Education
New Plan to lessen dropout crisis
Chicago Tribune – April 22, 2008
In a last-ditch effort to strengthen the No Child Left Behind law, the Bush administration announced Tuesday that it will require schools to make sure low-income and minority students graduate from high school at the same rate as their white and more affluent counterparts. Schools that fail to meet those goals would face sanctions, according to a wide-ranging plan unveiled by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Currently, the law required that schools meet a graduation target for the entire senior class. The new proposal would require that smaller groups of students, broken down by race, income and special-education status, each meet the graduation goals. If any one of the groups fell short, the entire school would be considered failing. The proposed changes represent the most dramatic attempt by the Bush administration to hold high schools accountable for their trouble retaining and properly educating poor and minority students. Recent research has revealed as many as half of all minority students leave high school without ever earning a diploma.
Ga. Program Pays Low-Income Students to Study
NPR – April 22, 2008
Some kids in Fulton, Ga., are earning a paycheck just for doing their homework. A pilot project sponsored by a local foundation is offering a group of low-income students $8 an hour to go to after-school study sessions twice a week. Jackie Cushman, engineer of the Learn and Earn program, said she hopes the money will get the kids into the classroom, but that, once there, they’ll start to enjoy learning. Cushman launched Learn and Earn this year after an Atlanta businessman offered to sponsor it, and Creekside Middle School in Fairburn, Ga., and neighboring Bear Creek Middle School fit the right profile for it. More than 60 percent of the students are considered low-income; more than 90 percent are minorities; and the schools trail district-wide achievement rates by eye-popping margins. The students who participate in the program say it’s helping them, but some educators are troubled by it.
Connecticut Court Considers: What Is A Good Education?
Courant – April 23, 2008
Back in 1965, Bernstien had been largely responsible for crafting an article added to the state constitution guaranteeing “free public elementary and secondary schools.” But on Tuesday, the exact meaning of those words were up for debate as the state Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit challenging the way the state funds education. The lawsuit was brought against the state on behalf of 10 families with children in public schools and the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding, a group of education and municipal organizations. It claims that the state fails to maintain a suitable and substantially equal education system by providing inadequate resources and conditions for education in many school districts, leaving students unprepared for jobs or continuing education and likely politically and socially marginalized. They are seeking a wholesale revision of the way the state funds public education, although the lawsuit does not spell out specifics.
Juvenile Justice
Rising caseloads keep probation officers from involvement in children’s lives
Las Vegas Sun – April 27, 2008
Juvenile probation officers are the Jekylls and Hydes of the legal community, hybrids of cop and social worker, enforcer and buddy. But because of growing caseloads, officers in Clark County are increasingly setting aside much of their social work, causing concerns for judges, probation experts, county officials themselves. Kevin Eppenger is one of them. He took a job with Clark County’s probation department, and he had time to visit at school and in the community. His 70 cases highlight a troubling situation in Clark County. As the number of young delinquents has grown, county staffing levels have not kept pace. The number of juveniles probation officers supervise has swelled from an average of 39 per officer in 2003 to 56 in 2007. Today many officers have more then 70. But the numbers tell only part of the story. The real concern is that fewer troubled youths are getting the attention they need. The effect of those missed opportunities – on the adult criminal justice system, on taxpayers and on victims – is difficult to calculate.
Critics: Proposal to lock up teens wasteful, “punitive”
Palm Beach Post – April 22, 2008
A bill that would give judges the authority to overrule state guidelines and lock teens in state-run detention centers for a wider variety of offenses is sailing through the legislature, despite the concern of critics who warn that taxpayers will have to pick up the tab. The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Adams, R-Oviedo, passed the full House unanimously, and a companion bill is moving through committees in the Senate. It applies to teens who are living at home while waiting to be sentenced for a crime, then violate a juvenile court judge’s orders by breaking curfew, skipping school or acting disrespectful in court. Under current law, judges cannot put teens in detention unless they score enough points on a standard state assessment meant to evaluate whether they are a repeat offender, threat to the public safety or a flight risk. But the bill would give juvenile court judges the power to punish bad behavior by locking teens who aren’t considered a safety risk in a juvenile detention cell. The youths could be held for up to five days for the first offense and 15 more days for a repeat violation. The Children’s Campaign Inc., an organization that lobbies the legislature on children’s issues, has fought the bill, saying it would allow teens to be detained for almost any reason. And some juvenile court judges have concerns about the proposed law.
