Local School Topics

At a time when schools are examining standardized test scores for math, reading, and writing, schools in the District of Columbia are assessing their students’ aptitude in another subject – health. Last year, students in D.C. completed the first-ever standardized test on subjects like health, nutrition, and sex education. While some are touting the decision by D.C. to include this assessment, others are wondering why the focus has shifted to health when math and reading scores are still lagging in this school district.

What Was Tested?

The new standardized test was comprised of 50 questions developed by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The test was created in response to a provision in the Healthy Schools Act of 2010, which lawmakers want to use to raise awareness of health-related subjects among D.C. youth. According to DCist, subjects varied somewhat based on the grade level, but included:

• Health and Wellness
• Disease Prevention
• Physical Education
• Safety Skills
• Healthy Decision Making
• Sexuality and Contraception
• Drugs

Parents were allowed to opt-out of allowing their students to answer the questions on sex, contraception, and drugs if they chose. Around five percent of fifth-graders opted out of sex-related questions, while approximately two percent of eighth-graders and high school students did so. The rest of the questions were administered in a similar fashion to any other standardized examination on reading, mathematics, writing, or science. Questions might include subjects like what physical activities are best for improving heart health or how to put out

The city of Philadelphia has appeared to have a type of love-hate relationship with education in recent decades. Burdened by financial woes and hounded by parents, educators, and lawmakers who want to see a higher quality education offered to Philadelphia youth, public schools have seen more than their share of ups and downs. However, problems seem to be coming to a head in the City of Brotherly Love, with a proposal to close nearly 40 schools on the negotiating table. While parents and students protest this proposed move, school officials assert that a budget crisis leaves them with little choice but to downsize.

School Closing Decision Raises Controversy

My Fox Philly reports that the School District of Philadelphia has announced plans to close 36 schools throughout the city. According to the district, the closures and subsequent moves will put schools “on the road to a higher-performing school system that improves academic outcomes for all students and is financially sustainable.” The recommendations for school closures took a number of factors into consideration, including the academic performance of all students, reducing excess capacity, and limiting capital expenses to a more practical level. However, some opponents of the proposal have suggested the decision to close so many schools is all about the bottom line for the district.

“In its bottom line-focused rush to close neighborhood schools, the SRC [School Reform Commission] is turning its back on the parents, students, and communities that will be affected by these closures,” Jerry

The Wake County Public School system is the largest school district in North Carolina and the 16^th largest in the U.S. It serves nearly 150,000 students at its 165 schools throughout Wake County. The district has a relatively short but colorful history, formed amid desegregation in the South that changed the face of public education for the entire country.

The History of Wake County Public Schools

Wake County Public Schools is one of the country's more recently formed school districts, dating back to 1976. The district was formed due to a merger between the Wake County school system and Raleigh Public Schools. During that time, North Carolina schools were in flux, thanks to a Supreme Court decision in 1971 involving the desegregation of North Carolina schools. According to the Carolina Journal, in Swann v. the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, the Supreme Court determined that Charlotte-Mecklenburg must desegregate its schools through forced bussing.

While schools resisted the idea of forced bussing, it became apparent over the next two decades that desegregation improved academic performance and test scores in the affected schools. However, the program was not sustainable over the long term, and increased diversity in the suburbs of North Carolina deemed the act of forced bussing no longer necessary. During the 1990s, the segregation debate was revisited, and in 1999, a federal court struck down the idea of race-conscious student assignment. School zones were restructured, and parental choice became an option in many districts nationwide.

Despite the changes

Prince George Public Schools is the second-largest school district in the state of Maryland and the 18^th largest district in the United States. The diverse student population consists of primarily African-American and Hispanic students, with less than five percent of Caucasian students included in the demographics. The diversity of the student body poses some challenges to the school district, but the adoption of a unique management model has made a positive impact.

What is the Comer School Development Program?

The Comer School Development Program was first created in 1968, in an effort to bring up the quality of education at two failing Connecticut elementary schools. The program was introduced through a partnership between the Yale University Child Study Center and New Haven Public Schools. The two New Haven schools in question were suffering from a variety of serious obstacles at the time, from test scores near rock bottom to staff morale that was just about as low.

The management model introduced a focus on child and adolescent growth, as well as interpersonal relationships. Through a careful integration of collaboration, problem solving and decision-making by consensus, the Comer School Development Program was proven to be effective in improving education quality through improvement of leadership within the public school system.

Three teams are assigned to oversee the Comer School Development Program at each school. Those teams include:

• School Planning and Management Team (SPMT)
• Student Staff and Support Team (SSST)
• Parent Team (PTO , PTSA)

These teams work together through

School districts across the country are grappling with less funding to go around, but one of the largest districts in Florida and the country may have found a solution to its financial woes. The Orange County Public Schools district has launched an aggressive and comprehensive fundraising effort to pump more money into its cash-strapped schools. From Fuel My School to 5K runs, this school district is finding ways to pay for the type of learning experience it wants for its students.

In Search of Money

Orange County Public Schools recently announced ambitious fundraising efforts with a goal of $26 million in sight. According to the Orlando Sentinel, in addition to the fundraising plan, the district has an idea of how they want to spend the money they raise, citing a number of priorities where they would focus funding. Those areas included:

• Addition of a staff nurse to every Orange County school
• Affordable computers for low-income students with their sights set on college
• Tutors for every child who had the lowest scores on standardized state tests
• All-day pre-kindergarten programs for more effective early childhood education
• Literacy programs, including reading clubs for students
• Addition of more STEM opportunities at every grade level
• Additional centers for students requiring a daily location during suspensions
• Expansion of the City Year “Near Peer” mentoring program

While $26 million is the estimate to fully fund all of these programs, district officials are expecting to introduce the funding – and the new and expanded programs –