Three Houston Schools In Trouble Public Upset Over Possible Closings

•Houston Schools New Budget Brings Needed Money For Teachers And Improvements
Houston schools teachers have not had significant pay raise in seven years. The new Houston schools budget plans for an average 8.6 percent pay raise for teachers for the 2006-07 school year, with a total of $49.2 million in funding. The state is providing $31 million for the pay raises, and the Houston schools are providing $18.2 million from their own revenues. An additional $8 million increase also is included for teacher performance pay. This is all part of the Houston schools proposed...

•Houston Schools Focus On Magnet And Early Childhood Programs
School systems across the country have just a couple of things on their plate: charter schools, budgets, magnet schools, pension plans, pre-K and dropout rates- to name a few. Houston Schools are no different, and Magnet and Early Childhood programs appear to be at the top of the list. The cream of the Houston School system's crop are the Gifted and Talented students. Currently, 25,000 students are identified as gifted and talented. Beginning next school year ('07-'08), students identified as...

•Are The Houston Schools Making College Accessible
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) wants to increase the amount of students that attend college. In order to do this, they are providing students, as well as parents, all the information they need in order to make college happen. Houston Schools believes that college is the best way for a student to succeed in the world. How are Houston Schools Helping Students Attend College? The schools in Houston Independent School District, are dedicated to the focus of providing a quality...

•Houston Schools Support 2007 Goal Of Success For Mcreynolds Middle School
On the evening of August 31, a meeting was held for the parents, students, teachers, staff, business partners, and other community members of McReynolds Middle School, a member of the Houston schools that is located on the east side of the city. Hundreds of people filled the school’s auditorium, leaving standing room only. McReynolds, along with Houston schools Kashmere and Sam Houston, will be closed next spring, if they do not improve their state rankings. McReynolds has been ranked...

•Dress Code Is New Hot Button For The Houston Schools
School dress codes have been around for decades, but they gained more prominence in schools and are stricter in recent years in response to the permeation of gangs and violence within the schools at all levels. In addition to maintaining modesty within the schools, dress codes now ban gang paraphernalia, colors and symbols; shirts with writing; head coverings; and other such accessories that have been linked to gangs or school violence. Though all of the Houston schools have dress codes, each...

•The San Jose Schools Struggle With Charters
The San Jose Schools have struggled for years to find ways to address educational issues in the city. While there is a lot of room for criticism in any urban school district, you can't say that the San Jose Unified School District hasn't tried a lot of different angles for success. The diversity in the San Jose Schools, with a significant percentage of Spanish and Vietnamese speaking families, can be part of the problem when communicating with parents and building successful schools. That's...

•Are More Charter Schools In The Chicago Schools Future
Ever since George W. Bush took the oath of president of the United States, he and his administration have instituted many federally mandated changes for public schools across the nation. Now, according to Margaret Spellings, education secretary for the Bush Administration, there may be more that directly affect the Chicago Schools and the state of Illinois. Currently, the states of Illinois, Michigan and New York have the lowest caps on the number of public charter schools allowed. Illinois...

•Magnets In The St Louis Schools
Just like any other big city the St. Louis Schools in Missouri have some challenges in educating the city's youngest population. Religious and private schools are an option for many. The public St. Louis Public Schools don't have the best reputation. Charter schools and magnet schools are both alternatives to the traditional model of St. Louis Schools. St. Louis Schools offer charters, independently run institutions, as one version of school choice. The problem with charter schools anywhere...

•Minneapolis Public Schools Lose Students To Charter Schools
Students are Fleeing Minneapolis Schools Minneapolis schools are being faced with the prospect of empty school buildings as more and more students flee the system to charter schools in the district. Minneapolis schools' enrollment figures have plummeted to just 36,000 this year - that's almost half its capacity of 50,000 students. Schools in the north side have felt the pinch the hardest with a 44 percent drop in enrollment over the past five years. All indications are that there is no...

•Baltimore Schools Lose In Court Ruling Favored Charter Schools
In 2005, City Neighbors and Patterson Park Public, two charter schools in Baltimore, appealed the Baltimore schools’ per student funding formula to the state board. The board ruled in their favor, and the Baltimore schools appealed the board’s decision in the Court of Special Appeals, Maryland’s second highest court. Early this month, the court ruled in favor of the charter schools, requiring Maryland school systems to spend as much money per student at charter schools as they spend at their...