About Public Schools

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

Most parents would agree that breakfast is essential to a successful school day. The majority have applauded schools' efforts to supply breakfast to children who wouldn't get a morning meal otherwise. However, questions have been raised about the quality of the meals offered, leading some districts to change their breakfast menus.

Going Healthy in D.C.

According to the Washington Post, D.C. schools will be among the first to stop offering sugar-laden cereals and flavored milk in their cafeterias. The milk will change during the summer term, and the schools hope to open their new school year, offering healthier cereal choices to students. DCPS spokeswoman Jennifer Calloway told the Post that the system's "goal for this upcoming school year is to serve cereals with six grams of sugar or less."

Calloway added that the district would be taste-testing a variety of low-sugar alternatives to determine the selections that would be healthy and tantalizing to students' taste buds. According to Better D.C. School Food, the district was notorious for offering sugary selections like Apple Jacks, Raisin Bran, and Pop-Tarts, in addition to flavored milk that contains nearly as much sugar as a can of soda. When kids combine the flavored milk with other sugar-packed selections, they might start their day with as much as 60 grams or 15 teaspoons of sugar – before school begins!

The school district recently hired former restaurateur Jeffrey Mills as Director of Food Services for D.C. Public Schools

Gatorade has long been touted as the sports drink of the American athlete, from the traditional dunking of the pro football coach after a victory to professional NBA players making appearances in Gatorade commercials. Beverages are popular in school vending machines today, particularly since soda has been removed from most of the hallowed halls of secondary academia.

However, if these beverages really good for you, why are more lawmakers pushing to have them banned from school along with the caramel-colored, carbonated counterparts?

Bidding Farewell in California?

According to a recent report in the L.A. Times, the state senate in California and the Assembly's Education Committee recently passed SB1255 to remove Gatorade and other sugar-laden sports drinks from schools. The bill, originally introduced by former bodybuilder and current Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, will next go to the Assembly Health Committee for approval.

Why the attack on seemingly innocent and colorful sports beverages? It turns out these drinks boast a powerful punch of sugar and sodium, which may counter the potential health benefits for most children. Despite the abundance of electrolytes in the formulas, these beverages can also contribute to the obesity problem in this country, and they may even raise the risk of high blood pressure issues in younger patients, thanks to the high sodium content.

This video explains how sports drinks are loaded with sugar that kids just don’t need when they get out and play.

With concerns over the state of our educational system today, it seems there is yet another worry to add to the list: the safety of drinking water in schools. Recent reports of unsafe tap water in school districts across the country are alarming parents and school officials alike. Safeguarding our children's health now involves tuning into the potential dangers lurking in school plumbing systems.

AP Investigation

Late last year, the Associated Press released the findings of an investigation they launched over the safety of school drinking water from coast to coast. This investigation found that contaminants have appeared in drinking water at schools in all 50 states, according to a report on CBS News.

Unfortunately, the problem of safe drinking water has not been properly monitored by the government. This has allowed many school districts to run contaminated water through their systems for years completely unchecked. The responsibility for ensuring safe water is spread thin among a variety of local, state and federal agencies, limiting accountability and consistent standards.

"It's an outrage," Virginia Tech engineer Marc Edwards told CBS. "If a landlord doesn't tell a tenant about lead paint in an apartment, he can go to jail. But we have no system to make people follow the rules to keep school children safe?"

The AP study found the majority of problems were present at schools with wells, which is about 8-11% of the schools across the country. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency also showed

A vegetarian diet isn't one embraced by the majority of Americans today. In fact, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, most Americans exceed the daily amount of recommended protein by a significant amount, with much of it coming from meat and animal products every day. However, many public schools are hoping to change that trend by introducing "Meatless Mondays" to their students and faculty.

According to an article last year by U.S. News and World Report, numerous schools across the country have begun offering vegetarian selections to students on a daily basis. These choices were provided in addition to meat entrees, giving students both diet options. However, Meatless Mondays are a new concept that was recently introduced by Baltimore City Public Schools and is quickly spreading across the nation as other school districts are hopping onboard the vegetarian bandwagon.

This TEDTalk discusses the concept of Meatless Mondays.

Going Meatless in Baltimore

A report in the Washington Post stated the Baltimore City Public Schools launched their Meatless Mondays campaign in October of last year. Instead of the usual fare of hamburgers, pizza and "pigs-in-a-blanket," the schools are providing students with healthy, meatless options like cheese sandwiches, cheese lasagna, and mixed vegetable bowls.

Melissa Mahoney, a chef and dietician with the Baltimore school district, said the idea started as an element of a themed-approach to