Foster Care
Care Packages for Foster Youth
Fairfax Times – April 23, 2008
A unique community partnership between two national non-profit groups and a Fortune 500 corporation will benefit thousands of former foster youth striving to succeed in college without family support. Volunteers from the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA), troops from the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital (GSCNC), and employees of Oracle Corporation will join forces on April 25 and 26 at Oracle’s headquarters in Reston, assembling care packages full of Girl Scout cookies and items donated by the business community for thousands of college students aging out of the U.S. foster care system. The event, called CARE & COOKIES, will tap the energy and creative talents of scores of Girl Scouts from the region, who will prepare handmade notecards to accompany a huge quantity of cookie boxes donated by the community to Girl Scout troops and by GSCNC for the unusual outreach effort. OFA stages three care package events each year with business and community partners, assembling more than 7,500 care packages for students who receive college funding through its scholarship programs and/or the Education Training Voucher support it administers.
Program caters to alienated youths
THonline.com - April 25, 2008
A new program aims to give a voice to youths who know what it is like to feel forgotten. “Elevate” seeks out youths in foster care or with group-home residence experience. “The ultimate goal is to give these kids an opportunity to tell their story to the public,” said Lori Frick, with the Iowa Department of Human Services in Dubuque. “It’s a chance for them to become leaders.” Elevate members will be youths 13 and older who have been involved in foster care, adoption or other out-of-home placements. Already established in other Iowa cities, the program has helped educate legislators, foster parents, human services officials, juvenile-justice authorities and members of the public about foster care and adoption from the perspective of the youth. “They will definitely be educators in the community about what it is like to be in foster care.”
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
This Week's News: Youth in Transition
Education
AT&T Giving $100 Million to Fight Dropouts
The New York Times – April 17, 2008
AT&T plans to announce a $100 million gift on Thursday intended to address the problem of high school dropouts and to improve the skills of the nation’s work force. The gift, which will be distributed over four years, is among the largest corporate donations on record, but it is the second $100 million donation announced by a company this year. “We view it like any other investment we make,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive of AT&T Mobility, the company’s wireless operations. “It’s an investment in our future as well as the communities in which we work.” Traditionally, companies have been cautious about spending their money on philanthropy, worried about angering shareholders. Laura Sanford, president of AT&T Foundation, said the company had conducted focus groups last fall with investors to determine how they felt about spending on charity. “We found out that they think it’s required,” Ms. Sanford said. “They’re not going to invest in companies that aren’t socially engaged.”
Black-White Gap Widens Faster for High Achievers
Education Week – April 14, 2008
New research into what is commonly called the black-white “achievement gap” suggests that the students who lost the most ground academically in U.S. public schools may be the brightest African-American children. As black students move through elementary and middle school, these studies show, the test-score gaps that separate them from their better-performing white counterparts grow fastest among the most able students and the most slowly for those who start out with below-average academic skills. The reasons why achievement gaps are wider at the upper end of the achievement scale are still unclear. But some experts believe the patterns have something to do with the fact that African-American children tend to be taught in predominantly black school, where test scores are lower on average, teachers are less experienced, and high-achieving peers are harder to find. The two new working papers, which were presented at last month’s annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New York City, use different test date and research design to tackle that question. Yet both arrive at similar conclusions.
Brockton schools studying education options for older students, drop-outs
Enterprisenews.com – April 18, 2008
Superintendent of Schools Basan Nembirkow is hoping to introduce “twilight school” program as early as next year for older students. “If I can get a $100,000 grant, I can start this program.” Nembirkow said Thursday amid growing concern about older students attending classes with young teens. Twilight school – offering classes in late afternoon and evening – is one of the programs being considered ina study of alternate educational programs to address dropouts, older students and individual needs. But Nemibirkow agrees with other school leaders that traditional settings may not always be the answer. A coalition of social service and workforce development leaders is spearheading the study to tailor programs to fit local needs. Locally, the study is known as Brockton Working for All youth or Brockton’s Way.
