Local School Topics

Bullying is, sadly, not an uncommon occurrence in middle schools across the country. However, the decision by a judge in Florida, in response to an extreme incident of bullying, is anything but ordinary. While some applaud the judge’s decision to take strict action against a bullying student, others wonder whether the judge went too far in his ruling. Was the judge fair in this case?

Bullying to the Extreme

The incident in question took place in Duval County, one of the largest school districts in Florida, and in the U.S. A student at Oceanway Middle School, Aria Jewett, was lured away from school grounds by a group of classmates. One of the students, Paris Cannon, allegedly dragged Jewett by the hair and slammed her head into a stone wall. She also slapped and kicked Jewett while Jewett was curled up on the ground in a fetal position.

According to First Coast News, Jewett was taken to the hospital by ambulance after the attack, where she was treated for life-threatening injuries, including a skull fracture and a severe concussion. Jewett also suffered contusions and abrasions to the scalp from the attack. She spent the night in the hospital before she was released to go home and recover.

Friends of Cannon were with the girls at the time of the attack, and one filmed the incident. The video showed Cannon's beating, as well as two other girls in the background, laughing and cheering Cannon on as it

School bus safety has been a concern for Alabama educators since the incident in Dale County left a bus driver dead and a young child held hostage for several days. Montgomery County, one of the largest school districts in the country, is taking steps to make school buses safer by installing special security equipment in their vehicles. A new pilot program allows the county to test the equipment in a few of its buses for free before investing in the security equipment for more of its fleet.

Four Buses Serve as Test Models

AL.com reports that four Montgomery County school buses have been equipped with advanced security equipment as a part of a new pilot program. Bus Guard, a company based in Texas, has installed video equipment into the vehicles that allow it to track events inside the bus and outside traffic. The primary purpose of the surveillance equipment is to identify motorists who illegally pass the bus so that citations may be issued.

Michael Cox, director of transportation for Montgomery Public Schools says loading and unloading pose the greatest danger to students riding the school bus. Cox explained, “We can’t predict what the drivers of cars stopped near buses will do. Students have lost their lives around the state and the nation because a driver of another vehicle was in a hurry and disobeyed the law, passed a bus, and hit and killed a student.”

This video from bus manufacturer Bluebird

Although a federal court has upheld a ban on Mexican-American studies in Tucson Public Schools, students in the large school district is finding ways are finding ways to delve into their own heritage and the history of others that lived in the state. While a judge has called the studies “biased, political and emotionally charged,” some Tucson students have made it clear they will not let the legal system be the final determinant of what they can learn.

Decision on Mexican-American Studies goes to Federal Court

AZ Capitol Times reports that a U.S. District Court in Tucson has issued a ruling upholding the state’s decision to do away with Mexican-American studies in the school system. The Tucson Unified School District voted last year to eliminate the curriculum due after the state cut funding to the program once it determined the studies were in violation of state law. The law in question prohibited any curriculum taught in public schools that “engendered racial or ethnic disharmony,” according to the Capitol Times.

The law does not allow for any curriculum taught in public schools that promotes resentment toward a particular race or is designed primarily for students of a single race or ethnicity. Instead, the state promotes a curriculum that embraces the treatment of people individuals, rather than ethnic solidarity. However, students, teachers, and parents protested the decision to do away with the Mexican-American studies last year, asserting the ban was a violation of free

The cheating scandal recently rocked Atlanta Public Schools has moved up the coast to Philadelphia. This large school district has recently dismissed two school administrators amid serious cheating allegations. Those involved in the investigation into Philadelphia schools have suggested that the two dismissals may not be the end of what looks to be another widespread cheating problem that could impact teachers and administrators throughout the Philadelphia school system.

This video from CBS This Morning reports on four Philadelphia teachers and a principal being charged with a felony for allegedly doctoring state test results.

Principals: The First Casualties in Cheating Investigation

The Notebook reports that two principals in Philadelphia are the first to face dismissal amid cheating accusations. The principals surrendered their city credentials in lieu of discipline by the district. Barbara McCreery worked as the principal at Communication Technology High, a school in Southwest Philadelphia that saw an exponential jump in standardized test scores in 2010. McCreery had recently moved to Bok Technical High School, where she was recently removed from her position as principal due to the cheating allegations.

Lolo Marie O’Rourke, principal at Locke Elementary School in West Philadelphia during the time cheating allegedly occurred, was also stripped of her city credentials. O’Rourke is currently serving as the language arts supervisor in Trenton Public Schools in New Jersey, according to NJ.com.

Texas education has come under fire in recent months for introducing what has become the most controversial curriculum in the country to public school children. Known as CSCOPE, this “instructional material” has become the source of much debate in Texas and nationwide. Is CSCOPE, as some proponents assert, simply a way for state schools to ensure full instruction of the educational standards for Texas? Or is it something more sinister – propaganda to indoctrinate Texas youth in the ways of Muslimism, communism, and terrorism? The answer to those questions may depend on which side of the political aisle you seek your answers.

What is CSCOPE?

The website states CSCOPE is “a comprehensive online curriculum management system.” It was developed by the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC). TESCCC comprises all 20 education service centers in the state, which oversee a particular region of the state. The curriculum framework is designed to align with the standards for all academic areas in accordance with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

CSCOPE was first implemented in Texas classrooms during the 2006-2007 school year. At that time, 182 active districts were using the CSCOPE system. As of last fall, 875 school districts are using CSCOPE in their classrooms. The extensive use of the system throughout the state has also resulted in additional scrutiny from Texas parents, educators and lawmakers, as well as interested parties across the country.

No school district in Texas is required to use CSCOPE. However, many