A friend still in the teaching profession in CCSD told me that all three grades in her school scored over 90% for meeting and exceeding standards, but her school still scored below the state average. Under the old report card system, her school would have made AYP, but under the new system, their school is listed as scoring in the 70s, below average for the state and much lower than surrounding counties. One grade actually scored 97% meeting or exceeding standards. This is a school full of low income, high risk students. How much higher do they need to score for the school to be considered equal to or above the state average?

Perhaps someone who understands the new state report card system could shed some light on this.

What a "perferct" way to end a season. Congratulations, MCHS tennis!

On Saturday, May 4, over two dozen musical/dancing groups performed at Cedar Shoals. They represented almost every school in the Clarke County School District. Outstanding talent in this county.

Even fewer teachers will want to teach in low-income areas, traditionally low-scoring, and the teachers who give easy "A" grades will receive better scores on most of the student surveys. Great move.

@Curls: These schools raise the money for the trip through a variety of fund-raising sources, including grants and sales. Field trips like this are invaluable not only for the science standards that can be (and are) taught, but also for the experience of leaving Clarke County, a first for many of the students, and being away from home, another first.

w@The Eagle: Yes, we were all tested in school. However, the amount of emphasis placed on testing did not compare to what happens to children in school now. The pressure starts on day 1. Every lesson plan, every unit, every word said has to point to "the test." Kids are taught test-taking strategies from the beginning of the school year. The teachers have to talk about the test, the test, the test. This year, there was uncertainty, because "the test" was changing and no one knew if enough time had been spent "teaching" one area or if too much time had been spent on another.

The teachers are extremely stressed. They hope the children remember what was taught in August, and tested in April. The students are stressed by the repeated emphasis on doing well on the test and the strict conditions under which they take said test. Administrators worry that the children will erase too many answers on their test booklets and bring down the wrath of state testing police.

This is NOT real education. This is what passes for education in Georgia.

[quote][b]fixit[/b] - Teachers are the only educators in a school and, at $50,000 (plus benefits) for what's really a half-year's work, they are not poorly paid.
[/quote]

A half year's work? What a joke. Teachers work and are paid for 190 days according to the contract, which does not include time spent in continuing education in the summer break (which is not 3 months anymore), evening meetings, weekend obligations, etc. Since the school day is packed with teaching and other duties, planning and grading take place after hours (not paid time). There is no paid vacation time. The pay for those 190 days is spread over 12 months. Teachers purchase things (pencils, paper, and other basic materials for their students and classroom) out of their own pockets. They pay for their own continuing education.

This is one reason I left education. While I work more days at my current job, I get paid for them, I'm not expected to make calls on my own time, do prep work on my own time, or pay for my own training. I get paid vacation time. If I'd been treated like this while I was a teacher, I'd still be teaching.

Don't doctors and hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid get money from the government, just like schools? Why don't we have an assessment program in place for them?

If you don't improve the health of EVERY patient that you see over the next year, and improve it to the level set by some random lawmakers who know little to nothing about medicine, then you are put in the "needs improvement" category. More than one year of being less than average, and the hospital or doctor's office would be taken over by the state.

But wait! Not all patients are equal. Some arrive in bad health. Some don't take the doctor's advice. Some are predisposed to certain illnesses. No matter. If you work hard, follow the practices and standards set forth by the government, then all patients will improve, or you must be a BAD doctor.

Sounds good. Ought to work. Weed out the doctors that just don't care or who don't belong in medicine. Makes just as much sense as grading educators on a standardized test given to a bunch of kids who don't care or who know they can get back at the teacher by tanking the test.

Is this story worth being in the paper two days running?

I thought teachers had 5 unpaid furlough days THIS year. If the outlook is better, why are they considering 5 days for teachers and the lower paid staff?

@Farmer GA: You did notice that this is a STATE decision, not a federal decision? The state of Georgia (dominated by which political party?) has done this.

Bauerle and his organization are a class act! Would love to see a photo of them on the home page instead of the baseball team losing its 7th.

5 National Championships, right?

iPods are helpful for students learning English, for vocabulary, for many other uses. There are free programs, vodcasts and podcasts that students can load on the iPods. Most of the ones in the district are used for that purpose. It might have been nice to let another school use these this year since they obviously didn't plan to use them at Barrow.

Remember, this is a school in a temporary location, and the items were probably moved into storage at the Gaines School location. I know in the past when my classroom was moved around, I packed away as much as possible and only used the essentials during the renovation period.

They should have the serial numbers for all these items, and iTrack has helped many people recover their property.

@random518: "...chide the systems of education..." Perhaps I misread the article. Where does it say that the school system did not accept responsibility for this student? Does it say that he had repeated offenses in the schools, and was not held accountable? The only mention of schools that I found was when it said that he was in the paper twice when he was elementary-aged. The newspaper articles about him from 12 years ago were not even school related.

Are educators going to be held accountable when former students turn to crime?

@kemosabe: Do you read these columns on a regular basis? If so, then you know that he is being treated for cancer. You might lighten up on the insults.

You missed the entire point. It was a simpler time. If you could get your kids in the car on a Sunday afternoon, these days they'd be texting the entire time. The Sunday afternoon drive, with visits to family members and friends, and looking at unfinished houses, was part of life in the South. Many of us had stories just like Huckaby's. Many of us called the "trunk" the "boot" and put peanuts in our cokes. There's nothing wrong with looking back and smiling.

I wonder what our kids will remember.

This writer could make some big bucks writing for the soaps. I haven't read anything like this since I retired. Thanks so much for the entertainment.

“Fantastic. Unbelievable. Beyond my wildest imagination,” the man said, his collar cinched with a black bow tie at the celebration of the center’s expansion Wednesday.

I've read better sentence construction on 5th grade writing tests.

Consurticon? I got red wavy lines typing that into this box.

Please, please, please read what you write.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire family and all her friends.

This is a well-deserved honor. CCSD is fortunate to have Robbie Hooker.

Amazing. The governor and his legislators consider teachers to be absolutely incompetent idiots, and now they want to give those low performing employees the ability to carry firearms into the classroom. Then when some teacher goes crazy and shoots up a classroom, the next step would be to allow the children to start packing, right?

"I think that one former Clarke County Middle School Principal said it best 25 years ago, "I don't care what is actually happening in the classroom, just as long as it looks like something is going on for those who are passing by. A room loaded with student work looks much more interesting than one that has very little displayed. Take your kids to the cafeteria for milk and cookies--I'll pay for them--just keep them busy. I don't expect much from them and neither should you."
@friendlyfire;
You're judging education now by what some principal allegedly said 25 years ago? 25 years ago I was listening to David Lee Roth--hope I don't get judged by that! Things change. Education in CCSD has changed a lot. Get into a school and see. They've got computers and everything now.

So, should we change the name of Washington, D.C., Washington, Georgia, etc., because George was a slave-owner and leader of a rebel army?

What year did Athens Christian School begin?

@joeleejohnson: While I choose to disregard your interesting use of the apostrophe (while sincerely hoping you weren't one of my students), I cannot ignore the ignorant remark at the end of your post. Shameful!

2.3 million would have expanded some bus routes, wouldn't it? Is this just a game-day project?

Also, does anyone know what's happening at Peter Street/Olympic Drive? I missed that one.