AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2005 > August
August 2005
Dress Code for Teachers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former DeKalb County Superintendent Johnny Brown instituted a dress code for students that included a flexible “uniform” of a school’s chosen colors. The idea didn’t have enough parent support to succeed.
Current Superintendent Crawford Lewis said he doesn’t care what colors kids wear to school, though they must tuck in their shirts and wear their pants around their waists.
Lewis is more passionate about how teachers dress. When he visited schools over the summer, he said some looked like they were “dressed for the beach.” He wants them to dress professionally, setting a good example for students. He’s not requiring men to wear ties, but he is insisting on dress shirts. He probably wouldn’t approve of this Gwinnett County teacher who wears flip flops.
Should school districts have a dress code for teachers?
On another note: I am extremely sorry for the inappropriate comments that were posted Tuesday and Wednesday under the SAT post. It is my job to monitor the blog, but on Tuesday I was busy reporting the SAT story. On Wednesday, I was in training all day. (Yes, reporters have staff development, too.) I considered locking the comments portion, but I decided against it. That was a mistake, and I’m sorry.
SAT Results: Shame on Georgia and the U.S.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s tied with South Carolina for last place on SAT averages this year, but that isn’t a fact that strikes me any more. We’ve been swapping places with S.C. for years. This year, both states averaged 993. For Georgia, that’s a six-point improvement over last year, though far below the national average of 1028.
No state did worse than us in math (though bear in mind that students in states such as Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee favor the rival ACT). Three states - South Carolina, Texas and Hawaii - did worse than us on verbal. (Texas miracle, anyone?)
What grabbed me by the throat in this data, released this morning by the College Board, overseer of the SAT, is the striking disparity between black and white students. This is not a new problem, but in the past I’ve been more fixated on Georgia’s overall score relative to other states with similar participation. (75 percent in Georgia)
This year, Georgia’s black students averaged 864 on the SAT, which is the same as the national average. White students averaged 1044, which is less than the national average of 1068. Hmmmm…
Far as I’m concerned, the poor performance of African-American students, in Georgia and nationally is way more disturbing than our state being tied for last place. Consider the African-American average in a vacuum: 864. Half the kids scores worse than that. How many of those kids are going to make it through their freshman year?
Thoughts?
Paying for Schools at the Cash Register
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Who wants to pay for schools this way? According to this story, lots of Georgians favor the idea of raising sales tax to fund schools and eliminating property taxes for schools.
The idea is that the burden of funding schools would be spread across the population, as everyone buys a gallon of milk but not everyone owns property. (Renters still pay property taxes as part of their rent, right?)
Proponents say the shift to sales tax would offer homeowners much-needed relief. Low interest rates have allowed many middle-class Georgians to buy homes, but such families often struggle to pay the mortgage. Also, soaring home values have sent taxes soaring for long-time residents whose children are grown.
Opponents say the sales tax unfairly burdens poor people by taxing them on necessities they purchase. The tax could include all purchases such as groceries.
School systems seem generally opposed, fearing they wouldn’t get enough revenue to fund schools.
I love this quote from a lawmaker that property tax is the most hated tax in the state. Who likes taxes of any kind? My property tax bill is paid by the mortgage company using funds from my escrow, so in that way it’s less painful than the ad velorem, which manages to come due just after a major, unexpected home expense.
What do you think? Is a tax a tax, or do you prefer one over the other? Would the sales tax put kids at risk of not getting the things they need at school?
School Crime & You
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Update: Here’s some info on the South Atlanta High School brawl a poster refers to…
According to this story, a federal audit found Gwinnett County, City of Atlanta and Houston County underreported crime in their schools.
The AJC broke this story a couple of years ago based on an analysis by our database editor that showed Gwinnett and Atlanta were underreporting, based on their populations and crime reports of other districts.
This audit found no evidence that the underreporting was intentional. It’s easy to see why school officials would be less than motivated to report crime. Not only do you run the risk of being labeled unsafe under No Child Left Behind, the data is widely available. Many parents simply will not send their kids to a school they think is unsafe.
A major concern with incident reporting is consistency from school to school. Fights in the cafeteria…Students threatening teachers…a punch in the face on the school bus… How much is getting reported, and how easy is it to look the other way? Another concern is in-house police departments vs. the local police. Sometimes it’s hard to get information on a crime when we don’t know what agency handled it.
