Franklin Schargel’s Blog

I know that there are many important issues in this upcoming presidential election.  To mention a few, the mortgage crisis, health care, the funding for social security, the cost of gasoline, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and our policy toward China.  But our country’s future depends on our young people.

Our federal budget reflects our nation’s priorities. And in a report issued by First Focus (www.firstfocus.net/Download/CBook.pdf) in the past five years, children have lost significant ground in the federal budget.  “While overall spending on children’s issues increased by about 1.4%, in real terms, total federal non-defense spending grew at nearly  10 times that rate.  As a result, the children’s share of the federal non-defense budget declined from 11 percent in 2004 to 10 percent in 2008.  This drop continues a trend in which the budget share allocated to children has declined 23 percent since 1960.  President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget proposal continues this trend.  While spending on children’s health programs will increase by 2.2 percent, discretionary spending in this are would drop by 12 percent from 2008 levels.  42% of all federal spending goes to the military, 16 percent goes to health care and only 4.4 cents goes toward education, training and social services. (Source:  Public Education Network Weekly Newsblast, 4/18/2008).

As the presidential candidates come to your neighborhood, it is critical that educators ask, “Why do children come last?”

Nine third graders were suspended this week after school officials in WAYCROSS, GA uncovered a plot that they planned to attack their teacher.  The children allegedly brought handcuffs, a knife, a heavy crystal paperweight and several rolls of duct tape to school.  The Waycross police said that the 8- and 9- year olds were seeking revenge against the teacher because she had scolded one of their friends.

School violence is nothing new.  In the 1960’s a film called “Black Board Jungle” was made  about violence in an inner-city school.   What is new about school violence is that it is taking place in small town, rural and suburban  America (and the world – Finland had a school shooting incident) and it involves guns and automatic weapons.  Parents moved out of  inner-city schools to escape violence, drugs, gangs and crime and guess what, these things have followed them

What can schools do to protect themselves, their staff and their students from school violence?  First, they must remain vigilant and need to recognize that no school or community is immune.  School leaders and staff need to read their school safety plans, update them if necessary and make sure that EVERY staff member  knows what they are to do in case of  an emergency.

The FBI and the Secret Service have written two reports which can be downloaded.  The FBI report is called “The School Shooter Report” and the Secret Service’s “The National Threat Assessment Report.”  Every school should have at least two copies, one in the principal’s office and one in the school library’s teacher reference file.

Parents, staff and most importantly, students need to be protected from violence.

In a report issued today by America’s Promise Alliance entitled, “Cities In Crisis” written by Researcher Christopher Swanson,  suburban school systems graduation rate’s are higher than urban school systems.  Could it be that suburban school systems spend more money on the system; parents are better educated and are more focused on educational achievement;  per pupil expenditure is higher; teachers are better paid and have better working conditions?

According to the report,  Detroit has a 24.9% graduation rate. According to the Macinac Center, where the graduation rate is 24.9%, spends $3998 per student (1998-1989 school year).  In Mesa Arizona, where according to www.greatschools.net $6,342 per student and has a 77.1% graduation rate (a 63% dollar difference.)  While dollars alone will not explain the difference of academic success, the other factors mentioned above will help explain part of the difference of academic success.

I am looking forward to the day when the next researcher will compare the differences in success comparing a Chevrolet and a Lexus.

This week’s Education Week (3/12/2008, p. 4) reported that the West Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a functionally illiterate high school graduate who can only read on the 3rd grade level.No Child Left Behind Legislation and increased states standards have thrown aside the curtain on students who graduate without the necessary skills to enter the workforce or go on to higher education.  The court seems to be saying that it is the responsibility of school systems to insure that the graduates of its high schools have the capabilities to do work at the graduate level and not read at the 3rd grade level.