2 posts tagged “education”

This is from our local newspaper, the Bolivar Commercial. I am trying to get more informed about this case, but my search of the Lexis/Nexis database came up with nothing.

Justice Department visits Cleveland school campuses

Landry Barbieri

Staff Writer

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Representatives with the U.S. Justice Department are in Cleveland this week evaluating the Cleveland School District’s compliance with the 1969 consent decree.

“They were here on Monday, and will be here Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Jamie Jacks, attorney for the district.

In February, the district was given 40 days to respond to the Justice Department in regards to its fulfillment of the decree mandating racial equality in area schools.

“According to the letter that was sent to the district, the Justice Department has received some complaints from the community,” Dr. Harvey Jackson, chairman of school board, said previously.

However, in early April, the district was granted an extension on the information until May 1.

At that time data, including the numbers of computers and labs in district schools, as well as the condition of all athletic facilities and classrooms, was supplied to the Justice Department.

“They will now be working on an on-site visit,” said Jacks.

Justice Department officials met with members of the Cleveland community Sunday night at the Lincoln Garden Church of Christ.

“We had about 50 people show up for the discussion, which was really good for Mother’s Day,” said Margaret Block, who along with the Mississippi Youth Justice Center, organized the event.

Block said that several concerns were addressed at the meeting including what some feel is “unequal facilities between the east and west sides (of Cleveland.)”

“People shared their concerns with the unequal athletic departments at our high schools and junior highs,” said Block.

“There are deplorable conditions at the athletic facilities at East Side and D.M. Smith. The bathroom in the high school facility has no hot water as of now.

“Also, there was some concern that instructors with higher degrees, such as master’s degrees, were being placed on the west side of town.”

Block said while a large portion of the meeting focused on the district’s secondary education, there were also concerns raised about area elementary schools.

“They were informed about the condition at Nailor Elementary and how it has continued to stay open with asbestos and mold.”

She said that community members were also vocal about the demographics of Hayes Cooper Center, the district’s charter Magnet Program school.

“The community was told that there would be a 50/50 racial split at Hayes Cooper,” said Block. “However, it appears to be more like 69/31 (with a Caucasian majority).”

Block said she felt the meeting was productive.

“I think that it was positive,” said Block. “It allowed the community to voice their concerns with this district.”

During the site visit taking place through Wednesday, Justice Department representatives are expected to visit all campuses and speak with district officials.

Jackson previously noted that the board would work to meet any requirements dictated by the Justice Department.

I recently started a trial subscription to the Economist news magazine. I love it. It has none of the superficiality that turns me off to conventional news sources. No sensation. No celebrities. No news of the day. No unbearable bias. Just thorough, thoughtful analysis from an international perspective, the numbers, and the reasons behind the trends.

So this week's issue mentions the most recent international comparisons of school performance. Unfortunately, being a brief, rather than feature article, it lacked mention of the data-gathering and statistical methods used, but some of the observations remain intriguing, especially as confirms one of my favorite rallying cries: Get better teachers!

• A common factor among all the best performers is that teachers are drawn from the top ranks of graduates.
• In top-performing Finland, the differences between schools are nearly trivial.
• Across the world, the less students know about science, the more optimistic they are about the chances of solving the planet's environmental problems.

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10251324