I wish you and yours a glorious Christmas, a happy Chanukah, and a happy Kwanzaa, a happy, HEALTHY, and prosperous New Year. And may the New Year bring a year of peace.
See you in the New Year.
Franklin
Archives for December 2008
Florida’s America’s Promise Summit and the 2009 Effective Strategies Institute, Clearwater Florida
I am honored to have been chosen as the keynote speaker at the Florida’s Promise Summit and the 2009 Effective Strategies Institute, being held at the Belleview Biltmore Hotel and Spa in Clearwater, Florida on January 12-17, 2009. In addition, I will be delivering 3 breakout sessions. To those of you in or near Clearwater, come and visit and say hello.
A New Way of Counting School Dropouts
Even though the current administration has a few days left, Margaret Spellings, the Secretary of Education in the Bush Administration has issued new regulations to make schools more accountable for high school dropout rates. All states will need to implement a uniform tracking system to determine how many students graduate on time and how many drop out. Schools have used a variety of methods to report dropouts, graduates, and transfers, many of which underestimated dropout rates and inflated graduation rates, according to the federal government.
The rules also require raising graduation rates for all students, including minorities and students with special needs. A school might have a high overall graduation rate, but still have a low rate for minority students or those with disabilities. States are allowed to set their own targets for improvement, and the federal government cannot force states to set more ambitious goals. But U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said it can make states accountable publicly for failing to graduate more students.
www.ed.gov
Still more suffering for those who are the weakest.
According to a new report from the United States Department of Agriculture, some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, even before this year’s sharp economic downtown.
The department’s annual report on food security showed that during 2007 the number of children who suffered a substantial disruption in the amount of food they typically eat was more than double the 430,000 in 2006 and the largest figure since 716,000 in 1998.
Overall, the 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million in 2006. That was 12.2 percent of Americans who didn’t have the money or assistance to get enough food to maintain active, healthy lives.
Almost a third of those, 11.9 million adults and children, went hungry at some point. That figure has grown by more than 40 percent since 2000. The government says these people suffered a substantial disruption in their food supply at some point and classifies them as having “very low food security.” Until the government rewrote its definitions two years ago, this group was described as having “food insecurity with hunger.”
The findings should increase pressure to meet President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign pledge to expand food aid and end childhood hunger by 2015, said James Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger group.
Among other findings:
_The families with the highest rates of food insecurity were headed by single mothers (30.2 percent), black households (22.2 percent), Hispanic households (20.1 percent), and households with incomes below the official poverty line (37.7 percent).
_States with families reporting the highest prevalence of food insecurity during 2005-2007 were Mississippi (17.4 percent), New Mexico (15 percent), Texas (14.8 percent) and Arkansas (14.4 percent).
_The highest growth in food insecurity over the last 9 years came in Alaska and Iowa, both of which saw a 3.7 percent increase in families who struggled to eat adequately or had substantial food disruptions.
Source:
Educators know that students who are hungry have a difficult time studying and learning. Schools may have to pick up the slack when parents are unable to feed themselves and their children.
Is the Cost of College Worth It?
For students who graduate high school in the bottom 40 percent of their class, college is usually a waste of money. More than two-thirds of such students who enroll as freshmen fail to earn a college degree. Colleges admit that these ill-prepare students are accepted, then the colleges re-mediate them and cash their tuition payments but do little to prepare them for the real world. When these students dropout, they leave campuses with a mountain of debt from student loans, lowered self-esteem and unprepared for work.
Then, knowing this, why do colleges accept them? Colleges need to fill their seats and use tuition monies to fund other projects.
College dropout rates exceed K-12 dropouts with students who successfully graduated from high school.
What are students and parents to do? Probably go to a career-oriented community college or enrolling in job-train programs given by some corporations.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Kudos from NC Dropout Prevention Conference
I recently delivered opening keynote and a breakout session at the North Carolina Dropout Prevention Conference at the Seatrail Resort in Sunset Beach North Carolina. Here are a few of the comments from the attendees:
“Franklin gave information to energize and engage students in the learning process.” Social Worker
“It gave me practical and fun methods to keep kids interested in learning.” Middle School Teacher
“Upbeat presentation filled with useful, thought-provoking interaction.” M. Holt, Assistant HS Principal
“Great presentation presented with much enthusiasm.” E. Musial, HS Counselor
“Awesome, I’d love more.” J. Butler, Counselor
“Fun, interactive, provocative ways to think about how to strengthen student engagement especially for at-risk learners.”
“His activities are simple yet thought-provoking. I learned more in one hour than I have in two or three days in other workshops.” T. Miller, Coordinator of Special Programs
“Dynamic and true to life. He makes a difference.” J. Tibae
“Franklin is right on target with problems in school and effective strategies that engage learning.” D. Davis, County Board of Education
“Fantastic! Practical knowledge with common sense.” J. Hall, Educational Consultant
“The program was very enriching and it impacted my life.” Graduate Student
“Excellent! Common Sense Approach!” D. Bowling, Safe Schools Program Director
“Good use of visuals, interactive and relevant.” P. O’nan, Curriculum Specialist
“He tells it like it is – it makes teachers keenly aware of academic learning needs. He truly shares a love for teaching. He understands student behavior.” E. Holley, Middle School Math Teacher
“Real issues, simply stated, broad application to most schools with real solutions.” HS Counselor