Education

I have 13 year old twins who are currently in middle school. One of my kids has some learning difficulties and is currently attending a private middle school. I am looking for a high school that can accommodate my child’s learning difference. I am really frustrated because I am having trouble finding viable high school options for this child. Read More >

I went to East High School. I was one of three black kids in the accelerated classes at East. Initially, I was placed in the non-accelerated classes, until my mother requested I be placed in the accelerated classes where I belonged. Public schools remain segregated. Public schools offer the gifted and talented international baccalaureate, accelerated and AP programs. Predominately, wealthy, white kids are in these programs. The schools did a little better job in the past. Only the students in the lowest tier were ignored. Today, the students who are in the middle of the bell curve have lost their support system and the students in the lowest tier continue to be ignored.

I am a teacher from Harrison High School, District 2 in Colorado Springs. I have worked in several school districts in different states. This is the most troubling district I have worked in. Students come to me with many personal issues like parents departing for Iraq or families not being able to afford food, or worse yet, children fending for themselves. Because of No Child Left Behind, our school district is judged by the same standards as other districts that don't have these issues. How is this fair to students who face these problems?

I am a retired teacher. I remember taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, once a year when I was a child. We were not given special instructions for taking the Iowa test. We were not given pep assemblies or advanced preparation lessons on test taking. We just took it and the test provided helpful information as to how we stacked up nationally. It took one day from our school year; then we got back to our regular curriculum.

I served two terms on the school board for District 51. There are 21,000 students, 39% qualify for free and reduced lunch. Earning less than $20,650 for a family of four qualifies for a free or reduced lunch. For a family of three to qualify for free or reduced lunch, their earnings must be $17,170 or less. There are many such single parent families with two kids. In the district, there is an early start program as well as other programs, but more families who can't afford it need these kinds of programs. Crime occurs less during school hours so the school district is offering access to early and late school programs. Crime is prevalent among the low income neighborhoods. Poverty guidelines are too low. $20,650 for a family of four is not enough to pay rent and buy food. The problem of poverty and low income families diminishes all of us because it creates barriers to gateways of education. A model to mitigate the effects of poverty is to engage older high school students as mentors and tutors for low income children.