http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/02/17/little-rock-school-board-meets-monday-to-pick-superintendent-finalists Comments On: Little Rock School Board meets Monday to pick superintendent finalists by Max Brantley en-us Copyright 2013 Arkansas Times. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Arkansas Times readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Arkansas Times. robert@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Webmaster) Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:01 -0500 Sun, 19 May 2013 11:15:00 -0500 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by arkansas panic fan]]> Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:33:24 -0600 Arkansas Times
Long live the NLRSD
Posted by larock72]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:51:32 -0600 Arkansas Times
It is a glorious day. As soon as I have a fresh cup of coffee, I'm headed back out til sundown.
Posted by the outlier]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:47:32 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Conwegian]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:08:40 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Doc]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:53:17 -0600 Arkansas Times
Last month, our line was dead for most of a day. It turned out that some major junction had been replaced. A man in a white truck had to come out and rewire our connection at the house. Can you talk to a real human in Berryville? The toll-free number goes to Atlanta or some such place.
Posted by Silverback66]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:09:55 -0600 Arkansas Times Thanks for the information. I didn't know for sure if LRSD had such.

I'm pretty much getting to a point where I'm throwing in the towel to charter schools. I think they are one of many solutions to our educational malaise. I mostly think the fight for public schools is lost in this country. Too much money, connections, and propaganda for them to fight against.

I understand some of the early proponents of charter schools now regret pushing the idea of charter schools, and they're now trying to fight against them. Too late. Too late...
Posted by spunkrat]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 12:37:52 -0600 Arkansas Times
Alternative Learning Environments are the closest thing to the "punishment schools" that you suggest. They exist in LRSD, with the expected consequences. About 66% of LRSD students are African-American. In ALE schools the percentages are much, much higher.

But, I suppose charter schools are to blame for this type of de facto segregation.
Posted by Doc]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:38:41 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by the outlier]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:24:46 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Verla Sweere]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:07:03 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Norma Bates]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:44:19 -0600 Arkansas Times
They absolutely refuse to admit they should be attempting to recruit students from private schools. This would make the district more diverse and less African American overall, and scores would rise. But, they aren't going to do that either, because that would be publicly admitting that students in the district, because of vast racial problems often out of their control, can't hold their own academically outside of maybe Central or Parkview, the most diverse high schools in the district. However, if one looks at those two schools they're in trouble academically as well.

And IF they are to recruit from private schools, they will have to be prepared to make their schools safer. This means of course, that troubled kids will have to be sent out of schools to a school environment that can handle them, effectively creating a "punishment school," I suppose. But that won't happen either, because the majority of students are black, so the majority in the "punishment school" will be black, which will tilt the numbers for suspension/expulsion into the red flag area and make the district look racist or anti-lower class. In order to prevent this, they've put two African American men (no women, no latinos, no asians or whites) on a hearing board to help prevent removal of trouble students from schools, frustrating discipline efforts district wide.

LRSD is run to help balance and maintain the black middle class here, and to some degree I cannot blame them. But by using middle class teacher salaries to help maintain the black middle class, they damage the black lower class by not giving them the academic and social education they need to advance. This happens because bad teachers and staff are rarely fired or are not held accountable in the classroom. This is class discrimination within the African American community.

It's a mess, clearly compounded by private and charter schools, pulling the best and brightest students of diverse backgrounds to their schools. I wish them well.
Posted by spunkrat]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:31:01 -0600 Arkansas Times
Because The Rock, and The Natural State, DON'T REALLY WANT TO CHANGE!

That simple fact has been stunningly apparent, forever, in everything that goes on there.

Real change, for the majority and for the powers-that-be, is anathema. Real change there occurs only glacially, as Arkansas is dragged forward kicking and screaming every step of the way.

Arkansas has defined itself as backward and bottom-rung since Day One.

So it is written. So shall it be.
Posted by Norma Bates]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:05:08 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Doc]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:54:55 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Max Brantley]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:52:15 -0600 Arkansas Times Was your concluding question rhetorical? Surely among the vast sea of administrators in the world there must be some who would undertake the challenges of disadvantaged students held back by poor family and neighborhood circumstances, entrenched staff practiced and expert at avoiding fully implementing and sustaining improved practices, some hostile and influential business and community leaders, divisions of wealth, and decades of litigation. A little homework by candidates would soon uncover these and other difficulties. Maybe they would also discover the profound commitment of many families to high-quality public education, the deep pool of available talent, and the district's wealth. Can we realistically hope for this?
Posted by Jim Wohlleb]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:29:25 -0600 Arkansas Times