www.newrivervalley.com

So much for dunce caps, or even in-school suspension (ISS), a school in Texas plans to put students in prison-style jumpsuits if they break the school's dress code. Fellow blogger Alexander Russo linked to this story all about it.

Also, this morning, The New York Times is reporting on the city's latest varsity sport -- Double Dutch. In a conversation with Montgomery County school board member Phyllis Albritton the other day, I wondered aloud about the lack of crew teams in the New River Valley, maybe I missed the boat (forgive the pun) and should have been asking about the rope jumping instead.

This look at Virginia's plan to factor graduation rates into school accreditation comes just as some school systems are talking about their own accreditations from the previous year.

In a meeting today, Montgomery County Superintendent Tiffany Anderson gushed about the county's preliminary results, which show that all schools in the county will meet accreditation standards.

The state has yet to formally announce the results, but Anderson said test scores aren't going to change enough to change anything.

She attributes the successes to a host of things, but cited a focus on math instruction and increased development for teachers as reasons scores could have risen.

Schools across Montgomery County will have new leaders this fall.

A list of administrator assignment changes from the MCPS Human Resources shows seven new principals and assistant principals, with a couple of school leaders moving up to the big School Board Office.

Here's the list, as I have it.

* Nelson Simpkins from Principal EMHS to Dir of Secondary Education
* John Wheeler from Asst Prin EMHS to Principal EMHS
* Amy Williams from Asst Prin AES to Asst Prin BHS
* Dave Dickinson from Asst Prin BHS to Prin SMS
* Ryan Hitchman from Sch Admin in MD to Prin CMS
* Barbara Erdelyi from Asst Prin CMS to Asst Prin CHS
* Seydric Williams from Teacher - MCPS to Asst Prin CMS
* Rebecca Counts from Prin SMS to Acting Social Studies and Character Ed. supervisor

Read more »

August is a busy time for new teachers in Montgomery County.

Check out this scheduled posted today to the county's Web site.

I spent a week in training before my job here, but this is serious stuff.

Way back in March, I wrote an article about a Montgomery County music teacher's approach and his plans to get an orchestra going for the kids at Price's Fork.

Cute, huh?

I got started thinking about it today when I realized my plans this summer to cover band camps in the region had flopped. As a former band geek (yay! woodwinds), I thought it would be fun to check out the changing face of camp, especially in the times of minimal music ed and astronomical gas prices.

Alas, there's always next year, but if have a good "One time at band camp ...." story for the year, lay it on me.

The New York Times today (and just about everyone else) is reporting on the latest wrinkle in the debate over the gender gap ... that's how girls perform in the classroom compared to boys.
A study out Thursday says has found that girl are equal to boys on standardized math tests

The results were based on math scores from seven million students in 10 states who were tested in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The study might be no surprise to some parents, but just 20 years ago the results were different.

You can take a peek at how girls and boys in your school fared in the past few years here.

I just got this new release, and figured any teen or parent reading this might be interested

Openings are now available for the RU Teens Outside Program, Session 3, which runs Monday, July 28, through Friday, August 1.

Teens Outside is a structured program designed to provide teens with a safe and fun environment in which to participate in various outdoor recreation activities. Session 3 activities will include white water rafting in the New River Gorge, canoeing, rafting, local boulder hiking and two overnight camping trips. The session is open to participants ages 12-16 and costs $175 per person.

The Teens Outside programs are staffed by RU college students majoring in recreation, parks and tourism. All counselors are certified in CPR/first aid and boating safety education.
To learn more and to register, contact Fred Pierson at jkpierson@radford.edu or (540) 831-7721

I just ran across the video gem below at a fellow blogger's site that focuses on Oakland schools.

It made me think about what's happening in schools here. A former Roanoke Times reporter wrote this year about dog therapy that can be taken into schools, and I attended a session at Radford for children with Autism that iincluded some body percussion, but I haven't heard about the rap therapy.

Weigh in on what you've seen, and if you think the rappin' would be a good idea locally.

School's out, but here's a proposal for an essay, written by you!

David Hoff at Education Week wants to know whether the latest incarnation of school accountability will be easier, or more difficult for schools.

What do you think?

It's a battle that's been raging for decades and The Associated Press has a piece looking at how some parents are forced to take up arms in the Math Wars just to be able to help their children.

I found this interesting after I spent a day with some children struggling to do long division this week. While I worked along with them (testing the rusty skills that most journalists show), the instructor taught me some concepts that it might have been nice to learn. Alas, I was one of those "rote memorization" kids.

So, the article and my own lousy division skills have me pondering that decades old question: Which is better? Concept-based lessons, similar to what is taught in the Everyday Math curriculum used in Montgomery County's early grades, or formula-based "traditional" math lessons?

Weigh in, or, better still for teachers, e-mail me a note on what works in your classroom.