KKK ChickenTenders On School Menu

Mass. school quickly fixes racist typo on menu

Associated Press
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METHUEN, Mass. School officials in a Massachusetts town are apologizing for sending home a lunch menu that listed KKK Chicken Tenders as an option.

About 6,500 students in four Methuen schools went home with new menus Tuesday, a day after the original one mistakenly listed chicken seemingly in the style of the Ku Klux Klan.

Superintendent Judith Scannell tells The Eagle-Tribune the menu was supposed to list KK Chicken Tenders, with the KK standing for a creatively spelled �Krispy, Krunchy,� but an employee mistakenly hit the �K� key one too many times.

Scannell apologized if anyone was offended. The food service director got one complaint.

A student pointed out to WCVB-TV that it there would�ve been no issue if officials just spelled the words correctly, with the letter C.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/02/29/20120229mass-school-quickly-fixes-racist-typo-menu.html#ixzz1nn6ST6wg

 

Police Say TWO Gunmen Are Now In Custody” At Ohio School Shooting 4 Students Shot

 

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott

City releases performance grades for more than 12K city teachers
By YOAV GONEN, BILL SANDERSON and CARL CAMPANILE

Last Updated: 9:26 AM, February 25, 2012

City education officials yesterday released rankings for thousands of fourth- through eighth-grade teachers based on whether they boosted their students’ math and reading scores — giving parents an unprecedented glimpse into how the instructors perform in the classroom.

The release follows a bitter 17-month legal bid by the teachers union to block the city from providing the controversial information to The Post.

The unsuccessful lawsuit came after The Post filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Education in August 2010 seeking the performance rankings.
Three courts sided with The Post and the city in the legal fight.

Teachers were ranked on a scale of zero to 99 as compared with colleagues with similar experience levels and who work in the same grade and subject.

The data show:

* Brooklyn had the most schools with four or more teachers rated in the 90th percentile or above — 42 — followed by The Bronx at 21 and Queens at 16. Manhattan had no schools with that many top-tier teachers, and Staten Island had 1.

* Brooklyn also had the most schools with four or more teachers in the bottom 10 percent — 25 — followed by Queens with 21, The Bronx with 11 and Staten Island with 9. Manhattan had no schools with at least four bottom-tier teachers.

* The A-rated PS 86 in Fordham Manor in The Bronx had 13 teachers rank in the top 10 percent — the most of any school.

* The C-rated PS 89 in Bronxdale in The Bronx had 10 teachers land in the bottom 10 percent — the worst in town.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/letting_parents_know_the_score_v2upiqQYzAvqX17BEbRsNP#ixzz1nPnx39Is

 

Literacy Advocates: Kids Should Start Reading Before Age 5 Written by NewsOne Staff

By Tricia McCarter

In the pediatric waiting room at the HOYA Clinic in Washington, D.C., there is a round, blue, child-size table with four chairs. Against the wall, between two large windows, stands a bookcase with four shelves of books.

This is where medical students read to the children of patients waiting to be seen by a doctor. Kids are also given these books to keep, free of charge, at every wellness visit with their pediatrician.

“We have volunteers in the pediatric room and they read to the patients’ children while they’re waiting to be seen by a doctor,” said Maggie Burke, a second-year medical student at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine and the Education Coordinator at the HOYA Clinic, a student-run facility that sees patients twice a week.

“Our clinic is located in the old D.C. General [Hospital] campus, and it’s now a homeless shelter for families. Most of our patients come from the shelter and they just don’t have a lot of resources, so this is a great opportunity for us to reach out to them with these books,” Burke explained.

To read more on this story, go to theGrio.

CaseClosed2: Children;black children,should began learning to read as soon as possibe instead the focus is on playtime in schools around the country. Social skills are important, but knowing how to read is more important and will decide the success or failure of black children in the future.

 

Why Is This Teacher In The ClassRoom?

