Junk Food No More?

When I was in high school, we had plenty of vending machines filled with sugary and fattening fare. I enjoyed a Snickers bar many afternoons when I had to stay late working on my page of the school newspaper. However, during my tenure at Naperville Central, the school began introducing new machines filled with what I’ll call “alternative” snacks: pita chips and vitaminwater, to name a few options. While these machines didn’t replace the classics, I began to suspect that the school administration thought we needed to change our eating habits.

Apparently, so does the president of the United States.

The Obama administration is poised to impose a ban on all junk food in public schools, according to a Sunday New York Times article. Legislation is in the works to oust candy and sodas and replace them with more healthy options in the name of combating childhood obesity. Michelle Obama plans to lead an initiative to that end, according to the article.

The politics of the issue are hazy at this point. Some Republicans will wait to pass judgment on the issue until they see the as-yet-unavailable legislation, slated to appear “within weeks” from Senator Blanche Lincoln, chairwoman of the committee concerned.

The bill is to exempt bake sales and other “unusual” situations, but this raises even more questions as to what constitutes an exemption.

Schools nationwide have recently been serving healthier lunch options independent of any federal mandate, and official school lunch and breakfast programs have long been void of excessively unhealthy offerings, according to the article. The issues the ban would seek to rectify are those caused by unofficial offerings, like vending machine purchases and, at one school, a “candy cart.” Proceeds from these sales are often used to fund extra–curricular activities, a perk schools may have difficulty giving up.

It’s an interesting dilemma. Is childhood obesity so severe that the federal government needs to tell people what to eat? Should students be allowed to have a say in the matter? After all, they’re the focus. Is it encouraging healthy habits or hindering adult decision-making to choose a student’s food for him? I’m not sure. The question begs further consideration. I’m curious to see what this proposed legislation contains in detail.

What about you, Columbia? Tell us what you think. Maybe you have children in Columbia Public Schools. Maybe you’re a student yourself. Maybe you’re just a concerned citizen. I think this affects you, whichever category you fall into. Do you think the government should tell us what to eat if they’re doing it with our best  interests at heart?

Testimony recanted in case of Columbia Tribune sports editor’s murder

A statement by Chuck Erickson says that he acted alone in the murder of Columbia Tribune sports editor, Kent Heitholt. Erickson was the key witness in the trial of Ryan Ferguson, who has served four years into a 40-year sentence for the murder.

Go to the article on the Missourian’s Web site for more information.

Below are the motions filed today in the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals:

Motion for Extension of Time

Motion to Remand, Part 1

Motion to Remand, Part 2

National media focus on education: Not as much as local media.

Hi, I’m Doug Davis, student at the Missouri School of Journalism. I’ll be contributing to the SchoolHouse Talk Blog in the upcoming months.

Perhaps even more than politics, education appears to be a local issue.

How much, or rather, how little the national media focuses on education is discussed by Nora Carr, a Fellow of the Public Relations Society of America, on eschoolnews.com, an educational technology news site.

The article’s premise is that national media coverage of education is dictated in part by dramatic, episodic events. The coverage of H1N1 in schools in early 2009 serves as an example.

Read the article by following the link below:

How school leaders can keep education in the news

The eschoolnews.com article was based on a study from the Brookings Institution, Washington D.C. think tank. The study can be seen by following this link:

Invisible: 1.4 Percent Coverage for Education is Not Enough

The study authors analyzed media statistics for Jan. through Sept. 2009, provided by the Project for Excellence in Journalism National Media Analysis.

They concluded that the public’s need for timely and practical information about education and schools is served predominantly by local news media. Also, they found that blogging by local news sites and other outlets exposed readers to some of the more substantive education coverage available.

School Board, Boys and Girls Club work together

The Columbia School Board recently reached an agreement granting the local Boys and Girls Club access to Field Elementary School. The club is working to expand their facilities so they can serve a larger number of students, and moving to Field will be a step in that direction.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the club’s current location shooting video interviews. Every afternoon and evening during the week, the building is full of staff, volunteers and students ranging from kindergarten to high school. Kids run around, laughing and playing, and volunteers and staff who really care are right there with them.

Even though organizations like the Boys and Girls Club don’t actually belong to the education system in Columbia, they provide the town’s students with guidance, advice, friendship, academic help, entertainment … the list goes on and on. The club gives younger kids a wide variety of role models and allows older students the chance to become those role models.

The School Board’s decision to help the club shows the dedication this city has to its students. For updates on the Boys and Girls Club, as well as video interviews with staff, volunteers and students, keep checking ColumbiaMissourian.com.

Winter Break

Because this blog is maintained by student journalists at the University of Missouri, consistent posting is difficult (if not impossible) during breaks from school when reporters and editors go home for the holidays.

