Banning Sports Drinks

Most parents worry about their children being victimized by the class bully or getting hurt on the playground. Few consider the possibility of a child disappearing while on or near school property. However, that is precisely what happened in an Oregon community recently, and it has school officials and parents alike wondering what can be done to enhance children's safety at school.

The Story of Kyron Horman

Kyle Horman is a second-grader at Skyline Elementary School in Portland. He was last seen by his step-mother heading down the school hallway to his classroom on June 4, according to a recent report on ABC News. However, when young Kyron did not get off the bus later that afternoon, his family discovered that he had never made it into his class that day. Although the teacher marked Kyron absent, the school never notified his parents. That oversight resulted in hours passing before a search could be launched for this little boy.

Horman was at school early that morning to show off his science fair project on tree frogs. Because the science fair was attended by many students and family members, there were many more people in the school than usual in the early morning hours. The school does not have video cameras and is set on the edge of deep woods, where it would be fairly easy for a little boy to disappear or for someone to hide him for a period of time.

Every parent believes his child is the smartest in the class, but what happens when you really do have a kid who is head-and-shoulders above the rest academically? Most teachers and parents believe that to adequately challenge these children, there must be accelerated programs to accommodate them. Hence, the gifted and talented program was born.

Children who belonged in this upper echelon were usually identified in the schools, by the teachers who worked with them every day. However, many parents also got quite busy behind the scenes, ensuring their children met the requirements for special programs that would increase their odds of success later in life. In fact, numerous children are receiving preparation for gifted and talented programs long before their feet even touch the hallowed halls of academia.

Track for Success

According to an article in New York Magazine, many residents of the Big Apple are whipping their children into academic shape as early as their preschool years. The competition for the limited number of slots in selective elementary schools across the city has led parents into a frenzy of preparation shortly after children learn to walk and talk. It is not unusual for parents to hire tutors and test their children's IQs long before enrolling them in New York schools.

Because the competition at many of these stellar schools is so stiff, few will look at children who

For decades, studies have shown that schools with a high number of students living in poverty do not experience the same academic success as schools in wealthier districts. Many programs have been instituted to narrow the gap since the "War on Poverty" was launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 and the Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1965 was established.

Unfortunately, recent reports show that instead of narrowing the poverty gap, there is a growing divide between low and high-income students at public schools.

The Condition of Education 2010

The Condition of Education 2010 has recently been released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This annual report is federally mandated to provide an assessment of the condition of the educational system in the United States. This year's findings were sobering, as they indicate that the gap between high and low-poverty schools is a widening one.

According to the report, high-poverty schools are defined as institutions where at least 75% of the students enrolled are eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program. Approximately 6 million elementary students and one million secondary students are enrolled in high-poverty schools today.

This video looks at the disparity between rich and poor school districts.

Characteristics of High-Poverty Schools

The NCES report looks at a variety of characteristics of high-poverty schools, including:

• Locations of the schools
• Characteristics of the students
• Qualifications and characteristics of

With concerns over the state of our educational system today, it seems there is yet another worry to add to the list: the safety of drinking water in schools. Recent reports of unsafe tap water in school districts across the country are alarming parents and school officials alike. Safeguarding our children's health now involves tuning into the potential dangers lurking in school plumbing systems.

AP Investigation

Late last year, the Associated Press released the findings of an investigation they launched over the safety of school drinking water from coast to coast. This investigation found that contaminants have appeared in drinking water at schools in all 50 states, according to a report on CBS News.

Unfortunately, the problem of safe drinking water has not been properly monitored by the government. This has allowed many school districts to run contaminated water through their systems for years completely unchecked. The responsibility for ensuring safe water is spread thin among a variety of local, state and federal agencies, limiting accountability and consistent standards.

"It's an outrage," Virginia Tech engineer Marc Edwards told CBS. "If a landlord doesn't tell a tenant about lead paint in an apartment, he can go to jail. But we have no system to make people follow the rules to keep school children safe?"

The AP study found the majority of problems were present at schools with wells, which is about 8-11% of the schools across the country. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency also showed