The news that North Kansas City schools are implementing a plan to trim their budget by $1 million should be applauded by the public. North Kansas City schools, like many other school districts, need to realize that there is not an unlimited pool of funding available.

North Kansas City Schools Have Only a Limited Amount of Funding Available

North Kansas City schools need to receive enough funding to ensure that students have the tools they need to learn. The problem with school budgets in general (not just the budget for North Kansas schools) is that the people in charge of those funds tend to forget exactly where the money comes from. The government can only collect so much in taxes, after all.

The challenge faced by North Kansas City schools is how to keep costs in line, while still providing a quality education. Since the vast majority of school board spending is on salaries, this is the budget item that might fist be examined for possible cuts. School business is a tough business. Teacher salaries are always a topic for debate and yet talented teachers are in demand and schools are finding it difficult to address budget needs at the teacher level.

Budget Goals at North Kansas City Schools Can Be Met Without Cutting Staff

I applaud the decision taken by board officials responsible for North Kansas City schools in deciding to look at where the public's tax dollars are being spent and make some changes where the lion's share of the money is being spent. No jobs will be cut, but the board officials at North Kansas City schools will be making adjustments to make better use of the human resources they already have.

The easy approach, by far, would be to get the axe out and start swinging. I was very glad to read that any reductions in the staff working at North Kansas City schools will be done through attrition. The schools can be thought of as being in the service industry; they get funding to provide educational services to our young people.

When you start cutting back too deep or too quickly, the quality of that service will suffer. When the quality of education suffers, then we will all end up paying for it. The children going through North Kansas City schools are our future leaders. If we start cutting the budgets for North Kansas City schools without having a detailed plan in place, we may end up with a generation that is not well prepared for life as adults when they finish school.

We use a portion of our tax dollars to invest in the next generation because we know those young people are worth it. The board officials need to spend those funds wisely, and that may mean making changes to class size or choosing not to run some courses where there isn't enough interest to justify keeping them going. North Kansas City schools are on the right track; more school districts need to follow in their footsteps.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit Kansas City Missouri school district.

Any policy that strives to stamp out bullying, whether in Columbus schools or elsewhere, is a policy toward a worthwhile endeavor. There is no excuse for officials or districts to turn a blind eye toward this type of behavior excusing it as a “kids will be kids” byproduct of a group of children. Bullying can have long lasting affects on victims and needs to be dealt with promptly and decisively. The definition of bullying to be used in Columbus schools, however, leaves something to be desired.

Columbus Schools Need a Better Definition of Bullying

The definition of bullying being used in Columbus schools describes physical, written, or verbal acts against fellow students, but adds the words "more than once." I would argue that we all know what bullying is and that there should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior. By including the statement that an act is not considered bullying unless it happens for a second time gives the bully one free shot at a victim. That is simply not acceptable in Columbus schools or anywhere else, for that matter.

If we are talking about a physical act of violence that an adult commits, do they get one freebie before it is considered a crime? Not at all! Anyone who chooses to bully another student needs to take responsibility for their actions from the very first time they behave in that manner. All acts of bullying are harmful to the victims involved, whether it's the first time or not, and administrators at Columbus schools need to step up and recognize that fact.

Consequences of Bullying Should be Spelled Out

Not only should the definition of bullying used by Columbus schools be tightened up, but the consequences for this type of behavior should also be explained in detail with the objective of making consequences a deterrent in themselves. Students and parents should know what to expect if their child is bullied and, more importantly, know the consequences should their child be the bully.

For the policy to be effective, all bullying incidents at Columbus schools must be taken seriously. All allegations of bullying need to be investigated promptly, and if they are found to have merit, the penalty should be imposed with no exceptions. It's the only way that the problem of bullying at Columbus schools and in other jurisdictions has a chance of being overcome.

Too many people have the opinion that children have always picked on each other and that's just the way it is. I believe that over time our attitudes toward what is considered acceptable behavior can and does change. The students at Columbus schools deserve to learn in an environment that encourages tolerance. The victims of bullying at Columbus schools are not the problem; the problem of bullying lies squarely with the bullies themselves.

Let's tell officials at Columbus schools that their policy needs to be rewritten so that bullying incidents are dealt with the first time they occur, not give bullies a free first shot.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit Columbus Public Schools.

In response to a recent evaluation of Los Angeles schools, Superintendent Brewer released a new strategy for helping failing secondary (high schools, grades 9-12) schools improve. Called “The Strategic Plan for High Priority Schools”, it is a document that is intended to address the problems inherent in these schools and the goals that have been set to solve them.

Los Angeles schools who attend these failing schools (approximately 13 in all) may feel like they are being taken care of by their school board, if they take the time to even think about it. Most likely, they have their minds on other, more pressing (to them) matters, such as living in poverty, learning to speak English, learning with disabilities and whether or not to stay in school at all.

These students attending these Los Angeles schools may look to their school as a place of sanctuary, but given the habit of teens to bring wear their problems on their sleeves, it’s doubtful that even the best school can offer much sanctuary from a stressful life.

The Plan: Inspired or Misguided?

So is the “Plan” misguided? I believe that the leaders of Los Angeles schools truly want to improve their schools that need improving. Is the plan the best way to go? Well, let’s take a look at a few of its high points.

• Local Control – individual Los Angeles schools will be given control over how they will improve. With district support, these Los Angeles schools can use what methods work best for their particular students. (One has to wonder, however, that if the administrators of these Los Angeles schools were doing their best in the first place, whether the problems would be as extensive as they currently are.)

