States Ranked: Smartest to Dumbest

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States Ranked: Smartest to Dumbest

Martin C. Martin
How do people on this list feel about school vouchers?  Would the
problems with vouchers make it worse than the current system?  Or, on
balance, do you think things would get better?

- Martin

Luciano Oviedo wrote:

>To, All:
>
>I agree. The problems are well discussed. The entire system is in the ICU
>and on life-support.
>
>How about a new thread on the real challenge - what are WE doing (and/or
>going to do) about it?
>
>Regards,
>
>Luciano
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Friam-bounces at redfish.com [mailto:Friam-bounces at redfish.com] On Behalf
>Of McNamara, Laura A
>Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 12:02 PM
>To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
>Subject: Re: [FRIAM] States Ranked: Smartest to Dumbest
>
>  
>
>>   If you really want to be depressed, check out where Los Alamos and
>>Bernalillo County rank, nation-wide, for education and realize how bad
>>the other counties must be to drag the state down to #50.  The
>>variance in quality of education in this state is exceptionally large.
>>
>> --
>>    
>>
>
>Hi all,
>
>I'm a list newbie and what a topic to begin with - I come from a family of
>New Mexico educators and this ranking doesn't surprise me one bit.  My
>family would have plenty to say about education in New Mexico.  
>
>If anecdote counts for anything, here's a graphic illustration of the
>disparity:  My sister taught for one year at Santa Fe High School before she
>was recruited to California, where she's now principal of a large urban high
>school in the Bay Area.  She's one of those people who was born to teach
>high school - she speaks three languages (Spanish, English and Thai), is
>triple certified in ESL, History and English, and just completed her
>masters' degree in educational administration.  Kids both fear and adore
>her.  Just what you'd want our state to keep, right?
>
>We didn't have a chance.  While at SFHS, she had to purchase light bulbs for
>her classroom. The district ran out of money and the high school was forced
>to send report cards home with the kids because it couldn't afford postage.
>You can imagine what happened to the report cards... The heat routinely
>broke in the mobile unit she was teaching in, and the legs on her desk
>shattered one day when she placed a pile of books on it.  One of her kids
>was an 18 year old with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome who routinely set fire to the
>bulletin board; he was in her classes because special ed had run out of
>room. She bought lunch daily for another kid whose parents had kicked him
>out of the house - he was living in his car and working at Denny's overnight
>while finishing high school.  She saw her principal once in the entire
>school year.  
>
>Here's the kicker: at this point, she was an UNPAID INTERN at Santa Fe High
>School.  She got no support, zero, from the administration or the district,
>and she was working for free.
>
>Well, when California recruited Amy in 1999, she'd had enough and she left -
>for a $50K starting salary and a signing bonus.  When the students and
>parents at SFHS found out that Amy was leaving, they started writing letters
>to the school begging them to keep her. The school's response?  They offered
>her 17K to start.  Amy considered it - until she found out that her district
>had just created a $70K/year position for a director of diversity in the SF
>public schools.  
>
>California is just a few rankings above us, and Amy's in one of the toughest
>schools in the Bay Area - but at least she makes a decent wage, and she
>doesn't have to buy light bulbs for her teachers now.  
>
>Laura
>
>
>
>
>
>  
>
>>Ray Parks                   rcparks at sandia.gov IDART Project
>>    
>>
>Lead          
>  
>
>>Voice:505-844-4024 IORTA Department            Fax:505-844-9641
>>http://www.sandia.gov/idart Pager:800-690-5288
>>
>>
>>============================================================
>>FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9:30a-11:30 at
>>ad hoc locations Lecture schedule, archives, unsubscribe, etc.:
>>http://www.friam.org
>>
>>============================================================
>>FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9:30a-11:30 at
>>ad hoc locations Lecture schedule, archives, unsubscribe, etc.:
>>http://www.friam.org
>>    
>>
>
>============================================================
>FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
>Meets Fridays 9:30a-11:30 at ad hoc locations Lecture schedule, archives,
>unsubscribe, etc.:
>http://www.friam.org
>
>
>
>============================================================
>FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
>Meets Fridays 9:30a-11:30 at ad hoc locations
>Lecture schedule, archives, unsubscribe, etc.:
>http://www.friam.org
>
>
>
>============================================================
>FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
>Meets Fridays 9:30a-11:30 at ad hoc locations
>Lecture schedule, archives, unsubscribe, etc.:
>http://www.friam.org
>  
>
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