10 Challenges For The Los Angeles Unified School District

When it comes to the education of our country’s children, there are many choices today. Whether a child has high academic potential, special needs, or an eye on a career track, schools across the country are ready to answer the call. Take a look at three categories of schools that strive to serve a select segment of our student population today.

Blue Ribbon Schools

In 1982, the Blue Ribbon School program was established by Terry Bell, the Education Secretary at the time. The purpose of the program was to raise the public school system to a new level by recognizing schools across the country that achieved high levels of performance and improvement. Now dubbed the National Blue Ribbon School Program, the system continues to draw attention to outstanding elementary, middle, and high schools in both the public and private sectors.

In order to be eligible for Blue Ribbon status, the Department of Education’s website states that schools must demonstrate one of the following:

• Outstanding academic performance, through standardized assessment test scores in math and reading
• Outstanding improvement in academic performance, again exemplified by state assessments in math and reading

Exemplary improving schools must also demonstrate a student population where at least 40 percent comes from disadvantaged backgrounds. Both public and private schools must follow similar performance criteria, but the nomination process is slightly different between the two. Public schools are nominated by a number of offices, including the Chief State School Officer,

The New York City Department of Education oversees the largest school district in the United States. This system has been responsible for the public schools in all five city boroughs for the past four decades. It is one of the few school systems in the country that is controlled by the city's mayor rather than an appointed school board. In addition to being the largest school network, it is also one of the most segregated in the country, which leads to numerous challenges in ensuring the many students in the system that come from a huge range of backgrounds all receive the same opportunities and education within the city limits.

How it Started

According to Wikipedia, the New York City Department of Education started in 1969. At that time, the mayor of the city, John Lindsay, organized the department of education to oversee high schools, while 32 individual school boards managed all the elementary and middle schools. This system continued in this manner until 2002, when full control of the school system was given to the city's mayor.

The Board of Education became the Panel for Education Policy – an office managed by 12 members appointed by the mayor. The Panel for Education Policy was responsible for 10 regions created by the mayor and took the place of the 32 districts that had been in place previously. Those regions were short-lived, however. In 2007, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, the regions were completely dissolved; instead,

Parent volunteers have long played a vital role in public schools. From serving on the PTA to planning the class party, parents that give of their time, energy, and talents are often responsible for making the public school system what it is for the students. However, few parents who immerse themselves in class volunteer projects realize the far-reaching benefits those few hours provide. Check out these ten ways parental involvement improves school performance for students and schools.

Positive Early Start

Parents are the first teachers which children have, according to a report in the Tahlequah Daily Press. This gives parents the unique opportunity to positively influence students before the first school bell ever rings. By tackling those early learning issues head-on, parents are also better prepared to get involved with their children’s schooling once they head off to public schools.

“There is an obvious difference in children who have participated in activities from an early age,” Susan VanZant, the principal at Greenwood Elementary School in Oklahoma, told the Daily Press. VanZant added that the advantages can continue if parents remain in contact with the teacher throughout their child’s schooling.

“The teacher is always the first go-to person, especially with questions about curriculum,” VanZant explained. Teachers can also be the best contact for questions about discipline, behavior, and social issues unless another school employee is specifically appointed for this purpose. For example, Greenwood

As discussion continues over how to fix Chicago’s troubled school system, one topic remains conspicuously absent from the equation – the truancy trend in Chicago’s youth. A recent investigative report by the Chicago Tribune found that during the previous school year, 32,000 students in the Chicago school system missed four weeks of class or more. Those statistics have many educators concerned since truancy affects students and schools on many different levels.

This video reports on truancy in the Chicago Schools.

The Impact of School Truancy

According to the Advantage Press, truancy can impact students and communities in a variety of ways. Statistics from the newsletter show:

• A recent sampling of Miami court records showed that nearly three-quarters of prosecuted teens had been truants.
• Two-thirds of teens arrested for truancy have also tested positive for drug usage.
• A large portion of violent crimes in San Diego (44%) occurs during school hours.
• Nearly 10 percent of 15-year-olds are truant at least once a week in this country.
• Minneapolis was able to cut daytime crime by more than two-thirds when police began going after truant students.

There is little doubt that truancy impact both students and communities in many negative ways. However, keeping kids in school can be easier said than done – particularly in areas of extreme poverty where parents are more interested in keeping food on the table than keeping kids in school. In