Public School Policies

Social media, which has become essential for kids and techno-savvy adults, is now entering the realm of public education as well. Schools and districts across the country are leaping aboard the Facebook bandwagon, creating pages that allow students and staff to interact during and after school hours. This online tool provides a whole new dimension to the public school community, but not everyone is thrilled with the idea of posting school business and social interactions on the Internet for the world to see. We'll take a look at both the pros and cons of the use of Facebook in public schools, as well as some districts that have embraced FB already.

This video looks at the pros and cons of using social media.

Positive Ways Schools can Use Facebook

According to an article at Mashable, there are many potentially constructive ways public schools can use Facebook to engage their communities. The author of the article, JG Visual partner David Hartstein, says at the beginning of his report, "By setting up a Facebook page, schools can establish a controlled, professional presence that allows them to capitalize on this social space in many important ways, while still protecting their students."

Hartstein suggests a number of ways to incorporate social media into the public school community, including:

Sharing News

While many schools currently rely on their websites or the old-fashioned "paper home from school" methods of sharing

Teaching Gay History in Public Schools: A Possible Mandate in California

The history books in public schools today include figures from all walks of life who have made significant contributions to the development of this country. In California, some legislators do not believe the curriculum has gone far enough to include all Americans who have played a role in our nation's history. To rectify the problem, lawmakers have introduced a bill that requires the teaching of gay history in schools. According to an Associated Press report, the California Senate approved the measure. However, it still must pass the Assembly and Governor Jerry Brown's desk before it becomes an official law of the state.

In this video, the Houston ISD Superintendent posits that what is taught in public schools should reflect today's reality, including African American history, Latino history, and LGBTQ history.

What the Bill Does

The California legislation would require schools to add LGBT figures to the list of social and ethnic groups that must already be included in current history lessons. It would also require the California Board of Education and local school districts within the state to adopt textbooks that cover the historical contributions of sexual minorities in this country. Material that reflects adversely on gays or particular religions would be banned from classroom teaching as well. Each school district would be able to determine what

Ever since the Internet has come into the public school classroom, filters have been used to keep inappropriate and obscene information and pictures away from students. However, the ACLU has recently been alerted to the fact that pornography isn't the only thing not making it into public school classrooms today. Many schools across the country are using their filtering tools to weed out information for LGBT students – even when the websites in question do not fall into the pornographic or inappropriate category. What's worse is that many of these same schools allow anti-gay websites to be accessed on campus.

What's In and What's Out

The problem came to the attention of the ACLU a few years ago when a high school student in Tennessee was searching for information about scholarships for gay and lesbian students. The student was unable to access any of the websites that provided such information, according to a report on Digital Life. However, the student did discover websites advocating that gay and lesbian behavior can be reformed or overcome. The student notified the ACLU about the issue, and the ACLU sued the school and several others in Tennessee with similar policies.

On their website, the ACLU asserts, "Blocking all LGBT content violates students' First Amendment rights to free speech. They also violate the Equal Access Act, which requires equal access to school resources for all extracurricular clubs, including gay-straight alliances and LGBT support groups." The

Recess has traditionally been a part of the school day in public elementary schools, offering students the opportunity to breathe in fresh air, work off energy, and socialize with friends outside the confines of the classroom. However, in the interest of providing additional instruction during the school day, many schools have moved away from recess in favor of more classroom time. In some areas, recess has been on hiatus for years, but parents and educators are joining together in a movement to resuscitate recess after finding numerous benefits this time of free play provides. This article will take a look at some of the schools that have done away with the popular playtime and why many are bringing the ritual back to their playgrounds.

This video discusses eliminating a recess break.

The Benefits of Recess

While recess may not seem to have many benefits to daily studies on the surface, research into the matter seems to prove otherwise. On their website, the Florida Department of Health cites numerous benefits of recess, which impact the students' physical, emotional, cognitive, and social health and wellbeing. Some of the physical benefits of recess include:

• More time spent in active play
• Proper growth and development from physical activity
• Helps children maintain a healthy weight, reducing the risk of some diseases later in life
• Improves bone mass and density, lowering the risk of fractures throughout life

There are also cognitive and

Michelle Rhee is a controversial figure, to be sure. During her brief tenure as chancellor of Washington D.C. schools, Rhee managed to ruffle more than a few feathers. She also developed a loyal fan base that has followed her to her latest project, StudentsFirst, a non-profit committed to education reform. Since her exit from Washington schools, some questions remain about whether Rhee's approach to education reform really does put students first. Case in point: there are recent questions in an in-depth report by USA Today about a high number of changed answers on standardized tests in some Washington schools.

This video reports on Michelle Rhee's tenure as Chancellor of the D.C. public schools.

Details of the Report

An investigation by USA Today exercised D.C.'s Freedom of Information Act to obtain data that documented test scores for one of Washington's schools for the past three years. Crosby S. Noyes Education Campus was considered a "shining star" by Washington's public school officials after the school was able to raise standardized test scores by record-breaking numbers. In 2006, only 10 percent of Noyes students scored "proficient" or "advanced" in math. Just two years later, as many as 58 percent scored that high, and reading scores shot up as well.

Michelle Rhee was particularly interested in Noyes, and she used the school as an example of how she implemented changes that could