Dec
25
2008
Best Schools in Houston for Quality Education
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Academic Achievement, Private Schools, Quality Education, Student Teacher, Teacher AreaWith a metropolitan area population of more than five million people, there are many factors to consider when determining precisely where in Houston you want to live. One element that often helps to make the decision is the availability and quality of education. Parents want to place their children in the best schools in Houston in order to give them the highest education possible, giving them a solid base that will enable them to support themselves well as adults. Not only within the wealthier neighborhoods, but also throughout the city, there is a great deal of emphasis on finding elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools that will give young people a great start in life.
Determining which are the best schools in Houston can take into consideration several different factors. For example, the number of students per teacher area wide in Houston is 15:1 (15 to one), whereas the overall student/teacher ratio statewide is 14:1 (14 to one). There are more than half a million students in the Houston area spread over nearly 800 schools, both public and private. Private schools, of which there are 349, have a student/teacher ratio of 7:1 (seven to one). These ratios help parents see at a glance how much individual help their child is likely to receive in the classroom. However, this ratio is not the only factor that goes to determining the best schools in Houston for your family.
Due consideration must also be given to the interests of the child and what the emphasis of the curriculum is for any particular school. For example, a child who is interested in sports should probably be enrolled in a school that features a solid physical education curriculum, but that also stresses the academic achievement that will allow him or her to succeed in life skills or prepare to attend institutions of higher learning.
Officially, various ranking lists are prepared each year to assist in Continue Reading
Mar
04
2008
Special Education Needs Causing Financial Crisis in California Schools
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Alternative Schooling, Anxiety Attacks, Appropriate Public Education, Boarding School, Private SchoolsNow, I am all for special education for children with disabilities. I attended school at a time when such children were either put into “special” schools or thrown in with the general student population to sink or swim on their own. It was a terrible inequity. It finally was addressed in the 1970s with a law designed to correct such discrimination by giving these children the civil right to an equal opportunity to learn. The law covered children from birth to age 22, guaranteeing them the right to a free and “appropriate” public education. It is the ambiguous word “appropriate” written into the law that is creating a crisis for the California schools, according to Nanette Asimov, staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle.
The article cited a situation of one California schools child with a disability. The assigned public middle school offered special college prep classes, daily help from a special education expert, a laptop computer, extra time for tests, the opportunity to temporarily leave class if the child’s had an anxiety attack, and a special advocate to smooth over any problems with teachers.
The parents hired a special consultant instead, who found alternative schooling opportunities — all were private schools and all were out-of-state. They settled on a boarding school in Maine, outside the main city, that had one-tenth of the enrollment of the California schools. The one thing this school did not offer was a special education program. The mother said that smaller classrooms and a smaller campus were more important than a special education program. Since the possibility of anxiety attacks was mentioned in the article, no one can truly judge the merit of this situation except the child’s physician and/or psychologist.
After the child was placed into the private school, the parents then hired an attorney, who specializes in Continue Reading