|
Consultants
Homework
Homework
Study Shows No Increase Except for Ages 6 to 8
Westchester Co., NY – A hot topic among
parents of Westchester County school parents is the amount of
homework their children are doing with complaints from parents
to teachers being common. Yet studies show there has been no
significant increase in homework with one exception. The study
by the Brown Center on Educational Policy, a research institute
at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC said that the
exception to this finding was the homework load of children ages
6 to 8. This is corroborated by a University of Michigan study
that shows that the reported homework in that age group has
increased to 2 hours 8 minutes a week from 52 minutes per seek
between 1981 and 1997.
New York
Times April 18, 2004
School
Discipline
Suspension Rates – Racial Equality
Chicago, IL – There was a two hour meeting
of parents and school staff about the disciplinary practices at
the Oak Park and River Forest High School. Some parents claimed
that black students were punished more harshly than white
students. A school consultant who analyzed the data said that
both races were treated equally. As an example, fighting
resulted in almost the exact same suspension rate for black and
white students – 3.4 days for white students and 3.2 days for
black students.
Chicago
Tribune May 8, 2004
Successful
Schools
Successful Schools Share Attributes
NJ – Rutgers University School of Education
examined middle schools that have consistently been high
performers on State tests to identify why these schools have
scored so well. They are call benchmark schools and the result
of the studies is to find the best practices. There are 28
schools in the State that are identified as a “benchmark”
school. One professor noted that they all are schools that have
scored higher than you would think they would. The researchers
found that in these schools there was a culture of camaraderie
among all members of the school community from the principal to
the janitor; there was flexibility in applying the curriculum
and some schools did not emphasize the tests while others did;
the benchmark schools have effective leaders as principal and
there was support and recognition given to teachers and
students.
http://www.just4kids.org/bestpractice/state_home.cfm?study=new%20jersey
Zero
Tolerance
Zero
Tolerance Examined
Portsmouth, NH – Parents met to discuss the
drug and alcohol policy at the Portsmouth High School and as a
result they asked the School Board for a clear explanation of
zero-tolerance. As pointed out by the State Safe and Drug Free
Schools, Ginny Martin, coordinator there is no agreement on just
what is zero tolerance. She says that schools encounter problems
when there is a no exception policy that strips administrators
of the ability of considering the circumstances of a particular
case. A consultant that advises schools Dr. Richard Curwin is a
critic of zero tolerance and he says that a good policy ought to
include the community, teacher vigilance, pinpointed
identification methods and treatment options. He warns that zero
tolerance often incites rebellion among students. He also says
that to take a student off a team because of drug use is faulty
for being on the team may be the only way of keeping him
straight. He says that before he advises a school, he assesses
how serious a drug problem there is at the school. He noted that
state surveys show 30.6 percent of students in New Hampshire has
used marijuana once or more in 30 days and this suggests there
is a problem.
Seacoastonline April 26, 2004
Principal Idea & Notebook
23 Drydock Ave. | Boston, MA |
02210
Tel. : 877.247.0307
Fax:
800.852.8610
email: henry@omni-pub.com
Copyright© 2004
Henry M.
Quinlan
|