Measure expands school absences
Last fall a furor was raised when principal James Sexton refused to allow Alex Harris two weeks excused absence. Alex was one of 25 American students who were invited to perform at a piano concert in Japan.
Alex and his family feared that if he went, he could wind up with a semester of poor grades under a school rule that lowers a student’s grade one level each time he or she accrues more than five unexcused absences. After more than 15, the best a student can do is a D.
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Student�s suspension stands; parents prompt policy change
Visiting Judge David Webb of Paulding County ruled in Hancock County Common Pleas Court this week in favor of Findlay school members, who imposed the suspension last April to 14-year-old Alex Browning, then a freshman.
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Program aims to resolve truancy cases outside of court
Justice of the Peace Alexander Green, whose courtroom is frequently filled with truants…Working with Harris County and Houston Independent School District officials…organized the new Truancy Mediation Program. Put into place last fall, the mediations have solved about 25 cases so far.
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Rebel flag petition sparks war of words
Update1: Girl Suspended After Protest Over Rebel Flag
Update2: Flag protester’s suspension will be reduced
Last updated 31 January
Krista Abram’s moved from Pittsburgh to Tarpon Springs (Fla) and was shocked at the casual usage of the Confederate flag. This is understandable. Up north it just isn’t used. It’s considered a symbol of racism, period. Down south it is commonly used to express southern pride. Unfortunately it is a tarnished symbol and no matter how we dislike the fact, it does mean racism to many people. Does that mean I agree with Krista that the flag should be banned? No, but it does mean that she has a legitimate grievance.
Update1: Some of the slogans that accompanied the flag t-shirts were of an obviously racist slant. Example: “If I had known this, I would have picked my own cotton.”
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Boys suspended for tiny G.I. Joe guns (no registration)
Toy guns get boys suspended (registration required)
Last updated 30 January
Three young boys (3rd grade) were suspended for bringing toy guns in to school. The forbidden items were the little plastic accessories for GI Joe action figures.
But the school district is standing by its zero-tolerance policy on weapons, which doesn’t specify size or type, school officials said.
That’s the nature of the beast though. A pencil is the same as a switchblade knife. Oh, wait. Pencils are allowed, aren’t they?
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Bill to restore student, parent rights shelved
Indiana expells more students than any other state. They’re number 9 and climbing for suspensions, too. The culprit? Yup. Zero tolerance policies.
Those startling statistics were shared with state lawmakers Wednesday by advocates who say zero-tolerance policies are causing schools to throw children out at alarming rates — with no alternatives for lessons.
House Bill 1228 was introduced to restore due process rights to students facing expulsion.
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School reviews headscarf ban
We travel over the big pond to our friends in Great Britain for this one. A Bedforshire school has a ban on headgear in place that they are going to review. Kudos for at least reviewing it. That’s the first step towards removing bad policies. What struck me as odd about this one was the exclusion in the rule.
The school’s uniform policy banned all headwear in the classroom, with the exception of turbans.
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One would think that Marquis Harris would be a school’s dream come true. African-American, earned a 3.75 GPA and graduated with a double major, Rhodes Scholar Nominee and a member of Mensa. What he really wants to do is teach. The Atlanta school district must be banging on his door, right?
Wrong.
Recently, I interviewed with a school in one of the metro Atlanta counties, only to receive an e-mail from the principal stating, “Though your qualifications are quite impressive, I regret to inform you that we have selected another candidate. It was felt that your demeanor and therefore presence in the classroom would serve as an unrealistic expectation as to what high school students could strive to achieve or become.
Whatever happened to telling our kids they could be anything they wanted? Apparently our school administrators now believe that even being articulate is too lofty a goal.
A: When he’s white.
Students disciplined for posters on King Day
Westside High School gives out a “Distinguished African American Student Award”. Some Westside High students actively advocated for Trevor Richards. The problem wasn’t that Trevor didn’t qualify as hyphenated american, the problem was that he isn’t black.
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School Honor Rolls Under Privacy Scrutiny
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The school honor roll, a time-honored system for rewarding A-students, has become an apparent source of embarrassment for some underachievers.
As a result, all Nashville schools have stopped posting honor rolls, and some are also considering a ban on hanging good work in the hallways — all at the advice of school lawyers.
How dare we celebrate excellence? Why, if you tell somebody that they are doing a good job, the people who you don’t tell that to might feel bad.
It gets worse though.
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