Sep
27
2008
Florida Schools Flying High On Last Year’s Middle Schools Success
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Daily Basis, Depth Content, Flo, Middle Schools, Youth ExperienceThe 2005-2006 school year was a tremendous success for the Florida schools, especially at the middle school level. The Florida schools’ educators across the state worked hard to improve student academic achievement levels and were rewarded for their efforts. The state of Florida awarded grades of A or B to 75 percent of its public schools. Not only did this show extraordinary progress for the Florida schools, but it also was a new record for the state.
The strongest gains were made in the middle schools. For example, Lake County has nine middle schools. Seven earned a grade of A last year, with the other two earning Bs. One of the B schools missed receiving an A by only one point. Osceola County has ten middle schools of which six earned an A, three earned a B, and one received a C grade.
Middle school is a crucial stage of academic achievement for students. It is the time when students transition from developing the basic skills learned in elementary school to learning how to put them into practice. Here, students begin to learn more in-depth content in order to develop the foundation that is needed in high school. Secondary education then builds on the foundation by digging deeper into the content and using it to help students develop their minds and become well-rounded adults.
If the middle Florida schools do their jobs right, as they did last year, then students will achieve a greater success in high school, be more likely to go on to college, and have a better chance to obtain and excel in a good career.
The major problems facing all middle Florida schools’ educators are the hormonal changes that youth experience at this age and the intense peer pressure students must deal with on a daily basis. These challenges make it easy for middle school students to get off track.
Florida schools’ educators are working hard to divert the students’ Continue Reading
Aug
20
2008
Baltimore Schools Designate Six Schools As Persistently Dangerous With a Warning to Another
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Metro Areas, Middle Schools, Roland, Sexual Assault, W E B DuboisThe federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires that all states report any schools that are considered persistently dangerous. The state of Maryland is only one of six states that have reported having such schools. Some metro areas with similar or worse problems report no dangerous schools at all.
Since each state sets its own suspension limits for reporting, the NCLB provision is inconsistent across the nation with many states ignoring it all together. The state of Maryland, however, takes it seriously with rules that are more stringent than most other states.
A “persistently dangerous” school designation means the school has a high rate of suspensions for serious offenses. These are violations of assault on another student or teacher, bringing a weapon to school, setting a fire at school, or sexual assault of any type.
The six schools designated as dangerous by the Baltimore schools are:
• Calverton, Thurgood Marshall, and Highlandtown Middle Schools — These schools have been considered dangerous by state standards for the past four years, with Highlandtown closing before the fall of 2006.
• Liberal Arts at Walbrook, Dr. Roland N. Patterson Sr. Academy, and Dr. W.E.B. Dubois High School were all added this year.
The Baltimore schools also had six such schools last year. The number of suspensions and expulsions for dangerous offenses declined at five of the six schools, with three dropping off the list for this year.
A dangerous designation is serious for any of the Baltimore schools. Parents with children attending these schools are notified of the situation and given the option to transfer their children to other schools, as long as the transfer is completed before the beginning of the next school year.
The dangerous schools provision in the No Child Left Behind Act does have some Baltimore schools educators Continue Reading