ÿ�ճԹ�

While the unjust days of official segregation ended 40 years ago, public schools today are struggling against another type of segregation: racial isolation. Public schools in both urban and rural areas have been experiencing racial isolation, which occurs when one district is densely populated by a predominant ethnic group.

To combat these geographically-induced segregation trends, public school leaders have created integration programs to develop more diverse student populations. While the concept of mandatory racial integration may sound strange to an unfamiliar ear, schools across the country have implemented “reassignment” programs to increase diversity. In many cases, public schools have enforced specific race-based quotas – and these practices have ignited controversy on both sides of the debate.

From the : "The massive effort to desegregate public schools across the United States was a major goal of the Civil Rights Movement. Since the 1930s, lawyers from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had strategized to bring local lawsuits to court, arguing that separate was not equal and that every child, regardless of race, deserved a first-class education. These lawsuits were combined into the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that outlawed segregation in schools in 1954. But the vast majority of segregated schools were not integrated until many years later. Many interviewees of the Civil Rights History Project recount a long, painful struggle that scarred many students, teachers, and parents."

Chicago Public Schools: Mandatory Racial Integration

Gaining a major

Public schools are no longer focusing on just reading, writing, and arithmetic. Hoping to improve the social environment on campus, many school leaders are experimenting with innovative positive behavior programs.

Every day, more than 25 million middle and high school students walk through the hallways and classrooms of public schools across the country. According to (IEM), break times, lunch times, and moments between classes create the campus climate – and the students’ behavior ultimately impacts whether the environment is safe and respectful or intimidating and negative.

Public school behavior programs encourage students to build healthy relationships, develop positive behavior, and foster a shared responsibility amongst the community. All of these factors contribute to a more productive campus environment, as well as better academic achievement for individual students.

This video explains positive support.

Demanding a Change: Why Schools Need Positive Behavior Strategies

As IEM further reveals, problems with negative student behavior occur at all grade levels and can cause serious negative impacts on each student’s development and confidence. In fact, in specifically examining the pre-teen and high school years, the National Center for Education Statistics has reported that nearly 5 percent of all 12 to 18-year-olds have avoided school-related functions due to feelings of fear and/or apprehension.

While negative behaviors undoubtedly impact a

Although the media may not frequently report sensational stories of public school gang activity, the reality of the statistics is not reassuring. Experts have found that a rising number of schools have been encountering gang-related activity – in areas outside of the stereotypical urban cities. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2003 – 2004 school year alone, 41% of high schools and 31% of middle schools reported gang activity.

As , an association of professional educators, explains, “Once the exclusive of poor neighborhoods in our large cities, youth street gangs have lately inspired an almost paralyzing fear in both suburban and rural middle-class communities across the nation.”

To address the growing gang dangers prevalent in school communities, educational leaders have been enforcing new practices to keep campuses and students safer.

Gangs in Public Schools: The Rising Concern

While gangs can realistically arise in any region, many schools throughout the country have reported significantly higher rates of gang activity. For example, as the Seattle Times reveals, one local Washington state high school, Garfield, has been forced to make significant changes in order to combat pressing gang problems in recent semesters. According to reports, “As Seattle struggles with heightened violence attributed to street gangs, the city's schools are increasingly shaping policies to keep the problem from spreading onto campuses.”

Garfield High School has implemented comprehensive changes in an effort to reduce gang activity, including:

• The school purposefully avoided scheduling any

Budget cuts have forced public schools to reduce their curriculum offerings, increase class sizes, and cut back on teacher positions. However, to fill the fiscal gap, many schools are taking even more drastic measures to reduce their operating costs.

The costs of new textbooks, classroom materials, and even handouts can result in massive school expenses. Subsequently, many public schools are now requiring students to purchase their own materials and books! As a result, many families may be forced to increase their education spending to meet their child’s classroom needs.

This video offers an overview of public K-12 education in the United States.

Cutting Jobs, Classes...and Textbooks?

When schools are faced with budget costs, most districts begin by eliminating faculty positions; however, reducing the number of teachers and administrators can only go so far on the bottom line. If school leaders reduce their faculty numbers, but still have not met their budgetary restrictions, then leaders are forced to develop new, and often controversial, alternatives.

For example, according to ABC News, schools across the state of California are hoping to reduce their spending by using older textbooks for longer periods of time. While California schools have already eliminated various educational programs, along with teaching and faculty positions, these cuts are simply not enough – and new textbooks are literally getting the ax.

In fact, school leaders report that the state of California will not be

Bill Gates revolutionized the PC industry, but will he be changing the face of America's public schools? Based upon his generous donations to educational institutions, as well as his commitment to education research, the answer may be a resounding "yes."

Mr. Gates recently spoke at the 2009 National Conference of State Legislatures in July and expressed the importance of improving teacher performance in order to improve student learning and school success. According to PHYSORG, a science and technology based newsgroup, Gates argued that enhanced methods of measuring both student and teacher performance would ultimately help build for a stronger educational system. As Gates further explains, "The U.S. must improve its educational standing in the world by rewarding effective teaching and by developing better, universal measures of performance for students and teachers."

With Gates retired from Microsoft, many educational leaders are eagerly awaiting his potential contributions to improving our nation's public schools.

Gates Foundation: Improving Education, Half a Billion Dollars at a Time

Bill Gates, along with his wife, Melinda, established the Gates Foundation to alleviate humanity issues both internationally and domestically. In recent years, the Gates Foundation has garnered attention for its incredibly generous contributions to public schools. Specifically, according to , the Gates Foundation has allocated half a billion dollars to improve teaching in public schools!

The Gates Foundation reviewed nearly 110 school districts, and thus far, has selected a group of finalists. Currently, Pittsburgh area schools are ranked with contenders from