Gazette Chicago: Turf Battle at Sheridan Park: artificial or natural?
WSJ: Data-Driven Schools See Rising Scores...But a group called the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County questions the millions of dollars spent on technology. The group says the system's emphasis on closing the achievement gap between whites and minorities has shortchanged gifted students and those with disabilities. The parents also complain that the frequent use of standardized tests, beginning in grade school, stifles creativity and is crowding out the arts.
Robert Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, which has been a longtime critic of standardized assessments, echoes those concerns. He says school districts like Montgomery risk neglecting broader holistic measures of critical thinking that can't easily be tracked on a database. "Education is narrowed to little more than a test," he says...
...Some parents are angry about a plan that is phasing out special centers for students with disabilities. As part of a national movement known as mainstreaming, they are instead being taught in regular classes. Bob Astrove, parent of a son with a learning disability, says his child flourished in the separate centers -- and just finished his junior year in college. "He needed the small, controlled environment," says Mr. Astrove, who claims the district is shutting down the centers in part to shift money to its green-zone initiatives.
Gifted students, say school officials, have plenty of challenges, through extra work in class. The district says it is now spending more on special education, not less, because students receive extra supports in regular classrooms. Administrators also say they get few complaints from parents of children who get double doses of academic subjects. The district tries, when possible, to preserve electives such as art and music classes using an extended-day program...
December 11, 2008
Contact: Josh Golin (617.278.4172)
For Immediate Release
Today, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) decided to terminate their relationship with BusRadio, the controversial company created to force children to listen to commercialized radio broadcasts on school buses around the country. MCPS's decision came after the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) sent a letter to MCPS superintendent Dr. Jerry Weast urging him to end the use of BusRadio on MCPS school buses.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood commends Montgomery County Public Schools for their decision to terminate their relationship with BusRadio. No school district should turn their students over to a company whose stated goal is to "take student-targeted marketing to the next level" or force children to listen to advertisements on their way to and from school.
CCFC also congratulates the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County for their advocacy efforts and for drawing attention to BusRadio's presence in
. The events of the past twenty-four hours demonstrate once again that when parents learn the truth about BusRadio, they want no part of it for their children. We hope that parents around the country will continue to utilize our BusRadio resources – and those of Obligation, Inc – to keep their school buses commercial-free. Montgomery County
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration among organizations and individuals who care about children. CCFC supports the rights of children to grow up – and the rights of parents to raise them – without being undermined by rampant commercialism. For more information, please visit: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/
