Category: Discipline and Disorder
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A Fairfax High School Principal Cracks Down on Cellphones in Classrooms
by James A. Bacon Virginia educators are waking up to the classroom disruption caused by cell phones, and one is actually doing something about it. On April 11, Herndon High School in Fairfax County started enforcing major restrictions on cell phone use, reports Fox News-Channel 5. More recently, the New Kent County School Board has…
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The Alexandria Experiment
by James A. Bacon The election of Governor Glenn Youngkin may bring about changes in K-12 educational policy in Virginia, but those changes will take time to take hold, and they will not play out uniformly across the state. “Progressive” school systems are organizing a form of Massive Resistance (a term I use with deliberate…
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The Dude Had It Coming!
by James A. Bacon Most people watching the Academy Awards ceremony were shocked to see movie star Will Smith stride unbidden onto the stage and slap master of ceremonies Chris Rock across the face. Smith later apologized for his action, and then resigned from the Academy. Condemnation was widespread. But the disapproval was not unanimous.…
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School Threat Assessment Teams Revisited
by James C. Sherlock I wrote on February 12 of this year about what I consider an indicator of a potential overreach by the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). FCPS security has published an RFP for corporate support for web search to support its threat assessment team. Since that article, I have conducted extensive email…
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The National Association of School Psychologists is Going to Get Its Members Fired
by James C. Sherlock I had dinner with George Will once years ago aboard ship. He is very smart, uncannily observant, understatedly amusing and a terrific dinner guest. He published yesterday in The Washington Post a column, “Witness how progressives in government forfeit the public’s trust.” The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has proven…
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LCPS Superintendent Ziegler and the Superintendent of Public Instruction
by James C. Sherlock Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) can generously be described as “troubled” during the tenure of superintendent Scott Ziegler. You know, the guy who got left holding the bag when his predecessor fled the state. To make a very long story short, his fate is in front of the new Superintendent of…
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School Discipline – a Big Debate with Big Consequences for Education
by James C. Sherlock Learning can only happen in an appropriate learning environment. How to establish and maintain that learning environment is one of the most consequential debates in public education. In a lot of schools in Virginia, what we are doing now is not working. Laura Meckler, writing in The Washington Post about a…
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School Choice Can Help Poor Parents Quickly Improve the Education of their Kids
by James C. Sherlock The excellent education reporter Laura Meckler has written a terrific article in The Washington Post titled “Public education is facing a crisis of epic proportions“. Indeed. Test scores are down, and violence is up. Parents are screaming at school boards, and children are crying on the couches of social workers. Anger…
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Loudoun County Public Schools Bravely Faces Its Past
by James C. Sherlock The Loudoun Times-Mirror has run a story headlined, “Report detailing LCPS’ handling of sexual assaults complete; Title IX coordinator replaced.” “Replaced” in this case does not mean the official was fired. The official in question is still chief of staff. The Title IX assignment was kicked down the food chain to…
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Schools Gone Wild — Henrico Edition
by James A. Bacon This story gives a whole new meaning — a literal meaning — to the phrase, “hair on fire.” According to WWBT/Gray News, a teenager at John Rolfe Middle School in Henrico County seta fellow student’s hair afire with a lighter. The boy is at VCU Medical Center suffering from second- and…