Detroit Schools: Vocational Programs In Jeopardy

School reform at the federal level has been highly touted as the way to turn around failing schools and ensure a high-quality education for all students in the U.S. However, opponents of that reform are claiming that the process currently used to improve failing schools is actually having the opposite effect – discriminating against the very students it is claiming to help. Is school reform doing more harm than good? The answer depends on who you ask.

The Advent of School Reform

In 2010, President Obama championed school reform by revamping the School Improvement Grant program. The move increased the annual budget of the program from $125 million to $535 million. The administration also pumped a one-time amount of $3.5 billion in 2010 allocated directly to districts that were willing to undertake one of four jumpstart models toward serious education reform.

The four jumpstart models include:

• Turning a failing school over to a charter operator
• Instituting a new principal and learning strategy
• Replacing at least half the school’s administrative staff
• Closing the school completely

Schools labeled as improvement schools may receive up to $2 million in additional funding annually for up to three years. A number of districts have risen to the challenge, identifying schools most in need of reform and establishing plans to turn those schools around. Unfortunately, the results of those efforts have been mixed thus far.

This TEDTalk explains who the real experts in school reform are.

Students in the public school system in the United States are eligible for a variety of services, depending on their needs. Under Title I, students in need are provided with additional assistance to promote their success in school and beyond. Title I funding is provided to more than 90 percent of the school systems across the country, with the money used in various ways to help low-income students break the cycle of poverty with the tools they need for academic success.

What is Title I?

Title I is one of the oldest public education programs in the United States and one of the largest. The program provides additional funding to school districts with a large population of low-income students to help students in this demographic meet the academic standards assigned by the state. The program was established as Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and its purpose is to “ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education,” according to the U.S. Department of Education website.

This brief video gives us an overview of Title I.

The Department of Education also lists strategies that local school districts should implement to achieve that purpose with the provided funding, which include:

• Meeting the educational needs of low-income and minority students
• Holding schools and governments accountable for the academic achievement of students
• Use of tools, assessments, and

Chicago Public Schools faces many challenges today, as it strives to educate a wide and diverse student body. To achieve that end, the school system offers a wide range of programs to help students succeed and even excel in their academic endeavors. Check out these six programs currently offered by the Chicago Public Schools district.

Academic Decathlon

Chicago Public Schools boasts the highest enrollment in this national competition than any other school district in the country. Approximately 70 schools compete within the local district in the Academic Decathlon, with nine-member teams representing each school. Each team must consist of three students with an A-average, three students with a B-average, and three students with a C-average.

Students compete in seven different academic areas and on three different levels of competition. The purpose of this activity is to foster a spirit of teamwork, while individual members work toward academic excellence. Nearly all of the students that participate in the Academic Decathlon through CPS graduate from high school, and more than 70 percent head to college after graduation.

Arts Education

The Department of Arts Education strives to offer Chicago students more opportunities to explore various forms of art outside the classroom setting. The department provides offerings in dance, theatre, music, and visual arts. In addition to providing programs for students, the Department of Arts Education serves as a resource for teachers and administrators within the Chicago Public Schools system.

The goal of the Arts program is

Serving more than one million students each year, the New York City Department of Education is the largest school district in the country. This district faces serious challenges when it comes to ensuring all students in the city get at least one or two hot meals every day, regardless of their income level. With a wide variety of services provided by the School Food division of the New York City Department of Education, students throughout the city get the nutrition they need all through the school year and beyond.

About NYC School Food Services

According to the NYC School Food website, this department serves around 850,000 meals to more than 1.1 million students in New York City every day. The department offers a free breakfast program to all students in the city, based on the philosophy that students that start their day with a nutritious meal perform better academically. The department also serves lunch and 1,700 schools across the city, including free lunches for many students that qualify.

According to the Human Resources Administration of the New York City government, qualification for free or reduced-price lunch is based on family income level. A family of five qualifies for the free lunch program if their monthly income is $2,927 or below. That same family of five can also qualify for a reduced-price lunch, where the student only has to pay 25 cents per meal, if their monthly income is $4,165 or