'I deserve another chance.' The student no school wants
The Age reported about a girl who was forced to leave school in year 7 after several violent incidents. These incidents have blacklisted the student and resulted in 20 state schools refusing to enrol her. This raises the concern that disengaged students are neglected the opportunity to receive an education.
Freshly made food must be on the menu for NSW school canteens
The Sydney Morning Herald reported about a new regime where school canteens are required to sell freshly made food such as sandwiches, stir fries and pastas instead of packaged snacks to help tackle the growing obesity problem. The new system replaces the traffic light system, which was thought to be ‘overly complex and too narrow’.
Violent fight unites school
The Border Mail reported on secondary school students raising money for a classmate’s family after an assault left him with critical head injuries. The assault on Valentine’s Day sent shockwaves through the local Wodonga community. The 15 year old perpetrator has been charged with recklessly causing serious injury and is due to face the Victorian Children’s Court next month.
Girl ‘lucky to be alive’ after being strangled by school hat cord
9 News reported about an incident where a six-year-old girl suffered a serious neck injury when her hat was caught in a spiral slide. This has triggered call for a school ban of hats and jumpers with cords.
Mobile phone ban puts chat back on school curriculum
The West Australian reported about a school in Perth introducing a ban on mobile phones. This has led to pupils interacting with each other more and developing face-to-face relationships instead of the interacting with their phones.
Teacher sending kids home sick, dizzy and with heat stroke
The Queensland Times wrote about a teacher starting a petition after sending students home for being sick, dizzy and with heat stroke because the classroom was too hot to teach in. With no air conditioners in the classroom, the classroom reaches over 30 degrees and some days reaching over 40 degrees.
UK: Children from poorer backgrounds 'outperformed by better-off pupils'
According to BT.com, the UK Government's Social Mobility Commission has reported that children from poorer backgrounds are less likely to make good progress at secondary school than their ‘better-off’ peers. Since 2012, pupils from low-income families have made less academic progress to their affluent peers.
UK: Teachers at risk of asbestos exposure in one in five schools
The TES reported about the risk of asbestos exposure to school children and teachers. In 2016, more than 5,500 schools took part in research detailing asbestos management in schools. Of those schools, 4,646 (83.1 per cent) reported of the presence of asbestos. At the time of data collection, around 19 per cent of schools were not fully compliant with asbestos management processes and procedures put in place.
USA: Arizona may face another billion-dollar school lawsuit
AZ Central reported about a looming Arizona court case which could be larger than a previous law suit, where the Arizona Government had to pass Proposition 123 to resolve a $1.6 billion law suit. The looming court case, expected to be filed next month, deals with schools being under funded hundreds of millions of dollars per year for building maintenance and soft-capital needs.
Canada: Teacher charged with cocaine trafficking still being paid
According to the St. Catharines Standard, a Grade two teacher is still being paid her salary after being accused of trafficking cocaine while on ‘home assignment’ with the school board. Due to collective agreements, the teacher is staying at home until all legal issues are resolved and internal investigations are completed.
Canada: Halifax-area school bans cellphones to boost art of conversation
CBC news reported a Canadian school has introduced a ban to boost conversation between students. The idea came from a teacher who introduced a ‘cellphone detox’ in her class to get students talking each other instead of looking at their phones.