About Public Schools

While many school districts across the country are tightening their belts with smaller budgets, others are considering a broader range of charter schools to address the specific needs of families in their areas. One type of charter school that has gained plenty of attention in recent years is Hebrew-immersion charter schools that teach Hebrew language and culture without bringing religion into the picture. While many school districts have denied such charter applications, others have signed on for Hebrew-immersion schools that are filling quickly in some areas.

Try, Try Again!

In Bergen County in New Jersey, one Hebrew-immersion charter school is hoping the fourth time is the charm as they once again submit their charter application to the state for approval. The school, Shalom Academy, may get its wish in a year when the current state government is hoping to expand choices in public schools. According to a report at NJ.com, this year might be Shalom's best shot at approval.

The Shalom Academy would serve populations in Englewood and Teaneck, two communities that already each host a charter school. It is estimated that the two current schools would have to reduce their budgets by nearly $3 million to create the money needed to set up and run Shalom Academy.

This video documents how, with their use of taxpayer dollars for Hebrew education, the nation's Hebrew-language charter schools are becoming an increasingly popular choice for Jewish parents.

While the majority of children can work well within the public school system, kids with special needs require additional help to succeed in the academic realm. Unfortunately, not all school districts are equipped to properly handle students with a wide range of needs, and these kids often fall through the cracks without getting the specialized help they desperately need. Fortunately, parents of these kids have legal options when the school system fails.

Failure to Identify Needs

In Wisconsin, a class-action suit is underway to examine how Milwaukee Public Schools answers the call to students with special needs, according to a report in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. The lead plaintiff in this suit, Jamie Stokes, is a 16-year-old who reads at a second-grade level and writes at a third-grade level. The young girl has struggled in school since the age of five, but the district would not agree to test her until Stokes failed first grade for the third time. At that point, the district determined that Stokes suffered from developmental delays and required additional support.

Stokes mother, Kina King, believes that if Stokes had received intervention services earlier, she might be on more solid academic footing today. King told the Journal Sentinel, "If they gave her the help she would have been better, not doing coloring books her sister in kindergarten is doing." Now the MPS is facing the question of compensation for families with students that were not placed in special

Forget the days of "pigs-in-a-blanket" and pizza for lunch. Today's public schools are hopping on the fruits and veggies bandwagon with more salad bars coming to schools this year. The new program, dubbed, "Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools," was kicked off at Riverside Elementary School in Miami, Florida this month, according to Colorlines. Riverside is the first elementary school in the country to enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables the new salad bar offers.

This video explains how to utilize a new school salad bar in a healthy and safe manner.

The Choice of Riverside

Riverside Elementary was chosen to be the first school in this initiative because students in the school have begun growing their own garden, filled with tomatoes, eggplant, and kale, among other delectable selections. It is hoped that the school will harvest its own produce and bring it directly to the salad bar for lunches and snacks. The garden is grown in cement boxes since the school does not have any additional land to use for growing crops.

Many of the Riverside students are also excited about the prospect of a salad bar in their school lunchroom. Luciano Cabrera, 12, told the Scholastic Press Corps, "[Salad bars] are important because they're nutritious and help you and your bones grow." Ashley Battle, 11, added, "[They're important because they make your brain stronger and give you

The CDC estimates that the incidence of childhood obesity has tripled in the last three decades, which makes weight one of the primary factors in children's health today. While school lunches may not be a primary culprit in the rise in obesity numbers, few parents and educators would argue that this daily fare could stand to be improved. One solution has been to add more fresh produce to the school lunch counter – some of which is coming from gardens grown right on school grounds. However, this approach to healthier eating is not without its share of opponents.

The Prevalence of School Gardens

According to a recent report on Mother Earth News, schools around the world are tuning into the many healthy advantages of growing their own fresh produce. Students are assisting with the planting, cultivating and harvesting of crops that they eat right in their own school lunchrooms. Classrooms take turns weeding, fertilizing and coaxing crops along, until the great harvest comes along and school cafeterias get to work finding delicious, healthy ways to use the fruits, vegetables and herbs the students had been growing.

To help schools along the way, the Green School Initiative, the Healthy Schools Initiative, Farm to School and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN offer step-by-step planting guides and information about how to incorporate the growing process into the classroom. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's Guide to Federal Funding for Local and Regional

Today's students must be well versed in much more than the three traditional "Rs" that have carried public education for the past century. In order to compete in the global marketplace, students must also know their way around the most recent technology utilized in the workplace today.

To help students and teachers in achieving that goal, Google Apps is ready to bring technology into the classroom – in real-time, no less. In a recent agreement between Google Apps and a host of states across the country, more and more public schools will see the results of technology in the classroom.

Using Google Docs in the Classroom

According to a recent entry on the Official Google Blog, Google Apps can provide a multitude of uses in today's classroom, including:

• Gmail allows students and teachers to easily communicate with one another
• Docs that give students the opportunity to turn in assignments to the teacher right from the student's own computer
• Sites that give students access to assignments, lesson plans, and research material any time of the day or night
• Groups that provide additional opportunities for students to interact with instructors and classmates online

The addition of Google Apps makes the entire classroom more interactive, as teachers have the ability to coach students throughout the course of their assignments, and students have easy access to ask questions and get feedback. The "anytime, anywhere" access allows students and teachers