ScissorTales » Education

Fast food at school

Mel Bracht — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:10:34 +0000

Broken Arrow High School students aren’t allowed to leave campus for lunch, but beginning next year they’ll have an opportunity to eat at a popular fast-food chain. Broken Arrow will become the state’s first public school system to have a Subway on campus. Students will have a choice among five or six of the healthier sandwiches and will be able to dress their sandwiches at a self-serve vegetable bar. The sandwiches will be served with fruit, vegetables and milk and will be considered a “reimbursable” meal under the federal school lunch program. Unlike regular Subway franchises, chips or soda won’t be available. About 60 U.S. public schools have Subway franchises on campus. The company waives the franchise fee for schools and trains workers for free; the district pays Subway a percentage of the revenue. If the students are lucky, perhaps Subway spokesman Blake Griffin, the NBA star from Oklahoma City, will stop by to sign autographs.

(Photo by Diane Bondareff for SUBWAY)

Fighting for a cause

owen canfield — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:46:18 +0000

Fighting Sioux -- March 22, 2010 AP File Photo

The University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname isn’t going away without a fight. The nickname was among several the NCAA deemed “hostile and abusive” in 2006. The NCAA threatened those schools with sanctions if they didn’t change their nicknames and logos. The university dropped its nickname and logo — the profile of an American Indian warrior — last year after the repeal of a state law requiring the school to use them. This week, organizers of a petition drive delivered about 4,000 more signatures than are required to put the question to voters. The university’s president then said the school would resume using the nickname until the referendum process is completed. Good for them. The NCAA was wrong to bully schools such as UND and others. We’re still waiting for it to put the squeeze on the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame. Not hostile and abusive enough, apparently.

Grammatically speaking

mark green — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:46:12 +0000

OK, we’ll play the ugly Americans for a minute. Soccer’s World Cup is into its second week, and while it’s truly a spectacle, the play-by-play broadcasts and their odd British grammar is getting annoying. We know: The verb in that last phrase is wrong. It should be “the play-by-play broadcasts and their odd British grammar ARE getting annoying” — because the subject is plural. That’s the beef with these WC broadcasters, who’re constantly telling us “England ARE lucky to still be alive” or “the United States ARE gearing up for a big match against Algeria.” In both cases Americans use the verb “is” — because that’s just the way it is in the Colonies. But not in World Cup. We can handle British-isms like calling the playing field a “pitch,” a team practice “training” and soccer “football,” but this grammar deal is fingernails on a blackboard. Worse, color man John Harkes, of Kearny, N.J., apparently is along for the ride, echoing the subject/verb quirkiness of his British booth-mate. Blimey! Now, about the on-screen graphics showing distances in meters …

Tuition for illegal immigrants

christine watson — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:01:00 +0000

New Jersey won’t be joining the short list of states allowing undocumented students to attend college at in-state tuition rates. The effect, supporters said, is that children will be punished for the actions of their illegal immigrant parents and likely won’t attend college at all. The measure’s failure is rightfully disappointing although the in-state tuition denial has become a politically popular choice in many states. While higher education is not a right, it’s an opportunity that ought to be as widely available as possible for those who want it. Banning students who were young and had no say when their family immigrated slams shut the door of opportunity for many of those students who simply cannot afford the much higher price tag of out-of-state tuition. What good comes from that?

Judgment day

christine watson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:22:57 +0000

An Ardmore mother will find her bank account about $3,000 lighter because her high school-age daughter kept missing school. Here’s hoping parents will get the message prosecutor Craig Ladd was aiming for. “Parents have several responsibilities when it comes to their children,” Ladd told The Daily Ardmoreite. “One responsibility that gets overlooked by some parents is making their children attend school, and we take school attendance very seriously. This case is good example of just how costly that failed responsibility can be.” Indeed. Schools have cracked down on truancy in recent years, knowing that students don’t learn if they’re not in school and because attendance rates now factor into the state’s school rating system. The ideal solution has students back in class before the case hits the court system. But when that doesn’t work, parents shouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves in front of a judge.

Just the facts

christine watson — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:39:21 +0000

Tensions are high over a school deregulation bill. Is it too much to expect top education officials to keep the debate in the adult realm? Last week, some members of the state education board weren’t shy in expressing their displeasure. One exchange had a board member saying supporters of Senate Bill 834 were drinking “Republican whiskey.” Really? That nonsense is on top of the fear tactics the Oklahoma Education Association and some other opponents are employing. All involved should just stick to the truth. Doing so would still leave plenty of room for sincere debate.

