Showing results for tags 'schools'.

Oregon State University pays $101,000 to settle suit over trashed conservative paper

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

Oregon State University has paid $1,000 plus $100,000 in legal fees to a former student to settle a lawsuit over the confiscation of distribution boxes for a conservative-leaning student newspaper. Supporters of the newspaper called The Liberty sued the school in 2009, alleging the university president and other school officials granted the official campus newspaper numerous bins while restricting The Liberty's distribution. The suit alleged that school officials confiscated distribution bins for The Liberty and tossed them onto a trash heap. The bins, which contained copies of the paper, were allegedly removed without notice and thrown next to a dumpster. Lower-ranking campus officials said they removed The Liberty's boxes to beautify the campus, but distribution bins for the campus paper were reportedly left untouched. Top school officials said they had not ordered the destruction. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had revived the lawsuit after a U.S. District Court judge dismissed it. The appeals court ruled that it had little trouble finding constitutional violations and that the university's policy that led to the alleged trashing "materialized like a bolt out of the blue." http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/03/oregon-state-university-pays-100g-to-settle-suit-over-trashed-conservative/

Teaching grownups: Cancer charity says school can learn from girl banned for going bald

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

Tim Kenny knew the charity he helped establish to fight childhood cancer wasnt done raising money, but he thought St. Baldricks Foundation had pretty much buried the stigma of baldness that young fighters of the disease once bore. Then, he heard about Kamryn Renfro. The 9-year-old Grand Junction, Colo., girl shaved her head to show solidarity for her pal, Delaney Clements, who is fighting cancer and lost her hair after starting chemotherapy. When Kamryn showed up for school at the Caprock Academy Monday, she was told she was violating the dress code and couldnt come back without a wig. That is absolutely ridiculous, Kenny, whose organization has raised more than $207 million for childhood cancer treatment by using head-shaving as a device for collecting pledges. We started this foundation to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to raise money for research. The whole reason we chose head shaving was to be in solidarity with kids who are going through treatment, Kenny added. I cant believe people could miss the point like this. Kamryn was back in class on Tuesday, and a staff member told FoxNews.com that the school s board of directors planned a closed-door meeting that night to discuss the situation. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/25/girl-barred-from-school-for-shaving-her-head-to-support-friend-with-cancer/?intcmp=latestnews

Thousands of preschool kids getting suspended, report says

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

WASHINGTON Even preschoolers are getting suspended from U.S. public schools -- and they're disproportionately black, a trend that continues up through the later grades. Data to be released Friday by the Education Department's civil rights arm finds that black children represent about 18 percent of children enrolled in preschool programs in schools, but almost half of the students suspended more than once. Six percent of the nation's districts with preschools reported suspending at least one preschool child. Advocates have long said that get-tough suspension and arrest policies in schools have contributed to a "school-to-prison" pipeline that snags minority students, but much of the emphasis has been on middle school and high school policies. This data shows the disparities starting in the youngest of children. Earlier this year, the Obama administration issued guidance encouraging schools to abandon what it described as overly zealous discipline policies that send students to court instead of the principal's office. But, even before the announcement, school districts have been adjusting policies that disproportionately affect minority students. Overall, the data shows that black students of all ages are suspended and expelled at a rate that's three times higher than that of white children. Even as boys receive more than two-thirds of suspensions, black girls are suspended at higher rates than girls of any other race or most boys. The data doesn't explain why the disparities exist or why the students were suspended. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder were to appear at J.O. Wilson Elementary School Friday in Washington to discuss the data. "It is clear that the United States has a great distance to go to meet our goal of providing opportunities for every student to succeed," Duncan said in a statement. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/21/thousands-preschool-kids-getting-suspended/?intcmp=latestnews

Student kicked out of school and may lose Army dream because of pocket knife in car