Juvenile Justice
Scared straight
WACH - April 16, 2008
Thousands of young people commit crimes in South Carolina. The ones who get busted for things like armed robbery or drugs get locked up for months, sometimes year. Non-violent offenders often go through a different program. According to the Department of Juvenile Justice, more than 8,000 young offenders are on probation, parole or in arbitration programs across the state and nearly 2,000 of them are in DJJ custody. The Department of Juvenile Justice is where barbed wire and fencing surrounds the buildings. The day’s lesson? how to stay out of places like this. These Richland County students are non-violent offenders who misbehaved in school. The idea is to keep them off the wrong road through Project Right Turn, part of DJJ”s arbitration program. 16-year-old Quantavis is talking to these kids, hoping they won’t turn out like him.
Foster Care
Makeovers to turn housing for former foster children into homes
Sun-Sentinel – April 12, 2008
Owned by the state, and adjacent to the South Florida State Hospital, the duplexes have microwave ovens and a washer-dryer in each until. But the furniture, formerly used at the hospital, is more functional than comfortable. Sponsors such as City Furniture are donating new supplies. Wall paintings were donated by disabled artists at the nonprofit Ann Storck Center in Fort Lauderdale. Right now, 12 teens and young adults live in the cluster of one-story duplexes. Most share the $700 monthly rent to the two-bedroom, one-bathroom units. Young adults aging out of foster care “are often a forgotten group,” said volunteer Doug Bartel, and insurance executive and a member of Leadership Broward, the organization leading the makeover project.”You hear about the cute 6-year-old who needs to be adopted. You don’t hear much about a 19-year-old who’s working two jobs.
Lost in the system
The Denver Post – April 13, 2008
Even in a system where most workers do their best, the odds are against them – stacked by a system that is underfunded, widely dysfunctional and inconsistent, and at times seems to operate in a common-sense vacuum. Still, from counties where abuse and neglect suspicions are investigated, to courts that adjudicate those cases, to the foster-care system that is supposed to provide safe havens, Colorado’s child-protection system has one consistent theme: never enough. There are never enough caseworkers, foster parents or adoptive parents. Never enough dollars to treat emotionally damaged kids or provide services to help parents in trouble keep their kids, and almost no money for programs that prevent neglect and abuse. And there is never enough training for anybody. As they await the findings of the state’s current probe, children’s advocates and county officials cling to hope that this time real changes might result.
AT&T Giving $100 Million to Fight Dropouts
The New York Times – April 17, 2008
AT&T plans to announce a $100 million gift on Thursday intended to address the problem of high school dropouts and to improve the skills of the nation’s work force. The gift, which will be distributed over four years, is among the largest corporate donations on record, but it is the second $100 million donation announced by a company this year. “We view it like any other investment we make,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive of AT&T Mobility, the company’s wireless operations. “It’s an investment in our future as well as the communities in which we work.” Traditionally, companies have been cautious about spending their money on philanthropy, worried about angering shareholders. Laura Sanford, president of AT&T Foundation, said the company had conducted focus groups last fall with investors to determine how they felt about spending on charity. “We found out that they think it’s required,” Ms. Sanford said. “They’re not going to invest in companies that aren’t socially engaged.”
Black-White Gap Widens Faster for High Achievers
Education Week – April 14, 2008
New research into what is commonly called the black-white “achievement gap” suggests that the students who lost the most ground academically in U.S. public schools may be the brightest African-American children. As black students move through elementary and middle school, these studies show, the test-score gaps that separate them from their better-performing white counterparts grow fastest among the most able students and the most slowly for those who start out with below-average academic skills. The reasons why achievement gaps are wider at the upper end of the achievement scale are still unclear. But some experts believe the patterns have something to do with the fact that African-American children tend to be taught in predominantly black school, where test scores are lower on average, teachers are less experienced, and high-achieving peers are harder to find. The two new working papers, which were presented at last month’s annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New York City, use different test date and research design to tackle that question. Yet both arrive at similar conclusions.
Brockton schools studying education options for older students, drop-outs
Enterprisenews.com – April 18, 2008
Superintendent of Schools Basan Nembirkow is hoping to introduce “twilight school” program as early as next year for older students. “If I can get a $100,000 grant, I can start this program.” Nembirkow said Thursday amid growing concern about older students attending classes with young teens. Twilight school – offering classes in late afternoon and evening – is one of the programs being considered ina study of alternate educational programs to address dropouts, older students and individual needs. But Nemibirkow agrees with other school leaders that traditional settings may not always be the answer. A coalition of social service and workforce development leaders is spearheading the study to tailor programs to fit local needs. Locally, the study is known as Brockton Working for All youth or Brockton’s Way.