Party time’s over

christine watson — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:08:53 +0000

It’s no secret that Angela Monson is one of the most well-known and respected women in the state’s Democratic Party. Good for her. But her position as the new chairman of the Oklahoma City School Board is nonpartisan, and she must avoid any appearance to the contrary. Oklahoma County’s Democratic Party was active in her election. She was even scheduled to be a “special guest” at a party-sponsored fundraising event this week. Monson was only sworn into the post on Monday; she hasn’t had time to set the tone for the board she now leads. The county party isn’t at fault for inviting Monson. Only she can make clear that she’ll keep party politics or her affiliation with any agenda-specific groups at arm’s length. She must do just that, in reality and perception.

Wasting time

christine watson — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:02:54 +0000

Tough budget times tend to leave lawmakers with too much time on their hands. We’re glad to see they didn’t waste much time on yet another unnecessary proposal that would infuse science classes with faith and morality discussions. Science teachers and their students already have sufficient freedom to explore scientific issues. Teachers must use their best judgment in guiding the discussion and keeping students on track. The proposed Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act, which was killed in a Senate committee this week, and similar bills would just further muddy the academic waters. Lawmakers should stick to problems that need fixing. Academic freedom in the science classroom isn’t one of them.

Leadership appreciated

christine watson — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:27:01 +0000

Kirk Humphreys barely had a chance to get started as chairman of the Oklahoma City School Board before voters bid him a hasty exit in favor of former state Sen. Angela Monson. We’re nonetheless grateful for Humphreys’ leadership during that short time, including his input in the hiring of Superintendent Karl Springer and his efforts to massage a 2007 bond issue plan so schools will get the promised projects without a tax increase. We hope history will prove that one MAPS for Kids legacy is proven leaders taking a renewed and active interest in the school district’s affairs. Patrons were fortunate to have two quality candidates to choose from in the first-ever chairman’s election. Who could’ve foreseen 10 years ago that a former mayor and former state senator would run against each other for school board?

Generous students

christine watson — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:48:59 +0000

Teenagers aren’t all bad. We know this, of course. But it doesn’t hurt to be reminded. Students in the DECA club at Edmond North High School raised $2,400 for the Coffee Creek Riding Club. The club has provided free therapeutic riding to children and adults with varied disabilities for nearly three decades. Most of the club’s students range from toddlers to pre-teens. It’s a worthy program and the Edmond North students deserve applause for making sure it lives on. Job well done.

Works both ways

j.e. mcreynolds — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:54:37 +0000

Turnabout is fair play. In response to a lawmaker’s ill-advised proposal to crack down on homeschoolers, Russell E. Spiars of Zionsville, Ind., suggests that a pro-homeschool legislator author a bill to let homeschool parents crack down on public schools. A pending bill would require parents to alert local school districts of their homeschool plans and offer academic progress reports. Spiars, in a letter to The Oklahoman, says, “I have observed many kids from both homeschools and government schools, and it is apparent to me that the most effective means of improving educational achievement would be to give homeschooling officials oversight over government schools.” Of course there’s not enough homeschool parents to go around, but it’s apparent that public schools need more oversight than homeschooling parents. Indiana has fairly lax homeschooling regulations, but it’s not as free of government interference as is Oklahoma. The proposed bill would change that.

New leader for Oral Roberts University

christine watson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:49:43 +0000

He’s no televangelist. But the man officials want to take over at Oral Roberts University is no stranger to turning around a struggling Christian university. Mark Rutland is president of Southeastern University, a Florida private school with roots to the Pentecostal church. Officials there called Rutland a “catalyst” for growth, pointing to substantial enrollment growth and infrastructure improvements. Rutland is set to visit the Tulsa private school at month’s end as trustees consider whether to hire him as the school’s next president. Rutland has said he wants to move ORU forward. If he becomes president, we wish him luck. Overcoming the recent scandal and financial difficulties in financially troubling times will be a huge challenge.

On a Rolle toward success

owen canfield — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:35:49 +0000

The question faced by many high-level college football players this week has been, do I stay and play or go and play? That is, stay in school or go to the pros. Florida State’s Myron Rolle decided to go – and learn.

Rolle, a defensive back, was awarded a Rhodes scholarship in November and plans to take advantage of the opportunity by studying at Oxford in pursuit of a master’s degree in medical anthropology.

