School Choice is Good For America; round 4

[Muda69]

Elementary Schools Ban Tag, Football, and Fun During Recess

https://reason.com/2024/05/29/elementary-schools-ban-tag-football-and-fun-during-recess/

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A mom recently went to her daughter's Maryland elementary school to ask why the kids aren't allowed to play tag at recess—or even to close their eyes.

"We'd recently transferred from another district and my daughter was taken aback by how many rules there were," said the mom, whose name is being kept private to protect her identity.

There are indeed a lot of rules at the girl's new school—four typed pages of them. The mom found this out after the school administrator handed her a copy of the "Montgomery County Public Schools Playground Supervision Recess Procedures for Playground Aides." It states, among other things: 

• Baseball and football games are not permitted at any time.
• Haphazard running, chasing and tag games on the blacktop are not permitted.
• A student may not begin to swing on rings and bars until the student ahead of him/her has finished.

Once they do swing or climb, they must use an "opposed thumb grip." (As opposed to their teeth?)

The rules also instruct playground aides to "caution children if it appears that emotions and excitement are mounting to a point where incorrect actions may soon result."

After the mom sent me the rules, I contacted the Montgomery County office in charge of recess safety. They did not respond.

 

"It really feels as though maybe we've lost touch with what's developmentally appropriate," the mom told me.

An administrator who met with the mom explained that the school's primary job is to keep children safe at all times. The mom disagrees; a school's primary job is to teach children and avoid interfering with their development.

Boston College Psychology Professor Peter Gray feels similarly.

"These rules demonstrate no trust at all of the children, nor even of the playground supervisors," says Gray, a co-founder of my non-profit, Let Grow. "When we treat people as irresponsible, they become irresponsible."

The mom said she felt a bit sorry for the administrator, who had no say in these rules. (Just like the kids.) And she added that today's children really do seem a little rough when they play tag—probably because they've had so little practice at it.

I have heard this from other people who work with children, especially occupational therapist Angela Hanscom, who notes that when kids don't move enough, they fail to develop proprioception, the ability to know where their body is in space and how much force it needs to do something physical.

All the more reason to let kids start adjusting to each other in the easiest, most natural way possible: through play.

In his new book, The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt recommends bringing more play into kids' lives by keeping Friday afternoons free so kids can play in the neighborhood. He also recommends that schools stay open before or after school for mixed-age free play in a no-phone zone: what we call a "Let Grow Play Club." (Haidt is another co-founder of Let Grow. Our Play Club materials are here, for free.)

Depriving kids of play in the name of safety is dangerous. Even more dangerous than two kids using the climbing rings at once.

Dangerous indeed.  

[swordfish]

[Robert]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:39 PM, Muda69 said:

I expect you have researched the history of government primary and secondary education in this country?  It wasn't to turn out a populace of Rhodes scholars and Nobel laureates, but a willing,  malleable workforce.   Nothing has really changed, regardless of what side of the uni-party was running the Indiana department of education.

 

I understand the history.  It certainly has changed a lot in the last 20 years.  It used to be get everyone prepared for post high school education.  When factory owners and other business owners get into power, they need workers, yes. 

[Muda69]

4 hours ago, Robert said:

I understand the history.  It certainly has changed a lot in the last 20 years.  It used to be get everyone prepared for post high school education.  When factory owners and other business owners get into power, they need workers, yes. 

Do you count trade schools and apprenticeships in fields such a electrical, plumbing, carpentry, HVAC, automobile technicians, etc.  as "post high school education"?

 

[Robert]

19 hours ago, Muda69 said:

Do you count trade schools and apprenticeships in fields such a electrical, plumbing, carpentry, HVAC, automobile technicians, etc.  as "post high school education"?

 

I most certainly do and we always did at the schools I taught at.  When I work my summer factory jobs, I think about how a robot or an ape could do it.  🙂

[Muda69]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

I most certainly do and we always did at the schools I taught at. 

So how much are these other types of a post high school education stressed in today's government high school system? Are they given equal footing to a 4-year college education?

 

[Robert]

On 6/6/2024 at 4:58 PM, Robert said:

I most certainly do and we always did at the schools I taught at.  When I work my summer factory jobs, I think about how a robot or an ape could do it.  🙂

Of course, Gonzoron, I'm not talking about the skilled labor parts, just the standing there all day listening to music putting things into boxes or swiping my fingers across sensors after I pull a part out, place it on a belt, and put another part in.  

On 6/6/2024 at 6:51 PM, Muda69 said:

So how much are these other types of a post high school education stressed in today's government high school system? Are they given equal footing to a 4-year college education?

 

It really depends on the school and what is going on there.  My school now has a good mix.  

