Scholarships for Preschoolers

Last week a group of preschoolers from Camden, New Jersey had their graduation ceremony at Rutgers University's Camden campus. There they were, the high school class of 2029, all resplendent in their white caps and gowns, receiving their “diplomas” with beaming parents in the audience. But this group of graduates received a gift that they cannot possibly comprehend at this time. Any of these students who graduate from the Camden Leap Academy High School with a GPA of 3.5 or higher will receive a full scholarship to Rutgers University. This program would be funded without taxpayer money, yet gain the essence of what Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been campaigning about for the last year.

American education standards compared to other industrialized nations have been declining in recent years. Couple that with the increased importance of a college education and the spiraling cost of tuition and we can visualize the need for alternative means of funding these costs.

If we could get other colleges and universities to institute similar programs or if we could encourage philanthropic organizations to do the same, then we perhaps we could break down the economic barriers to a college education. In Southwest Florida, an organization called Champions for Learning, offers many programs that offer scholarships to worth high school students. Programs like there are being replicated across the United States. In a country where creativity counts, we should be able to develop the means for anyone who qualifies for college admission should be able to attend.

c.2016 J. Margolis

Doing Away With Class Rank

 A number of high schools around the country have decided to eliminate class rankings of their students. There are a number of reasons for this major paradigm shift from a decades old tradition of ranking students for college admission. One reason is that many colleges and universities in the United States have shifted away from class rank and focused more on GPA and the strength of the high school program that the student pursued. Those factors plus student performance on SAT or ACT scores have become more prominent in the decision making process according to the National Association of College Admissions Counselors.

This decision has been met with mixed reviews from students and high school teachers and administrators. Students feel that eliminating class rank relieves them of some of the pressure of having to take the most difficult courses rather than electives that they would like to take. Those who calculate rankings in some schools, where students can have a GPA as high as a 5, sometime would have to calculate to three or four decimal places to get a valedictorian. This takes away some of the burden in the decision process.

Administrators in a number of these schools have noted that their decision has not impacted student admissions to the most competitive colleges or the service academies. We have yet to hear the parents weigh in, especially those who are the “ tiger Moms and who Dads, ” who were pushing their children to graduate as number one in the class.  Only time will tell if this is going to become a nationwide trend.

c.2016  J. Margolis

Do Immigrant Children have a Right to an Education?

There have been several recent news articles in North Carolina and Florida about immigrant children being denied admission to public schools. In fact, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a complaint again the Collier County, Florida school system for refusing to admit two non- English speaking high school students. There have been several pretexts for these denials. One is the review of transcripts. Many courses taken in other countries do not have US course equivalencies. In some other countries, a high school diploma is not the equivalent to a US high school diploma.

Another stumbling block is inoculations. Students can be legally denied admission to school if they do have approved health records.

Some classroom teachers, who do not wish to be identified, have stated that they believed that students were held out of public schools so they would not have to take the state standardized assessment tests which could reflect poorly on a school’s performance.

What is a district's responsibility to accept immigrant children? Many years ago the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) sent a directive to members statting that counselors in schools were not agents of the US Customs and Immigration Service and were not obligated to report non-documented immigrants. But that does not seem to be the issue with the current cases. Today’s issues revolve around course equivalencies, and language issues. School distracts are obligated to provide ELL services to those students whose native language is not English. Additionally,in some cases, schools do not have appropriate placements for students- typically high school students nearing graduation. The immigration issue is handled differently from state to state, as the individual states, not the US government, are responsible for the education of its children. Some districts have instituted virtual classroom where students- if they have access to a computer and the Internet- can complete course work at home at their own pace, for credit.

With the end of the academic year fast approaching and the ACLU complaint yet unresolved, it will be of interest to see how all of this will play out. Being a Presidential election year, it will also be of interest to see if the candidates, who have different opinions about immigration in general, address this issue.

c. 2016 J. Margolis

Evaluating Your Teaching Year

LESSON LEARNED: 

"It's so necessary to give and receive honest and direct feedback. Once you are aware of your conduct, attitude, performance, it becomes possible to change. (Sometimes you also need to step back and ask some key questions of yourself.)" --Sam Geist (Internationally renown motivational speaker and author)

For many teachers it’s THAT time of the year. The time to receive annual evaluations and have discussions with administrators about the successes and shortcoming of the just- completed( or about to be completed) school year. What did you do to make your students a success? What have you done to enhance your own professional development? Since most of us never actually BECOME a great teacher- it is an ongoing and evolving process. What strategies will you employ to be better and more productive next year? Feedback from administrators as well as peers and parents are all ingredients in developing a recipe for future classroom success.

If you have not already done so, you should be planning for your summer in several ways. Selecting summer reading, both intellectually stimulating as well as leisure reading is a good first step. Additionally, while it may be a little late to apply for most summer programs for teachers, it never hurts to see if there are any last minute openings due to cancellations. For example you can check the web site for the National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov) to see if there are any programs still available.) It should be noted that most application deadlines for such programs are usually in March.)

There are also on -ine opportunities for professional development. Check out Harvard University’s Profesional Development programs at (https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe/programs/online).

It is true that for many teachers, the summer is a time to “recharge your batteries,” spend more time with family and take a much need vacation. But if you truly take your teaching career seriously, you must set aside time and resources to ready yourself for the fall.

c.2016 J. Margolis

The Real Cost of High School Sports

There was an AP news article that appeared in many papers recently about several Texas high schools and their football stadiums. Allen High School built a stadium in 2012 at a cost of $60 million. Another school near Houston apparently is going to build a stadium that costs even more. It may become the most expensive high school stadium ever built! Most other states build football venues that cost considerably less, often between the $5-$10 million range. Texas school officials will tell you that they need more modern facilities and the stadiums reflect the wants of the community at large. Allen High school wanted an 18,000-seat stadium.

While I get the importance of high school football in Texas (I read Friday Night Lights), one can only wonder what other educational benefits such sums could provide.

How many library books can $60 million buy? How many teachers could be hired?

How many students who don’t have access to computers could get them.  How many schools that are in need of repair or demolition could be remedied? The shopping list is endless. This story is just another example what people feel is important in high school- not academic excellence, but athletic prowess and superiority. Until the community at large changes their priorities, educational superiority and excellence will be just a dream.

C.2016 J. Margolis