Student behavior and disciplinary issues are not the main reasons so many Rochester public schools are failing; ineffective teachers and problems with developing the curriculum are. And only 30 percent of poorly performing schools are functioning well enough to make the improvements they need to make. Those were some of the conclusions that a group […]
education
Posted inNews & Opinion
Week ahead: A Teachout ruling, Marvin Maye hearing, and school district consultant’s report
A state judge may rule as early as today on whether Democratic candidate Zephyr Teachout meets residency requirements to run for governor and can appear on the party’s September primary ballot. Teachout is running a primary campaign against Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose reelection bid has the state party’s endorsement. Teachout and her supporters say Cuomo […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas: results are coming
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas used his State of the Schools speech last week to assure parents, students, and community leaders that the district is on a path to improvement. But creating a culture that’s firmly focused on the basics — literacy, attendance, budgeting, and basic management — will take more time, he said. Vargas […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Sandra Parker: No apologies
Well, maybe one. The business community has not done enough to improve public education in the city, says Parker, who retires as president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance this year.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Lessons for Rochester from Raleigh
Garner Magnet High School, just outside Raleigh, North Carolina, has more than 2,400 students, with overflow classrooms in 14 standalone trailers on the 100-acre campus, and 48 more classrooms in temporary modular units. A few years back, the school district purchased an old movie theater across the street from Garner and converted it to a […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Bringing music to the neighborhood
When Alexander Pena asks about 15 students to show him their “ready” position, the students sit up straight in their seats. “Now show me your playing position,” he says, and students steady their instruments and wait for Pena’s next cue. Shoulders brace violins and pinky fingers prop bows. On command, the familiar notes of Frere […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
UR-East deal still on
After several weeks of rushed and sometimes tense negotiations, the University of Rochester and the Rochester school board have agreed on a plan that turns management of East High School over to the university. An executive summary of the plan is on the UR’s website, http://www.rochester.edu/pdfs/RCSD-EPO-executive-summary.pdf. If the plan is approved by the State Education […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Schools modernization project is in trouble
Since work began in 2006, the Rochester school district’s $1.2 billion project to overhaul and modernize its buildings has been scaled up and whittled down. It’s gone through four superintendents and three mayors. Design plans have started, stopped, changed, and started again. Undoubtedly the biggest challenge in a construction project this size is keeping it […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas wants All City High extended
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas says he wants to continue offering All City High as an alternative for students who need it. The school primarily serves overage students who don’t have enough credits to graduate. “What do you do with students who are entering ninth grade when they are 15, 16, 17, and 18, and […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Regional schools
A group of Rochester educators and community leaders say that Rochester school district officials have repeatedly taken the wrong approach to improving city schools. An integrated school is needed, they say. And now more than ever.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Can parents save the schools?
Few people not directly employed by the Rochester school district are as nimble at navigating local policies, labor agreements, and state education law as Carrie Remis. In 2006, Remis co-founded the Rochester Fund for Educational Accountability, an all-volunteer organization that provided technical assistance and training to parent groups on federal education law (the group has […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
East High needs a buddy
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas is looking for a partner to run East High School. Working with an educational partner organization is one of the options the State Education Department gave the school district to rehabilitate the failing high school. The request for proposals went out two weeks ago. The deadline is April 16, Vargas […]
