Ten Point Plan to Choosing an Online High School

How do you choose an online high school? Some would tell you that this is:

a. very simple; or b. very hard; or c. both I think it is possible to apply a simple formula to the selection process. Following this formula will greatly improve the possibility of choosing the right online high school for you. This formula amounts to a ten point plan for success.

Point 1: Is the school accredited or recognized by a governmental agency? At one point, I used to say that the only acceptable choices for online high schools were those that were regionally accredited. I have now expanded my thinking on the topic (but only for high schools; colleges do not get this option). Some states do have a reasonable authorization process. Likewise, some school districts are offering real programs. It may be that neither is currently accredited. They are still reputable. Where you need to be careful is places like Florida that has its share of online high schools, but the approval process is non-existent. It amounts to a license to do business. By the way, there are almost as many fake accreditors as fake online high schools. Real accreditors are CITA and those accreditors listed at CHEA.org and the Department of Education website. Read the rest of this entry »

Diversity in Chicago Schools

On the last day of the 2006-2007 Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts announced a decision that will inevitably stir up diversity issues within schools across the nation, and the Chicago Schools. It will most certainly change the way most school systems, including those within the Chicago Schools, run their magnet programs. And it will affect how they decide which students to steer towards, and to accept into, each program.

The decision decried racial balancing in schools where race is used for magnet programs. Many of the magnets within the Chicago Schools use race as a factor in accepting students into their programs. There is one group of magnets in the Chicago Schools that selects students based completely on racially weighted lotteries. The students’ applications are sorted according to race, and then drawn in lotteries. This is meant to achieve racial diversity. Acceptance into other magnet programs is based on grades, test scores, academic achievement, and extracurricular involvement. Race is used as a minimal determining factor. Read the rest of this entry »

Minneapolis Schools – The Key is Choice

For several years now Minneapolis Public Schools have been emphasizing the need for students to have a choice in which school they attend. Giving the students and the parents a hand in the decision making process gives the family a sense of ownership. The student will feel he or she has, by making this very important decision, invested in a scholastic future. And it is the invested student who is more likely to stay in school and more likely to become a contributing member of society.

Recently the board of education of Minneapolis Schools has decided to take its emphasis on choice a step further and extend the idea to all students and all schools. Students will no longer elect to make the choice, but will be required to express their wishes before school assignments are made. Minneapolis Schools are in mostly uncharted territory here and although the idea of choice has been working well in the district, mandatory choice will present its own problems.

Choice in Minneapolis Schools- The Reasons Behind It

Minneapolis Schools have been pushing the idea of school choice for several reasons, not the least of which is a defense against school vouchers. But there are broader, more far-reaching ideas behind this latest movement. For one, Minneapolis Schools are seeking to create more diverse institutions. By allowing students a choice as to which school they want to attend, the district is hoping that students will elect to travel outside their attendance area which may be an ethnically or racially homogeneous area. By allowing students choice, Minneapolis schools may be able to overcome years of legally and culturally imposed segregation. Read the rest of this entry »