OK, I may be narrow minded, but this bothers me.  I overheard this today on The Commentators.

Here in Washington, like other states, we have the state standards of graduation.  One of those is the controversial WASL, which has been under a lot of heat for being an assessment test that assesses nothing.

According to the Seattle Times, there is a total failure rate of around 5-10 percent, so presumable those kids did not graduate, or rather they did not meet the requirements for graduation.

In some schools, notably Federal Way, many of those students were allowed to attend the graduation ceremony and walk with their class anyway.

In other words, they were presented as graduates, when in fact they had not graduated.

Is this kindness or fraud?

Grads: WASL daunted some, motivated others

Some school districts allowed some students to participate in graduation ceremonies even if they hadn't passed the WASL.

Just a taking a few moments to dispel any rumours of my demise, defection or defenestration.

I've been under the weather again, maxed out in my day job and all that, but here lately, most of my energy has been getting ready for my daughter's High School Graduation.

How pleasant it is for a father to sit at his child's board.  It is like an aged man reclining under the shadow of an oak which he has planted.  ~Walter Scott

Yes, tomorrow afternoon my youngest child Kayla, whose writing has been showcased here, will graduate.

It's is a huge moment for her, no doubt, but it is also a signal of a change in my life as well.  We, as parents, devote a lot of time and energy into our children's lives, and the end of High School is one of the significant way points.

Garrison Keillor has expressed some support for No Child Left Behind.  And he's encouraging his political brethren to recognize something good when they see it.  Even if it's been tarred with association with the GOP and Pres. Bush.  Orbusmax linked an excerpt at Joanne Jacobs' blog with a "Flying Pigs Alert".  More here .

My daughter attends a high school here locally and today they did a rally for Martin Luther King day.

To her surprise it was not what she expected it to be.  Here is her account:

It’s a sad day when any given student feels suppressed during an assembly about expression your rights. It’s a sad day when any given student looks around to her peers and wonders what exactly is wrong with her for not feeling the same. It’s a sad day when any given student gets angry about the suppression of her own opinion.

Today at my school was the Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly. I sat down with my friends, prepared for an assembly discussing civil rights, the past, and what we can keep doing to avoid going back. I was prepared to shake my head at the lack of knowledge that racism wasn’t just black, but anyone else.

I might be willing to concede that Childhood obesity is an actual area of concern, but the roots of the problem are far deeper then sodas and cupcakes at school.  The availability of lousy food and a sedentary culture are far more to blame. 

School district bans candy, cakes, and cookies

Kids might see it as a trick, but there will be no traditional treats, including candy, at this year's Halloween parties in the East Syracuse-Minoa schools.

And class birthday parties this fall are taking on a new flavor because cupcakes, cookies and cakes have been banned.

ES-M has become the first district in Central New York to prohibit outright sweet desserts in classroom celebrations. Chances are pretty good others in the region will follow, school nutrition experts say.

Yep, that's right.  22 schools have a 40% drop out rate, including all the conventional Public High Schools in Tacoma.

22 Washington high schools labeled 'dropout factories'

 In about 7.6 percent of Washington's 290 high schools, 40 percent of the students enrolled as freshmen don't make it to their senior year.

The 22 schools in Washington that researchers call "dropout factories" are spread throughout the state, but are found mostly in poor rural and urban school districts. Every comprehensive high school in Tacoma made the list, but none in Seattle or Spokane did.

Now granted, without access to their statistics and methodology it is impossible to figure out if the numbers are slanted or falsely represented, but the fact remains that dropouts are concerning.

In Tacoma, where every comprehensive high school had a dropout rate of more than 40 percent, district officials did not respond to repeated requests for information from The Associated Press.

As you're planning your holiday shopping in the coming weeks, I'd like to suggest that you check out the Hunger Site .  Their shop has a variety of items: cards and stationary, apparel and jewelry, as well as housewares and folk wares from around the world.  If you have a greenie or altruistic young people on your shopping list you may find just the thing, as they have many items from communities who make their stuff in an environmentally sensitive and sustainable fashion and that benefit their local economy.  When you buy from their online shop it goes to a variety of charities, including Doctors Without Borders.  The purchase price of an item funds 25 cups of food or the purchase of a book for a literacy program in Nepal (pictured), Afghanistan, or Africa, or the purchase of a low fuel high output, locally made stove for Darfur refugees, to name just a few.  I like the idea of underwriting the education for two girls for a year in Afghanistan for only $20.  You can also donate the monthly salary of a teacher there, or a bit more pricey, pay to heat an Afghani school.  For the price of a sweater at K-Mart or a Coffee Maker at Fred Meyer you can purchase a pair of goats to increase a poor family's health and wealth, or enough seeds to put in a season's garden that will feed a whole family. Give it a peek if you shop online.    

EHJR 4204 is the proposal to amend the Washington state Constitution to elminiate the Supermajority rules for School Levy votes.

Under current law, school levies MUST pass by at least 60% of total votes cast, or, when the total votes cast is 40% or less than in the last general election, 24% of votes cast in the last election (60% of 40%) in the disctrict.

This essentially means that Property Owners, who directly pay Property Taxes, which the School Levies are part of, have some insulation and protection against frivilous increases in their taxes.

The Columbian had a very nice piece on the Pros and Cons of this proposed amendment:

Cons:

»	The supermajority rule for tax measures was set higher to protect property owners, who more directly pay levies. So was the minimum-voter turnout standard this amendment would eliminate. Simple majority, and loss of the voter turnout minimum, ultimately means taxpayers will pay more.

Some may still find offense here, but I think that offerring accomondation while still maintaining the traditional holidays is exactly the type of comprimise we need.

School Keeps Christmas, Halloween; Adds Ramadan

Muslim Mother Asks That Ramadan Be Celebrated Along With Other Holidays In Oak Lawn Schools

Following a school board meeting where parent complained about what the saw as an assault on traditional American celebrations, an Oak Lawn school district has decided to keep observing Halloween and Christmas, but only on the condition that Muslim holiday Ramadan is celebrated as well.

The school district had asked principals to tone down all holiday celebrations after a Muslim mother requested that her children be separated from others during lunch for the Ramadan fast.

But after heated remarks from many parents at the meeting Tuesday, the school board changed its position.

Having lived in Everett, I can not act surprised.  My kids attended Everett School District schools and always ran into this kind of foolishness.

Hat tip to Stop the ACLU:

Talk about religious hostility and political correctness gone too far! This song doesn’t even have lyrics! It is an instrumental piece for crying out loud! Why do our schools keep catering to the oversensitive PC crowd while spitting on freedom of speech?

Via The Rutherford Institute who are appealing the case:

A federal district court has dismissed a lawsuit over a school’s decision to forbid a student woodwind ensemble’s performance of the instrumental piece “Ave Maria” at a high school graduation ceremony. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute had filed suit against the Everett School District, charging that the school’s actions violated student Kathryn Nurre’s right to freedom of speech and to be free from hostility to religion.