Central States

A whole new type of technology is coming to two of the largest school districts in the country. Both Chicago and Boston Public Schools recently announced they will be adopting the BoomWriter Digital Education Platform to transform public school students of all ages into published authors. BoomWriter allows a classroom to collaborate on a story that will eventually go to print with the students’ names listed as authors of the book.

Adding BoomWriter to the Classroom

According to a press release at the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Public Schools will be introducing the BoomWriter Technology Heroes Program to public school classrooms next year, thanks to funding from Chicago-based CareerBuilder. The district will be able to utilize the technology in grades 3-12, to bring a whole new level of writing instruction and engagement to the classroom.

“The BoomWriter program motivates students,” Brian Donahue, vice president of sales strategy for CareerBuilder, told the Wall Street Journal. “We expect a great deal of excitement as they see their words in print. BoomWriter helps young people develop their writing skills for a rapidly changing, technology driven world. This program is a great way to invest in our community and future workforce.”

Boston Public Schools will also be introducing BoomWriter to students in the upcoming school year. Melissa Dodd, Chief Information Officer for the school district stated in the press release that the addition of BoomWriter coordinates with the district’s goals to promote college and career readiness

Chicago school officials may have made their decision to close 54 of the city’s schools official, but that hasn’t stopped the fight from teachers, students and parents who had direct stake in those schools. As recently as last week, students have staged protests over the closing of their schools, and members of the Chicago Teachers Union continue to make their voices heard through public protests and lawsuits. In the midst of the controversy, new information has surfaced suggesting Chicago Public Schools may not have been as forthcoming with information used to determine school closings as they could have been.

Protests Staged

The Grio reports that dozens of members of the Chicago Teachers Union were recently arrested during three days of protests that culminated in a march on City Hall. Protests began on the South and West sides of the city before the protestors turned their sights on the city’s capitol building. Those doing business at City Hall during the protests had to weave around teacher union members to arrive at the offices they needed. It was when protestors began to block elevator entrances throughout the building that arrests were made on trespassing charges.

Members of the teachers union, as well as parents, students and other in the Chicago community have voiced concerns over school closures. One of the primary worries is over students having to cross gang lines to get to their newly assigned schools. Some school board members have also

Students have found themselves out of school in the small district of Buena Vista in Michigan. Unfortunately, the impromptu vacation in a district made up of mostly minority and low-income students had nothing to do with the up-and-coming summer vacation. Buena Vista students have found themselves without a school to go to because the district has run out of money. Now, teachers are without a job, income, or benefits, and students are left wondering whether they will be able to officially complete their current school year.

A Financial Emergency

According to mLive, parents and students received almost no advance notice that schools in the district would be closing. On May 6, district officials decided to close the schools and lay off all the teachers in the midst of what they called a “financial emergency” under Michigan law. A letter on the district website announced the district-wide closure to parents and students on the morning of May 7, the day the schools closed their doors.

The district states in the letter that it declares a financial emergency under Michigan Public Act 436 of 2012. That financial emergency stems partly from state money the district accepted for funding Wolverine Secure Treatment Center, an alternative high school that is no longer in operation. When the state required the district to pay back the $402,000, it was discovered district officials had already spent the money and did not have funds in the coffers to reimburse the state.

This video

A recent Opens Doors Day by Detroit Public Schools gave parents and students the chance to catch a glimpse of the wide range of schools available in one of the largest school districts in the country. Among other possibilities, this tour featured a unique school in Michigan and one of the only schools of its kind in the U.S. Who would have suspected that a district-wide open house could cumulate into a tour of the city by air – in a private plane used at a high school that prepares students for a career in the aerospace industry?

Future Students in Flight

According to a report at mLive, students who recently visited Davis Aerospace Technical High School as part of their tour of Detroit Public Schools got a welcome surprise. One of the instructors at the school, who also happens to be a pilot, took students and their parents on free airplane rides using one of the small private planes kept at the school for training purposes. The four-seat aircraft was the smallest many of the guests had ever flown in, and the tour of Downtown Detroit from miles above the ground could only be described as “breathtaking.”

Flights took off from a small runway adjacent to the Davis Aerospace Technical High School campus. The pilot of the flights, Captain Miller, is an instructor at Davis, and a veteran of the U.S. Air Forces with more than 35 years of flying experience. Captain Miller

The third largest school district in the country is bracing for the closure of more than 50 schools at the end of the academic year. After months of debate and consideration, Chicago Public Schools have officially announced plans to close 54 schools inside the massive district. Eleven additional schools will be sharing space with other schools nearby. The announcement was greeted by anger, frustration, and even tears by some teachers, parents, and students, but district officials insist the move is necessary to help Chicago Public Schools balance a hurting budget.

This video reports on the impending closure of more than 50 Chicago schools.

Principals, Teachers, and Parents Given Official Closure Notices

The New York Times reports that principals of the schools slated for closure began receiving official notices on March 21. However, district officials remained mum about the plans until the end of that day. That is when Barbara Byrd-Bennett, chief officer for Chicago Public Schools, released a statement saying, “For too long children in certain parts of Chicago have been cheated out of the resources they need to succeed because they are in underutilized, under-resourced schools.”

NBC News reports that while the official closing list will not be released until March 31, parents also began receiving letters from their children’s schools about the closure plans. Most affected schools are located in neighborhoods where a large percentage of the student