Thursday, October 21^st

Graduation Rates Stagnate as Latinos Continue to Trail

The White House announced Tuesday the creation of a commission to focus on boosting Hispanic academic achievement just as a report showed that college graduation rates among young Americans, especially Latinos, were stagnating.

According to the American Council on Education, a Washington lobbying group, today's 25- to 34-year-olds are no better educated than their baby-boomer predecessors. About 37.5% of them held at least a two-year college degree in 2008, almost identical to the 37% of 45- to 64-year olds-roughly the baby-boom generation. People ages 35 to 44 have the highest attainment rate, at 39%.

The lack of progress could be traced mainly to males and minorities, the report says, particularly Hispanics, who continued to lag behind previous generations in college attainment. Meanwhile, young women of all races are making generational progress. Read More

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Salinas Leaders Stress Collaboration In Ending Violence

Salinas-area elected officials and leaders on Thursday emphasized the value of collaboration within the community in ending violence, a day after returning from a White House-sponsored anti-gang summit.

The briefing following the Oct. 4 and 5 National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention in Washington, D.C., an element of a six-city pilot program led by the U.S. Department of Justice. The program brings multiple federal agencies to the cities of Salinas, San Jose, Memphis, Detroit, Chicago and Boston – such as the departments of Education, Housing & Development and Health & Human Services. Read More

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State, Youth Services of Tulsa to Help Juvenile Offenders Re-Enter Society

The Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs and Youth Services of Tulsa are teaming up to help juvenile offenders successfully reintegrate into society.

The program is being funded by a three-year, $1.7 million grant through the federal Department of Justice's Second Chance Recovery Act Reentry Demonstration Project.

Oklahoma was one of nine states selected to develop a reintegration model.

Youth Services Executive Director Jim Walker said: "There are 65 teens in OJA locked facilities who will soon be returning to Tulsa. They all need supervision and support to successfully reintegrate and become contributors to our community."

Case managers will begin working with the youths while they're still in custody to develop a safety net of services to help them so they don't reoffend. Read More

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Help Needed to Fight Gang Problem

Gang issues are front and center in Southern Wisconsin.

Officers are reaching out for help to fight a problem they say they can't stop alone.

Drugs, graffiti, guns and gangs, they go hand in hand and they're in our neighborhoods.

It's a problem for more than just police officers.

Parent David Eppihimer says, "I think as a parent it's a big concern. I just want to be sure he's safe."

Gang numbers continue to increase in communities across our area and tonight the Janesville PD gang unit wants parents to know about it. They aren't holding anything back.

Since March the number of confirmed gang members in Janesville has gone from 192 to 232, just some of the information they're sharing with concerned parents at a community meeting.

Read More

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Bullying Behavior Put on Notice

Three schools receive grant to implement prevention program.

A climate study of three local schools last year conducted by the county's gang prevention coordinator found that teachers, administrators and even most parents agree that bullying is a problem.

One of the surprising findings from the study is that 50 to 60 percent of kids who reported that they were chronically bullied said the bullying lasted at least six months or more. Read More

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Fewer Black Males Are Dropping Out of School In Baltimore

Graduation rate has also improved.

Black male students in Baltimore are staying in school and receiving their diplomas in higher numbers, school officials said on Wednesday, raising hope that future generations of city youths will gain skills needed for success in life.

District officials said that the performance of black male students over the past three years has been the driving force behind the improved statistics for Baltimore schools. In 2007, for every black male student who graduated from high school, one dropped out. Now, three are graduating for every one who leaves school.

"This is a major accomplishment that deserves the attention of all of the city," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "Baltimore schools continue to improve because we set higher expectations." Read More

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Schools Open Doors to Students' Mobile Devices

More schools are doing an about-face as they change policies to allow the use of student-owned mobile devices in class.

At Oak Hills High School in suburban Cincinnati, students returned from summer break to learn they were free not only to bring their mobile devices to school, but also to use them-at their teachers' discretion-to connect to the school's wireless network to do their work.

At Cumberland Valley High near Harrisburg, Pa., district officials have approved a similar policy on a pilot basis after deep and repeated discussions with administrators, teachers, and parents. Read More

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Teaching Teachers

As educators struggle with the issue of teacher improvement, a program in Tennessee shows that struggling teachers can gain a lot from watching great teachers in action.

Teachers are at the center of the great debate over how to fix American education. We're told the bad ones need to be fired; the good ones, rewarded. But what about the rest? Most teachers are in the middle – not terrible, but they could be better. If every student is going to have a good teacher, then the question of how to help teachers in the middle must be part of the debate. Read More

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