AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled
Teaching teenage parents
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Aileen Dodd wrote about a program at Dacula High that aims to prevent teenage pregnancy. Her story made me wonder what schools should do for pregnant students and teenage parents.
There’s little research showing what’s the best way to serve these students. Walk around some metro high schools and you’ll see that something must be done.
Several alternative high schools in the area - including Crim in Atlanta and Phoenix in Lawrenceville - provide child-care for students’ children.
Some districts opened special schools for pregnant students and teen parents. The Marian Pritchett School in Boise has taught pregnant teens for nearly 50 years. Others - such as New York City schools - have closed schools for pregnant teens after concluding the programs were inferior.
What should schools do for teenage parents? Schools may not want to condone teenage pregnancy, but how far should they go to make sure these kids don’t drop out?
Permalink | Comments (46) | Post your comment |
Fighting new education laws
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Decatur school board members are getting ready to fight a new law Gov. Sonny Perdue signed this week.
The small school system plans to join a lawsuit challenging HB 881, which creates a new state commission to approve charter schools. This new group can approve charter schools - and give them some of the school district’s per-pupil money - even if the local school board voted down the school.
Many local and state education leaders say the law usurps local control of schools. They say the state is slowing chipping away at the rights and freedoms of traditional public schools.
(For additional proof, some point to HB 1133 which Perdue signed Wednesday. That gives businesses tax credits if they donate money to groups that give kids vouchers to attend private schools.)
Charter school supporters argue too many local school systems turn down acceptable charters because they don’t want the competition and they don’t want to lose their money. They argue parents deserve the right to choose between a charter school and a traditional public school.
What do you think of this fight? Are school districts losing local control or is the state trying to give charter schools a better shot of getting approval?
Permalink | Comments (29) | Post your comment |
Should some schools close?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta school leaders proposed closing two campuses because the schools don’t have enough students. Enrollment at Waters Elementary and Walden Middle has steadily declined since nearby public housing projects closed.
The proposal has angered Walden parents more than those from Waters. The Walden community has begged the board to keep the school open. While enrollment has dropped, they argue it will go up as redevelopment continues in the area.
But school officials have said the middle school - which is expected to have just 130 students in August - will be too small to justify keeping it open.
Atlanta isn’t the only school system going through this. As people move, some crowded schools empty out. Still, closing a school isn’t easy. Many view a shut down school as a sign that a community is dying or already dead.
When should a district close down a small school? Many of you have supported smaller schools, but can a campus be too small?
Permalink | Comments (20) | Post your comment |
Can schools make science cool?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Super Bowl of science fairs is in town. For the first time Atlanta is hosting the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
About 45 of the nearly 1,500 students competing are from Georgia. The people who brought the competition to Atlanta hope more of the state’s students will participate in the future.
“We want to raise awareness of the fact it can be cool to be into science when you’re in school,” said Bill Dodd, chairman of the state host committee. “We want to get kids excited about science and engineering so they will pursue it as careers.”
Dodd is one of many people and groups talking about the need for more students to get into science.
Many schools have tried to make science more interesting. Kids can build robots. Some teachers let kids clone DNA and show them how to work with industry-grade equipment.
Still, interest in science isn’t where leaders want it to be. What are they missing? What more can be done to get kids into science?
Permalink | Comments (90) | Post your comment |
Who gets to walk?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Imagine a senior who passed all her required courses, but has trouble passing all parts of the state-mandated graduation tests. Depending on where that girl goes to school she may or may not be allowed to participate in her high school graduation.
Fulton County Schools and Atlanta Public Schools won’t let students walk across the stage unless they pass the Georgia High School Graduation Tests. Others - including Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett - let students participate regardless of how well they did on the tests.
It’s easy to see both sides of this argument. Some say it’s unfair to recognize students as graduates if they have yet to achieve that goal. They say letting certificate students participate diminishes the achievements of students who indeed graduated.
Others point to the students who worked hard for four years, but narrowly failed the state exams. They say those children should get to march to the sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance.” Some of these kids are the first ones in their families to finish high school and want that achievement recognized.
What is the fair thing to do? Who should get to walk?
NOTE: I’ve heard from several of you that someone is posting on the site using your screen names. We are taking action to stop this disruption. If this has happened to you, please send me a note with the date and time of the posting.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
Latest comments
Here’s what my daughter’s private school’s handbook has to say about pregnant students: “Students who become pregnant and are carrying a child to term will be placed on a leave of absence from the school to the care of... read the full comment by Lee | Comment on Teaching teenage parents Read Teaching teenage parents
HS Teacher Too, “for the school to turn a blind eye often is mistaken as condoning it.” An interesting choice of words. Condone— to regard or treat as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless. Here’s... read the full comment by jim d | Comment on Teaching teenage parents Read Teaching teenage parents
Alternative schools for pregnant girls and other alternative schools for the boys who get them that way: let’s not single out our females who engage in pre-marital sexual activity for removal from their regularly-assigned schools. All who listen to... read the full comment by Craig | Comment on Teaching teenage parents Read Teaching teenage parents
Anyone want a chuckle? I was just scrolling down the ajc page and my eye was caught, for one heart-stopping moment, by a title on the left side asking to “Send us your porn photos”! Guess the eyes are going. When I picked myself up, I blinked... read the full comment by catlady | Comment on Teaching teenage parents Read Teaching teenage parents