www.newrivervalley.com

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to monitor the air at 62 schools after a series of articles from USA Today spotlighted poor air quality at a host of schools nationally.

Five Pulaski County schools were on the list of some of the "most polluted" schools in the nation.   However, in a report today, the EPA says it will only examine the air at one Virginia school -- Solid Rock Academy/Early Learning Center in Madison Heights.

According to the agency, "EPA selected schools after evaluating a number of factors including results from an EPA computer modeling analysis, the mix of pollution sources near the schools, results from an analysis conducted for a recent newspaper series on air toxics at schools, and information from state and local air pollution agencies.  "

A redistricting plan in Pulaski County's school system would mean closing Newbern Elementary.

Superintendent Don Stowers told board members today they could meet  new "seating capacity targets" at each of the county's six elementaries by closing the one.

"When we began building Riverlawn Elementary School, we knew that we would have to adjust our attendance boundaries among the various elementary schools," Stowers told board members.

Newbern has 112 students, according to figures compiled on Jan. 30. Under the plans for redistricting, the schools would have the following targets:

• Critzer Elementary - 425
• Dublin Elementary - 475
• Pulaski Elementary - 550
• Riverlawn Elementary - 500
• Snowville Elementary - 200

That's 43 fewer students than the current county enrollment of 2,107.

To reach the capacities, Stowers suggested shifting 387 students to different schools by:

• Moving 43 students from Critzer to Pulaski
• Moving 27 studeets from Newbern to Critzer
• Moving 75 students from Pulaski to Critzer
• Moving 161 students from Dublin to Riverlawn
• Moving 81 students from Newbern to Dublin

Those changes would mean each school falls short of the total seating capacity, but would still likely change class sizes at some schools.

A public hearing on the boundary changes is slated for March 5.vThe new Riverlawn Elementary is scheduled for an opening date of March 23.

You can read more about the proposal in Saturday's New River Valley Current.

Pulaski County's school board will convene today at 4:30 for its regular meeting. The meeting will be at 202 N. Washington Ave., Pulaski

On the agenda is:

• Action on Reduction in work force policy
• Revisions to Pulaski High exam format
• Update on Riverlawn Elementary

• Boundary adjustments to meet seating capacity at the new Riverlawn Elementary

Plans are to :

1. Move 43 students from Critzer to Pulaski.
2. Move 27 students from Newbern to Critzer.
3. Move 75 students from Pulaski to Critzer.
4. Move 161 students from Dublin to Riverlawn.
5. Move 81 students from Newbern to Dublin.

Amid the news of a national salmonella outbreak in peanut butter, at least one New River Valley school system is temporarily removing its peanut butter products from cafeterias.

Radford City Schools Superintendent Chuck Bishop said the schools in his district are not using peanut butter as a precautionary measure. Bishop said the peanut-butter sandwiches regularly given to students as a substitute for a hot lunch have been replaced with cheese sandwiches.

Although schools are taking the steps, none of the peanut butter used in the school system has been affected by the outbreak. A complete list of the recalls can be found here.

Other school systems, including Montgomery and Floyd, said they have been notified that all their peanut butter is safe and they are not pullling any from school lunches.

Next week, the U.S. Senate will take up the $819 billion  "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."  that passed last night through the house.

The House Bill outlines a investment to education over two years, designed to boost programs such as early childhood education, construction, technology and charter schools.

The New River Valley looks to bring in about $11.9 million, according to a preliminary breakdown from the House Appropriations Committee. Two-year totals for each of the valley's divisions are:

• Montgomery County - $ 5,074,700
• Radford City -$ 600,800
• Giles County - $ 1,525,200
• Pulaski County - $ 3,512,400
• Floyd County - $ 1,206,200

You can see a complete list of Virginia's share here.

What is your take on the stimulus? Where do you think the money should go?

Thomas Brewster, assistant superintendent in Pulaski Public Schools and state school board member, has been tapped to lead a group studying the drop our crisis.

Here's a news release from the National Association of State Boards of Education:

Alexandria, VA – The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is pleased to announce that Dr. Thomas Brewster, a member of the Virginia Board of Education, has been chosen to chair a year-long NASBE study group, convened in partnership with Communities in Schools (the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization), to identify unique policy and community-state partnership solutions to the devastating dropout rates facing some of the nation’s most impacted communities.

