the mayor’s philosophy: smaller schools, relentless assessments of progress, and higher salaries for administrators to attract top talent. A New York Times analysis of seven years of education spending has found a number of changes in how dollars are allocated. There are now 1,075 more principals and assistant principals, even as overall student enrollment... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283256/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 14:22:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280795/posts Outside of dealing with parents whose children can do no wrong there is probably no more contentious issue between a parent and school than homework assignments. The issue is clouded with research that indicates that proves that homework hurts students, doesn’t make any difference, helps students, or all of the above. In other words there clearly is no final word on the benefits or harm done by asking a student to work outside of school. The reason that homework has been an issue may not have anything to do with education, but with power. Who controls a student’s time? Is... ednews.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280795/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:11:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281500/posts Student Awarded $1.25M For Relationship With TeacherUPDATED: 9:50 pm PDT June 26, 2009 SAN DIEGO -- A jury awarded $1.25 million to a former student at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Paradise Hills because they found that the principal and others failed to report a sexual relationship between the student and her teacher. Teacher John Kyujoon Lee pleaded guilty to statutory rape back in 2007. But now, the San Diego Unified School District must pay for its role in allowing the sexual relationship between Lee and a former student to go on for nearly three years. Attorney... 10 News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281500/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:09:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280945/posts Some D.C. public charter schools continue selective admissions practices that discourage special-needs students from enrolling, and students citywide with possible disabilities still face delays in special education evaluations, a federal court monitor said this week. "Charter schools . . . generally have not enrolled students with significant disabilities who required extensive hours of special services or education," the monitor, Amy Totenberg, wrote in a report prepared for a court hearing yesterday. WaPo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280945/posts#comment Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:43:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276446/posts The pressure to pass students - even those who rarely go to class or can't read - is pervasive in the Philadelphia School District, teachers around the city say. The push comes in memos, in meetings, and in talks about failure rates that are too high, the teachers say. It comes through mountains of paperwork and justification for failing any student. It comes in ways subtle and overt, according to more than a dozen teachers from nine of the city's 62 high schools. "We have to give fake grades," said a teacher at Mastbaum High in Kensington. "The pressure is... Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276446/posts#comment Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:07:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276337/posts Amid yet another round of budget negotiations, Democrats made a surprising and controversial proposal this week: Suspend the state's high school exit exam. The move was largely inspired by philosophical worries: Democrats on the influential budget conference committee say they cannot in good conscience mandate the exam for students while at the same time propose to slash education funding by millions of dollars more. "When the state is making cuts that could lead to a shorter school year, fewer teachers and larger class sizes, it doesn't seem realistic to expect the same results as before the cuts," said Assembly Speaker... San Jose Mercury News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276337/posts#comment Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:37:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2274279/posts The soaring costs of a college degree are prompting colleges to consider a three-year degree program. Britain has long granted a degree for three years of college. I would like to suggest a one-year degree program. And I don’t mean an associate’s degree. Here are some hard facts most colleges will never tell you and most parents could not tolerate hearing. The general requirements of the first two years at most colleges are what high school should have been. That is what junior should have learned had he not been busy getting high, getting drunk, and being socially promoted. Better... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2274279/posts#comment Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:55:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273593/posts CHINO, Calif. – Summer is going to be a lot shorter for hundreds of elementary school students in two Southern California communities. Students at Dickson Elementary in Chino and Rolling Ridge Elementary in Chino Hills were supposed to be done with school on Thursday, but a clerical error means they will have to make up 34 days or the schools will risk losing $7 million in state funds. Under California law, schools' occasional short days — taken to allow teachers time for preparation — must be at least 180 minutes. An internal audit in May found 34 days at the... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273593/posts#comment Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:50:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2272981/posts Justin Denney's family watched on as he ascended the Cumberland County Civic Center stage during graduation Friday night to accept his diploma, but the superintendent told him to return to his seat Mary Denney said she can't believe how her son's taking a bow and blowing a kiss on stage was grounds for the superintendent to withhold his diploma. "I'm like, 'Did she not hand him his diploma?' I'm like, 'What's going on?'" Mary Denney said. She said she and Justin both signed a code of conduct regarding the graduation when she picked up graduation tickets on Friday, she doesn't... ABC 8 WMTW http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2272981/posts#comment Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:36:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2272913/posts MeMe Roth, a publicist and an Upper West Side mother of two, is getting really, really mad — “and I do not mean angry,” she clarified. “I mean mad, like crazy.” Ms. Roth is being driven mad by Public School 9, where her children are in second and fourth grades, and it seems that P.S. 9, in turn, is being driven mad by Ms. Roth. Ms. Roth, who runs a group called National Action Against Obesity, has no problem with the school lunches provided at the highly regarded elementary school on Columbus Avenue and 84th Street. What sets her off... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2272913/posts#comment Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:18:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271508/posts Debbie does grade school. An auditorium full of unsuspecting Brooklyn students -- some as young as 5 years old -- got a surprise lesson in reading, writing and raunchiness on May 29 when hard-core porn was accidentally screened at PS 17 in Williamsburg. The kindergartners, first-graders and fifth-graders were exposed to a topless woman and sex acts in the 45 seconds the obscene clip played on the jumbo screen -- as shocked teachers screamed, "Don't look at it!" and frantically tried to turn it off. Finally, one horrified teacher ripped the DVD player's plug out of the wall to silence... