Wednesday 11/30/05

Enclave reports on the proposal to close MNPS Jones Paideia School--

and includes "a few details that might daze and discombobulate you as well"

The Red Pen--

Nathan Moore has some great first hand information from Councilwoman Tucker about her thoughts on this whole Nashville school budget process. She pulled out her own red pen. Glad to see it. Miscellaneous and Other columns are lazy and need to be outed.

In a seemingly common sense manner, Councilwoman Tucker focuses on 1) new items from this year’s budget and 2) items cryptically marked as “Other Expenses.” My sources say that the school board has not yet granted her the opportunity to speak to them.

On the Curve--

I was out of town when the Nashville Scene published this piece on the rising Metro Nashville test scores. It's definitely worth a read.

When you take off the rose-colored glasses, turn off the local press boosterism, tune out the Bransford Avenue spin, and look with care and skepticism at the numbers, a different picture emerges. It’s not a contrary picture—higher TCAP scores aren’t imaginary—but there’s a good deal less than meets the eye to the “dramatic” gains that many credit Garcia for achieving.

Nashville is Talking blog has some additional links--

regarding the Oak Ridge High School student papers that were confiscated. Including a link to a copy of the actual article. Pity it's nearly illegible.


News of the weird and, apparently, unwell--

A Fayetteville principal finally fessed up to attacking himself.

"Mr. Steelman is very sorry for what he's done," the school director said. "He needs some help. Anybody thinking rationally would not have done that." From the Tennessean

The cussing jar on steroids--

There will be no more f-words, b-words or s-words spoken, yelled or hissed in classes at Hartford Public or Bulkeley high schools.

Not for free, anyway.

Students who dare utter words of the sort are paying dearly for their vocabulary. In a bid to rein in out-of-control language - and behavior - city police officers assigned to the schools have started doling out tickets with $103 fines. They have charged about two dozen students over the past few weeks with creating a public disturbance, an infraction. From the Hartford (Ct) Courant

If this comes to Nashville, expect to hear students complain about how school resource officers have a "cussin' quota" and are only writing tickets to accumulate enough money to finish pimping Superintendent Garcia's SUV.