Back to (K-12) School

1. In "Parent Smart: Green school supplies" the USA Weekend magazine supplement to Sunday newspapers gives three back to school lessons. From the article:

Doing small things helps the environment. When picking up or dropping off your child at school, don't idle your car. Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more pollution than restarting the engine, according to the Consumer Energy Center.

Of course, driving your child to school is not a green behavior, regardless of whether or not you idle your car engine.

Walking or bicycling to school (see the National Center for Safe Routes to School for more information) or taking the school bus, which transports far more many students using less oil overall than if the children were all driven separately, is a far more green choice.

Although you do need sidewalks, sometimes chaperones, and practical bicycle racks (see "New Cooke school bike racks too close together, too close to wall" from Greater Greater Washington).

And better policies focused on keeping schools in neighborhoods. See the report Why Johnny Can't Walk to School from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

2. Of course, many school districts are cutting back on school bus services, because of the cost, and pressing budgets. See "School districts in the red cut yellow bus services from USA Today.

Students unload from the first bus on the first day of school on the first day of a new school. The first day of school at Milton's new Birmingham Falls Elementary School. It is the first new public school to open since Milton became a city. It has 54 classrooms and has a capacity of 850 students. Mon, Aug. 10, 2009. Bob Andres, Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

On the other hand, why do we have a separated transit system, one for children and one for everyone else. Part of the way that the transit system in Rochester, New York is "profitable" is because it transports local school children. See "Creativity Helps Rochester’s Transit System Turn a Profit" from the New York Times. From the article:

It has, for instance, reached agreements with the local public school district, colleges and private businesses to help subsidize its operations, warning in some cases that certain routes might be cut if ridership did not increase or a local business did not help cover the cost. In recent years, income from these agreements has equaled or exceeded the income from regular passenger fares. ...

The Rochester authority has also helped itself by working out subsidy agreements with local businesses and educational institutions. One of the most important is with the Rochester City School District, which uses the Regional Transit Service as the primary bus system for nearly all of its students in the 7th through 12th grades. Several years ago, the school district paid the equivalent of a regular fare for each student rider, according to Mr. Aesch. But about three years ago, with the transit system facing a financial crisis, he began discussions with the district about radically altering the arrangement.

Mr. Aesch told school officials that the money they were paying to transport students only partly covered the cost and that the system could no longer afford the service without a significant increase in payments. The school district agreed to an increase, and it now pays about $2.22 for each student ride.

Even by paying a premium, the school district believes it is getting a good deal, said Jean-Claude Brizard, the superintendent. He said that during the current school year, the district will pay the Regional Transit Service about $10 million for student bus travel. But the district estimated that it if it contracted with a private company for the same service, the cost would be more than $2 million higher.

Some local school districts in the Washington region, due to budget cutbacks, are cutting subsidies for students using public transit. See "Students Fret Over Loss of Free Ride" from the Washington Post.

3. The Washington Post didn't publish a back to school special section this year, although seemingly the Education Page on the page 2 of the Monday Metro section is supposed to being expanded. I think the local newspaper should publish a special back to school section.

4. I am pretty sure that since Mayor Fenty has been pushing back and reducing the scope of the State Board of Education, that this year, there was no "First Day" of school expo.

I have mentioned this idea for a few years, and last year, under State Superintendent of Education Deborah Gist, DC held a First Day expo. The way that Mayor of Joseph Riley of Charleston, SC attends the expo there truly communicates that the city and community values education. From an article in the Charleston Post & Courier (no longer online):

to encourage community involvement in children's education, said Charleston County School District Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson. "We encourage it year-round, but this is the big kick-off."

The event had more than 70 freebie booths frequented by thousands of visitors. Children and a few adults played soccer and baseball in a large grassy area. An inflatable jumping booth was well used, and some children sought a break from the heat in a water fountain beneath a towering American flag. A band played cool music on this extremely hot day. There was even a guy in a Piggly Wiggly pig costume giving out school supplies under the relentless sun....

Mayor Joe Riley, posted under a festival tent, smiled and waved at children, busying himself with other festival volunteers passing out water, school supplies and bags of goodies. Several large tanks pumped cold cupfuls of water for thirsty people. Despite the heat, almost everybody was smiling as though they were having a really cool time. Perhaps gearing up for the first day of school has that effect on some people.

According to an article on this year's festival, last year's Charleston First Day Festival had over 9,000 attendees. See "First Day Festival to be held today."

Also see the blog entry from last year, "Proposed DC Parent Education Expo a step in the right direction," as well as "Involving the community in school improvement" and "A thought or two on public assets and public schools."

Maybe the Post could be a major sponsor...

(The website for the First Day Foundation seems to be down. I am not sure if this is a permanent condition. This link is through archive.org so it works.)