White Teacher Sues To Use N-Word In Class Written by TheGrio

By Jay Scott Smith

CHICAGO – A 48-year-old Chicago public school teacher used the “n-word” as part of a lesson on the perils and pitfalls of racism, and it landed him a five-day suspension from his job. The teacher is fighting back, filing a federal lawsuit against the district and claiming that his civil rights have been violated.

Lincoln Brown, a 21-year veteran teacher and native of Chicago’s Hyde Park, used the word in his sixth grade classroom at Murray Language Academy on Oct. 4, 2011 after discovering a note that female student was passing had the slur written on it as apart of some rap lyrics. Brown, who is white, used the note as an opportunity to teach lesson about racism in the context of Huckleberry Finn.

In almost impeccable timing, as soon as Brown said the “n-word,” the school’s principal, George Mason, walked in the room, and the trouble started.

“This cannot be apart of who I am,” Brown said during a press conference with his attorney. “My character has been assassinated.”

CaseClosed2: Schools have a zero tolerance which obviously include teachers and this teacher should have knownhe couldn’t use the N word since ithas been banned. If the teacher didn’t know the N word has been banned he doesn’t keep abreast with the issues of the day so why is he in the classroom?

 

FAME

Activist Helps Our Children Reach Higher Heights Written by Jeff Mays

Constance F. Horton

Place of Residence: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Why she is a local hero: For the last six years, Horton has led the Fund for Advancement of Minorities Through Education (FAME), a Pittsburgh group that pays for minorities to go to high-quality schools, as executive director.

The problems and the solution were related. Greater Pittsburgh had relatively few African Americans in leadership positions, and its high-quality independent schools had very few minority students. Feeling that the two issues were connected, FAME was formed. They started out in the 1994-1995 school year with one scholar each at five different schools. Today, there are 65 scholars at six different schools, and all 76 graduates from the program have gone on to college.

Overseeing that growth has been Horton, who is committed to helping children reach their maximum potential.

“The young men and women who represent this organization never cease to amaze me. Their persistence, work ethic, sense of hope, and sense of humor is inspiring and energizing. I am so proud to be involved in the lives of FAME Scholars and always so excited to share their success with our supporters,” said Horton.

In addition to the number of students FAME serves, services are also offered to current scholars and alumni. Once students get into a preparatory school, they are not on their own. FAME offers tutoring, moral support, and community service opportunities. The kids are also taught leadership skills. It’s all part of an effort to have them understand how community should work.

“It’s important for kids to see people that come from the community they come from that have done what they are doing now,” Horton told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “They need to see that there is a path to success that is very possible for them to take.”

FAME graduates have gone on to Harvard, Temple, and Penn State among other top schools. Hopefully, some will return to their community and find a way to contribute as Horton has.

 

This Should Not Happen Especially In School

Police: 4th grade trio sexually assaulted classmate

Three fourth graders have been charged with sexually assaulting an 8-year-old classmate in the restroom of a West Philadelphia School.
Capt. John Darby, commander of the Special Victims Unit, said the two 10-year-old boys and one 11-year-old were arrested Monday after a three-week investigation.

They have been charged as juveniles with attempted rape, deviant sexual intercourse, unlawful restraint and related offenses, Darby said.

The 8-year-old boy, an advanced student, was sexually assaulted in October in a restroom at Bryant School, 6001 Cedar Ave., officials said.

The boy’s mother notified his teacher on Nov. 5 and the School District and police launched investigations.

The school concluded there had been an incident of bullying and suspended the three boys for five days while police investigated to determine if a sexual assault occurred.

The school in meantime started requiring students going to a restroom to travel in pairs.

A school counselor also met with every class to discuss inappropriate behavior and the importance of reporting incidents to school staff immediately.

The victim has transferred to another school at his mother’s request.

Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20111129_Police__3_4th_graders_sexually_assaulted_classmate.html

CaseClosed2: Children today are being exposed to too many adult situations via tv, movies and the Internet. Fourth grade students should not be attacking girls and raping them.This story shows us something drastic needs to be done before this becomes an every day occurence.

