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Clinton, Daschle, Geithner… The big-name speculation over President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet appointments can wait while Obama watchers focus on another critical name that surfaced on Friday: Sidwell. The Associated Press is reporting that the Obamas have chosen the Sidwell Friends School in Washington for daughters Sasha, seven years old, and Malia, 10. The private Quaker school’s alumni include former presidential offspring Chelsea Clinton and Tricia Nixon Cox, as well as House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and a former princess of Japan. Sidwell Friends beat out another elite school, Georgetown Day School. Michelle Obama and her daughters reportedly visited both...

We know that children must feel safe and welcome in the classroom to reach their academic potential. To feel safe, welcome, and ready to learn, all children, and especially young children, must be able to discuss themselves and their families in a manner that is caring and respectful. Our tradition of creating an inclusive environment and embracing diversity is consistent with our core purposes: Commitment to academic excellence, respectful and caring relationships, and a culture of reflection, conversation, collaboration, and commitment to continuous improvement. These core purposes have been supported by our School Committee and have been the cornerstone of...

EAU CLAIRE, Wis — A middle school principal says he made "an error in judgment" last week by not more fully discussing a teacher's plan to tell seventh-grade students her sexual orientation during health classes. South Middle School Principal John Wallace said in a letter to parents of about 125 students in Stephanie Rowe's health classes that parents send their children to school each day "trusting that we as their educators will make the best decisions as to how to instruct and care for them." "On certain occasions, however, a decision is made that is clearly not in the best...

LANCASTER [CALIFORNNIA] - The first thing to know about the typical home-schooled family is that there is no typical home-schooled family, say parents who teach their children. "You can't generalize," parent Alice Moreland said. "Everybody does it for a different reason and does it in different ways." The Lake Elizabeth mom home-schools her two youngest children, Sarah, 14, and Kasey, 12. Two of her three other children, now grown, also were home-schooled. "Public school's great for some kids - sometimes I've used public schools for my kids - but I'm just really, really grateful for the opportunity to have a...

When Eagle Rock teacher Melodie Conrad saw a student stomp on a bug several years ago, she knew she had to do something. But while student monitors for the hallways, chalkboards and classroom windows have been around for years, nobody was quite prepared for the new duty she created: bug monitor. Now, if any creepy-crawly wanders into her classroom at Eagle Rock Elementary School & Magnet Center, the student bug monitor swoops in with a paper towel or napkin, scoops up the critter and shepherds it outside. "I absolutely just feel like we live in a society where violence is...

A high school teacher in Gilbert is placed on administrative leave, ut the reason why is unclear. A YouTube video showing the teacher doing a cheer routine is believed to be the reason. The video was shot on a student's cell phone.

Valedictorian Threatened with Loss of Diploma over Religious Graduation Message Sues School DENVER, CO, August 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Today, Liberty Counsel filed suit against Lewis Palmer School District on behalf of Erica Corder, a high school valedictorian who was forced to publicly apologize for sharing her Christian faith at graduation. Erica was one of fifteen valedictorians from the Lewis-Palmer High School class of 2006. For the past year, she has been the subject of criticism because the school continues to portray her as a student who engaged in improper conduct because she mentioned Jesus Christ during her speech. Before...

Dress violated school’s dress code, principal said. Most students in compliance. Austin Perkins, 17, thought he was going one step above what was required of him. Poll The Golden Gate High School senior wore a jacket and tie to school Wednesday and the act sent him to in-school suspension. His violation? He wasn’t following the dress code. “I thought it was better than a polo shirt,” he said. “So, my friend and I thought why not take the extra step? It says business dress. A coat and tie are business dress. Instead we were thrown in a room where we...

A 50-year-old principal was found naked in his school office while watching gay pornography on Tuesday, according to sources. Sex toys were found nearby, the sources added. Police said John Acerra was a longtime teacher and principal in the Bethlehem Area School District, but was also allegedly selling crystal meth out of his school office. Acerra, of Allentown, was the principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem, and was arrested minutes after he arranged to sell the notoriously addictive drug to a police informant, according to investigators. Police arrived and found meth and drug paraphernalia on his desk, according to...