He could have chosen to make himself available for the NFL draft, where as a projected early round pick he likely would have made head-turning money. Instead he plans to do that in 2010.

Rolle is a true student-athlete – he took graduate-level courses this year after finishing his undergraduate work in just 2½ years, and hopes one day to attend medical school.

Free lunch

christine watson — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:26:35 +0000

It’s no secret that when many kids go home for the holiday break, they may not get another nutritious meal until school reopens. Officials with one

Ohio school district were so worried that the economy would force even more students to go hungry over the holidays that they opted to reopen some school cafeterias for several days. “The economy is so tight, and the food stamp dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to,” a school official told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “This is America; we’ve got to take care of each other. Food for children should not be an issue.” Indeed.

Campus gun bill won’t go away

owen canfield — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:01:54 +0000

Legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle are uneasy with the resurrection of a bill allowing students to carry concealed weapons on campus. But unfortunately, it’ll probably happen anyway. Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, has said he’ll likely file a measure similar to the one that died last year. The amended version of that bill would have restricted the privilege to military veterans and to students who have gun training. At a State Chamber function this week, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, and Republican leaders all said they opposed the measure. But, as House Minority Leader Danny Morgan said, “The political reality of it is it’s going to be difficult to stop if it’s pushed in that (state Capitol) building.” Here’s hoping Morgan’s wrong about that.

Private schools downsizing on purpose

owen canfield — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:36:43 +0000

Many private schools in Oklahoma are shrinking their district boundaries. They’re doing so in order to lessen concerns about how the sizes of some private school districts aid these schools in athletics. This won’t keep critics from alleging that these schools have an unfair advantage over public schools, or that they recruit their best athletes. A popular target of such claims lately has been Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City, which won eight state championships last school year. Some of those came in sports where it has traditionally been strong, such as girls tennis and girls cross country. But the baseball and football titles were only the second in the 58-year history of the school, and the championship in boys golf was McGuinness’ first. Athletic director Gary Savely said it best: “We weren’t hearing a whole lot about any advantages when we weren’t winning.” Still, this good-faith effort by the private schools is commendable.

Mid-Del school dilemma

christine watson — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:03:35 +0000

To close or not to close. That’s the question in eastern Oklahoma County, where school officials in the Midwest City-Del City district are considering whether to some schools to save money, address safety concerns and enrollment declines. A task force of community members and school district staff offered up eight scenarios for the school board to consider. They range from doing nothing to closing two elementary schools and a middle school. At a town hall meeting last week, no speakers supported closing schools. Imagine that. School board members have many interests to consider in deciding if and how to act. Oklahoma City’s decision to close some schools as part of MAPS for Kids wasn’t exactly popular. But what’s popular and what’s right isn’t always the same thing.

Read the proposed scenarios here.

Broken Arrow superintendent battle

christine watson — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:13:50 +0000

Drama class

Presidential politics may take the national stage, but school districts certainly have their fair share of drama.

Those living in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and many parts in between are well aware of the superintendent sagas that have played out in those cities during the past year. No doubt parents in a Tulsa suburb are embarrassed and angry that there’s a showdown between the school board and superintendent in their hometown.

The stage is Broken Arrow, where a divided school board suspended the superintendent and forbid him from stepping onto school grounds without approval. The Tulsa World reported that when Jim Sisney, the suspended schools chief, tried to retrieve his belongings from the administration building, police were called. He wasn’t arrested and police said he’s not a criminal suspect.

The request for police assistance wasn’t the first legal skirmish involving Sisney. In September, he filed a defamation lawsuit against five people, including three school board members. He’s also suing an attorney who has done legal work for the district.

The shame is that school leadership dramas detract and distract from the important work happening in schools. That’s not good for the kids who need adults to rise above the theater of chaos.

Paying for student performance

christine watson — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:12:51 +0000

Take it to the bank

Thousands of Washington D.C. middle school students are getting a chance to take their good grades and behavior to the bank. On-time attendance, good grades and not disrupting class can net students up to $100 weekly – with a maximum of $1,500 per student for the school year. The Washington Post reported that the Harvard economist who created the Capital Gains program isn’t necessarily expecting to close the achievement gap nor is he sure it will prove effective. Still, teachers report the program jointly funded by the school district and a grant has students paying more attention to their behavior and attendance. Doesn’t seem like that long ago that a parent paying a child for good grades was controversial. Some students may soon figure out that a double dip isn’t just about ice cream.