Education News: February 23, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending February 23, 2007.

Money For Virginia Schools At Stake
(Source: The Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/23/07): Virginia’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction met yesterday with federal officials to discuss how much federal funding will be withdrawn if districts do not test students with limited English proficiency according to the mandates of No Child Left Behind. Districts in Virginia believe the letter of the law predisposes districts to failure because it is so difficult for students with limited English to pass. They have asked the federal government to work with them to solve this problem.

Teen’s Dad Says ‘Anti Muslim’ Literature Handed Out In Class Isn’t Freedom of Speech
(Source: Fox News, 2/23/07): A parent of a ninth-grader at Enloe High School in North Carolina is asking for an apology from the school for allowing an overtly anti-Islamist speaker to indoctrinate students with his values. A representative from Kamil International Ministries Organization, a Christian organization in North Carolina, urged girls against marrying Muslim men and painted Islam in a negative light compared to Christianity during a classroom presentation. No opposing viewpoints were presented.

New Jersey Schools Told to Protect Gay Students
(Source: The New York Times, 2/22/07): New Jersey schools must take measures that are ‘reasonably calculated to end harassment’ in the case of sexual orientation discrimination against students in school. This latest court ruling stems from a suit filed by a homosexual student and his mother, claiming that mistreatment forced the student to transfer schools. The state aims to carry anti-discrimination policy in the workplace into the school system as well.

Admissions Jockeying Starts Earlier in New York
(Source: The New York Times, 2/22/07): Parents of middle schoolers in New York City are often baffled by the complex process of shopping for a school right for their child. Since 2002, the number of small schools has soared exponentially, leaving parents with a growing number of choices to consider. However, as the number of schools increases, criteria for admission evolve and families without financial resources for outside advice feel increasingly disenfranchised.

High School and High Stakes
(Source: The Kansas City Star, 2/21/07): Some parents eager to give their children the best education possible are now packing up their families and moving across the country to school districts where they think their kids will succeed the most. Uprooting families in the quest for better schools is not a common phenomenon, but some families feel that giving their children the best high school education possible is an investment for a lifetime. Others worry that it puts too much pressure on students to become a great success.

Minneapolis Prescription: Close Schools
(Source: The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 2/20/07): The classrooms of Minneapolis are currently operating at less than two-thirds of their 50,000-student capacity. Movement to the suburbs and increased school choice have had a negative impact on student population size in certain areas of the school district. Now, the school board and school administrators are working to create a timeline for school closures, promising parents a say in the process.

Committee Debates Cancer Vaccine Plan
(Source: The Houston Chronicle, 2/20/07): The debate over the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, is raging in the Texas House Public Health Committee. Those who support Governor Perry’s mandate that all sixth grade girls get the vaccine believe it is morally incumbent to enforce it. Those who oppose it cite the governor’s ties with Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil, and the high cost of the vaccine. Others believe that the governor does not have the power to enforce such a mandate.

Inmates Are Students In Vermont’s Unique Rehab Program
(Source: CNN, 2/19/07): Community High School in Vermont mobilizes volunteers and paid employees to teach inmates who have not received their high school diploma. In the process, students work to fulfill the statewide requirements for graduation. Successful completion of the program gives many inmates a new outlook on their life and their future potential.