Grades. How we love ‘em. They tell us if we’re worthy. An A makes you feel good, doesn’t it? A B? Now you’re feeling a bit mediocre. C? Yuck. D? Let’s not talk about that.
In light of this national fixation, Colorado parents may be interested in a new website that grades the state’s public schools. This may be especially helpful during the current open enrollment period.
Unveiled Monday by a range of education-oriented organizations, Colorado School Grades tallies grades for all the state’s public schools based on standardized test data and student improvement in core subject areas.
I like data, and this site definitely provides some relevant information – particularly the growth data.
However, I caution parents against over-reliance on data and grades. If a school in your neighborhood gets a C does that mean you should scratch it off your list? Not necessarily. There are so many nuances that won’t be reflected in these grades. Think of a school’s special programs, for instance, or that rock star art teacher.
Julie Poppen is editor of Education News Colorado’s sister site, EdNews Parent.
Well, it’s that time of year and I’m not talking about racing around looking for cranberries or figuring out how many pounds your bird should be. I’m talking open enrollment.
Six years ago, this was my situation: I frantically sought all the information I could on Boulder elementary schools. I analyzed their websites, loading them with way too much import: “Oh, that one is nicely designed and creative – they must have fabulous parent volunteers and the school must be top-notch, too” or “Geez, what a crappy website, don’t they care enough to present a positive image to the world?”
As much as I say I don’t care about test scores, I looked at those too. As a former K-12 education reporter in Boulder, I had a distinct advantage. I had already visited many of the schools I was now considering for my precious daughter. I knew which ones aced the CSAPs, which ones focused on the arts, which ones were struggling.
My husband and I faithfully showed up at the open enrollment tours and school visits for parents. We dutifully took notes and scrutinized children’s art on the school walls as if we were art brokers: “Wow, they must have a really good art teacher here … or is the teacher guiding their work too much, so it looks too professional?”
Of course, all this happens smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. I remember getting really sick, but still feeling like I had to show up at these open enrollment venues. At one visit, my ears were completely clogged, I felt rotten and I had to wonder what the heck I was doing. Still, I was there, checking out the parent volunteers who escorted us around the school. “Hmmm … they seem nice, and very well-dressed. Would I fit in?”
Open enrollment season is indeed a crazy time. How can you not participate in the dance? I mean, it’s your child, and you want what’s best for him or her, right?
As a junior high school student, I still remember trying to dodge the boys known for sneaking up behind you and grabbing your … how to say it … rear end, hind quarters, tush.
Then there was the bra snapping and some antics at early teen parties that really make me wonder whether certain boys known for inappropriate groping are now living life as registered sex offenders. Then there were the labels – being called a “blue nun” one week and “whore” the next.
I remember not liking this, but also believing there wasn’t much that could be done about it. You couldn’t exactly tell a teacher.
In fact, I also had a junior high school teacher who did much the same thing. He rubbed girls’ shoulders in social studies class. He coached our girls’ basketball team, leering at us all the while. We mocked him mercilessly rather than tell the principal. Somehow, we already knew tenure would protect him.
With so much of an emphasis on bullying these days, a new report on sexual harassment in schools caught my eye. Turns out, many young women – and young men – experience far worse forms of sexual harassment at school.
A report released this week by the American Association of University Women found that sexual harassment “pervades the lives of students in seventh through 12th grades.”
Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School, the most comprehensive research conducted in the past decade on sexual harassment in middle and high schools, found that nearly half of those surveyed said they had been harassed during the 2010-2011 school year.
If you’re a parent of a child in public school, chances are you recently got a notice like this from your teacher, school or district:
Dear Parents,
We’ll be listening to and watching President Obama’s Back to School Speech on Wednesday. If you want to opt out and not have your child watch this you must fill out the attachment and return it to school on Monday.
As much as I like to be in the loop as far as school events are concerned, this really ticked me off. This is not a choice I want. I don’t believe it’s a choice I should have. I don’t care if our president is a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, black, brown, white, young, old, middle-aged, Jew, Mormon, Christian, man or woman.
The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted 5-4 Friday to appeal a court decision that would have allowed concealed weapons on campus.
For-profit colleges and vocational programs are sprouting in Colorado, changing the higher education landscape as people seek new skills and advanced degrees
Some Colorado campuses are receiving more work-study money thanks to federal stimulus dollars but it doesn’t come close to meeting the record need
The Community College of Aurora is looking at an eye-popping 70 percent increase in the number of students it graduates this spring if students who say they’ve met requirements are right. The Metropolitan State College of Denver expects to confer degrees on a record 1,615 graduates this spring, up 27 percent from last year. And [...]
May 12, 2010 | Posted in
K-12 News |
0 comments |
Read More » 
With medical marijuana dispensaries proliferating across Colorado, campus officials ramp up conversations about how to deal with student requests to use the drug in the dorms and other issues
The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted 8-1 Thursday to increase a range of student fees at all four CU campuses.
April 22, 2010 | Posted in
K-12 News,
News |
0 comments |
Read More » 