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271508/posts#comment Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:47:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243044/posts <p>Joseph Walker, former principal of Grant High School in Van Nuys, says that because of the uphill battles that administrators face in terminating teachers: “You’re not going to fire someone who’s not doing their job.</p> <p>And if you have someone who’s done something really egregious, there’s only a 50-50 chance that you can fire them.”</p> LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243044/posts#comment Sun, 3 May 2009 03:50:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269633/posts You might recall back in 2008 when Diantha Harris, a teacher from a North Carolina grade school, made a YouTube splash for having verbally berated a soldier's young daughter that said in class she was for John McCain instead of Barack Obama for president. Of course the righty blogs immediately went wild for the story, but eventually the Old Media came to the teacher's rescue and reported that the teacher never meant any harm. The story appeared on cable and local TV for several days last November. Well, last month another teacher found himself making news -- or not making... Newsbusters.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269633/posts#comment Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:20:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268746/posts SAN FRANCISCO -- After three years of emotional debate and back-and-forth votes, the San Francisco school board Tuesday night hit the reset button on the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, restoring the program to nearly its original condition before the 2006 effort to kill it. The board voted 4-3 to allow the JROTC program to satisfy physical education requirements - something needed to maintain enrollment numbers that financially justify the program at seven district high schools.The measure gives JROTC students the option to earn P.E. credit through independent study.The vote is the latest in a nearly three-year battle over the... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268746/posts#comment Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:50:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268063/posts The Alameda, Calif., public schools are adopting a curriculum that will require first graders to read literature that equates same-sex unions with a family made up of a mother, father and child. Parents will not be allowed to opt their first graders out of the curriculum. Members of the Alameda United School District (AUSD) school board voted 3 to 2 last week to implement the “Safe Schools” curriculum, which supporters say is aimed at stopping anti-homosexual bullying in schools. The program includes a between one and four lessons each year between grades 1 and 5 to introduce students to “LGBT”... cnsnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268063/posts#comment Tue, 9 Jun 2009 16:02:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266066/posts Just after President Obama's Cairo speech ended, I clicked on the White House Web site. The home page, and especially its compelling large image, appeared to visually suggest the America that Obama has been describing recently -- a country that is not a Christian nation, nor a Jewish nation, not even a pluralistic nation, but "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." The large close-up photograph that dominated the home page was of a covered woman, Afeefa Syeed, Senior Advisor for Culture and Development with the Middle East and Asia Bureaus at USAID (United States Agency for International... The American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266066/posts#comment Sat, 6 Jun 2009 10:36:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2263380/posts WASHINGTON, D.C., June 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Although President Barack Obama has advocated speaking "fair minded words" in debating differences on major ethical issues, his recent nominee to the Department of Education's Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools is a homosexual activist with a history of using foul and abusive language against those who have opposed his homosexualist agenda. Kevin Jennings, the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), was recently appointed to the Obama Administration as Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools, which is under the Department of Education led by Education... LifeSiteNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2263380/posts#comment Wed, 3 Jun 2009 01:00:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260178/posts An openly-gay, teenage boy was just voted "Prom Queen" at Los Angeles' Fairfax High School in a campaign that began as a stunt -- but ended up spurring discussion on the campus about gender roles and teen popularity. Sergio Garcia, 18, was crowned queen Saturday night at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. "I feel invincible," Garcia said in his tiara and charcoal-gray tuxedo. A few days earlier, he gave a speech that won over some cynics and led to an ovation and his unlikely victory. "At one time, prom may have been a big popularity contest where the best-looking guy or... L.A. Slimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260178/posts#comment Thu, 28 May 2009 23:54:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259542/posts When Glenn Storman, a guidance counselor at Public School 212 in Gravesend, Brooklyn, came across an unruly student cursing at a substitute teacher in 2004, he ordered the boy to “zip it” and brandished a rolled-up piece of paper, thinking that would be the last he heard of the encounter. But five years later, Mr. Storman, 57, is embroiled in a legal dispute over allegations that he committed corporal punishment. A 27-year veteran of the school system, Mr. Storman denies hitting the student and is seeking to erase an unsatisfactory rating that a principal gave him. The Department of Education,... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259542/posts#comment Thu, 28 May 2009 03:12:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258728/posts How corrupt has America become? I am the Middle School President at my school and the SCA was planning Color Games, an end-of-the-year parade like atmosphere, with kickball and basketball and capture the flag like games. I was put in charge of picking the inflatable, I went to this companys website and picked an inflatable that said "God Bless America" on it. It had a flag in the background. When I showed this to my sponsors (teachers) i was promptly yelled at and told that if we put God up on there then we have to put "Buddah bless America"... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258728/posts#comment Wed, 27 May 2009 00:56:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255865/posts SEATTLE - The odyssey of Mary Kay Letourneau, which began years ago when she was a 34-year-old teacher who raped a sixth-grade student, has now evolved into "Hot for Teacher" night at a Pioneer Square bar. But the bar's owner says the event is all in fun, and he hopes people take it in the right spirit. Letourneau, who eventually served time for raping her former student then later married him after her release from prison, will be hosting the event Saturday at Fuel Sports Eats & Beats on Washington Street. Letourneau's former student, Vili Fualaau, will be there, too.... KOMO TV / Seattle P.I. (Seattle, Washington) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255865/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 22:55:24 GMT