Six Inner-City Students, One Teacher Aim for China
Lack of exposure to other kinds of people, languages, and ideas is a disadvantage for poor rural and urban students across the country. Inner-city Birmingham is no exception, but six high-school students here are hoping to become exceptional . Thanks to their hard work and the efforts of a first-year teacher, they’re planning to study in China this summer.
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Rural Alabama Students Get 21st Century Skills
Educators from around Alabama traveled to the rural Piedmont school district last week to see firsthand, how it is empowering its students with 21st century skills. Through an initatiave called MPower Piedmont, students in grades 4 through 12 are given their own laptop to use in class and take home.
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Growing STEM In The Southeast
STEM is a growing movement in the Southeast. In Tennessee, education officials hope their program will become the gold standard for the South. But other Southern states are growing their own STEM movements, too.
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After State Takeover, Seniors In Graduation Limbo
In past takeovers, state audits have uncovered discrepancies that have caused some seniors who were expecting to graduate unable to do so. And that has left some students and their parents upset.
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Passing Notes
Friday Reading List: Georgia Releases New “Alert” Schools List
Georgia released its list of schools that need improvement under its new state accountability system; Louisiana’s oldest charter school will be reinvented as a school for at-risk students; and more of the day’s education headlines from around the South.
American Graduate
Ala. Teachers Attend APT’s Town Hall Event To Discuss Dropout Rate
Teachers from across Alabama recently gathered in Birmingham to discuss a troubling statewide trend. According to The Southern Education Foundation, 40 percent of Alabama’s students failed to graduate in 2010. Alabama Public Television is working hard to raise awareness and combat the problem. Through an American Graduate grant, APT hosted a teacher town hall event for teachers to come together to discuss the dropout rate and raise solutions.
Resources
What You Need To Know: School Improvement Grants (SIG)
The School Improvement Grant (SIG) program is a federal grant program created to help low performing schools. SIG grants offer financial incentives to improve schools and foster competition, but they also indirectly inform state and district policy by rewarding those that align programs with federal goals.
Community
Louisiana Community Discusses Childhood Obesity
A small group of Monroe community members discussed challenges around obesity and suggestions for improvement.
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Recent Articles
Ala. Teachers Attend APT’s Town Hall Event To Discuss Dropout Rate
Teachers from across Alabama recently gathered in Birmingham to discuss a troubling statewide trend. According to The Southern Education Foundation, 40 percent of Alabama’s students failed to graduate in 2010. Alabama Public Television is working hard to raise awareness and combat the problem. Through an American Graduate grant, APT hosted a teacher town hall event for teachers to come together to discuss the dropout rate and raise solutions.
Six Inner-City Students, One Teacher Aim for China
Lack of exposure to other kinds of people, languages, and ideas is a disadvantage for poor rural and urban students across the country. Inner-city Birmingham is no exception, but six high-school students here are hoping to become exceptional . Thanks to their hard work and the efforts of a first-year teacher, they’re planning to study in China this summer.
Rural Alabama Students Get 21st Century Skills
Educators from around Alabama traveled to the rural Piedmont school district last week to see firsthand, how it is empowering its students with 21st century skills. Through an initatiave called MPower Piedmont, students in grades 4 through 12 are given their own laptop to use in class and take home.
University Students Struggle With Final Exam Stress
Studies show that exam stress can affect student health and harm academic performance. With final exams taking place at universities across the country, students are trying to succeed without succumbing to stress. Students and educators share their exam week strategies.
Carsen Talks Immigration, Testing, Summer Break & More
There’s a lot happening on the Alabama education beat right now. The state legislature is in its last week, with controversial charter school bills and more hanging in the balance. The Department of Justice is concerned with the lingering effects of Alabama’s immigration law on Latino students, the vast majority of whom are legal. And of course, there are people of all ages doing great things. WBHM’s Tanya Ott interviews SED reporter Dan Carsen in this week’s installment of “All Things Alabama Education.”
Test Scores Count More than Ever in Tennessee
Spring means standardized testing for most public school students. In Tennessee, the TCAP test, an annual assessment of students’ skills at certain grade levels, has an unprecedented impact. TCAP scores will now count in students’ final grades for the school year.
Growing STEM In The Southeast
STEM is a growing movement in the Southeast. In Tennessee, education officials hope their program will become the gold standard for the South. But other Southern states are growing their own STEM movements, too.
Incarcerated Students Prepare for Graduation
The number of young people serving jail time in America has decreased over the past decade. And studies suggest that education plays a major role in helping teenagers avoid recidivism. In June, 16 inmates at Louisiana’s largest youth detention facility will graduate with high school equivalency diplomas.
After State Takeover, Seniors In Graduation Limbo
In past takeovers, state audits have uncovered discrepancies that have caused some seniors who were expecting to graduate unable to do so. And that has left some students and their parents upset.
Teen Birth Rates Remain High in Georgia
For the third straight year, teen birth rates are falling in many states, including Georgia. The numbers come from a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. But the trend is not spreading to many rural counties, and programs created to address the problem have been cut.
What Happened To Charter Schools in Mississippi?
Mississippi won’t see a new charter school law this session. Lawmakers failed to meet a deadline earlier this week to file a compromise bill. Baring a special session, charter school legislation is dead for the year. It was a procedural death that comes with a backstory..
Ala. Students Show Off Technical Skills At Leadership Conference
More than a thousand students from across the state traveled to Birmingham last week to compete in the 2012 SkillsUSA Leadership Conference. Carpentry, electrical technology and cosmetology were just some of the fields students could compete in.
Housing Zones Linked to Student Test Scores
Property development has a direct link to student test scores in public schools, according to a new study by the Brookings Institution. The report says areas with restrictive zoning laws about the type and cost of housing—have wider gaps in school performance. It also means gaps in educational opportunities that can impact a student’s economic future.
No School Choice: Louisiana Special Education
Louisiana’s new “School Choice” law has many parents of special-needs students crying “discrimination.” Although charters are public schools, so far they don’t have a good track record of providing special education services. According to Louisiana Department of Education’s own data, 91 percent of charter schools in the state do not serve students with multiple disabilities
Scholarship Cash Helps Louisiana Students Avoid Debt
New figures show the national student loan debt is creeping toward a trillion dollars. Students are looking for any means to avoid adding to that total. Select students in Louisiana are working toward staying out of debt by qualifying for scholarship money.
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