Local School Topics

No Child Left Behind set a lofty goal some years ago that included a minimum graduation rate of 90 percent in every school district across the country. While many school districts have reached or are nearing that goal, one of the largest school districts in the country, Memphis City Schools, still faces a wide chasm of reaching the benchmark.

Memphis Business Journal reports that in 2012, the graduation rate for Memphis City Schools was just 70.3 percent. While this percentage is much higher than the 2009 figure of 62.1 percent, it is still far from that 90 percent. It is also far below the statewide graduation rate of 87.2 percent in 2012.

To help the school district improve graduation rates, several options are now on the table of the Memphis school board. With these choices help or hinder the slow but steady improvements the district has already seen in recent years? The answer may depend on who you ask.

This video reports on improving graduation rates.

Online Schooling to Improve in Memphis

One option Memphis students now have is an online school, which allows students at all levels to work toward their standards at their own pace. However, the only online school in Tennessee currently, Tennessee Virtual Academy, has released its first round of test scores with rather dismal results. According to a recent report in the

One of the largest school districts in the country is revolutionizing the way students learn in the classroom by incorporating technology into the lesson plan. A new program in Mobile County, Alabama, called Bring Your Own Device or BYOD, is creating a fun, interactive way of learning in select classrooms across the district. Teachers, as well as students, are embracing the ability to use technology to enhance the learning experience. As the program takes off, the expectation is that it will spread throughout the entire county by the beginning of the next school year.

How it Works

BYOD is a learning program that allows students to bring smartphones, laptops, reading devices or tablets into the classroom every day. The students then use those devices during lesson plans, for everything from researching a specific topic to taking pop quizzes designed by their classroom teacher. Students use the devices they are already familiar with, allowing them to adapt to the new method of teaching much more quickly.

According to AL.com, the new program has been implemented in a number of pilot schools throughout Mobile County. The program differs significantly from the technology integration taking place in neighboring Baldwin County, which has purchased a laptop for every student in the district. By allowing students to bring their own devices from home, the school district is able to save a significant amount of money without sacrificing the learning experience of the students.

A recent survey cited

One of the largest school districts in Virginia and across the country is in the construction phase of a new high school that may serve as a prototype for public schools in the future. The all-new Kellam High School design for Virginia Beach City has collaborated with school staff, students and community members. The new building will reflect a whole new approach to the education process through architecture and style elements not seen in many other public schools today. The building will replace the old Kellam High School building, which has become too small for the current student population.

Student Competition Results in Courtyard Design

When the superintendent of Virginia Beach City, James G. Merrill, began the planning phase of the new high school, he recruited help from unexpected places. According to Pilot Online, the superintendent sought input from students and teachers at the current school to determine what they thought would make for a more effective learning environment. Six of the classes at Kellam, including five environmental design classes, created designs for the outer courtyard of the school, which incorporated gardens for the school's science and culinary arts programs.

The competition consisted of 140 students on six different teams, each creating their own drawings of what they thought the courtyard should look like. Inform, an architectural design publication, reports that student plans went well beyond the overall look of the gardens. They also designed irrigation systems, rain-water infiltration systems, and an outdoor café.

One of the largest school districts in the country, Boston Public Schools, is joining the rest of the state of Massachusetts to explore the issue of gender identity. A new law passed by the Massachusetts legislature in 2011 has led schools across the state to reassess their gender identity policies to ensure all students in those schools are treated fairly and equally. However, the new law is not without its share of controversy, as not everyone in the state agrees with some of the recommendations made by state lawmakers.

An Act Relative to Gender IdentityMassachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

The new law, titled, “An Act Relative to Gender Identity,” was passed by Massachusetts lawmakers in November, 2011, and went into effect in July, 2012, according to Christian Post. The law adds gender identity to the state’s non-discrimination code. The law also defines gender identity as “a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology or assigned sex at birth.”

Boston.com reports on the results of a 2011 survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which found that more than three-fourths of transgender students had been verbally harassed during the previous school year. More than 32 percent had been physically harassed and nearly 17 percent had been physically assaulted. Numbers on the website for the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition are even higher.

Schools in one of the largest school districts in the country recently celebrated the fruit of their labor, with cash that can be used to further improvements at high-achieving schools. The Hawaii State Department of Education distributed grant funding to deserving schools that showed marked improvement and academic progress. The grants were originally offered under the Strive HI awards initiative, supported in part by federal Race to the Top funding received during the Obama administration.

In 2026, Hawaii public schools continue using school improvement models focused on academic growth, student achievement, attendance, graduation rates, and college and career readiness. The state’s accountability system has evolved significantly since the original Strive HI framework, but the emphasis on rewarding measurable school progress remains. Many districts nationwide are also adopting similar strategies tied to education funding reform, expanded public school improvement strategies, and student achievement initiatives.

According to reports from the Hawaii Department of Education, schools were originally chosen for the awards based on academic progress over consecutive years, allowing hard-working schools to receive additional funding to continue improvement efforts. Award amounts ranged from $12,500 to $100,000 for the highest-performing schools throughout the islands.

“We are proud to be able to financially recognize the hard work of the teachers, students and staff of these schools,” Kathryn Matayoshi, superintendent of Hawaii schools at the time, stated in the original news release. “The Strive HI awards reflect that the department is not only focused on intervention