5. It turns out that the U.S. Department of Education publishes a number of handbooks in the "Helping Your Child" series.

I printed off this one, Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Citizen but I haven't read it yet...

6. Even if the Post hasn't published much about back to school, the Louisville Courier-Journal has, and I found these articles interesting and/or relevant to "back to school."

- THE FUTURE / NEW APPROACHES: Can we keep pace?

- Visual arts magnet attracts new students to Rutherford Elementary

- Lincoln to use creative arts to help kids learn

- 25 elementary schools getting new programs

- Tips for getting to and from school safely

- First-day fears: Parents, teachers offer soothing advice

- STANDARDS / KINDERGARTEN: First year's not just for playtime anymore

7. Especially this one, "Here's how to help your child succeed in school." From the article:

• Make learning a priority — have your child prepared to learn each day.
• Encourage your child to always do his or her “personal best.”
• Show interest in school work and activities — ask questions each day about his/her classes, activities, and homework; show appreciation for good efforts.
• Schedule a study time and provide a quiet environment for your child to complete his/her homework.
• Limit television, video games and movies by encouraging more reading time and reading along with your child.
• Communicate with your child's teacher. Contact his/her school when you have a question or concern.
• Check the school's Web site regularly.
• Support school rules for student discipline.
• Volunteer at your child's school by joining the PTA, attending school activities, open houses or parent-teacher conferences.
• Encourage participation in school activities.
• Advocate for public education in your community and state.

Also see "TEACHERS / ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TIPS: Laying the groundwork for success" and "STANDARDS / ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Kentucky has its list of grade expectations."

8. And that Middletown Elementary School in Louisville has a "back to school" breakfast on the first day of school for parents and children on their very first day of school, is great. I remember my first day of school still, with all the children (except for me and my best friend) at the windows of our portables (trailers for the kindergardeners at a very large school in Detroit--still in operation, Cerveny), crying their eyes out, screaming for their parents.

A breakfast "handoff" seems like a better idea. See "Boo Hoo Breakfast helps parents say goodbye on first day of kindergarten."

Middletown Elementary parent Wendy Duke dropped her twin sons off to their kindergarten class and then enjoyed the school's annual Boo Hoo Breakfast. (by Sara Cunningham, The Courier-Journal)

9. The Christian Science Monitor has what might be the definitive article about charter schools, "Grade for charter schools? 'Needs improvement'" as the article is factual, not ideological. From the article:

With the start of the fall semester upon us, President Obama has made charter schools the mainstay of his education reform movement. Although such schools are heavily promoted, concerns need to be addressed before their potential to shape a new course in US education can be fairly evaluated.

Charter schools represent a compromise for taxpayers who are frustrated over the glacial pace of improvement by public schools despite the expenditure of $667 billion on K-12 education last school year, up from $553 billion the prior year.

Publicly financed but operating free of many of the regulations applying to traditional public schools, they have grown in popularity since the first charter school began in Minnesota in 1991. They now total 4,600 nationwide and educate some 1.4 million of the nation's 50 million public school students.

Yet despite the claims made by supporters, a study released in June by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., casts doubt on whether the academic performance of students in charter schools is any better overall than that of their peers in regular public schools.

Though some states did have better overall results than others, researchers found nearly half of the 2,403 charter schools across the country involved in the study have results no different from regular public schools. In fact, more than a third of the charter schools posted results significantly worse. Only 17 percent provided superior educational outcomes. Advocates of charter schools assert that the study was slanted, but offer no convincing supporting evidence.

10. Oh, and in Britain, "celebrity" chef Jamie Oliver's campaign to improve the quality of school meals has led to regulatory changes in the nutritional standards for school meals. See "Jamie's school dinners for all: New rules on healthy canteen menus inspired by TV chef come into force in secondary schools across the country" from the Independent and his campaign website, Jamie Oliver - School Dinners, not to mention his tv show website, Jamie At Home Food Channel4.com.

Just to show that the process of change is difficult, also see these articles from the Guardian, "Children find Jamie Oliver's school food hard to swallow, say swallow, say inspectors: Pupils just want to eat chips, reports Ofsted, Healthy options cause fall in demand for lunches" and "Social change isn't won by lone heroes."

Even though social change isn't won by lone heroes, it helps to have a clear message, advocates, attention, and a campaign, which ought to be a lesson for those interested in urban education improvement...

Jamie Oliver "articulated public concerns about school nutrition in a way that an academic tract never could". Photograph: Peter Dench/Corbis.

11. There are efforts in the U.S. to improve school lunches as well. See "Stars Are Aligning Over School Lunch Programs" from the New York Times and the Time for Lunch campaign website.

12. From the Urbanite, a monthly publication in Baltimore, "Education researcher Robert Balfanz on the art of keeping city kids in school."