Local School Topics

Most educators would agree that the proper amount of discipline is essential to a healthy learning environment. However, the means of achieving that discipline has been a debate that has raged for decades. The latest system implemented in Chicago charter schools is no exception. Students in these schools pay a hefty price – quite literally – for even the smallest infractions. And while charter school staff members believe that price has resulted in more orderly classrooms and higher student achievement, some parents and students think it borders on harassment.

The Charge for Rule-Breaking

The Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago has implemented a new discipline program that involves fining students for infractions of all kinds. Last year, when the system was first introduced, the Noble school system collected nearly $190,000 for rule-breaking that ranged from chewing gum to bringing a cell phone into class. The money raised went to pay for the after-school detention program and the dean of discipline position that oversees the program at all the Noble schools.

Students caught with shoes untied or shirts un-tucked, chewing gum, or using cell phones are given demerits for breaking the rules. For example, an untied shoelace is worth one demerit, while cell phone use costs four demerits. Students who receive four demerits in a two-week period are fined $5 and receive after-school detention. If a student gets a total of 12 demerits in a single school year, he must attend a behavior class over the

After an eighteen-month court battle, the city of New York is releasing 18,000 individual teacher rankings to the media and the general public. The ratings, known as Teacher Data Reports, involve 4^th through 8th-grade math and English teachers. The rankings were designed to demonstrate the progress a teacher’s students have made on state standardized tests. The results are based on data compiled since 2007, but this is the first time the information is available to those outside the school system.

Why Rank Teachers?

According to a report in the New York Times, the teacher rankings started out as a pilot program four years ago. The purpose of the program was to provide measurable data that would help improve the instruction at 140 of the city’s schools. The system was created in response to President Obama’s Race to the Top program, according to The Slatest. This federal program allows funding to states for public education, based on federal requirements to turn around low-performing schools.

The rankings have also been used by the city school districts to make decisions about teachers, such as tenure decisions and firings. The rankings were originally designed to be an objective piece of data that would help school districts distinguish between effective and ineffective teachers. The information was not originally intended to move beyond the school system, which is where the data could be used for the benefit of teachers, schools, and students.

This video reports on ranking

Since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, the city of New York has focused on improving dismal high school graduation rates. To that end, Mayor Bloomberg has boasted that the city has seen huge success. However, more recent numbers indicate that graduating students from high school is not enough for the youth of New York City. Now, college readiness has become a concern, and the numbers there are not nearly as encouraging.

Dismal Numbers Indicate Preparation is Lacking

According to a recent report in the New York Times, only one in four New York City students is ready for the rigors of a college curriculum after graduating from high school. Minority students see even lower figures in college readiness after high school. The recent data has many educators and legislators throughout the city up in arms as they realize that graduation rates may not be enough to ensure students leaving New York schools are ready for the job market of the 21^st century.

“The reality today is that a high school degree is not enough for the average student to compete,” City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez told NY1.

Additional data collected by city officials showed the same distressing results – 75 percent of New York high school graduates did not have sufficient Regents and SAT scores to avoid remedial classes in their first year of college. Remedial classes often have a negative impact on college completion rates, since students must use valuable time and tuition

In one of their final actions of the current calendar year, the Fairfax County School Board in Virginia voted to allow schools to install indoor surveillance cameras in their buildings. The request for such cameras became a primary talking point during the first half of this school year after massive food fights and other disciplinary problems came to light. While some parents and school board members argue that surveillance cameras will help to curb some of the behavior issues in schools, others worry that the new cameras will be a flagrant violation of student privacy rights.

An Overview of New School Policy

The Fairfax County School Board’s vote allows schools to install surveillance cameras, but it does not require them. Each school within the county will be able to engage in public discussion between faculty, students, and parents about whether cameras would help or hinder discipline issues. Principals would be responsible for making the final decisions in their own schools, ensuring that each administrator would determine the need for surveillance cameras based on their own unique situations.

If a school decides to install surveillance cameras, they will only be allowed in public venues like cafeterias, hallways, and school lobbies. No school will be required to install surveillance devices, and they will not be allowed in locker rooms, restrooms, or classrooms in the schools that do decide to use them.

According to the Washington Post, the vote occurred earlier in December, with eight board

Churches that have been meeting in public schools in the city of New York in recent years will now have to find a new place to worship, according to a decision by a New York circuit court on an appeal to let churches stay. The decision was prompted by the New York Department of Education, which had sought for many years to have churches removed from their schools, even if the churches in question only met on Sundays, when the schools were closed to students. The controversy in New York has opened up a rather complex can of worms in the ongoing battle between Free Speech and separation of church and state.

The Board of Education and the Ongoing Battle

The question of whether churches should be allowed to meet in public schools is not a new one to the city of New York. For decades there has been a ban against such a practice, through a city regulation that is supported by state law. Many other school districts nationwide currently allow religious groups to meet in schools when school is not in session, so decisions made in this courtroom do not necessarily apply to them at this time. However, as the battle continues, it could be carried over into other school districts across the country, if enough parents begin to protest the practice and seek legal action to end it.

This video offers a look at the landmark cases that have helped defined the role religion