Governor Bredesen made a speech about the "flawed" Basic Education Plan:
Second, any effort to improve our schools ought to start with those that are clearly failing. We have in Tennessee 20 schools today that have hit the wall; under our own laws are called out for having failed to show adequate progress for at least six years running; these are failed schools. Seventeen of them are in the Memphis school system, two are in Hamilton County, and one is in Nashville. That list will grow by another five or six this August.
From reading the text of the Governor's speech, I get the impression that spending will increase and nothing will really change.
Don't be surprised as the number of failing schools continue to rise.
The Feds (in the form of the Department of Education) have put Memphis City Schools in the "good standing" category for the first time in 3 years.
But the state has given Memphis Schools all "D's" and "F's" for overall achievement — again.
The Tennessee Department of Education gave Memphis City Schools "D's" in math, reading and social studies and an "F" in science for overall achievement in kindergarten through 8th grades. ...
But students did better than they did the year before. The district got high marks for progress, with "B's" for Math and Reading and "A's" for Social Studies and Science.
So how well are Memphis schools doing to deserve that "B" and "A" for improvement?
Fayette County students aren't doing much better, earning the district a "D" in Math, Reading and Language and Social Studies and a big, fat "F" in Science.
Tipton County students fare much better with "B's" in Math, Reading and Language and "C's" in Social Studies and Science (about the same as the state average).
Shelby County schools, however, have reason to be proud: straight "A's" in achievement and for academic progress.
No wonder Memphis mayor "King Willie" Herrenton wants to consolidate the Memphis and county school systems; adding in the county schools would result in a nice "C" average for his "legacy".
Little more than 62 percent of Tennessee students graduated with regular high school diplomas on time three years ago — 7.4 percentage points below the national high school graduation rate of 69.6 percent that year.In addition, Tennessee now ranks 45th in the ranking of states able to keep their kids in school, a stunning drop from the already-low rank of 30th just last year:
In 2000, Tennessee’s [school dropout] rate was the same as the rest of the nation at 11 percent. But by 2004, the national rate improved to 8 percent while Tennessee remained unchanged.Who to blame?
Sen. Roy Herron (D-Dresden), chair of the Select Committee on Children and Youth, said the report was alarming.Ah yes, Head-Democrat-In-Charge blames the study. Of course, he couldn't possible blame poor leadership (i.e., Gov. Bredesen).“The study is either false or unconscionable in reporting that our children are this poorly treated,” Herron said.
And then there's this:
Nationally, Tennessee ranked 46 on how children in the state are faring in several areas including infant mortality, low birth weight babies and teenage pregnancies.We should change our state motto. Something like: Best State to Live In . . . If You Got No Children.
Technorati Tags: Tennessee Education Failure, Failing Our Children, Killing Our Future, School Dropouts, Governor Phil Bredesen, Another Bredesen Failure.
Students from high-income families benefit more from Tennessee's lottery scholarship program, according to a newspaper analysis of lottery records.The program gives an additional $1,500 to low-income recipients who qualify, it's just the "qualify" part that's the problem. How many kids from low-income families are going to make a 3.0 GPA or a 21 on the ACT?In Hamilton County, for example, the average student with a lottery scholarship comes from a family that makes $71,980 a year, compared with the $38,930 median household income the U.S. Census Bureau reports for the county.
The trend is common in nearly every part of the state, according to a report by The Chattanooga Times Free Press, which looked at 2005 state lottery data.
It's the families where the parents have college degrees that make certain that their kids do well in school. The families struggling to get by are sending their kids to a school that is struggling to control gang activity. Only the most incredibly exceptional kids are going to do well in that environment.
You can't ignore these kids for 12 years and then expect them to perform with the promise of money if they can pass a test! We need to get our priorities straight.
Technorati Tags: Education, Lottery, Scholarships, Tennessee Politics, Failing Our Future Generations.
Last season, only Memphis University School and Houston High School had trap shooting clubs.I always liked Ron Lollar.That changed when Shelby County School Board member Ron Lollar heard about the 400 scholarships set aside by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation for Tennessee high school trap team members across the state.
Lollar and County Schools Supt. Bobby Webb gathered interested coaches and sponsors to form four more teams from Arlington, Bolton, Germantown and Briarcrest high schools. To join, students must maintain a "C" average, cannot misbehave and must complete a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency hunter's safety course.
And who would'a thunk it? The Commercial Appeal prints a story about kids with guns and doesn't descend into left-wing nut-bag ranting, not even a little.
Technorati Tags: Scholastic Shooting, Education, Second Amendment, Memphis, Tennessee, Shelby County.