Jane Boyd, Author at 45 Conversations Media & Education Ltd.

The words look so simple in a paper setting out the task ahead: "Change public face of Gorton Mount". But for a primary school

in the midst of an inner city gangland area, the reality takes a bit longer.

Gorton Mount primary school in Manchester is in one of the most deprived areas
of the country. It is characterised by "unemployment, high crime rates
– especially amongst the youth population where gang membership is high",
according to the school's own assessment.

As she opens a drawer to find a piece of paper, the first few items
headteacher Carol Powell sees are two toy pistols. "We confiscate them
and don't give them back," she said. The school doesn't want its
children to associate with guns, even in toy form, because of where it might
lead.

Against this background, Ms Powell embarked on her vision for the future,
throwing out the traditional methods of teaching

and becoming the first
state school in the country to convert to the "Montessori method".

via www.independent.co.uk

US city district to close nearly half its schools

(AFP)
–
2 hours ago

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Nearly half the public schools in Kansas City, Missouri are slated for closure as the cash-strapped district struggles to address years of declining enrollment and poor performance.

The predominantly African American school district has seen numbers cut in half over the past 10 years as parents moved their children out of the poverty-stricken inner city or into charter schools that operate independently.

It has been plagued by chronic low academic performance with less than a third of elementary school students reading at or above grade level.

The school board voted 5-4 to approve a plan to close 26 of the district's 59 schools at an emotional meeting Wednesday.

Superintendent John Covington defended the plan Thursday as the only way to bridge a projected 50-million-dollar budget for the upcoming academic year and focus resources on improving academic performance.

"Right now we are failing students in large percentages, in large numbers and that doesn't have to be," Covington told reporters.

"The savings we will generate will go into programs that will help them catch up. It will include an extended school day and an extended school year."

via www.google.com