Parents, what do you want in terms of school safety reports? Teachers and students, do you think crime is less of a problem than parents think it is?
THIS BOOK HAS BEEN CLAIMED! STAY TUNED FOR MORE GIVEAWAYS! Friday Book Giveaway: “Read Right! Coaching Your Child to Excellence in Reading,” is published by McGraw Hill and says it’s “perfect for ages 1 to 10.” It’s a large-print book with lots of tips and anecdotes. The first person to e-mail me at pghezzi@ajc.com requesting this book gets it.
Has the Accountability Grinch Stolen Pre-K
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A left coast columnist wrote recently about her take on her child’s pre-k experience (sorry I can’t find the link…). She was disappointed in the lack of fun. She found the program too structured and too academic.
I know kindergarten is the new first grade, so shouldn’t pre-k be the new kindergarten? I have observed many pre-k programs over the years and for the most part the kids appeared to be having a ball. Yes, they still get to play. But it’s true the programs are structured and focused on acquisition of skills. Gotta be ready for kindergarten, which is what first grade used to be.
Some educators and parents are worried that such structured pre-k programs try too hard to make all kids developmentally equal, something that’s impossible to achieve when some kids have just turned 3 and others are on the cusp of turning 5. There’s a wide range among 4-year-olds. They won’t all be able to do the same things at exactly the same time.
Parents of pre-k kids, are they having enough fun? Is the program overly focused on checking off educational accomplishments? Teachers, is this a legitimate concern?
Reading Logs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What are they? Love them? Hate them?
The 25 Book Challenge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s revised curriculum says kids need to read 25 books a year. Here’s at story about a Gwinnett County high school trying to get kids to enjoy reading so the task won’t be such a grind.
Parents of high school and middle school kids, how many books a year does your child read? What are your strategies for getting your kid to read more? And the common parent dilemma, how to you handle junk-food reading? Do you encourage it because at least your child is reading? How do you put some more substance in the diet?
Helping Black Men Graduate from College
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s a story about a program at a Georgia college to keep their black male students on track. The students are living together in a part of their dorm, so they will have each other for support.
The reasons so few black males make it to college are varied and complicated, but the outcome is stark when you drive past a bus stop at UGA. You see mostly white women, some white men, a few black women and most likely not a single black male.
Will a program like this, focused on support, help keep these students in college? What else can be done to help more black men graduate with college degrees?
Academy of Lithonia: Give it a Read
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I would appreciate anyone who has the time to read this story about the Academy of Lithonia charter school’s feud with the state and DeKalb County. I welcome feedback on any story, but on this one in particular, I’m interested in what Get Schooled readers think about the situation.
Friday Book Giveaway: I have “Straight Talk about Reading” by Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats and a 1998 book by Jay Mathews called “Class Struggle,” which is about his now rather famous formula of ranking high schools based on percent of kids in A.P. courses. Shoot me an e-mail at pghezzi@ajc.com and let me know which book you want. First come, first served.
Have a safe weekend, everybody!
Wise Wanda, meet Prickly Paul
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Teachers, do you see yourself in any of these characters? Parents, do you recognize your child’s teacher?
Should Joe Go
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Should Cobb County Superintendent Joseph Redden lose his job over the laptop computer fiasco? Read stories here, here and here.
Homework: Too Much, Too Little
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve heard parents complain that their kids have too much homework. I’ve heard parents complain their kids don’t have any homework. I’ve heard parents complain their kids’ homework is mindless busy work. I’ve heard parents complain that their kids’ homework is too complicated, requiring too much input from Mom and Dad.
Can teachers win this one? What’s the right amount of homework? (I’ve heard ten minutes per night, per grade, so 40 minutes for a fourth grader) What types of assignments are appropriate? Parents, does your kids’ homework make you crazy? Teachers, do parent complaints about homework make you crazy?
Get Out Your Agendas
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This topic comes from a Get Schooled reader:
He’s curious what you all think about the agendas provided or sold to students at many elementary and middle schools. The agenda gives the student a central place to write down homework assignments and parents a place to check for teacher communication.
The reader asks “Is the requirement to purchase and use these DayPlanner-like books appropriate for the early grades? (grades 3, 4 and 5) In our Fulton County elementary school, teachers refuse to provide [assignments in the form of e-mails or Web posts.]