Juvenile Justice
Scared straight
WACH - April 16, 2008
Thousands of young people commit crimes in South Carolina. The ones who get busted for things like armed robbery or drugs get locked up for months, sometimes year. Non-violent offenders often go through a different program. According to the Department of Juvenile Justice, more than 8,000 young offenders are on probation, parole or in arbitration programs across the state and nearly 2,000 of them are in DJJ custody. The Department of Juvenile Justice is where barbed wire and fencing surrounds the buildings. The day’s lesson? how to stay out of places like this. These Richland County students are non-violent offenders who misbehaved in school. The idea is to keep them off the wrong road through Project Right Turn, part of DJJ”s arbitration program. 16-year-old Quantavis is talking to these kids, hoping they won’t turn out like him.
Foster Care
Makeovers to turn housing for former foster children into homes
Sun-Sentinel – April 12, 2008
Owned by the state, and adjacent to the South Florida State Hospital, the duplexes have microwave ovens and a washer-dryer in each until. But the furniture, formerly used at the hospital, is more functional than comfortable. Sponsors such as City Furniture are donating new supplies. Wall paintings were donated by disabled artists at the nonprofit Ann Storck Center in Fort Lauderdale. Right now, 12 teens and young adults live in the cluster of one-story duplexes. Most share the $700 monthly rent to the two-bedroom, one-bathroom units. Young adults aging out of foster care “are often a forgotten group,” said volunteer Doug Bartel, and insurance executive and a member of Leadership Broward, the organization leading the makeover project.”You hear about the cute 6-year-old who needs to be adopted. You don’t hear much about a 19-year-old who’s working two jobs.
Lost in the system
The Denver Post – April 13, 2008
Even in a system where most workers do their best, the odds are against them – stacked by a system that is underfunded, widely dysfunctional and inconsistent, and at times seems to operate in a common-sense vacuum. Still, from counties where abuse and neglect suspicions are investigated, to courts that adjudicate those cases, to the foster-care system that is supposed to provide safe havens, Colorado’s child-protection system has one consistent theme: never enough. There are never enough caseworkers, foster parents or adoptive parents. Never enough dollars to treat emotionally damaged kids or provide services to help parents in trouble keep their kids, and almost no money for programs that prevent neglect and abuse. And there is never enough training for anybody. As they await the findings of the state’s current probe, children’s advocates and county officials cling to hope that this time real changes might result.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
This Week's News: Youth in Transition
Education
Career Program Simulates Real World
WTOK – April 8, 2008
An organization called Jobs for Mississippi Graduates has made lowering the state’s dropout rate its number one goal. Students say they believe it’s working. At a career development conference in Jackson this week, students are entering the “real world” armed with booklets listing a different job and monthly income. They must balance their budget while paying bills, taxes and buying groceries. It’s eye-opening for some, but also a difficult task, made even more difficult if they drop out of high school. Many of these students were in danger of falling short in school, becoming another statistic. Now they look forward to what’s next after they graduate. Teachers known as “job specialists” guide students through a class that’s an hour a day, five days a week. Once in the Jobs for Mississippi Graduates program, 95 percent graduate high school. And lessons go beyond the classroom with community projects and field trips.
Metro Detroit schools coping with surge of homeless children
The Detroit News – April 7, 2008
The 8-year- old is one of growing number of homeless children attending schools throughout Metro Detroit, where the number of children known to have no fixed address has shot up by more than 70 percent in the last three years. The state Department of Education estimates it’s serving about 20,000 homeless students statewide, including 3,540 in Detroit alone. And those are just the children they know about. Experts say many parents are too embarrassed to admit they are homeless, or are afraid to ask for help out of fear their children will be take away and placed in foster care. The problem is mushrooming as more Michigan families face joblessness, home foreclosures and other effects of the state’s dour economy. And homelessness shakes the very foundations of childhood, making it hard for kids to stay in school and interrupting their social, emotional and academic development, experts say. Homelessness also impacts school districts struggling to make ends meet, because federal law requires schools to assist homeless children, which includes those doubling up with relatives, living in homeless shelters or staying in cars on the street. The federal government reimburses some costs, lime backpack and school supplies, but other mandates, like transportation, are unfunded.
