About Public Schools

Although Brown v. Board of Education eliminated school segregation 58 years ago, the idea of bussing students to integrate them more effectively is still going strong in some school districts. Today, the issue is not race as much as it is socioeconomic status—integrating wealthy and low-income students into a diverse student body that performs better academically. Does it work? The answer depends on who asks the question.

In this TED Talk, Kandice Sumner sees the disparity every day in her Boston classroom. In this inspiring talk, she asks us to face the facts and change them.

School Assignments by Socioeconomic Status Not a New Idea

USA Today reported more than two years ago that more than 60 school systems used socioeconomic status as a factor in school assignments. These schools made this decision primarily to improve performance in schools with a high concentration of poverty.

“To the extent that we can eliminate the highest concentrations of poverty, or spread more thinly those concentrations of poverty, I think we make the environment a little less challenging for students and staff to be successful,” Michael Rice, superintendent for Kalamazoo Public Schools in Michigan, told USA Today at the time.

Wake County in North Carolina was one of the first school districts in the country to consider bussing based on income level. In 2000, this school district shifted its bussing policy from one

With technology becoming a major component in all aspects of life today, it should be no surprise that this trend is hitting the public school sector as well. One way that technology is changing the face of education is through how information is distributed – through electronic means, rather than the traditional textbook. While more students are turning to the screen rather than turning pages, the verdict is still out on whether digital textbooks have what it takes to replace traditional books for good.

Defining the Digital Textbook

Students are tossing traditional textbooks with paper pages in favor of looking up their information on the computer, Kindle or iPad. These devices offer the ability to rent digital versions of the same textbooks, which are accessible through any online device. In some cases, digital textbooks can be accessed for free, if they are part of the public domain in cyberspace. Teachers, as a general rule, do not mind if students use the electronic or the traditional model of the textbook, as long as it delivers the same information and students remain focused on the task at hand, rather than surfing the Internet during class time.

“Kids are wired differently these days,” Sheryl R. Abshire, chief technology officer for the Calcasieu Parish School System in Lake Charles, Louisiana, told the New York Times. “They’re digitally nimble. They multitask, transpose and extrapolate. And

In the quest to ensure students are getting all the academic instruction they need throughout the school day, lunch breaks are often the first item to go on the chopping block. Some school districts have cut lunch to just a few minutes, forcing students to wolf down their food as quickly as possible so they can return to their more valuable classroom time. But is sufficient time for a midday meal really as non-essential as some school districts lead parents and students to believe? Some research and anecdotal evidence states otherwise.

A Rising Trend

USA Today reports on recent figures by the School Nutrition Association that show elementary school students have approximately 25 minutes for lunch, while middle and high school students have around 30 minutes. This includes the time it takes to get into the lunchroom, wait in line for a meal and find a place to sit. By the time some children get to their seats and open up their food, their time is down to 15 minutes or less in many cases.

Although shorter lunches have been the trend in U.S. schools since 2009, that has not always been the case. According to USA Today, children were getting up to five additional minutes a day to eat their midday meal than they do currently. In other countries, the contrast is even greater, with countries like France giving children up to two hours to enjoy their lunches in the middle of their school

Montessori education has been around for more than a century, but many parents and students continue to see Montessori as a mystifying approach to education. Montessori was restricted to private schools for many decades, but recently, the approach has been introduced into some public schools as well – often through charter schools specifically established to allow for Montessori teaching. As the process becomes more widespread in public school venues across the country, a study will be launched to examine the impact of Montessori on public school students. Is Montessori the wave of the future for public schools?

What is Montessori?

Montessori education was first started by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1907, according to the Montessori website. Dr. Montessori discovered through her work with children that young students tend to learn best when they are allowed to teach themselves. Based on that observation, Dr. Montessori designed what she called a “prepared environment” that gave children the chance to choose from many different developmentally appropriate activities. These activities gave children the opportunity to learn at their own pace, using real-life experiences that utilized all five of the human senses.

Dr. Montessori’s first “children’s house” in Rome paved the way for an entire movement in the world of education that has gradually made its way across the globe. Today, Montessori education is found throughout the United States as well in private schools, and more recently, public schools. Even homeschooling parents have found ways to incorporate

The International Baccalaureate, also known as IB, is an academic program that has been gaining steam in the United States, as well as globally. What originally began as a curriculum to prepare high school juniors and seniors for postsecondary education has now evolved into a complete curriculum that spans pre-K – grade 12. The focus of the program, as the name suggests, is a global one, providing students with a broader view of their world that goes well beyond the immediate boundaries of their school, state – or even their country.

History of the International Baccalaureate Program

International Baccalaureate began as a non-profit educational foundation in Geneva, Switzerland in 1968. According to the website for the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), the foundation was originally created to provide students with a truly international education, through a common set of pre-college curriculum and examinations. The first IB programs were primarily found in private schools overseas, but eventually grew to encompass public schools as well.

Since its introduction, the IB program has spread to more than 140 countries and 900,000 students worldwide. The first International Baccalaureate program came to the United States in 1974. Today, many U.S. schools offer IB curriculum to students, as educators are beginning to see IB as a way to raise the bar on education standards for students preparing for life after high school. Ralph Cline, IB North American Regional Director, told Education.com, “We double our size every five years.”

IB Philosophy