Deputy Education Secretary Anthony W. Miller said that many parents who school-home find U.S. households to be frightening, overwhelming environments for their children, and feel that they are just not conducive to producing well-rounded members of society.
Thousands of mothers and fathers polled in the study also believe that those running American homes cannot be trusted to keep their kids safe.
"Every year more parents are finding that their homes are not equipped to instill the right values in their children," Miller said. "When it comes to important life skills such as proper nutrition, safe sex, and even basic socialization, a growing number of mothers and fathers think it's better to rely on educators to guide and nurture their kids."
According to the report, children raised at home were less likely to receive individual adult attention, and were often subjected to ineffective and wildly inconsistent disciplinary measures. The study also found that many parents expressed concerns that, when at home, their children were being teased and bullied by those older than themselves.
Friday, April 02, 2010
School-Homing?
ouch.
8) SELL SURPLUS ASSETS!
If we aren't using it, sell it.
The Lancaster School district owns old busses that don't run. The district owns tax-foreclosure real estate. We own old furniture. See the piles behind Pleasant Run and Dallas Avenue.
Auction it all off. The cash, at any amount however small, is more useful than the headaches of keeping track of odds and ends of little properties.
The board should direct the superintendent and facilities management branch to prepare a complete list of all capital/ major properties assets. The report should indicate acquisition cost, current value, most recent annual maintenance cost, (if any) and most recent income generated. The board should then decide which if any such properties can be retained. All others should be listed with county auction agencies for disposition sale.
Procedes should be dedicated to rebuilding the cash reserves -- fund balance.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
More spork news WO # 21039
Given a question "Is it legal to charge students on free and reduced lunch .25cent s for a spork, kecthup and ice... ?"
http://twitpic.com/1c7b9q
We now have a reply
From xx@TexasAgriculture.gov>To: jeff.melcher@att.net
Good Morning Mr. Melcher,I just spoke to Thresa Horton Food Service employee in Lancaster school district, the district's policy is if a student wants extra kecthup(given up to three) they are sold at the price of three for 25 cents, there is no charge for a extra spork. There is a charge to teachers if they want to buy extra sporks for their class. Please feel free to contact me at 512 463-1xxx if you have any futher questions.
Work Order No.: 21039
Date Entered: 3/31/2010 5:17:18 PM (GMT-5:00) Central Daylight Time
Date Entered: 3/31/2010 5:17:18 PM (GMT-5:00) Central Daylight Time
Type: COMPLIANCE
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
7) OPEN ENROLL LOCAL STUDENTS!
Students resident in Lancaster itself should not be restricted by elementary school "attendance zones".
Any student from neighboring communities may choose to enroll in any Lancaster ISD campus. Make this policy for locally resident students as well.
Each campus in LISD has unique strengths. Houston Elementary has the newest facility. West Main, the most experienced teaching staff. Pleasant Run has it's wonderful International Baccalaurete program. Lancaster Elementary has the biggest athletic / recreational space. At present, a student is enrolled in a Lancaster school not by choice but by accident of residence. By allowing parents and student freedom to choose among the various schools, all the campuses would benefit from the health competition.
Move learning online?
Katherine Mangu-Ward writes in the Washington Post:
Since the Internet hit the big time in the mid-1990s, Amazon and eBay have changed the way we shop, Google has revolutionized the way we find information, Facebook has superseded other ways to keep track of friends and iTunes has altered how we consume music. But kids remain stuck in analog schools.
How should this change -- if it should at all?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sixty Five Percent -- ish.
The Texas Education Agency has proposed changes to the Financial Accountability Rating System, (FIRST) last week. Changes included deletion of the two indicators related to the 65% instructional expenditure requirement for school districts The proposed changes will apply beginning with the financial data reported for fiscal year 2008-2009 (when ratings are released on or about June 2010). The comment period for the proposed changes will end April 26, 2010.
Oh my, is this disappointing. Many of us have been pleased to see top level support for the notion that a supermajority of the money spent in schools out to be spent in SCHOOLS, not stadiums, administration buildings, and luxury resort hotels or conference centers.
If I'm lucky enough to earn a seat on the Lancaster board, I'll be working to get the budgets set to the 65% rule, whether the FIRST scores improve for the effort, or not.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Robert's Rules are Great
1. Point of Personal Outrage - A participant who becomes upset shall have the right to interrupt the speaker without recognition from the Chair. The interruption must be at a volume at least 20 decibels higher that required for normal conversation
2. Point of Irrelevant Interjection - Irrespective of the motion on the floor, a participant shall have the right to monopolize the meeting for not less than five minutes as he or she expostulates upon a point that is irrelevant. ...
These are NOT officially part of the rules. There might be trustees who believe they are...
A Bill of Rights for Robert's Rules
by Samuel Ellenport1. Point of Personal Outrage - A participant who becomes upset shall have the right to interrupt the speaker without recognition from the Chair. The interruption must be at a volume at least 20 decibels higher that required for normal conversation
2. Point of Irrelevant Interjection - Irrespective of the motion on the floor, a participant shall have the right to monopolize the meeting for not less than five minutes as he or she expostulates upon a point that is irrelevant. ...
More here
Sunday, March 28, 2010
TEA to improve, simplify education rules
Less is more. In the effort to better enforce the rules, there is a critical sub-effort to better evaluate the results and effectiveness of those rules --- and revise or eliminate the rules that don[t help.
I'd think this would be a good opportunity for local boards to push back against unfunded mandates and micromanagerial intrusions.
TEA today article:
Government officials are experts at adding but they rarely know how to subtract. Law and regulations are constantly added but rarely do they eliminate or reduce any. Commissioner of Education Robert Scott thinks it is time for this to change.
That is why he announced that the Texas Education Agency will be reviewing all education regulations known as commissioner rules. These cover a wide range of topics, such as charter school operations, teacher incentive programs, financial accountability ratings systems, various pilot programs and much more. The review will also examine how TEA implemented the rules.
“I am convening a series of stakeholder meetings so I can gather direct feedback from those affected most. I want to know what rules are obsolete or burdensome or just aren’t needed anymore,” Scott said.
State sunset law requires that any rule be reviewed every four years. This formal process will continue, but Scott wants to conduct an informal review this year. “If there are changes or updates that need to be made and that I have the authority to make, I will do so. If those changes require legislative approval, I will present a list of potential changes to the Texas Legislature for review when it next convenes in January 2011,” Scott said.
Please take a look at the commissioner rules located at http:// ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/home/ and provide your thoughts on how we can improve and simplify our regulations. You can send feedback to commissioner@tea.state.tx.us.