[Muda69]

Nearly 1 in 5 Indiana students don’t attend their home school district. Here’s the impact of school choice: https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/indiana-school-choice-analysis-public-private-transfer-1-in-5-students-home-district?emci=1c39e1b6-982d-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&emdi=ed4b483f-2f2e-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&ceid=577105

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School choice has never been more popular in Indiana. Parents and caregivers have more access and options than ever to pick what they believe is the best learning environment for their children.

A WFYI analysis of education data found nearly 1 in 5 students attend a school other than their home district — either a private school with aid from a state voucher, a public charter school or a district other than the one in which they live. That’s up from about 1 in 13 a decade earlier.

This freedom to choose creates vigorous competition for students and winners and losers among traditional public school districts. In a state where school funding follows the student, losing even one to another school district, charter school, or private school can result in financial losses for the home district. 

The analysis reveals roughly two-thirds of Indiana’s 290 districts had an overall enrollment loss in the just completed academic year due to school choice policies. The primary cause is a student transferring from one public school district to another district. Of the top 20 districts losing students, just one was more impacted by families using a voucher to attend private parochial or non-religious schools even as the Choice Scholarship Program reached an historic level this year.

The WFYI analysis of the 2023-2024 academic year also found:

• Fewer students used a publicly-funded voucher to attend private parochial or non-religious schools compared to a public option. Just 76 public districts, or 26.2 percent, lost more students to private schools than they gained or lost from transfers.
• 111 public districts, or 38.3 percent, lost more students than they gained to a combination of other districts and charter schools.
• 103 public districts, or 35.5 percent, gained more students who transferred from other districts compared to the students lost to all choice options combined.
• Districts with overall enrollment loss due to choice had a higher average percentage of students of color and students who qualified for free or reduced price lunch than districts that gained enrollment from choice.

These shifts in how parents choose to educate their children are the result of more than 20 years of Indiana policies expanding school options beyond a family's neighborhood school. Republican lawmakers have supported proponents' reasoning that families should educate their children how they want with the support of state funding. Opponents continue to question the equitable access in school choice and the financial and academic impacts on traditional schools and students.

The data analysis examined state enrollment data and transfer data by sorting schools into different types of impact based on choice participation and student body demographics. It also examined annual voucher reports and state budget data to see how private vouchers impacted public districts’ finances. Financial data for student transfers between public schools was not available.

The financial impact

The analysis found 187 districts suffered overall enrollment losses to choice even if they gained enrollment from students choosing to transfer into the district. Because the state funds schools on a per-student basis, it's possible each of these districts lost some amount of funding from its education fund. 

The education fund is state appropriated money used to pay for classroom expenses, such as salaries for teachers, certain staff and academic programs.

Of these districts, 14 lost more than 10 percent of their education fund to vouchers alone, according to an analysis of voucher and district budget data. The average loss among these districts was $12.7 million, or 13.4 percent. 

The state does not publish corresponding financial data for students who enroll at a public school that is not in their home boundary. 

South Bend Community Schools is the district most financially impacted by vouchers, according to the financial analysis, with voucher loss representing 27.6 percent of its education fund. But choice policies affect its enrollment almost equally: 21.6 percent of students transfer to other districts and 19.1 percent leave for private schools. Overall, nearly 41 percent of the 23,259 students who live in the city enrolled in private schools or attended separate districts, including more than 1,000 who enrolled at Penn-Harris-Madison Schools.

South Bend’s school board voted to close three schools in 2017 and two elementary schools in 2021 due to declining enrollment. This year, another elementary school and a high school closed. The district’s consolidation plan also called for merging other schools to save money.

“As enrollment declines, you have to continually assess your school buildings… your staffing, and adjust accordingly,” said Rafi Nolan-Abrahamian, an assistant superintendent and chief of staff involved in strategic planning for the district.

But not all public school districts have seen negative impacts. About a third of all districts gain enrollment. Fifty-one districts — or over a sixth of all districts — saw an increase of enrollment by over 10 percent. 

Students participating in choice often transferred from their home district to another public school district for some perceived benefit, such as better academics, extracurricular activities, or practical concerns like distance, according to the WFYI interviews with policy experts, school leaders and parents.

Seven districts have more than half of their student body enrolled from out-of-district.

Tri-Central Community Schools is a rural district between Kokomo and Tipton. With only two schools and over 600 students, it gains nearly 20 percent of enrollment through transfers from other public districts. Most of these students come from three nearby districts, including Kokomo.  

The 103 districts with positive enrollment impacts gained an average of 40.2 percent of all students residing in-district. That’s in contrast to the average loss of 11.7 percent in schools negatively impacted by all forms of choice.

School districts are not required to accept out of district students for enrollment and some districts do not allow it.

In my neck of the woods the Community Schools of Frankfort has lost almost 14% of it's students, most of them probably going to Clinton Prairie and Rossville:

Love that 99.6% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches, btw.   Clinton Central school corp. has several billboards up around Frankfort, advertising it's services to potential transfers.  And CC will also currently send a bus to Frankfort for pickups and drop offs.    That has to cost some $.