Juvenile Justice
Ruling limits juvenile detention
The Miami Herald – April 10, 2008
In a decision that could hasten care to youthful offenders with mental illness, an appeals court ordered the immediate release of a Broward County teen from a juvenile lockup, ruling the boy couldn’t be held indefinitely due to lack of bed space in a treatment program. The boy, identified in an opinion of the Fourth District Court of Appeal Wednesday only as B.N., was declared incompetent to proceed to trial, and ordered into psychiatric treatment by the state Department by the state Department of Children & Families at a specialized North Florida youth camp for alleged delinquents. Under Florida law, juveniles cannot be held in pretrial detention longer than 21 days. Wednesday’s ruling is the first to clearly state that a child cannot be detained past 21 days simply because a treatment bed is unavailable said Diane M. Cuddihy, Broward’s chief assistance public defender. “Persons committed to the custody of the department are entitled to appropriate treatment in an appropriate setting, regardless of the Legislature’s failure to adequately fund DCF,” the petition said. “Our biggest concern is that children linger at the detention center, and there is not a lot of mental health there,” Gonzalez-Levine said.
Clemson youth program receives grant
The Greenville News – April 9, 2008
Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute (YLI) has been awarded $3,000 by the South Carolina Arts Commission for 2008-2009. The support will allow YLI to incorporate arts into its educational curriculum at the W.W. Long Youth Development Center (YDC) in Aiken. The YDC is a partnership program of YLI and the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice, designed to divert nonviolent, low-risk offenders ages 12 to 18 from the state’s Juvenile Justice facility. While serving 30- to 90-day sentences in a residential camp-like setting, juvenile offenders from across the state learn behavior modification and continue their education with unique, hands-on curriculum modules that align with S.C. educational standards.
Foster Care
Foster parents get nights out
Statesman Journal – April 10, 2008
Billed as Foster Parents Night Out, this four-hour stretch of time brought trained volunteers together to play with and care for children. Foster parents, meanwhile, got a well-deserved break. Today, there are seven Foster Parent Nigh Out events held in and around Salem, sponsored by faith communities. Each church sets a regular date and time each month, organizes activities and meals, supports the program financially and finds volunteers. Safety is a priority, of course. DHS runs criminal-background checks on all volunteers and provides a training session that all volunteers must attend. Coordinators say their communities have embraced the program.
County accepts foster youth academic performance grant
The Union-Tribune – April 8, 2008
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to accept a $150,000 grant for a program to monitor the academic performance of foster youth. The money from the Stuart Foundation will allow the county Office of Education to hire six counselors to assist the approximately 3,200 school-age children in foster homes, said Mary Harris, the county’s director of child welfare services. Cox said foster teens can move as many as 10 times while in high school, often changing schools in the process. Besides the emotional trauma, students who frequently move sometimes have to repeat classes, taking them off track for graduation, he said. The program “will increase school attendance and academic performance,” Cox said.
Career Program Simulates Real World
WTOK – April 8, 2008
An organization called Jobs for Mississippi Graduates has made lowering the state’s dropout rate its number one goal. Students say they believe it’s working. At a career development conference in Jackson this week, students are entering the “real world” armed with booklets listing a different job and monthly income. They must balance their budget while paying bills, taxes and buying groceries. It’s eye-opening for some, but also a difficult task, made even more difficult if they drop out of high school. Many of these students were in danger of falling short in school, becoming another statistic. Now they look forward to what’s next after they graduate. Teachers known as “job specialists” guide students through a class that’s an hour a day, five days a week. Once in the Jobs for Mississippi Graduates program, 95 percent graduate high school. And lessons go beyond the classroom with community projects and field trips.
Metro Detroit schools coping with surge of homeless children
The Detroit News – April 7, 2008
The 8-year- old is one of growing number of homeless children attending schools throughout Metro Detroit, where the number of children known to have no fixed address has shot up by more than 70 percent in the last three years. The state Department of Education estimates it’s serving about 20,000 homeless students statewide, including 3,540 in Detroit alone. And those are just the children they know about. Experts say many parents are too embarrassed to admit they are homeless, or are afraid to ask for help out of fear their children will be take away and placed in foster care. The problem is mushrooming as more Michigan families face joblessness, home foreclosures and other effects of the state’s dour economy. And homelessness shakes the very foundations of childhood, making it hard for kids to stay in school and interrupting their social, emotional and academic development, experts say. Homelessness also impacts school districts struggling to make ends meet, because federal law requires schools to assist homeless children, which includes those doubling up with relatives, living in homeless shelters or staying in cars on the street. The federal government reimburses some costs, lime backpack and school supplies, but other mandates, like transportation, are unfunded.
