Strollerderby : school districts

New Jersey School Officials Caught With Hands in the Till

Patti — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:17:00 GMT

The public school district in Camden, NJ has a rule that children must not be required to pay for educational field trips. So when parents came to the school board complaining that their children were being left behind when they couldn't afford the fees for the trips, an investigation was launched. Yesterday, former principal Michael Hailey and his aide, Patricia Johnson, were indicted for having embezzled over $14,000 in fees they'd collected for field trips from students, parents, fundraisers, and the pockets of teachers. Along with another former principal and a teacher, Hailey and Johnson were also indicted for overbilling the school district by over $25,000 for meetings which never actually took place.

According to census data, Camden is the poorest city in the USA with a median income of only $18,000. The parents want their money back.

School Has Enough ... of Unruly Parents

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:17:00 GMT

My mom's a middle school teacher -- and the thing she hates most doesn't involve rambunctious hormones, non-stop chattering, name-calling, chest-puffing and other usual pubescent shows of being, well, a middle schooler.

The kids are just fine, she says. It's the parents. They can be crazy -- and that's a kind way of putting it. She's not the only one to think so.

An Ohio school district has taken to writing up a list of rules ... for parents ... because it seems the schools have had enough of unruly "grownups" who refuse to leave school grounds, threaten teachers or fight amongst themselves.

The schools are also learning about the best ways to peacefully deal with moronic parents who come looking for a fight, and have even developed "code words" for when police should be called.

I don't think I need to get on a soapbox to say this is silly, unproductive behavior that sets a horrible example. But I will anyway. What's up with you freaking "adults"? If you think taking your own miserable failings out on teachers is the best way to educate your children, a poor grade is the last thing you should be worrying about.

School Segregates Students to Teach the Test

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:03:00 GMT

The No Child Left Behind Act has schools freaked. That's the only explanation I can take from this: Mount Diablo High School in Northern California has taken to separating students based on race to give them assembly pep talks about improving their test scores.

The principal said, "Blah blah blah -- I'm not racist, I swear." While parents and students said the alarming policy smacks of modern-day segregation. "Teaching the test" is bad enough -- it robs students of the fundamental building blocks that teach how to learn, not what to learn.

But segregating students and shouting slogans like "What up white people!" is beyond the pale. If this is just one whack-job school having fun at the expense of students, fine -- fire the morons in charge and move on. But if this is just an example of the lengths schools feel they must go to in order to not get left behind, add this to the long list of reasons I can't wait for 2008.

School Districts to Parents: Wanna Play? Gotta Pay!

Patti — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 23:25:00 GMT

A couple of school districts in California have grown tired of losing money because parents choose to take their children out of school to go on vacation. Their solution? They're sending home a bill.

Scotts Valley district officials have begun billing parents $36.13 per day of elective (non-illness-related) absence--that's the amount of state funding that the district loses under California's attendance-based program. In 2005-2006 the district lost almost a quarter of a million dollars in funding because of absenteeism, funding that even more affluent districts like Scotts Valley can ill afford. A similar program has been in effect for a few years in the San Mateo/Foster City school district, located on the San Francisco peninsula.

Some parents have cheerfully paid the bill, collection of which the district is not currently enforcing. Other parents have just thrown it away. But with the majority of California public school systems hanging by a financial thread, this might not be the time to feel a sense of entitlement toward taking a ski trip whenever the mood strikes. Wait till spring break, or get out your checkbook.

Longer School Days, Better Grades?

JasonAvant — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:16:00 GMT

Ferris Bueller's worst nightmare might be the answer to bad grades and dismal test scores. CNN highlights a new trend - extending the length of the school day. The article reports that on average, students in the U.S. spend less time in the classroom than their counterparts in many other industrialized countries. Programs in Massachusetts and other states increase the number of hours per day that students spend in class, as well as the number of days - some programs have kids in school on Saturdays, and may have their summer vacations shortened. In some cases, students end up spending 50% more time in school than they would in traditional programs.

The argument that giving students more time to study will yield positive results is compelling, but let's face it - not a lot of kids are going to be excited about tacking on another two hours' worth of lectures about the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act. And extending the hours spent in the classroom could cut into after-school sports programs as well as daylight hours that kids could be spending outside at play - an important consideration, considering all of the talk about childhood obesity these days. To combat student boredom and lethargy, schools that extend their hours are offering a variety of non-traditional classes to keep kids engaged. This includes classes that incorporate physical activity, and adding on additional recess time.

I'll admit that I'm on the fence here; as a grown-up, I'm a big fan of work/life balance, and despite the positives, I wonder if longer school days are really a good thing. Yes, getting an education is important, but so too is having some free time. After all, kids will have about 40 to 50 years of sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day to look forward to after graduation.

Why I am Going to Start Forcing My Kids to Watch Sucker Free Sundays

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:42:00 GMT

I was thinking of having my children classically trained on the piano. I remember back when I was in college the kids who could accompany the other music students made a ton of money on the side. A lot of the piano majors were paying for school that way. Then I read this article by Paula Reed Ward in the Post-Gazette.com about a high school kid who won $90,000 by suing his school district.

Anthony Latour writes and records his own rap records. In April of 2005, while he was still in middle school, he was arrested at school and taken away in handcuffs. They expelled the boy due to complaints from the parents of other students who saw his lyrics online and found them threatening.

A lawsuit was filed on his behalf by the ACLU. Latour's attorney, Francis Moore, says that if Anthony had lived in a more urban area this would have never even been an issue. $25,000 will be put into an account that Anthony Latour will not have access to until he turns 18. Moore says that he hopes the high schooler decides to use the money from the settlement for college.

Instead of those piano lessons I am just going to by the kids some nice Eminem cds. Hell, the entire Snoop Dogg catalogue, a nice drum machine and a mixing board has got to be cheaper than four years even at a state college, right?