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

An Ohio high school student has already been jailed and kicked out of school for having a pocket knife in his car, and now he fears he could lose his dream of serving in the Army. Jordan Wiser, a student at Ashtabula County Technical School in Jefferson, is finishing up his senior year from home after school officials searched his car in December and found the folding knife and an Airsoft gun. School officials called police, who charged him with illegal conveyance of a weapon onto a school ground based on the three-inch knife. I declined to allow them to search myself or my car and that I wanted to talk to my lawyer or my father, Wiser told FoxNews.com. They told me it wasnt an option. Wiser, an EMT trainee who hopes to become both a police officer and a soldier, spent 13 days in the Ashtabula County Jail following the incident. The knife, which Wiser said is part of his first responder's kit and can be used for slicing an accident victim's seatbelt, was found tucked inside his EMT medical vest in the trunk of the car. The Airsoft gun, which fires non-lethal pellets, was not illegal and was used by Wiser in a shooting club he belongs to, he said. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/18/high-school-senior-jailed-kicked-out-school-and-may-lose-army-dream-because/?intcmp=latestnews

High school student gets frostbite during fire alarm

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A ninth grader says she has frostbite after standing outside for 10 minutes in a wet bathing suit during a fire alarm. It happened last week at Como Park High School in St. Paul. On Wednesday morning the temperature was -5 degrees, and the windchill was -25. But Kayona and another student were warm inside. They were swimming as part of a health class. "The alarm went off and I was like is it just a drill? Do I really have to go outside? And he was like no, we usually don't have fake ones in the winter," said Kayona Hagen-Tietz. Kayona says she and the other student were rushed out by the teacher. Her classmate had clothes by the pool, hers were in her locker. "I grabbed my towel and I walked outside and it was really cold," said Kayona. "As soon as they saw her outside soaking wet and in her swimsuit, they should have done something," said her mother, Eva Tietz. Kayona says a teacher eventually gave her a jacket and one of her friends gave her a sweatshirt to wrap around her feet. But due to school policy, she wasn't allowed to sit in a faculty-member's car. "We kind of huddled up and made a circle around me and the other kids who were cold," said Kayona. Eventually, a teacher did get permission to allow Kayona and the other student to sit inside her car. But, by that time Kayona had already stood barefoot and wet for 10 minutes in some of the coldest conditions of the year. Kayona's mom picked her up and took her to the doctor, who determined she has frostbite on her feet. "If I had a fire and brought my children out in that condition, I'm sure I would be charged in some way or another. If I didn't instantly bring them into a neighbor's house or someplace else. The ultimate goal is to keep them safe and protect our children and in this instance they did a really poor job," http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/03/kayona-hagen-tietz-frostbite-fire-alarm/5997311/

New York's de Blasio boots charter schools from city space

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

Kids broken-hearted over school's Valentine's Day candy ban

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

Cupid is welcome but candy is not. Thats the new rule this year at Harwinton Consolidated School in Connecticut, where parents received an email from the principal directing them to make sure candy was not attached to any Valentines Day cards. We are asking for parents/guardians to be sure that food products of any kind are not a part of your childs Valentines cards, Principal Megan Mazzei wrote to moms and dads. We are working to encourage healthy practices as well as manage food choices in classrooms where food allergies are present in order to maintain a safe environment. One teacher announced that instead of a party, theyre going to have academic Valentine activities. OK, kids. Spell lame. That means no chocolate candies in heart-shaped boxes. The school wont even allow kids to share those pastel-colored candy hearts with clever sayings like You Rock and True Love. One teacher even sent a separate letter to parents reinforcing the ban. Our new school policy asks that students do not bring in candy or attach candy to their valentines, the teacher wrote. She even bold-faced do not lest there be any confusion. Stacey Sefcik has two children who attend the school, a fourth-grader and a second-grader. She said this is the first year theres been an all-out candy ban. Last year the kids came home with tons of Valentines cards with pieces of candy attached, she told me in a telephone interview. It was never an issue. Her sons fourth-grade teacher reiterated the candy ban in a letter to parents and even went so far as to cancel the annual Valentines Day party. With respect to this new policy, I am going to ask that no food be sent to school on Valentines Day, the teacher wrote. No snacks will be needed, and treat bags cannot be sent home in backpacks. The teacher said boys and girls could exchange cards, but advised they will not be having a party. I ask that you please respect this policy and do not send in any food items attached to the Valentines cards, the teacher stressed. Sefcik said her daughters second-grade teacher was a bit more lenient. They wont be able to eat sugary treats, but kids will be allowed to eat healthy snacks like popcorn and fruit. Im sure itll be one heck of a party dancing the hokey pokey while gnawing on a fresh celery stalk. I hope nobody spikes the carrot juice. Sefcik called the candy ban the straw that broke the camels back. Im totally fine with teaching nutrition and encouraging healthy choices, she said. I applaud their intent, but the execution has a lot to be desired. Its just candy for one day. She said shes read similar stories about school districts imposing draconian rules to enforce wellness policies, but she never thought it would happen in her town. I thought in our little corner of the world, things were rational and sensible, she told me. I had always thought that my district had its head solidly on its shoulders. Well, based on the letters and emails the school sent home to parents, Id say the school has its head up another part of the human anatomy. So what can boys and girls at Harwinton Consolidated School expect on Valentines Day? Well, one teacher announced that instead of a party, theyre going to have academic Valentine activities. OK, kids. Spell lame. The teacher also encouraged children to express their affection for one another by giving something special. I suggest pencils, stickers, temporary tattoos, homemade cards or other crafts, she wrote in a letter to parents. Remember back when you were in fourth grade how the girls used to swoon when you presented them with a Number Two pencil? Sefcik fired off a letter to Principal Mazzei expressing her extreme displeasure in the new rules. It seems we are going the way of so many other schools who lose sight of the meaning of holidays in their efforts to appease a very small minority, she wrote. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/02/07/kids-broken-hearted-over-school-valentine-day-candy-ban/