Juvenile Justice
Ruling limits juvenile detention
The Miami Herald – April 10, 2008
In a decision that could hasten care to youthful offenders with mental illness, an appeals court ordered the immediate release of a Broward County teen from a juvenile lockup, ruling the boy couldn’t be held indefinitely due to lack of bed space in a treatment program. The boy, identified in an opinion of the Fourth District Court of Appeal Wednesday only as B.N., was declared incompetent to proceed to trial, and ordered into psychiatric treatment by the state Department by the state Department of Children & Families at a specialized North Florida youth camp for alleged delinquents. Under Florida law, juveniles cannot be held in pretrial detention longer than 21 days. Wednesday’s ruling is the first to clearly state that a child cannot be detained past 21 days simply because a treatment bed is unavailable said Diane M. Cuddihy, Broward’s chief assistance public defender. “Persons committed to the custody of the department are entitled to appropriate treatment in an appropriate setting, regardless of the Legislature’s failure to adequately fund DCF,” the petition said. “Our biggest concern is that children linger at the detention center, and there is not a lot of mental health there,” Gonzalez-Levine said.
Clemson youth program receives grant
The Greenville News – April 9, 2008
Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute (YLI) has been awarded $3,000 by the South Carolina Arts Commission for 2008-2009. The support will allow YLI to incorporate arts into its educational curriculum at the W.W. Long Youth Development Center (YDC) in Aiken. The YDC is a partnership program of YLI and the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice, designed to divert nonviolent, low-risk offenders ages 12 to 18 from the state’s Juvenile Justice facility. While serving 30- to 90-day sentences in a residential camp-like setting, juvenile offenders from across the state learn behavior modification and continue their education with unique, hands-on curriculum modules that align with S.C. educational standards.
Foster Care
Foster parents get nights out
Statesman Journal – April 10, 2008
Billed as Foster Parents Night Out, this four-hour stretch of time brought trained volunteers together to play with and care for children. Foster parents, meanwhile, got a well-deserved break. Today, there are seven Foster Parent Nigh Out events held in and around Salem, sponsored by faith communities. Each church sets a regular date and time each month, organizes activities and meals, supports the program financially and finds volunteers. Safety is a priority, of course. DHS runs criminal-background checks on all volunteers and provides a training session that all volunteers must attend. Coordinators say their communities have embraced the program.
County accepts foster youth academic performance grant
The Union-Tribune – April 8, 2008
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to accept a $150,000 grant for a program to monitor the academic performance of foster youth. The money from the Stuart Foundation will allow the county Office of Education to hire six counselors to assist the approximately 3,200 school-age children in foster homes, said Mary Harris, the county’s director of child welfare services. Cox said foster teens can move as many as 10 times while in high school, often changing schools in the process. Besides the emotional trauma, students who frequently move sometimes have to repeat classes, taking them off track for graduation, he said. The program “will increase school attendance and academic performance,” Cox said.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
This Week's News: Youth in Transition
Education
State promises help with college costs for low-income students
Seattle Post-Intelligencer – March 30, 2008
Washington is stepping in to help low-income students. A new scholarship for low-income middle school students comes with a promise that if grades are kept up through high school – at least 2.0 – the state will pay for college. Children need to keep out of trouble with the law, too – no felonies. The College Bound scholarship is part of a recent string of initiatives by the state and universities trying to usher low-income students into a college education. The state began rolling out registration for the scholarship this year. The only stipulation is students need to be under the free-or-reduced lunch program. Students who enroll must continue to meet low-income criteria when they apply for college admission. The scholarship is based on a program launched in Indiana more than 15 years ago that has proved to be successful in increasing college enrollment. Oklahoma also has a similar scholarship, and California lawmakers have drafted a measure as well, according the National Conference of State Legislatures.