Thus, new posts will not appear until the start of the next semester in mid-January.

Sorry for any inconvenience. Thanks for reading.

Issues in Education

Southeast High 1990 class wants to find time capsule [Macon (Ga.).com]

Afghan security starts in his class [Milwaukee (Wisc.) Journal Sentinel]

The $Dollars for Teachers$ program pays off [(Boise) Idaho Statesman]

Olympia schools ponder levy [The (Washington state) Olympian]

Protesting parent’s role with school district raises hackles with fellow dissidents [The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post]

Changing a Perception

When forming an opinion, or perception, people take what they see, hear and know to create an understanding.

In it’s eight-year existence, many feel that strangers perceive Lange Middle School as “that school,” which had no positive recognition, Lange PTA President Colleen Vollman said.

“It’s a good school and it always has been. The kids succeed,” Vollman said.

Vollman said she wants the community to see Lange in a more positive light.

“Before (I joined the school), what people in the community heard was the negative discipline and multiple suspensions coming from the school,” Principal Bernard Solomon said, who is in his first year as principal at Lange.

Solomon said the negative connotation also comes from the socioeconomic status of the community and the “baggage” that has the potential of bringing.

“This area of town was very unsettled up until a few years ago,” school librarian Michelle Sterret said. “There were a lot of transit students. We would have students for only a short period of time before they moved to another part of town.”

Sterret said the environment and community around Lange is now significantly more permanent. What remains is the conception that Lange has not transitioned with the stability of the community that surrounds it.

“This year I don’t feel is a bad one,” Solomon said about the disciplinary actions taken this year.

In the last year, the school has taken a focus on reading with a program called Library Pages, which brings a group of students together to promote reading through their own dedication and ability to “talk-up” books, Sterret said.

The students organized a book fair and worked on the advertising themselves. Sterret said that even with the difficulties of the economy, the book fair saw a 16 percentage point increase this year.

“They don’t let their peers intimidate them,” Sterret said, referring to the students promoting the book fair.

In addition to the book fair, the group also participates in online discussions, movie-to-book comparisons and setting individual goals for themselves.

Sterret said that the program has helped to involve students that aren’t typical readers and that she is impressed with the maturity of the discussions the students have. She said she even had one student who said being part of Library Pages made her feel more academic.

“When we talk about a book it’s not just a conversation — it’s a book talk,” Sterret said.

What Makes a Good Principal?

A recent article in “Education Week” reports on principals in K-12 education and the secrets behind their successes. The story cites “a new set of working papers from some prominent education researchers aims to promote a better understanding of the extent to which school leaders matter and why.”

Read the full story here.

Superintendents from Columbia, Ashland, and Jefferson City Discuss Online Courses

Superintendent of Columbia Public Schools Chris Belcher told KBIA radio listeners Monday afternoon that because it is hard to find teachers with the credentials to teach advanced placement courses, more online classes will be offered in Columbia High Schools over the next few years to expand students’ curriculum opportunities.

Superintendents from Columbia, Southern Boone County, and Jefferson City public schools stopped by KBIA’s new noon show “Intersection” and discussed current topics circulating in their districts.

Charlotte Miller, Superintendent for Southern Boone County said, their district cannot offer a lot of advanced placement courses, but with online courses there are more opportunities for students to take those classes.

The range of electives you offer can expand, Belcher noted.

Belcher said, While online courses can help meet students’ needs, the students have to be self-directed learners. Research shows that online classes are more rigorous.

Some classes make sense to take online, Belcher said, and some do not make sense.

The idea behind web-based learning is expanding, the superintendents discussed.

Students today were born into technology, said Belcher.

The whole world is becoming web-based and school is no different, said Brian Mitchell, superintendent for Jefferson City. “We have to be very cognizant, and there has to be an availability and an adequacy of technology. There are a lot of technology issues that are going to have to be worked out.”

All three superintendents were in agreement that nothing replaces the impact of a classroom teacher.

The relationship a student has with a teacher cannot be replaced by online courses; however, online courses can be still be effective, said Miller.

For some students, online courses can help enhance curriculum, but they do not take the place of classroom learning, Miller said.

So what do you think? Are online classes the way education should be taught in the future? Do you think it is more effective or less effective than classroom teachers? Should it be reserved for certain age groups or certain classes?

Field Elementary Hosts Farewell Open House

The Field Elementary School community will move to Alpha Hart Lewis Elementary School in January. The Field building will be transitioning to house Columbia Public Schools’ gifted program and early childhood education classes.

Who’s Invited: Community & Field alumni

What: Farewell Open House

Where: Field Elementary School

When: Thursday, December 17, 2009

Time: 5:30 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.