“With a long track-record of state-based work on high school reform, the NASBE membership has recommitted itself to identifying ways to serve all students, including those most at risk of dropping out of school,” said Brenda Welburn, NASBE Executive Director. “NASBE, the board of directors, and the membership stand to benefit from Tom’s energy, knowledge, and commitment to making our public schools the best they can be. In his role as study group chair, he will help identify and implement state education policies that transform the conditions that contribute to dropping out of school and increase rates of student success, including effective school, family, and community partnerships.”

As chair of the 17-member national study group, Dr. Brewster will meet with other state policymakers, student dropout prevention experts, and education reform leaders over the course of the year to examine high school dropout issues with direct policy implications for State Boards of Education and other national, state, and local education policymakers.

Specifically, the NASBE study group will explore in-depth the various reasons students drop out of school, the unique and complementary roles of schools, families, communities, and businesses in supporting students to stay in school; and innovative state policies, initiatives, and strategies to effectively address the issue.

The study group will issue a comprehensive report in October 2009 at the NASBE Annual Conference in Cincinnati, OH. Policy recommendations also will be distributed to all governors, state superintendents, other state and local education policymakers, national education groups, Congress, and federal officials.

Five Pulaski County schools top the list of the most polluted schools in the state, according to a special report from USA Today.

Newbern and Dublin elementaries, Pulaski High and Middle and the Southwest Virginia Governor's School each is listed among the top 10 most polluted. Other nearby schools on the list include McHarg Elementary in Radford City and Belview Elementary in Montgomery County.

And, Just 174 other schools nationally  have  a worse outside air quality than Newbern, the study showed.

The newspaper used a model from the Environmental Protection Agency to track the highest industrial pollution. Data indicated that the air outside  Newbern had one of the highest levels of dangerous toxic chemicals, most of which have never been tested for their effects on children.

A University of Virginia study has found that as much as $17 million in state money given to public education could have been misallocated because of incorrect student census reporting.

State law says that 1.125 percent of tax and sales receipts are supposed to be given to school districts based on the number of students they have.

Most school districts report that data based on a survey done every three years.  In a mailing this summer, residents in Montgomery County were asked to identify the number of school-aged children they had.

Researchers at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at UVa.  compared their own population estimates with the 2005 census figures reported by 98 of the state's 132 school divisions -- including Giles, Floyd and Pulaski counties -- and found that the way the data is culled varies widely.

Researches excluded localities with colleges, including Montgomery County and Radford City.

The third options they explore is to appoint their center to provide annual estimates of the school-age population using annual population and other estimates.

Using that formula, some New River Valley school districts would receive more state dollars, but others would dip a bit.

Floyd County reported 2,517 students and received about $1.9 million, whereas the researchers found the county had 2,907 students and should have received about $2.1 million.  Giles County schools offiicials would get $2.287,710 for the 3,107 students as opposed to $2.3 for 3,074 students. In Pulaski, schools would get $4.3 million for 5.959 students under the school's study. It received $4.5 million for 5,905 students, according to the traditional method.

"By comparing our population estimates with the counts reported by the school divisions, we found that four school divisions counted accurately, 27 reported too many children (and thus got too much money) and 67 reported too few children (getting too little money)," said researcher Susan Perrone said. "Martinsville reported 575 more children than we would have expected, and Portsmouth reported 5,072 too few. As a result of under- and over-counting across the state, the amount allocated ranged from $582 to $928 per child.”

The study has been handed to school leaders and is expected to be given to state lawmakers, the Associated Press said.

Kindergartners would start learning about fractions and count to 100, while fifth-graders would start working on linear equations, according to proposed changes to Virginia's Math Standards of Learning.

The state's Board of Education is looking for comments on the revisions. On Monday, a public hearing is scheduled at Pulaski High School. It starts at 7 p.m.

Right now, the state has no timeline for when the changes would come forth.

According to research from the University of Chicago (which, as a side note, is well known for its education research), special education teachers are in the top 10 of happiest jobs.

The teachers are No. 5 on a list of jobs in the ""Job Satisfaction in the United States" study that's been smattered in the news today. As far as I can tell, the study is about a year old, though.

Either way, here's what they have to say:

Special education teachers
Job Description: Teach school subjects to educationally and physically handicapped students.

Very happy: 52.6%
Median salary (preschool, kindergarten or elementary school): $41,344
Median salary (secondary school): $43,060

This seems to fly in the face of local concerns that have special education teachers over their workloads and pay.

So, special education teachers, set the record straight.

Are you happy with your jobs? What makes it great, and what leaves something to be desired?