City students less likely to graduate than suburban kids
Los Angeles Times – April 2, 2008
Students in urban public school districts are less likely to graduate from high school than those enrolled in suburban districts in the same metropolitan area, according to research presented Tuesday. The report by the Editorial Projects in Education Research found that about 75% of the students in suburban districts received diplomas, but only 58% of students in urban districts did. The dropout rate of more than a million students each year “is not just a crisis; this is a catastrophe,” said former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, the founding chairman of America’s Promise Alliance, which presented the research. Officials also pointed to the need for community involvement to help urban schools with the problem. Leaders of businesses and faith-based groups were urged to make graduation a priority in discussions with children. The alliance announced plans for dropout prevention summits in every state over the next two years to bring community, school and business leaders together “to develop workable solutions and action plans for improving our nation’s alarming graduation rates.”
Struggling Asians go unnoticed
Chicago Tribune – March 30, 2008
Because many families of Asian heritage are well-educated and have comparative material advantages, and because students in the broad Asian category often perform as well as or better than white students on standardized tests, resources are scarce for Asians who are struggling in public schools. Some educators have begun to call disadvantaged Asians an invisible minority, unseen because their low test scores are masked when lumped with higher achieving counterparts. These students, often from Southeast Asia, go unnoticed for other reasons too. Their numbers are small. There’s a dearth of bilingual programs in their languages, counselors fluent in Asian languages and culture and advocates in general. Few schools can communicate with their parents who don’t speak English. A 2002 U.S. Department of Education study – one of the rare national reports examining Asians by ethnicity – found that Southeast Asians, including Cambodians, Laotians and Hmong have reading and math scores comparable with Latino and African-American students.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile prisons to make changes
The Columbus Dispatch – April 4, 2008
The agency that runs Ohio’s juvenile prisons has agreed to improve mental health and medical treatment for inmates, reduce violence and better rehabilitate youthful offenders. The plan, filed yesterday in federal court, settles a lawsuit against the system. It calls for hiring 115 more guards to cut the ratio of inmates-to-guards and reduce assaults. More mental-health workers will be hired and therapy programs revised to increase the odds that the youths, once out of prison, won’t return. Half of those released from Ohio’s juvenile prisons return within three years. The agreement also calls for sending more young felons to community treatment facilities instead of to one of the state’s eight juvenile prisons. By agreeing to make changes, the juvenile prison system avoids a court battle with a group of child-advocacy lawyers, who sued the prison system, calling it violent and ineffective.
Foster Care
Administrators eye foster youth campus
Sacramento Bee – April 6, 2008
Sacramento educators are talking about a new school especially for foster youth. Their vision is far from reality, but this is what they picture: A college-prep high school with family-like housing, and on-site support services ranging from social workers to psychologists to physicians. “The main point is it gives the kids the stability of staying in the same school for four years,” said David Gordon, superintendent of Sacramento County schools. Some studies show that just half of foster teens make it to graduation day. Gordon wants to change that. Sixty-five percent of adults who have been through foster care switched schools seven or more times during childhood, according to research by Casey Family Programs. Other research shows that teenagers in foster care typically attend six or seven different high schools. Gordon is studying whether the Sacramento County Office of Education can open a boarding school for foster youth modeled after the San Pasqual Academy in San Diego. At that school county agencies cover educational and social welfare services. Private organizations run residential areas and job training programs.
Nonprofit works to mentor youth on way out of foster program
Bowling Green Daily News – April 1, 2008
Bellwood Community Based Services, which provides living assistance and vocational and educational training to youths transitioning from foster care, is developing a mentoring program to help make the transition smoother. The PRIDE Mentor Program will connect people between ages 7-21 who participate in Bellewood’s independent living programs with an adult mentor. The mentors are expected to spend at least four hours of face-to-fact time each month and some weekly telephone contact with the person to whom they have been assigned. Mentors would provide connections to various community resources to help youth aging out of foster care further develop parenting, independent living and vocational skills.
State promises help with college costs for low-income students
Seattle Post-Intelligencer – March 30, 2008
Washington is stepping in to help low-income students. A new scholarship for low-income middle school students comes with a promise that if grades are kept up through high school – at least 2.0 – the state will pay for college. Children need to keep out of trouble with the law, too – no felonies. The College Bound scholarship is part of a recent string of initiatives by the state and universities trying to usher low-income students into a college education. The state began rolling out registration for the scholarship this year. The only stipulation is students need to be under the free-or-reduced lunch program. Students who enroll must continue to meet low-income criteria when they apply for college admission. The scholarship is based on a program launched in Indiana more than 15 years ago that has proved to be successful in increasing college enrollment. Oklahoma also has a similar scholarship, and California lawmakers have drafted a measure as well, according the National Conference of State Legislatures.
