Here is the first of the three-part series. Meet Destinee Rivera, a 16-year-old eighth-grader who is trying to break the cycle of overage middle schoolers.
Overage Middle Schoolers Struggle to Pass
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Education in the News
First Impressions Can Create Unrealistic Expectations for Recruits
While some middle school students are behind, others are soaring ahead. A New York Times article discusses Kendall Marshall, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound junior guard at Bishop O'Connell high school in Columbia, S.C. But years ago, when Marshall was just 5-foot-2 and 90 pounds, he was ranked the No. 1 sixth-grade basketball prospect in the country by analyst Clark Francis. The story discusses how Marshall is still a good player but is no longer the best. Perhaps ranking children at a young age sets them up for failure, the NYT says.
Rewards for Children Under a Microscope
What are they, dogs? High school students have been getting paid to perform well on standardized tests. Now, it might be backfiring. Lisa Guernsey, of the New York Times, writes, "Reward programs that pay students are under way in many cities. In some places, students can bring home hundreds of dollars for, say, taking an Advanced Placement course and scoring well on the exam."
2 Schools Bloomberg Started Cited for Poor Performance
The Schools Under Registration Review is a list of state schools that comes out every year to show what schools are doing so poorly that they are in danger of being shut down. The Bloomberg administration created several smaller high schools in hopes of replacing "large, abysmal high schools." This year, two of Bloomberg's schools made the cut and appeared on the state list.
While some middle school students are behind, others are soaring ahead. A New York Times article discusses Kendall Marshall, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound junior guard at Bishop O'Connell high school in Columbia, S.C. But years ago, when Marshall was just 5-foot-2 and 90 pounds, he was ranked the No. 1 sixth-grade basketball prospect in the country by analyst Clark Francis. The story discusses how Marshall is still a good player but is no longer the best. Perhaps ranking children at a young age sets them up for failure, the NYT says.
Rewards for Children Under a Microscope
What are they, dogs? High school students have been getting paid to perform well on standardized tests. Now, it might be backfiring. Lisa Guernsey, of the New York Times, writes, "Reward programs that pay students are under way in many cities. In some places, students can bring home hundreds of dollars for, say, taking an Advanced Placement course and scoring well on the exam."
2 Schools Bloomberg Started Cited for Poor Performance
The Schools Under Registration Review is a list of state schools that comes out every year to show what schools are doing so poorly that they are in danger of being shut down. The Bloomberg administration created several smaller high schools in hopes of replacing "large, abysmal high schools." This year, two of Bloomberg's schools made the cut and appeared on the state list.
Monday, March 2, 2009
FOIL/FOIA Request
Below is a draft of my FOIL/FOIA request letter that I plan to send to the NYC Department of Education. I am requesting the number of overage middle school students in New York City organized by both school and borough. In order to show how evident the problem of overage middle school students is in NYC, I need these statistics in my story.
March 2, 2009
Ms. Christine Kicinski
Records Access Officer
New York City Department of Education
(212) 374-6888
FOIL@schools.nyc.gov
Dear Ms. Kicinski:
Under the Freedom of Information Law, N.Y. Public Officers Law Section 87 et seq., I am requesting documents showing the following statistics:
- The number of overage middle school students in New York City organized by borough (overage middle school students are students who are in grades six through eight and have been held back one or more times.)
- The number of overage middle school students in New York City organized by school
I am a freelance reporter and graduate journalism student at New York University writing a story about overage middle school students in New York City. Please telephone me at 443-812-2241 if you have any further questions.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Sarah R. Kaufman
Graduate Student
Department of Journalism
New York University
(443) 812-2241
SarahRKaufman@gmail.com
March 2, 2009
Ms. Christine Kicinski
Records Access Officer
New York City Department of Education
(212) 374-6888
FOIL@schools.nyc.gov
Dear Ms. Kicinski:
Under the Freedom of Information Law, N.Y. Public Officers Law Section 87 et seq., I am requesting documents showing the following statistics:
- The number of overage middle school students in New York City organized by borough (overage middle school students are students who are in grades six through eight and have been held back one or more times.)
- The number of overage middle school students in New York City organized by school
I am a freelance reporter and graduate journalism student at New York University writing a story about overage middle school students in New York City. Please telephone me at 443-812-2241 if you have any further questions.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Sarah R. Kaufman
Graduate Student
Department of Journalism
New York University
(443) 812-2241
SarahRKaufman@gmail.com
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