I doubt many of us made it through the holidays without thinking of the mass  shooting  in Newtown Connecticut..  Such a horrific event penetrates the armor of the most hardened of us.  So as we figure out ways to move on, we face two options:

1. Let time diminish our feelings about it
2. Keep the tragedy alive enough to have a national discussion about it

Earlier this year we hosted a half dozen community conversations that focused on disadvantaged youth and what gets in their way of having a chance at a good life.  We defined disadvantaged youth as teens who had dropped out of high school and were unemployed.  Many of those who joined the conversations were in their teens or twenties. 

This Community Wants Good Public Education

Recently I wrote about 4 ways to keep public education alive. Here is a slightly different slant on the public interest in public education.  Education has been one of the most significant messages from the Community Conversations we have been hosting.

The 2012 elections have ended and one of the big questions is what the results mean for public education. So now is a good time for us to take charge of what we want public education to look like. What can we control?

If this is still the land of opportunity (and I surely hope it is), shouldn’t every young person have a chance to go to college?  Even if we accept that not everyone is suited for a college education, how do we know when to make that determination?  When they are in middle school? In 3rd grade? And who gets to decide? Teachers, parents, youth?

I imagine most of us know people who:

It’s risky to challenge the role of sports in public schools during football season in WNC.  People get downright passionate about their local high school’s football team in this part of the country.  In fact, I was watching the High School sports roundup on the news the other night and it reminded me of the long conversations we had back when I was on the school board.

Welcome to the 9th Grade.  Your child has entered this brave new world and you are excited and terrified.  You want the best for your child; an easy transition, friends, success in class. 

But your child's chance of success is slim – 80% of children entering the 9th grade don’t have the knowledge or skills they need to graduate.

If, in middle school, your child's experience included failing math or English, an unsatisfactory behavior grade in a core class or missed about 30 days of school; odds are against him or her at graduating on time, if at all.

There are national education grants for school systems to improve student success.  There are national neighborhood grants for districts to improve families’ economic success.  There are national county and multi-county grants to improve people’s health conditions.  At times these efforts stumble over each other as they try to put together collaborations of the same handful of local institutions – but each effort has the potential to make a big difference and each requires agreement by those leading entities.  If we don’t change the way we work, we will get the same results we have always g

How does anyone manage to survive middle school years?  Problems loom large. Changes are traumatic.  Perception is EVERYTHING!

A children’s garden – such a sweet notion for such a big step for 5 year olds into the world of education!
 

Checking out kindergarten blogs and chats, the ones I found were by kindergarten teachers – I was looking for one by parents.  I had a recent conversation with a dad whose daughter is starting school this year. My kids are past that stage, but I remember some very significant parts of entering the school system.  And I’m sure parents have lots of thoughts about that first big step into an Institution.