Local School Topics

Parents are an integral part of their children’s education, but many parents aren’t sure how to go about helping their kids become successful in school. Miami-Dade Public Schools are committed to equipping parents to help their children become successful, productive students. The Parent Academy features a wealth of learning and resources designed just for parents of school-aged children.

What is the Parent Academy?

The Parent Academy is a unique service offered by Miami-Dade Public Schools, although similar types of services are offered at other large school districts around the country. The “academy” actually consists of a network of courses for adults on child development and education, discipline and even nutrition. There are also numerous resources available through the Parent Academy website, including services for low income families and additional educational opportunities for parents.

According to Neighbors 4 Neighbors, the Parent Academy has a number of goals for bringing parents into the education equation, including:

• Strengthening families through ongoing, relevant education
• Helping parents to become more active in their children’s education
• Support both education and the community at large
• Promote advocacy for stronger public education

To meet those goals, the academy strives to provide a wide range of offerings for parents, most of which are free of charge. The organization is currently supported by a long list of corporate sponsors and depends on additional donations from the community to continue its work.

The Parent Academy in Miami-Dade is particularly relevant because of the demographics of the population in the

The Clark County School District, which encompasses all of Clark County in Nevada, is one of the largest school districts in the United States today. The district includes the city of Las Vegas, as well as North Las Vegas, Mesquite, and Henderson. The district is made up of seven different regions, which includes all of the public schools in the county, as well as a number of alternative schools and a handful of charters.

The History of Clark County School District

Clark County School District was first established in 1956, according to Wikipedia. At that time, the Nevada legislature consolidated state districts into the county district, giving Clark County a single school district rather than the 14 divisions of districts it had held prior to that decision. At the time Clark County School District was established, it boasted an enrollment of right around 20,000 students. Today, the district is home to more than 300,000 and 15,000 teachers.

Much of the growth in Clark County occurred between the last decade of the 20^th century and the first few years of the current century. Growth can be attributed to the rapid development in Las Vegas, which brought many more families into the area. Voters in Nevada had to approve a number of bond issues during this time to accommodate the rapid growth and ensure the school system was able to keep up with the enrollment increases. There was also a high demand for teachers during this time. The

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest school system in California and the second largest in the country. With nearly 700,000 students to serve, it should not be a surprise that this school district faces many challenges on a daily basis. Check out these 10 issues the Los Angeles Unified School District must cope with in order to bring the highest possible quality of education to its thousands of students every day.

Diversity

According to Wikipedia, the student population in the Los Angeles Unified School District is a highly diverse one. The enrollment breakdown consists of 73 percent Hispanic students, 11 percent African-American students, nine percent white students and four percent Asian American students. The diversity of the population presents unique challenges for the district, as it strives to provide the same standards of education to students with broad backgrounds.

Overcrowding

Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District have been traditionally overcrowded, with concerns about the situation dating back decades. In an effort to relieve some of the crowding issues, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) reports that the district has built 130 new school buildings over the past decade for a cost of more than $19 billion. Most notable is the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, which is the most expensive public school built in America. The money invested appears to be paying off, as test scores for students in the less crowded facilities appear to be on

The New York City Department of Education oversees the largest school district in the United States. This system has been responsible for the public schools in all five city boroughs for the past four decades. It is one of the few school systems in the country that is controlled by the city's mayor rather than an appointed school board. In addition to being the largest school network, it is also one of the most segregated in the country, which leads to numerous challenges in ensuring the many students in the system that come from a huge range of backgrounds all receive the same opportunities and education within the city limits.

How it Started

According to Wikipedia, the New York City Department of Education started in 1969. At that time, the mayor of the city, John Lindsay, organized the department of education to oversee high schools, while 32 individual school boards managed all the elementary and middle schools. This system continued in this manner until 2002, when full control of the school system was given to the city's mayor.

The Board of Education became the Panel for Education Policy – an office managed by 12 members appointed by the mayor. The Panel for Education Policy was responsible for 10 regions created by the mayor and took the place of the 32 districts that had been in place previously. Those regions were short-lived, however. In 2007, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, the regions were completely dissolved; instead,

As discussion continues over how to fix Chicago’s troubled school system, one topic remains conspicuously absent from the equation – the truancy trend in Chicago’s youth. A recent investigative report by the Chicago Tribune found that during the previous school year, 32,000 students in the Chicago school system missed four weeks of class or more. Those statistics have many educators concerned since truancy affects students and schools on many different levels.

This video reports on truancy in the Chicago Schools.

The Impact of School Truancy

According to the Advantage Press, truancy can impact students and communities in a variety of ways. Statistics from the newsletter show:

• A recent sampling of Miami court records showed that nearly three-quarters of prosecuted teens had been truants.
• Two-thirds of teens arrested for truancy have also tested positive for drug usage.
• A large portion of violent crimes in San Diego (44%) occurs during school hours.
• Nearly 10 percent of 15-year-olds are truant at least once a week in this country.
• Minneapolis was able to cut daytime crime by more than two-thirds when police began going after truant students.

There is little doubt that truancy impact both students and communities in many negative ways. However, keeping kids in school can be easier said than done – particularly in areas of extreme poverty where parents are more interested in keeping food on the table than keeping kids in school. In