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Idaho’s tech-focused “Students Come First” school reform plan originally envisioned requiring all Idaho students to take eight online classes to graduate from high school, but the state now is looking at requiring just two.

A committee of the State Board of Education has recommended requiring just two courses, one of which must be asynchronous, meaning it’s conducted online at the student’s own schedule, as opposed to a live video class on a set schedule. “That will be two online credits for the high school career,” Luci Willits, chief of staff for state schools Superintendent Tom Luna, told the “Students Come First” Technology Task Force this morning. “That is their recommendation.”

Luna originally proposed requiring eight online classes for high school graduation, as part of his reform plan that also proposes phasing in laptop computers for every high school student and shifting funds from teacher and administrator salaries to technology investments. During this year’s Idaho legislative session, the number was halved to four, then left to the state board to determine, though Gov. Butch Otter has express Full Post…

A day care center has apparently closed after county health officials discovered lead paint.

During a routine inspection on March 21, Wake County inspection workers found peeling paint at Ridoutt’s Nursery and Kindergarten at 600 Saint Mary’s St. in Garner, according to the inspection report.

Paint in several areas of the center tested positive for lead, including the exterior of a patio, the exterior of the kitchen and a storage building, along with the front-door threshold, according to a county report.

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St. Paul, Minn. A gay former student and the mother of a teen who committed suicide last year will deliver on Monday more than 12,000 online signatures to the Anoka-Hennepin School Board to protest the school district’s sexual orientation curriculum policy.

The policy states that sexual orientation topics aren’t part of the curriculum, and it instructs teachers to remain neutral if the subject comes up in class.

But gay rights advocates, along with parents of students who have been bullied, say the policy more resembles a gag order for teachers and staff. They argue the policy contributes to a hostile atmosphere for gay students because it prevents teachers from validating students’ identity and doesn’t allow teachers to fully support gay students who are bullied.

Tammy Aaberg, whose gay 15-year-old son Justin committed suicide last year, and Justin Anderson, a 2010 Blaine High School graduate, will deliver a printout of all the signatures.

“We want to give it to them in physical form to see what that looks like,” Aaberg said.

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Idaho’s tech-focused “Students Come First” school reform plan originally envisioned requiring all Idaho students to take eight online classes to graduate from high school, but the state now is looking at requiring just two.

A committee of the State Board of Education has recommended requiring just two courses, one of which must be asynchronous, meaning it’s conducted online at the student’s own schedule, as opposed to a live video class on a set schedule. “That will be two online credits for the high school career,” Luci Willits, chief of staff for state schools Superintendent Tom Luna, told the “Students Come First” Technology Task Force this morning. “That is their recommendation.”

Luna originally proposed requiring eight online classes for high school graduation, as part of his reform plan that also proposes phasing in laptop computers for every high school student and shifting funds from teacher and administrator salaries to technology investments. During this year’s Id

Full Post…