The assignments are supposed to be written into the agenda books by the students. Well, some assignments make it into the books, some do not, and some are written incorrectly. This creates a HUGE information gap between teachers, students and parents. It makes it impossible for a parent to monitor assignments and tests.
What do other parents think of this?”
Also, for those of you whose kids have started school, how’s it going?
What Makes a Good School
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
All parents want their children to attend good schools. Many make financial, lifestyle and even ethical (see cheating post below) sacrifices. But what makes a school good? What are the most important characteristics you look for in a school?
The Debate over Illegal Immigration
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Immigration has been a hot topic for years, but nowadays I hear about it everywhere I go. Sonji Jacobs reports in her story that immigration will be a primary issue when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
Obviously, education is a big part of the debate. Many parents feel like the influx of immigrant families - legal and illegal - into their school zones has hurt their child’s education. But state law requires parents - all parents - to put their kids between 6 and 16 in school. Many of these kids will not be returning to their home countries. Another - pardon the pun - school of thought is that society must educate these kids so they can be productive citizens.
What do you think? (And please, please, please be civil. We want to have a good discussion…)
Those Early Release Days
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A DeKalb County school board member has asked the administration to consider eliminating them next year, saying they are a nightmare for working parents and that early release days provide little benefit for teachers.
Teachers, do you need early release days (where kids attend school for just half a day, leaving teachers the rest of the day to get stuff done or hold parent conferences)? Parents, are early release days a major pain?
THANKS FOR PLAYING: I appreciate my Get Schooled readers, and one lucky one will get a gift as a token of my appreciation. I have a book called “Thinking Games for Kids,” for kids 3 - 12. Authors claim it will help with reading, phonemic awareness, math, memory, critical cognitive skills. The first person to e-mail me at pghezzi@ajc.com gets this valuable prize. (THIS PRIZE HAS BEEN CLAIMED…STAY TUNED FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES AS MORE SCHOOL-RELATED BOOKS LAND ON MY DESK)
Parents Who Cheat
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The marquee at Livsey Elementary School in Tucker bears this welcoming message: Proof of residence required of all students.
Livsey is known in DeKalb County, where the school is located, as well as neighboring Gwinnett, as a well-run school where kids can still be kids and the drumbeat leading up to standardized tests is only a faint background noise.
Yes, success has a cost. When a school has such a reputation, parents will lie and cheat to get their kids in. Sarah Smith Elementary School in Buckhead has such a problem that parents who live in the district once investigated every student’s residence. They found several families whose address was a store that rented mailboxes.
Some districts have attendance boundary detectives that find the cheaters.
This blog is anonymous, so let’s hear from some parents who fudge their addresses or otherwise cheat to gain entry to a top-rated school… For everyone else, what should the district do with cheaters, kick their kids out immediately or let them finish out the semester?
Gwinnett’s Gateway
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the state’s largest school district opening for business today, I thought I’d post about Gwinnett County’s additional standardized test it requires students to pass: the Gateway.
Gwinnett school officials spent years developing tests for grades four, seven and high school, so they could assure their constitutents that a diploma from a Gwinnett County high school was meaningful. But the rest of the country quickly caught up to the idea of high-stakes testing, and before long all Georgia students were taking the curriculum test known as the CRCT in grades 2 through 8, in addition to the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for grades 3, 5 and 8. Georgia students in grades 3, 5 and 8 must now pass portions of the CRCT to get promoted.
Other controversies have dogged the Gateway. Parents have questioned whether the cut score is too low and the questions too confusing, making the test meaningless for most students. And they have said it adds too much stress on their kids. Officials have grappled with what to do with the small number of kids who don’t pass. Some taxpayers say the school district has wasted money on Gateway.
Is Gwinnett’s Gateway serving its purpose?
Cool Vs. Old School
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I visit a lot of schools, and over the years I have observed cool teachers, you know, the ones who dress in the latest styles, keep up with pop culture and enjoy popularity among their students. I also see teachers who are what I would call old school, not remotely interested in whose music their students are listening to and not vying for Most Popular Teacher.
There seem to be pros and cons to each. Cool teachers may have trouble drawing the line between authority figure and pal. Old-school teachers may find their students tuning them out.
A TV show last night involving some women with Atlanta connections - the R & B group TLC - featured an old-school teacher. The women of TLC headed to Florida to surprise a high school student with an invitation to audition to record a song with them. On the way to the school, one of the group’s members, T-Boz, remarked that she got kicked out of four DeKalb schools before being expelled from the district altogether.