City students less likely to graduate than suburban kids
Los Angeles Times – April 2, 2008
Students in urban public school districts are less likely to graduate from high school than those enrolled in suburban districts in the same metropolitan area, according to research presented Tuesday. The report by the Editorial Projects in Education Research found that about 75% of the students in suburban districts received diplomas, but only 58% of students in urban districts did. The dropout rate of more than a million students each year “is not just a crisis; this is a catastrophe,” said former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, the founding chairman of America’s Promise Alliance, which presented the research. Officials also pointed to the need for community involvement to help urban schools with the problem. Leaders of businesses and faith-based groups were urged to make graduation a priority in discussions with children. The alliance announced plans for dropout prevention summits in every state over the next two years to bring community, school and business leaders together “to develop workable solutions and action plans for improving our nation’s alarming graduation rates.”
Struggling Asians go unnoticed
Chicago Tribune – March 30, 2008
Because many families of Asian heritage are well-educated and have comparative material advantages, and because students in the broad Asian category often perform as well as or better than white students on standardized tests, resources are scarce for Asians who are struggling in public schools. Some educators have begun to call disadvantaged Asians an invisible minority, unseen because their low test scores are masked when lumped with higher achieving counterparts. These students, often from Southeast Asia, go unnoticed for other reasons too. Their numbers are small. There’s a dearth of bilingual programs in their languages, counselors fluent in Asian languages and culture and advocates in general. Few schools can communicate with their parents who don’t speak English. A 2002 U.S. Department of Education study – one of the rare national reports examining Asians by ethnicity – found that Southeast Asians, including Cambodians, Laotians and Hmong have reading and math scores comparable with Latino and African-American students.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile prisons to make changes
The Columbus Dispatch – April 4, 2008
The agency that runs Ohio’s juvenile prisons has agreed to improve mental health and medical treatment for inmates, reduce violence and better rehabilitate youthful offenders. The plan, filed yesterday in federal court, settles a lawsuit against the system. It calls for hiring 115 more guards to cut the ratio of inmates-to-guards and reduce assaults. More mental-health workers will be hired and therapy programs revised to increase the odds that the youths, once out of prison, won’t return. Half of those released from Ohio’s juvenile prisons return within three years. The agreement also calls for sending more young felons to community treatment facilities instead of to one of the state’s eight juvenile prisons. By agreeing to make changes, the juvenile prison system avoids a court battle with a group of child-advocacy lawyers, who sued the prison system, calling it violent and ineffective.
Foster Care
Administrators eye foster youth campus
Sacramento Bee – April 6, 2008
Sacramento educators are talking about a new school especially for foster youth. Their vision is far from reality, but this is what they picture: A college-prep high school with family-like housing, and on-site support services ranging from social workers to psychologists to physicians. “The main point is it gives the kids the stability of staying in the same school for four years,” said David Gordon, superintendent of Sacramento County schools. Some studies show that just half of foster teens make it to graduation day. Gordon wants to change that. Sixty-five percent of adults who have been through foster care switched schools seven or more times during childhood, according to research by Casey Family Programs. Other research shows that teenagers in foster care typically attend six or seven different high schools. Gordon is studying whether the Sacramento County Office of Education can open a boarding school for foster youth modeled after the San Pasqual Academy in San Diego. At that school county agencies cover educational and social welfare services. Private organizations run residential areas and job training programs.
Nonprofit works to mentor youth on way out of foster program
Bowling Green Daily News – April 1, 2008
Bellwood Community Based Services, which provides living assistance and vocational and educational training to youths transitioning from foster care, is developing a mentoring program to help make the transition smoother. The PRIDE Mentor Program will connect people between ages 7-21 who participate in Bellewood’s independent living programs with an adult mentor. The mentors are expected to spend at least four hours of face-to-fact time each month and some weekly telephone contact with the person to whom they have been assigned. Mentors would provide connections to various community resources to help youth aging out of foster care further develop parenting, independent living and vocational skills.
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