Western States

Hawaii Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the country, is seeing improvements in the number of students who are college bound. The district attributes the positive numbers to various factors, including their ability to better track student progress in recent years. With more students showing readiness for higher education endeavors after high school, the state is confident it can boost the number of college graduates statewide within the next two decades. What is their secret? It appears a number of factors are contributing to the state’s success.

College and Career Readiness Indicators

The Honolulu Civil Beat reports that recent positive numbers from Hawaii Public Schools can be found in the latest College and Career Readiness Indicators report. The new reports were released by Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education and the Hawaii Department of Education. The reports use a range of metrics to evaluate college readiness for high school students in the state. According to the most recent numbers, it appears students in the Islands are making strides in nearly every indicator.

According to a press release from the Hawaii Department of Education, the recent report included the following findings:

• College Enrollment – the state saw a slight increase in college enrollment, from 53 percent in 2011 to 54 percent in 2012
• College-Level Courses – the number of students enrolling in college-level English and math courses increased by four percent each between 2011 and 2012
• Remedial Courses – the number of students requiring

Desegregation may have occurred decades ago, but some areas of the country are still dealing with segregation to this day. In Texas, thousands of schools are nearly as segregated in 2013 as they were at the time of Brown vs. the Board of Education in 1954. With a rising percentage of minority students in the state, segregation could have serious implications on the future education of Texas students, as well as the readiness of those students to graduate and enter the state’s workforce.

The Rise of Minorities in Texas

The Dallas Morning News reports that segregation issues, coupled with disparities in education affecting schools made up of mostly minority students, could have serious long-term effects on education and economic conditions in the state. The problems are particularly pronounced in the Dallas Independent School District, where just 5 percent of the entire student population is white. Compare that number to the one in 1970, when the district was cited for failing to desegregate schools effectively. White students comprised around 60 percent of the entire student population at that time.

The school board president for Dallas, Lew Blackburn, told the Dallas Morning Star he is concerned about the fact that students are not getting exposed to the racial diversity in their schools that they see in their communities. Blackburn also believes that while he doesn’t know precise reasons for the dwindling number of white students in Dallas schools, he suspects it might be linked to an

Although a federal court has upheld a ban on Mexican-American studies in Tucson Public Schools, students in the large school district is finding ways are finding ways to delve into their own heritage and the history of others that lived in the state. While a judge has called the studies “biased, political and emotionally charged,” some Tucson students have made it clear they will not let the legal system be the final determinant of what they can learn.

Decision on Mexican-American Studies goes to Federal Court

AZ Capitol Times reports that a U.S. District Court in Tucson has issued a ruling upholding the state’s decision to do away with Mexican-American studies in the school system. The Tucson Unified School District voted last year to eliminate the curriculum due after the state cut funding to the program once it determined the studies were in violation of state law. The law in question prohibited any curriculum taught in public schools that “engendered racial or ethnic disharmony,” according to the Capitol Times.

The law does not allow for any curriculum taught in public schools that promotes resentment toward a particular race or is designed primarily for students of a single race or ethnicity. Instead, the state promotes a curriculum that embraces the treatment of people individuals, rather than ethnic solidarity. However, students, teachers, and parents protested the decision to do away with the Mexican-American studies last year, asserting the ban was a violation of free

Texas education has come under fire in recent months for introducing what has become the most controversial curriculum in the country to public school children. Known as CSCOPE, this “instructional material” has become the source of much debate in Texas and nationwide. Is CSCOPE, as some proponents assert, simply a way for state schools to ensure full instruction of the educational standards for Texas? Or is it something more sinister – propaganda to indoctrinate Texas youth in the ways of Muslimism, communism, and terrorism? The answer to those questions may depend on which side of the political aisle you seek your answers.

What is CSCOPE?

The website states CSCOPE is “a comprehensive online curriculum management system.” It was developed by the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC). TESCCC comprises all 20 education service centers in the state, which oversee a particular region of the state. The curriculum framework is designed to align with the standards for all academic areas in accordance with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

CSCOPE was first implemented in Texas classrooms during the 2006-2007 school year. At that time, 182 active districts were using the CSCOPE system. As of last fall, 875 school districts are using CSCOPE in their classrooms. The extensive use of the system throughout the state has also resulted in additional scrutiny from Texas parents, educators and lawmakers, as well as interested parties across the country.

No school district in Texas is required to use CSCOPE.

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 $1 million in one-time grant funding to deserving schools that have showed marked improvement and academic progress. The grants were offered under the new Strive HI awards, with money from a “Race to the Top” federal grant received in 2010.

According to a news release at the Hawaii State Department of Education website, 32 schools received one-time grants of varying amounts. Schools were chosen for the awards based on academic progress over two consecutive years, allowing the hardest working schools to receive additional funding to continue their improvement efforts. Award amounts ranged $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, stated in the news release. “The Strive Hi awards reflect that the department is not only focused on intervention in current priority schools, but also encourages other schools across the islands to keep striving high.”

And the Winners Are…

Hawaii News Now lists the recipients of the $100,000 grants, which include:

• Hilo Intermediate School
• King Intermediate School
• Moanalua Middle School
• Halau Ku Mana Public Charter School (Oahu)

All of these