Once they got to the school, the women barged into the student’s music class. Her teacher waved them away. The teacher’s gesture was met with indifference and later eye-rolling as the women of TLC were not going to wait for the end of a music class for their big surprise. I felt a little sorry for the old-school teacher. She deserved more respect than she got, but I think old-school teachers are often appreciated more in retrospect.
Teachers, are you cool or old school (or neither, not trying to lump everyone into two camps)? Of the teachers who made the best impression on you, were they cool or old school?
Teaching the Teachers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Are prospective teachers who major in education getting a decent education? Several blog posters have said no, suggesting that colleges of education waste students time with useless and unchallenging courses.
I’d like to hear from teachers about their experiences with colleges of education. Also, how about professors who teach in education programs? Is the coursework challenging? Is the coursework relevant to the classroom? What should be done to improve the education and training teachers get in college?
Pulliam Selling Clayton Schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Many principals have told me over the years that the worst problem a school can face is community perception that it is unsafe.
That’s what Clayton County Superintendent Barbara Pulliam is up against. She told the AJC in a recent interview that she has the situation under control, following a year of highly publicized violence and acknowledgment that some schools have gang problems.
“I expect our schools to look very different this fall,” she said. Later, she said, regarding the district’s stricter dress code: “I think it will make a difference in terms of the culture and the atmosphere of the school. School is not a party. It’s not the mall. It’s not the rec center. School is the place we go for learning. Is there an appropriate way to go to that place? Yes.”
Clayton parents and teachers, do you think the schools are safe? For everyone, do you think tightening up the dress code can make a significant difference?
School administrator: It pays!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
According to this story, it’s the 12th highest paying profession in the U.S. with an average salary of 80 grand. That’s tied with marketing and sales managers and just behind computer and information system managers and financial analysts. Doctors and pilots are the highest paid at $147,000 and $133,500 respectively.
I checked the salaries, using this handy site, of principals and assistant principals in three different metro Atlanta schools.
Random DeKalb Elementary School: Principal: $97,324 Assistant Principal: $67,482 Assistant Principal: $67,481
Random Gwinnett Middle School: Principal: $78,873 Assistant Principal: $65,393 Assistant Principal: $70,863
Random Fulton High School: Principal: $120,825 Assistant Principal: $45,368 Assistant Principal: $90,873
Would you do their jobs for these salaries?
Cobb’s Laptop Mess
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UPDATE: This program is as dead as my 2001 Compaq Presario. Here’s the story.
I usually limit posts to one a day, but I feel remiss in not putting the Cobb laptop issue out there. Here’s Kristina Torres’ story about how a judge ruled Friday that the school board could not use sales tax dollars for the project, because they didn’t specify their desire to voters beforehand.
Do you agree with the judge’s decision? What should this mean to the laptop program?
Meet Pat and Pat Lynch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Sunday, my colleague Craig Schneider and I reported on the problems with public education and foster kids. Here’s the story.
I wanted to elaborate a bit more on the Lynches and their adoption of 17-year-old Jennifer. Mr. Pat Lynch tells the story this way: He had remarried a woman, also named Pat, who had never had kids. His daughters were almost grown. (They are now in college.) He didn’t want to be a senior citizen dad, so he and his wife decided to look into adopting an older child.
Kathy Colbenson from CHRIS Kids, an organization that operates group homes for foster children in Georgia among other programs, told me that she met Mrs. Lynch at an event. Colbenson matched the Lynches with Jennifer, a teenager living in one of their group homes.
At first, the Lynches, who live in Cobb County, did not have clearance to bring Jennifer to their home, so they tried to come up with different places to go with her on the weekends. The Lynches got to know Jennifer gradually. Eventually, Jennifer started staying at their house every other weekend. “We woke up one morning and realized we liked the weekends better when Jennifer was with us than when she wasn’t,” Mr. Lynch said.
Mrs. Lynch is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. “Jennifer has been a blessing,” Mr. Lynch said.
Jennifer’s adoption should be completed sometime in the next few weeks. The Lynches are spending thousands on a private school so Jennifer, now 17, can get caught up and graduate on time.
Not a lot of families standing in line to adopt foster kids who have been neglected and abused by their parents and trapped in the inefficient child welfare system. I thought the Lynches deserved an extra shout out.
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