SchoolFinder Blog

Choir Teacher Sued For Kicking Student

July 23, 2008 – 10:01 am by Kim

Whoever said that choir is not a tough, physical extracurricular activity apparently has never been to Mount Miguel High School. This is where 14-year-old Jade Ray is suing her choir teacher for insulting her and kicking her in front of 50 other students. Ironically enough the alleged act of violence and humiliation occurred on Valentine’s Day during a planned choir activity. Jade claims that her teacher, Heather Hargett, would not let her attend the activity because she “looked bad” and was not wearing her choir t-shirt. To make matters worse, Jade asked if the t-shirt really cost $15 and Hargett allegedly responded by calling Jade a “poor, ugly brat”. Then the worst part comes. After the verbal insults, Jade said that her teacher kicked her on her ...

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College Education

July 22, 2008 – 6:42 pm by Brendan

There has been a bit of a discussion lately concerning colleges and some rather large endowments. According to Wikipedia there are about 70 in the U.S. With over one billion in endowments. When we start talking about large amounts of money like this it is inevitable that someone somewhere will complain that they have just too much money. Universities are tax exempt because they are providing education. Does that mean that the government should start dictating what the schools should do with that money? Most universities pride themselves on being independent especially when it comes to activities like research. I would be a bit concerned if anyone started dictating how money should be spent, even if it was on a noble pursuit such as helping ...

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Rising Test Scores

July 22, 2008 – 5:06 am by Brendan

Would you complain if your child finally passed the state standardized tests? Public schools across New York have shown an increase in the percentage of children who have figured out how to pass standardized tests. Some folks of course are claiming it a huge success while others are looking for any excuse to call it a fluke. Richard Mills, New York state education commissioner, finds the results encouraging and exciting. He also claims the gains are the result of schools doing more to monitor improvement throughout the year. Mayor Bloomberg, New York City mayor that is, declared it a “wonderful day for New York”. Personally, I would think that the increases can be contributed to improved education methods, practice, luck, and a bit of teaching to ...

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How to improve reading speeds

July 21, 2008 – 7:01 am by Nick

Teaching yourself and your children to speed read will automatically increase their performance in high school. It is an essential skill to increase productivity that will essential for college. Several free online applications use the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) method to raise the users word per minute (WPM) comprehension. They enable users to suppress subvocalization, during reading, to increase their WPM pace. Speed reading counters laborious word-for-word reading, taught in elementary school. Information retention does not decrease at higher WPM, if practiced often. Pre-reading tips: Eliminate all distractions (including music). Skim through the book or text. Pay attention to diagrams, table of contents, section titles, and summaries. Try to determine the key chapters. Speed Reading tips: Push yourself to read faster. Stop subvocalizing. Stop re-reading passages (back-skipping) and excessive breaks for ...

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Quality Education: Disruptive Technology

July 21, 2008 – 7:01 am by Brendan

Clayton Christensen who coined the term disruptive technology explains to us that disruptive technology is often dismissed by big corporations because it does not reinforce current company goals, only to be blindsided as the technology matures, gains a larger audience and marketshare, and threatens the status quo. So today my question is: Will there be a disruptive technology that shakes up the education world? William Zaggle, CEO of Excelsior (recently bought out by GlobalScholar) seemed to hint that not only would there be a disruption in the nature of education, but that Pinnacle Gradebook and GlobalScholar might be the technology to do so. I have been wondering all week how our technology might be used by the little guys to blindside the established powers in education. If ...

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British Teacher Uses Cupboard As Time-Out Room

July 18, 2008 – 1:44 pm by Kim

A teacher at Avenue Primary School in Clarendon Park, Leicester has apologized for locking a 7-year-old student in a cupboard after he acted out in class. The cupboard is 4-feet-by-4-feet and has no exit and no handle. Unfortunately, this was not the only time Stephanie Tate has used the cupboard as a punishment, and reportedly has placed many students in the make-shift time out room. She has apologized for not informing parents of its use and says that students were only in there for a few minutes. The 7-year-old has been suffering from nightmares since the incident and the school has suspended the use of the room until a review is carried out. To make matters worse, the 7-old-year lives with adoptive parents because he was neglected in ...

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High Gas Prices May Take School Buses Off The Road

July 17, 2008 – 1:05 pm by Kim

The wheels on school buses around the country might not go round and round this year. As fuel prices continue to go up, more and more school districts are shortening bus routes or canceling them all together. On average, school buses get anywhere from 6 miles to 10 miles per gallon and run on diesel fuel. With local diesel prices averaging at $5/gallon, up 35%-40% since last year, schools are looking at dishing out top dollar to bus students to and from school. As a result of these prices, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs. Some are changing bus routes, shortening routes or taking routes out all together. Another option is to use natural gas or other alternative fuels and some are looking into ...

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1 in 4 California students drops out

July 17, 2008 – 6:19 am by Nick

The California Department of Education (CDE) has released a shocking report, revealing that only  a 67.6 percent graduation rate for public high school students in California. The dropout rate is a staggering 24.2 percent. It has increased 10.3 percent over the prior year. State schools chief Jack O'Connell remarked, "I was quite shocked at how many students are falling through the cracks. ... This is a crisis." The CDE  claims that past reports were falsified by schools and districts filing a large portion of students as "transfers" to other schools, rather than dropouts. In 2008, the CDE established a  new student tracking system, which counted  "lost transfers" as dropouts. The new data will lead to greater accountability but several district leaders have blamed the problem on illegal immigrants. ...

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Drug Dogs Will Greet Osseo Students This Fall

July 16, 2008 – 4:20 pm by Kim

Students returning to any of the four Osseo school district high schools this fall can expect to be greeted by drug dogs. The dogs will be taken through the school parking lots to sniff out all student cars.   Initially, searches will be conducted randomly on the four district campuses and depending on results, may continue throughout the school year and expand into the high school and junior high school buildings. The high schools included in this search are Maple Grove Senior High, Osseo Secondary Transition Center, Osseo Senior High and Park Center Senior High. The searches will be conducted as part of a plan to make schools safer and as a deterrent to students considering bringing drugs onto campus. The district school superintendent says that the searches have ...

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Summer School Program Budgets Are Getting The Hack

July 16, 2008 – 10:43 am by Kim

If you haven’t noticed yet, our economy is in a bit of a slump right now. What used to cost me $40 a week in groceries now costs $60 and my friends in the home mortgage business are handing out their resumes left and right. The educational sector has also been affected and some states have had to cut their summer school and enrichment program budgets by 50%. Students across the country have been affected by these cuts, ranging from struggling students to the gifted. Studies have found that students need some sort of educational stimulation over the summer months in order to prevent them from losing ground academically. So cuts to summer programs equates to struggling students in the fall. Bethel, Connecticut has discontinued their kindergarten ...

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