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Prom is a rite of passage for many high school students; a chance to celebrate with friends before everyone heads in different directions after graduation. For students at some Georgia high schools, the evening celebrations were restricted according to the color of a student’s skin. Segregated proms have been going on in some areas of Georgia for decades since the schools backed out of sponsoring the events. In the hands of parents and students, proms have become an “invitation only” event, with black students hosting one party and white students hosting another.

Change is in the Air

This year, four students at Wilcox County High School decided it was time for a change. The female students, two white and two black have decided it is time for their school to have an integrated prom. The students created an Integrated Prom Facebook page, where they wrote, “We live in rural south Georgia, where not too many things change. Well, as a group of adamant high school seniors, we want to make a difference in our community. For the first time in the history of our county, we plan to have an integrated prom.”

The four friends began their campaign when they decided they all wanted to be able to enjoy their senior prom together. One of the girls, Quanesha Wallace, had been elected homecoming queen for her school in the fall. However, she was unable to attend the white homecoming dance, since she is a

The Newtown tragedy last December brought to light the vulnerability of public schools across the country. To answer concerns about student and staff safety, many have clamored for the addition of armed guards in every school nationwide. However, research suggests that placing armed police officers in schools may create more issues even as it is addressing the need for student safety. Police presence in schools may actually increase the number of students in the criminal justice system – often for minor crimes that could have been handled at the school level.

Not a New Idea

Despite the increased rhetoric surrounding police presence in school in recent months, the idea is not new. According to the , school districts have been using federal funding and other resources to bring police officers into schools since the 1990s. Known as “school resource officers,” these armed officers typically patrol high schools and middle schools, but some have been placed in elementary schools as well. Deseret News reports that the U.S. Department of Education recently found around 28 percent of all public schools report they have an armed security guard on school grounds during class hours at least once a week.

Hundreds of larger school districts, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Houston, have actually established their own police departments. These departments, boasting thousands of sworn officers and other staff members, are under the direct oversight of district officials. The Los Angeles School

Although a federal court has upheld a ban on Mexican-American studies in Tucson Public Schools, students in the large school district is finding ways are finding ways to delve into their own heritage and the history of others that lived in the state. While a judge has called the studies “biased, political and emotionally charged,” some Tucson students have made it clear they will not let the legal system be the final determinant of what they can learn.

Decision on Mexican-American Studies goes to Federal Court

reports that a U.S. District Court in Tucson has issued a ruling upholding the state’s decision to do away with Mexican-American studies in the school system. The Tucson Unified School District voted last year to eliminate the curriculum due after the state cut funding to the program once it determined the studies were in violation of state law. The law in question prohibited any curriculum taught in public schools that “engendered racial or ethnic disharmony,” according to the Capitol Times.

The law does not allow for any curriculum taught in public schools that promotes resentment toward a particular race or is designed primarily for students of a single race or ethnicity. Instead, the state promotes a curriculum that embraces the treatment of people individuals, rather than ethnic solidarity. However, students, teachers, and parents protested the decision to do away with the Mexican-American studies last year, asserting the ban was a violation of free

The cheating scandal recently rocked has moved up the coast to Philadelphia. This large school district has recently dismissed two school administrators amid serious cheating allegations. Those involved in the investigation into Philadelphia schools have suggested that the two dismissals may not be the end of what looks to be another widespread cheating problem that could impact teachers and administrators throughout the Philadelphia school system.

This video from CBS This Morning reports on four Philadelphia teachers and a principal being charged with a felony for allegedly doctoring state test results.

Principals: The First Casualties in Cheating Investigation

reports that two principals in Philadelphia are the first to face dismissal amid cheating accusations. The principals surrendered their city credentials in lieu of discipline by the district. Barbara McCreery worked as the principal at Communication Technology High, a school in Southwest Philadelphia that saw an exponential jump in standardized test scores in 2010. McCreery had recently moved to Bok Technical High School, where she was recently removed from her position as principal due to the cheating allegations.

Lolo Marie O’Rourke, principal at Locke Elementary School in West Philadelphia during the time cheating allegedly occurred, was also stripped of her city credentials. O’Rourke is currently serving as the language arts supervisor in Trenton Public Schools in New Jersey, according to .