New Jersey Schools: Free School Lunch Scandal

Public school was established to provide a free education for everyone living in the United States. It has been dubbed the great equalizer, providing the same opportunities for all students, regardless of race, background or income level. However, some public schools are bucking this philosophy, at least for students who live outside their immediate boundaries. One of the recent trends catching fire in public schools across the country is the charging of tuition to students living outside district boundaries. Fair? It depends on who you ask.

Tuition Spreading, Rates Increasing

Business Insider reports that many school districts across the country charge tuition to students who want to attend the school from outside the district. What is interesting about this latest trend is the amount of tuition charged, which is increasing exponentially at some in-demand schools. While the typical going rate for out-of-district transfers ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, some schools charge students $10,000 or more for a year of education.

The new rates are comparable to those at private schools, which some public institutions willingly admit they are trying to compete with. The school board president for the Rye Brook District in New York told Business Insider, “You get a first-rate education. You hear about charter schools. You hear about private schools. You hear about parochial schools. This is just another option.”

Rye Brook recently announced plans to charge tuition rates of $21,500 for slots in middle and high schools for

At a time when budget cuts have forced many school districts across the country to cut arts programs, one of the largest districts has received funding to beef up their arts offerings. Los Angeles Unified School District recently received a large donation from an organization that will allow them to try out a new arts integration program in many of their schools. This new pilot program will extend over the next three years.

Bringing the Arts Back to the Classroom

The Sacramento Bee reports that the donation, totaling $750,000, comes from the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education. Referred to as the LA Fund, this organization is responsible for launching the Arts Matter campaign in public schools throughout the district. The new donation comprises the actual program phase of the effort, which has consisted of advocacy and fundraising to this point.

According to the Century City-Westwood Patch, this recent donation will be used to support teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District as they strive to integrate the arts into their classrooms. The students will also benefit, as the donation will increase student access to the arts. The donation will help advance the five-year arts plan, known as “Arts at the Core,” which was developed by the district to bring the arts into the classroom.

Arts at the Core provides methods for teachers to integrate the arts into all classroom subjects. This results-based program has already seen success in the

Detroit Public Schools tend to get a pretty bad rap regarding performance and education quality. However, many of the evaluations that contribute to this view do not consider the specific challenges teachers in these schools face daily. Many of the schools in Detroit face extremely high percentages of students living in poverty – a factor that can directly impact their ability to learn. In a recently released report that weighed this factor in comparing schools in Michigan, some Detroit schools fared much better than expected.

Elementary and Middle School Context Report Card

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy recently released its “Elementary and Middle School Context and Performance Report Card,” which offers a unique comparison formula that considers income level and location. The result is an “apples-to-apples” comparison that does not penalize schools with high poverty levels, according to the website for the Mackinac Center. The recent report card ranked 2,362 elementary and middle schools in the state.

The report card takes several factors into account as it calculates school scores and poverty levels. The report includes data on the school’s location, whether it is a city, suburb, town, or rural area. It labels the school type, distinguishing between conventional, selective, and charter schools.

The report card also lists the total enrollment at the school and the percentage of children that qualify for the free lunch program. Finally, the report calculates the CAP (Context and Performance) score, grade, and the school’s state rank. The

As public school students get their fill of lazy, carefree summer days, their state school boards are grappling with new federal Common Core Standards slated to go into effect this year. States that were quick to grab onto the funding that was dangled with the standards are now realizing that implementation of those standards is meeting more than a little resistance. As students play outdoors with friends and enjoy long, leisurely bike rids, their local schools are embroiled in a battle, with no sign of a resolution in time for the fall semester.

This video explains Common Core.

Teacher Complaints Have North Carolina Rethinking Plans

North Carolina was one of the 45 states in the country to sign on for Common Core Standards, thanks to the $166 million state school districts received in Race to the Top funding. However, as the state tries to rewrite curriculum – and fast – to accommodate the new standards, education officials are realizing the process of switching over to the new requirements won’t be easy.

News Observer reports that the state department of education has received numerous complaints about new tests in a wide range of subjects. The tests were originally written to be used as means for evaluating teachers. Effective teacher evaluations were a key component to the state’s compliance with the new federal standards. However, a large number of teachers have complained