Obesity Report Cards: Should Public Schools Issue Fat Grades?

Most adults remember standardized testing, used to assess how well students were learning and retaining the core material taught to them. Today, schools still require students to take assessment tests each year, which serves as a benchmark for the performance of teachers as well as students. However, the assessments conducted today vary from state to state, since it is the state government’s responsibility to develop an appropriate evaluation process for their own schools.

However, state-governed evaluations may soon come to an end. The Obama administration would like to provide national education standards that all states would be required to follow, according to a report on VOANews.com. These national standards would offer continuity in education throughout the country and help students compete more effectively in a global economy, according to proponents of the initiative.

On the other side, opponents assert that more government involvement will not necessarily translate into higher quality education.

Let us delve into both sides of the debate to determine the pros and cons of sending educational assessments to the national level. This video offers a brief explanation.

Introducing Common Core State Standards

To address the issue of standard deviations between states, the Common Core State Standards initiative was established. This state-led effort was coordinated by the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The standards were developed

While most parents are worried about what gets into kids' heads during a typical school day, some are also becoming increasingly concerned about what goes into their stomachs during lunch breaks as well.

Fortunately, national organizations like the School Nutrition Association are researching and providing information on school lunch programs across the country. Each year, the School Nutrition Association chooses one school district as the example for other school lunch programs, both in terms of nutrition and taste. This year, the honor goes to Fairfax County in Virginia, according to a recent report in the Washington Post.

What Does a Healthy School Lunch Look Like?

There are many factors that go into assessing what a healthy school lunch looks like, according to HealthSchoolLunches.org. This organization, founded by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has issued a number of recommended changes that they would like to see in school lunch programs, including:

• Offer vegan or vegetarian dishes daily as an option to other school lunch fare.
• Meet the nutritional needs of all children, including those that are lactose-intolerant, by offering calcium-rich, nondairy beverages at all meals.
• Include a variety of vegetable dishes, as well as fresh and dried fruits.
• Provide programs to teach healthy eating principles to food service staff, parents and students.

In addition to these criteria, the School Nutrition Association also looks at the financial and program management of a school district when determining the award recipients for the year.

Fairfax

Field trips are an excellent way to enhance the learning experience for students, whether taking a trek through a museum or a hike on a nature trail. Most students occasionally relish the change of venue, and they benefit from hands-on training that makes many school subjects come to life.

Parents are usually happy to send kids along, assuming that adequate supervision will be provided to keep kids safe throughout the trip. However, several recent tragic events have forced some school districts to take a second look at the safety of taking students on the road.

Long Beach Nightmare

A seemingly innocent trip to Long Beach for a middle school class at Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, and Engineering turned tragic when one student drowned in rough waters just off the coastline, according to a report in the New York Times.

Erin Bailey, a first-year English teacher and former lifeguard, and her boyfriend Joseph Garnevicus chaperoned the trip, along with Victoria Wong, a 19-year-old college intern who worked there. Assistant Principal Andrew Stillman helped organize the trip and notified parents by email the day before. No permission slips were distributed.

Students reported that no lifeguards were on duty, and signs were posted indicating that swimming was prohibited. Bailey allegedly warned students not to go too far out in the water. Student Nicole Suriel was standing with others in water that reached between her knees and waists when rough waters suddenly carried them out.

Despite their attraction to many parents and educators today, some charter schools have received a bad rap for cherry-picking the best students in the area to provide the schools with top-notch performance scores. However, a number of recent studies have suggested that the students who benefit most from the charter school structure are not the privileged students after all. In fact, many low-income and minority students are also reaping the many advantages charter schools can offer.

What is a Charter School?

A charter school is funded with public money and offers an alternative to traditional public schools. In most cases, a private group of individuals submits a charter for approval, and they are then granted the ability to run their own school in exchange for promising improved academic results. Most charter schools are given a set period of time, ranging from three to five years, to prove themselves as a preferred academic institution. If the charter school does not perform up to expectations, the charter may be pulled and the school closed down.

Charter schools have become a popular option for many parents and students today, primarily due to the alternative choice charters offer. Because the schools have greater influence from teachers and parents, the curriculum can often be structured around the specific needs of the students in the school. This might explain why charter schools are a particularly viable option for students in low-income or high-minority areas, where kids might need a