SCOTTS VALLEY - Parents whose kids take a day off from school will be asked to open their wallets. That will be $36.13, please. Desperate to hold on to every penny of state funding, Scotts Valley Unified School District leaders are asking parents to make a donation to the district for the amount it loses every time a student is absent for a reason other than illness. They say such absences cost the district $223,500 last school year. ``When parents keep their kids out of school, it's difficult for the child,'' Superintendent Susan Silver said. ``But it's also a cost...

As another reminder of attempts to take educational choices out of the hands of parents, legislation has been introduced in Congress proposing to amend the U.S. Constitution to make public education a “right.” House Joint Resolution 29, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., (D-Illinois) in 2005, is eerily similar to language in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The dangers of the UN Convention are well known. It would undermine families by granting to children a list of “rights” which include “the right to privacy,” “the right to freedom of thought and association,” and...

National Education Association Set to Endorse Homosexual Marriage Teacher's union begins plans to promote homosexual marriage in public schools Dear xxxxxx, The National Education Association is set to endorse homosexual marriage at their convention coming up in Orlando June 29 through July 6. The new NEA proposal essentially says schools should support and actively promote homosexual marriage and other forms of marriage (two men and one woman, three women, two women and three men, etc.) in their local schools. The new proposal, expected to pass overwhelmingly, is found under the B-8 Diversity paragraph: The Association... believes in the importance of...

San Ysidro march to mark graduation SAN YSIDRO – Today, San Ysidro Middle School will recognize 516 eighth-graders in a ceremony to promote them to high school, regardless of whether they passed middle school. More than a fourth of them did not. In today's ceremony, 143 students who either flunked classes, didn't earn at least a 2.0 grade-point average, or missed too many days of school will march alongside those who did everything required of them. Several teachers at the school have protested in staff meetings that students who don't make the grade shouldn't walk in the ceremony. To them,...

Ga. Driver's Ed Teacher Pinned Under Car ASSOCIATED PRESS STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) - A driver's education instructor was run over by one of her students and pinned beneath the car for 15 minutes, officials said. Two cars driven by students collided on the DeKalb County Schools driver's education lot, then one of the students backed into Patricia Erwin, running her over. She was hospitalized Friday in stable condition and underwent surgery for multiple broken bones. Erwin, 64, who has taught driving for 20 years, was working with the students on a drill that included pulling forward and backing up...

I am a 15 -year-old student at Fox Chapel Area High School, and I am writing in regard to the bout of standardized testing that is currently pervading our educational systems. I must admit, there are some benefits to such an exercise, but, in the reality of our world, intelligence cannot be objectively measured. In fact, the very nature of our educational system is a dire reflection of its ideal state; instead of instructing students about ideas that actually have value in this world, teachers are told to edify for the test and to make students needlessly memorize a plethora...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The controversial children's book "Walter the Farting Dog" will remain on the shelves at West Salem Elementary School of another attempt to remove it from the library. The book, which came under scrutiny in January, barely survived an appeal to the West Salem School Board by Maynard Carlson and his son, Richard. In the split decision, the board voted 4-3 to keep "Walter the Farting Dog" in the district's elementary school library. The book was questioned by Maynard Carlson earlier this year after his grandson (Richard Carlson's son) read it to...

<<Back 03/09/04Student Suspended After Police Dog Smells DrugsHas school drug enforcement gone too far? A savannah mother thinks so after her 16-year-old son got suspended. Police say their drug dog smelled marijuana and cocaine on his backpack. It all started with a routine drug check at Jenkins High School yesterday morning. It ended with student Renard Powers getting suspended, based only on a smell. His mother says he is a victim of an overzealous school drug policy.Renard is your typical 16-year-old. A "B" student, he's in school chorus, and spends most of his free time on his computer. When...

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