Administrators reverse ban on American celebration at high school

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

The sun was just beginning to rise over the Rocky Mountains, but Sheriff Justin Smith was already awake. He was standing outside Fort Collins High School shivering in the frigid cold. It was 12 degrees. Snow was falling. But Mr. Smith, wearing his dress blues, stood resolute, waving an American flag. The sheriff of Larimer County, Colorado had come to school Tuesday to send a message to those responsible for educating the countys children. The sheriff was not in a good mood. Whoever would have thought that American teenagers would be treated as second-class citizens in their own country? He was standing in the winter snow to protest the schools decision to ban a celebration of American patriotism. The student council had wanted to designate a day during Spirit Week to celebrate the red, white & blue. The young people called it Merica Monday. But the school turned down their request. They said they didnt want to offend anyone from other countries or immigrants, a 16-year-old member of the student council told me. They just really did not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. But after a day of righteous Rocky Mountain outrage, the principal at Fort Collins High School reversed course and apologized. Principal Mark Eversole sent a letter to parents announcing that next Monday would in fact be America Day. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/02/04/administrators-reverse-ban-on-american-celebration-at-high-school/?intcmp=latestnews

Outrage after student lunches thrown out at Utah school

Phurfur posted a topic in The Geek Club

School officials in the US state of Utah have apologised after an employee confiscated and discarded the lunches of about 30 children whose parents were in arrears on meal payments. Outraged parents in Salt Lake City said the students at Uintah Elementary primary school had been humiliated. The school system has launched an inquiry into the Tuesday incident, blamed on a sole "nutrition manager". The children whose meals were put in the rubbish were given fruit and milk. "This was a mistake. This was handled wrong,'' Jason Olsen, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City school system said on Thursday. According to Salt Lake City school officials, on Monday a nutrition manager arrived at Uintah Elementary to investigate what it described as a high number of negative balances on the accounts students use to pay for lunches prepared and served by the school. The nutrition manager and another school employee began calling parents with negative balances in an effort to recoup payment, the school system said. Then, on Tuesday, students who had queued up and were served lunch only to arrive at the tills and show negative balances were told to give back the lunches. The lunches were thrown in the rubbish, because once food is served it cannot be given to another student, the school officials said. "People are upset, obviously, by the way this has been handled because it's really needless and quite mean," said parent Erica Lukes, whose 11-year-old daughter reported that the school had taken away her pizza. Some parents reported their accounts were not, in fact, in arrears, and the official had made a mistake. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25972953

Search the Community

Search By Tags

Search By Author

Content Type

Forums

Calendars

Find results in...

Find results that contain...

Date Created

Start

End

Last Updated

Start

End

Filter by number of...

Minimum number of comments

Minimum number of replies

Minimum number of reviews

Minimum number of views

Joined

Start

End

Group

AIM

MSN

Website URL

ICQ

Yahoo

Jabber

Skype

Location

Interests