AltWeeklies Wire
Boner Patrol: A Portland School Bans Hugsnew

West Sylvan Middle School Principal Allison Couch sent a memo to school district officials expressing concern about a hugging epidemic at the school, and on March 10 she issued a campus-wide ban on all hugging.
The Portland Mercury |
Stefan Kamph |
03-25-2010 |
Education
Whatever Jean-Claude Brizard Says, He Risks Offending His Bossnew

We may be debating the wrong issue, Brizard said. The question is not which form of governance is better: a School Board or mayoral control. The real question is will whoever is in charge have the political will to take tough steps to bring about the kind of change that's needed?
City Newspaper |
Tim Louis Macaluso and Mary Anna Towler |
03-18-2010 |
Education
How Portland Teachers Use Your Tax Dollars to Get Aheadnew

Several key details of the contract changed but one ithing did not: How much Portland Public Schools pays its 3,000-plus teachers still depends on just two factors. Neither of which have much, if anything, to do with the quality of their teaching.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
03-17-2010 |
Education
Charting a Course: César Chávez School Starts Down the Road of Reinventionnew
Just before Thanksgiving, the chronically underperforming and hugely popular César Chávez School was fighting for a charter renewal from the Santa Barbara School District despite, at least in the opinion of Superintendent Brian Sarvis, not legally qualifying to do so.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Ethan Stewart |
03-15-2010 |
Education
Hundreds of Monterey County Educators Expect Pink Slips This Monthnew
With education budgets squeezed statewide, Monterey County teachers are bracing for lay-off notices that, by law, districts must send by March 15 if they anticipate downsizing next year.
Monterey County Weekly |
Robin Urevich |
03-11-2010 |
Education
Pros and Cons of a Proposed High School Redesignnew
After more than two years of planning, the Portland School Board voted 5-2 Monday night to approve the broad outlines of a new high-school system for Portland Public Schools. The Superintendent now has 45 days to return with a detailed proposal of the changes she envisions.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
03-10-2010 |
Education
Help For the 'College Capable'new
Anthony Rosado was in the National Honor Society when he graduated from the Rochester City School District. Now a freshman at Monroe Community College, Rosado, a young Latino male, says he knows he's bucking the odds. "I was seeing others around me - my friends - and they made some bad decisions," he says.
City Newspaper |
Tim Louis Macaluso |
03-02-2010 |
Education
As a Statewide Demonstration Looms, Investments by the UC Regents are Scrutinizednew
The Regents of the University of California recently worried that students and workers might engage in acts of civil disobedience because the governing board had raised tuition by 30 percent while continuing to spend hundreds of millions on such projects as a sports stadium retrofit.
Sacramento News & Review |
Peter Byrne |
02-19-2010 |
Education
How Are Schools Handling Truancy? Ask the Kids Smoking Pot Near Campusnew

In the late morning of the first day of the new semester at John O'Connell High School of Technology, two boys stage their finely choreographed escape. While the security guard's back is turned, they scamper out the front door onto the sidewalk.
Study Finds Top Publics Give More Funding to Wealthy Studentsnew

The nation’s top public universities are cushioning the cost of college for those who need it the least. While the University of Virginia has made important progress in minority students’ access to higher education, it lagged behind when it came to enrolling low-income students.
C-Ville Weekly |
Chiara Canzi |
01-27-2010 |
Education
Rich Kid, Poor Kid: Diversity Takes a Backseat in Wake Schoolsnew
If adopted, Wake County Board of Education member John Tedesco's plan would replace the current fluid system of school assignment zones and magnet schools with fixed community boundaries that would be, in all but name, separate districts in a fractured county.
Who Should Control Rochester's Schools?new
Mayor Bob Duffy cites many reasons for wanting control over the city's schools, including decades of low graduation rates and a law that requires the city to dole out $119 million annually with no say in how that money is spent. School Board members tend to bristle at any attempted involvement by the city.
City Newspaper |
Christine Carrie Fien and Tim Louis Macaluso |
01-19-2010 |
Education
Alamo Colleges Set to Resume Debate With Chancellor Bruce Leslienew

After an overwhelming vote of no confidence in Chancellor Bruce Leslie in September, whose unpopularity stems in large part from his attempts to unify the colleges, and a recent meeting on the issue of accreditation, the fight is ready to spill over into the new semester.
San Antonio Current |
Robert J. Pohl |
01-13-2010 |
Education
Learning in Chinese: Mandarin Immersion Takes Root in Bay Area Schoolsnew

Shu Ren, founded in the fall of 2008, is the latest in a growing number of Mandarin bilingual schools that have cropped up in the Bay Area. Most of the programs follow some variation of the "dual language" immersion model.
East Bay Express |
Luke Tsai |
01-06-2010 |
Education
Amid the Detroit Schools Chaos, Who Helps Parents?new

Through her comments on Fox News and elsewhere, Sharlonda Buckman is stirring controversy. And the Detroit Parent Network is poised as an increasingly important player in the turf battles over education in Detroit. With increased importance is likely to come increased scrutiny.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
12-29-2009 |
Education