By Antonio D. French
Filed Tuesday, September 12 at 7:41 AM
St. Louis Public Schools has received nearly $6 million in new grant money for this school year.
$4.2 million comes from a federal Early Reading First grant. Another $975,163 grant is meant to help boost participation of low-income students in advanced placement courses and tests.
Another $482,273 federal grant is intended to help enhance and improve the emergency response and crisis management for SLPS. According to the district, the goal of the project is to develop an effective emergency response and crisis management that will comprehensively address all five phases of crisis response planning: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
4 Comments:
Good news.
So, Creg Williams' team did one thing well. Right?
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 3:46:00 PM
As a student, I wonder if I'll see any of this money go to use before I graduate from high school in 2008. We need some classroom resources such as computers, dictionaries and other stuff. By the way, who ever invented Step-Up to Writing is crazy and confused. That shit is confusing and mind playing. Students should write from the heart as in poetry, not by a platfrom. SLPS we can do better.
However, congrats, use the money wisely.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 4:48:00 PM
Look we just found Mr. Numb nutts first student!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 7:19:00 PM
Actually I think this is a student of Brian Harris. The monkey see, monkey do mentality. If both would of paid attention in English class their writing would not be so bad. Personally I think Step Up to Writing is a good program. However, like any other programs this district tries to implement it is the administration, teacher’s union and the lack of training (about a new program) that make the program ineffective. Plus let us not forget about timing. These programs are implemented right before MAP test thinking that it will boost scores. When scores do not improve administrators blame the program and throw it out and try something else. Again they get a program in January, train the teachers during February. The students get this program in March. MAP tests are in April. Not much time to practice a new skill and try to master it.
As for the student from the class of 2008 shows me that this person is lazy and doesn’t want to “step up” and do the writing assignments. If you didn’t spend so much time on your cell phone in class, talking to your friends, or skipping class you would found that Step Up to Writing is a step-by-step process in writing a sentence, paragraph, and story/essay/term paper. This process is used in all forms of writing whether it is from the heart or not.
On the other hand if you did try to do your best with this program and still didn’t understand then I blame your teacher for not following the program or taking time to ask questions as well. If this is the case contact Mary Armstrong, President of Teachers’ Union Local 420, and ask her why this teacher is still teaching. Personally I am still using Step Up to Writing even though I am not required to. This doesn’t mean we are not writing in every classroom because the state still requires that writing to done in every classroom despite the subject.
Good Luck this school year. Now that you are a junior (provided you have enough credits- remember you advance through high school by the amount of credits you have EARNED not by age) have you start thinking about what you are going to do after high school? Are you going to college, tech school, military, or work? How will you pay for your post-secondary education? What do you think you want to be when you grow up? These are things you need to start thinking and doing something about now.
Concerned Teacher
Thursday, September 14, 2006 9:24:00 AM
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