 

I Disagree

There is a growing gap between wealthy and low-income children’s educational success. (Shutterstock)

Rich, Poor Kids Face Widening Education Gap
Achievement divide soars since 1960s, studies say By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

There’s a vast gap in educational success between lower-income and wealthy children, studies say—a divide that has received relatively little attention until now. In recent decades, the achievement gap between rich and poor children has grown as the gap between black and white students has shrunk, the New York Times reports. “We have moved from a society in the 1950s and 1960s, in which race was more consequential than family income, to one today in which family income appears more determinative of educational success than race,” says a Stanford sociologist.

His research suggests that the gap between wealthy and poor students’ standardized test scores has increased 40% since the 1960s. Another study found that that since the late 1980s, the gap between the groups’ college completion rates has grown 50%. And with data ending in 2008, “there’s a good chance the recession may have widened the gap” even further, says the Stanford professor. Among the multitude of reasons for the disparity: Wealthy parents are spending record amounts of time and money on their kids, while lower-income families are increasingly run by a single parent whose time is limited.

CaseClosed2: A lot of money is being spent on poor kids in the inner cities who attend public schools,yet, the schools are failures. The emphasis should be making certain every kid succeeds, but in many cases, parents, or a single parent, doesn’t put as much emphasis on education as do parents who are wealthy. Wealthy parents know what it takes to succeed and they make sure their kids go to good schools which they can afford to send them to. Every school could be a good school if parents, students and faculty put education first and foremost which isn’t being done in the inner city public school systems. Johnny can succed whether he’s rich or poor and it’s up to us to make sure it happens so Johnny has a chance to be rich in his future.

 

Unbelievable!!!

LESSON PANNED: The parents of a Flushing 5-year-old were alarmed by the examples “gun” and “rob” in this spelling homework assignment brought home by their daughter from PS 201

Queens parents horrified over gun in 5-year-old’s homework
By BILL SANDERSON

Last Updated: 10:13 AM, February 9, 2012

Posted: 1:50 AM, February 9, 2012

Spell this homework assignment D-U-M-B.

Two Queens parents were horrified to learn that their 5-year-old daughter’s kindergarten homework included a lesson in street violence.

Takiema Reynolds of Flushing says her daughter Amanda brought home a worksheet this week that had a picture of a gun and a picture of an armed robber.

Beneath the pictures, Amanda had to write out the first letters of the words “gun” and “rob.”

Amanda’s dad, Lawrence Gillman, always helps her with homework — and immediately showed the assignment to Amanda’s mom.

“It was horrible,’’ Reynolds said. “I was totally thrown off when I saw it.”

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/fails_the_spell_test_NzljKYEl9KX9OlT8qo1neM#ixzz1luRuTOdq

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/fails_the_spell_test_NzljKYEl9KX9OlT8qo1neM#ixzz1luRGdULW

 

Revisions In No Child Left Behind Law

In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in Falls Church, Va. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

No Child Left Behind Waiver Granted to 10 States
At least 28 more plan to seek one By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Ten of the first 11 states to apply for a waiver from the controversial No Child Left Behind law will be freed from the law’s requirements by President Obama today, the AP reports. Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee received the waivers; New Mexico’s application was not approved, but it is working with the White House to get the OK. Another 28 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are expected to seek waivers in the future; the heavily populated states of California, Pennsylvania, and Texas are among those that have not yet signaled they will apply.

The waiver releases the states from the law’s strict requirements—including one dictating that all students must be proficient in math and reading by 2014—as long as the states create another viable improvement plan. States without a waiver will continue to be held to the NCLB standards, Arne Duncan said this week. Republicans have accused Obama of overreach in granting the waivers, but the AP notes that there is “widespread bipartisan agreement” that the law needs to be fixed. It came up for renewal in 2007, but efforts to fix it have been hindered by disagreements ever since.