• Rigorous Curriculum – Setting a higher standard for students to reach is all well and good, but if the students attending these failing Los Angeles schools are already behind, (and it’s a good bet that this is so, especially if we’re talking about those in danger of dropping out or with learning disabilities) it’s hard to see how raising the bar will help. Perhaps more concentration should go into getting these students of Los Angeles schools back on track academically speaking.

• High Quality Instruction – This simply means putting better teachers in the classrooms. Too often, low-achieving schools are the dumping ground for what’s wrong with the teaching profession; they’ll take any assignment they can get in order to keep their jobs. They’re teaching for the paycheck (as unbelievable as THAT may be) and little else. Improving teacher quality is imperative; principals have got to be able to rearrange, reassign, retrain or even FIRE ineffective teaching staff. Failing teachers working at failing Los Angeles schools really do not deserve job security. We wouldn’t accept that from a doctor, lawyer, policeman or even preacher, so why should teaching be any different?

While these are only a few areas which are addressed in “The Strategic Plan for High Priority Schools”, it is easy to see that Los Angeles schools have their work cut out for them. Reform is necessary, and won’t be simple. Hopefully, the leaders of Los Angeles schools will stick to their jobs for the long haul and fix what’s wrong with these Los Angeles schools.

Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please visit Los Angeles Unified School District

Now that lists of high school rankings are being published in the media, parents, teachers, and students will no doubt be wondering where "their" school ranks on the list. The lists of high school rankings are based on student test results. I would argue that the criteria for what makes a high school a good one should be based on something more than what these tests measure.

What are the Basis of High School Rankings?

When you look at high school rankings, information other than the test scores may also be included. Along with the test results, the total number of students attending the school, and the student-to-teacher ratio is also provided. The percentage of students receiving a free or discounted lunch is also tracked.

Since the high school rankings do show that it is possible to have a good number of students getting a free or discounted lunch yet do well on tests, why is this figure included in the numbers prepared for publication?

Again, the administrators and the public are basing their opinion about what makes a school a good one simply on a snapshot of the test results from a single day. This view of high school rankings is a very narrow one. What about intangibles? What about facility attitudes toward teaching? What about student safety? Is the environment encouraging or discouraging. For example, taking California’s API scores, a school catering to a naturally above average student body in aptitude may end up with the highest test scores without teaching or challenging its students. Another school that begins with a student body collectively average or below in natural aptitude may score much lower but provide a challenge and significant improvement to the student body. Which school is then doing its job better? Put another way, if we truly want to get a good handle on high school rankings and what they mean, we need to keep in mind that they only tell one part of the story. Consider, if you will, a competition of any kind. It could be an athletic or academic one. At the end of the day, the winners will be selected. The standings don't show what the competitors went through to prepare for that day, who competed while battling symptoms of the flu, or which ones had trouble concentrating on the task at hand because of problems at home.

High school rankings do the same thing. They show a snapshot of one day but don't take into consideration the hard work the students are putting forward when they go to school or how much progress they have made over the school year. The high school rankings don't indicate which students were fortunate enough to have teachers who were willing to offer extra help or lend an ear when students had a problem they wanted to discuss.

All of these elements have a bearing on high school rankings. You simply can't take all the work that goes into a school year and choose one day that will indicate whether the students are a success or not. Check out the high school rankings if you want to, but do keep in mind that a set of figures does not tell the whole story about a school.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit High School Rankings

Detroit Schools are offering tips for parents and students taking tests. Tests, regular and standardized, are supposed to accurately measure how well a child has mastered his or her subjects in school. However, Detroit Schools also understand how stressful a test can be on some children and so they’re giving parents and students ideas on how to help prepare for test day. Yes, parents can help. Many parents are under the ridiculously false assumption that they aren’t able to help their child with homework or to prepare for a test. Of course, this couldn’t be more wrong.

Tips for Test Taking from Detroit Schools

There are three distinct stages of test-taking according to Detroit Schools: before the test, day of the test, and after the test. Knowing what to do in each stage can be the most helpful in helping a child prepare for a test.

? Before the Test: In the weeks before a test, parents should be asking to see their child’s homework assignments. Parents should sit down with their children and discuss the reasons why he or she thinks they are getting the questions wrong. Parents should help children not just with answers to the questions but how those answers were arrived at. When a parent is stumped too, call the teacher. Detroit Schools have gone to lengths ensuring that all on their teaching staff are highly qualified. Parents of Detroit students should not hesitate to call and ask questions regarding their child’s progress.

Parents can also make sure that their child has adequate space to do homework in a quiet and well lit area. A rule of thumb for home work, depending upon age is 20 minutes of study for each hour of class 5 days a week through Jr. High. In High School that number increases to 30 minutes. Friday and Saturday nights can be rest nights with Sunday through Thursday nights being study nights. Effort and accountability are key lessons parents can teach their children. Detroit Schools recommend that parents give lots of praise for a job well done. The younger the child, the more he is actively seeking parental approval.

? Day of the Test: On the day of the test, Detroit Schools recommend that parents make sure their child is well rested and well fed with a hearty breakfast. Studies have shown that a student who has eaten breakfast performs better on tests. Also parents should be sure that the student arrives to school on time and is calm and relaxed. Reassure him that everything will go well and that he or she is ready. Also parents should re assure that as long as their child has done their best, everything will turn out alright. Detroit Schools will take it from there!

? After the Test: After the test is graded and sent home, parents should go over it with their children. Detroit Schools wants parents to ask their children questions about the test. If the student marked a question wrong but knows the right answer, there might be an underlying problem. Concerned parents should contact their teacher. Detroit Schools welcomes calls to teachers, principals, or counselors in order to resolve any problems.

Taking an active role in a child’s education is a parental responsibility!

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit Detroit Public Schools