Friday, May 09, 2008

Department officials "were a little overzealous" in deciding that homeschool certificates do not count as high school diplomas.

Bruce Opie, legislative liaison for the Department of Education, told the committee that department officials "were a little overzealous" in deciding that homeschool certificates do not count as high school diplomas. But he insisted that "it has not been out of malice or any mean-spiritedness on our part."

HT: O'Donnell Web

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Teachers believe it's too difficult to weed out ineffective teachers who have tenure

Think it's hard for schools to get bad teachers out of the classroom? Turns out teachers agree.

More than half of teachers believe it's too difficult to weed out ineffective teachers who have tenure, and nearly half say they personally know such a teacher, according to a survey released Tuesday evening by the Education Sector, a nonpartisan think tank.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Carnival of Homeschooling ~Mother's Day Edition


Visit Melissa's Idea Garden to read the Mother's Day Edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling.

Are they mad?

The Mad River Local School District is looking into the ramifications of having a senior convicted of sexually assaulting another student participate in commencement with his class.

Christopher Lemaster, 18, a senior at Stebbins High School, pleaded guilty April 3 to a fourth-degree felony charge of gross sexual imposition and was placed on five years probation May 1. Lemaster's attorney indicated at his sentencing that he would like to graduate with his class.

The charge stemmed from a Nov. 2 incident when Lemaster engaged in sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old sophomore who had passed out at a party after consuming alcohol and Xanax.


Lemaster was arrested Feb. 22, released on $25,000 bond Feb. 28 and put in home instruction Mar. 3.

Home instruction differs from home schooling in that the student is still enrolled in the district, is guided by district teachers and follows the same curriculum as any other student.


I imagine the girl that was raped would have liked to graduate with her class, but it doesn't look as if they put any effort into helping her.

HT: HE & OS