NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I’m Neal Conan, in Washington. The age of eight or nine, when kids complete third grade, represents a key turning point. Up until then, children are learning to read. Afterwards, they read to learn. Many educators believe that kids who can’t read should be held back, and several states use standardized tests. Kids who don’t pass are automatically held back, or retained.

Critics say such a policy is counterproductive and mean-spirited. Both sides cite statistics in support. But in most places, these decisions are not automatic, and in the coming weeks, teachers and parents will face the tough decision to hold back kids who struggle with reading or not.

If you’re a teacher or a parent making that decision, if you were held back, tell us your story: 800-989-8255. Email: talk@npr.org. You can also join the conversation on our website. Go to npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.

Later in the program, the White House dinner that changed history: Deborah Davis on Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and guest of honor. But first, third grade and reading and retention. And let’s see if we can begin with a caller. Let’s begin with Tina, Tina on the line with us from Lansing, Michigan.

TINA: Hi.

CONAN: Hi, Tina.

TINA: You know, I, like I briefly told you, my daughter really struggled with her reading, and I had felt that maybe she needed to be held back in third grade, but the school really fought me on it. When she got into fourth grade, it was very evident she was not ready. She struggled with her grades. It affected her self-esteem.

And coming into the end of her fourth grade, I put my foot down, and I said she’s not going forward. I held her back in fourth grade. As a result of that, her reading has greatly improved. Her grade level has come up almost to A’s, nothing but A’s and B’s. It’s improved her own self-esteem and her own self-worth.

And so I don’t see where – I mean, I know some of the kids do pick on her, but we sat down and talked about it so that she knew what we were doing, why were doing it, and she was on board with it, and it was the best decision I ever made for the future of my daughter.

CONAN: But a difficult decision, nonetheless.

TINA: It was difficult and – you know, because there’s a lot that goes into, you know, holding them back because the kids that she’s been going to school with are now moving on without her. And she’s now in with the younger children. But bottom line is you’ve got to do what’s going to be best for her, academically.

And she would have continued to struggle if we had allowed her just to go on. And I couldn’t see doing that because how it was affecting not only her overall grades, but her self-esteem.

CONAN: And this was a decision, obviously, you reached after talking to her teachers and the school. Do you think that such decisions should be made automatically?

TINA: I don’t think maybe necessarily automatically. I think that the parent should be brought in, and it should be discussed with the parent and given the pros and cons, and then the school and the parent together make a decision.

CONAN: All right, Tina. I’m glad it worked out in your case.

TINA: Thank you very much.

CONAN: Joining us now is Tim Taylor, who’s the president of Colorado Succeeds, a nonprofit coalition of business leaders that work to change Colorado’s education system. His organization supported the Colorado READ Act, which recently passed in the Colorado legislature. He joins us from member station KUVO in Denver. Nice to have you with us today.

TIM TAYLOR: Thanks for having me.

CONAN: And you worked for legislation in Colorado that would have passed, had automatic retention if kids failed the standardized reading test. They would have been held back automatically. Why were you in favor of that?

TAYLOR: The legislation here is a little bit different. We did model it off of some other legislation around the country, where there is an automatic bar, or automatic line in the sand that kids have to pass.

Here in Colorado, what we want to do is we want to make sure that kids are identified early, that we give them all the supports we possibly can, and that retention is considered an option for these kids if they don’t have the skills to move forward.

If you’re unable to read coming out of the third grade, and in fourth grade, we no longer teach reading in U.S. public schools, the kids can’t read a math word problem. They can’t read instructions on a science experiment, the teachers’ notes on a white board. Their odds of success are so low at that point.

We know that 90 percent of high school dropouts did not read on the third-grade level, and it’s one of the strongest predictors of high school graduation success. So this was something that we looked at, and we said: If the pipeline is broken, and we’re not getting kids to and through and prepared for college, how do we back this up, and where are the pitfalls and the areas that we can take a look at?

CONAN: As I understand, the legislation in Colorado, again, it does not provide for automatically holding a kid back who fails this test, and also provides additional funds for the schools to work with those kids who are struggling with their reading.

TAYLOR: That’s correct. There was $21 million that was put into this piece of legislation that is for support, to give the kids every chance they can. What the legislation does require is that there’s a conversation between the parent, the teacher and the principal to let folks know, let these parents know that their kid is behind, and they’re at risk of falling further behind because of the child’s reading skills.

In kindergarten, first and second grade, the parent has final say to overrule that recommendation that the child be considered for retention. By third grade, this final decision comes down to the superintendent of the school district. They have to sign on to say that this child, they believe, has the skills necessary to go on and succeed.

And what’s so important here is there are 34 percent of kids – according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress – around the country who score below basic. This is functionally illiterate, unable to read “The Cat in the Hat” at the end of third grade. And these kids moving forward into the fourth grade, that 34 percent starts to impact the other percentage of kids in the classroom.

So by fifth, sixth grade, you’ve got 100 percent of the student body being impacted because the teacher has to change curriculum to address a number of significance, the 34 percent of these kids who are coming through the system unable to read.

CONAN: Joining us now from member KJZZ in Tempe, Arizona is David Berliner, Regents Professor of Education at Arizona State University and an educational psychologist. Good of you to be with us today.

DAVID BERLINER: Thank you.

CONAN: And do you agree that this third grade juncture is absolutely critical?

BERLINER: Well, I think it’s critical, but I think the response of Colorado – while remarkably responsible because they’ve read the literature – is also a little misguided. Leaving kids back, we know from research, is – it sometimes improves achievement temporarily, for a small number of the repeaters, but over time, grade repeaters fall further and further behind other low achievers who have been promoted.

And the repeaters also drop out more frequently. That’s really not controversial, and I think Colorado knows this and has passed sensible legislation, in a way. But they don’t know which kids will profit from being left behind – none of us do – and it’s hard to make public policy based on exceptions.

Some kids are helped, I don’t doubt that. But only between 10 and 25 percent of smokers get lung cancer. The vast majority of smokers do not get lung cancer. Does that mean we should rescind the policy that makes it mandatory to warn people that smoking’s a bad choice? Of course not.

Just because some kids are helped by retention in grades doesn’t mean it’s good policy. That’s the reasoning of illogic here. You make policy based on good odds, and the odds are that retention in grade is bad for the kids who are retained. It’s bad socially, emotionally, and they don’t seem to catch up. And they drop out at higher rates.

CONAN: I understand the – what you’re saying socially and emotionally, everybody has experience of – we’ve all been to school and understand the trauma involved in being held back. Nevertheless, if they can’t read at a third-grade level, they’ve gone into fourth grade, where they no longer teach reading, how are they ever going to catch up?

BERLINER: Well, we all agree that neither retention nor promotion is beneficial to struggling students or their school if it’s not accompanied by effective, programmatic interventions. And those usually mean extending learning time. You need opportunities for children to get after-school tutoring on weekends and in the summer. They need to be in safe and supervised environments.

Programs must offer homework assistance, intensive tutoring in basic skills, counseling and enrichment. Waiting till you make a decision to leave them back is a little late. Does Colorado have preschool and kindergarten mandatory for poor kids? Does it have tutoring for first and second-graders whose teachers say they need it? Does it have summer programs for these struggling kids, or have those funds been cut?

Has Colorado cut or added librarians to school to help children with reading? Because librarians play a big role in this. Does Colorado have smaller classes in first and second grade so as to give struggling students more chances to be served individually by teachers?

Those are also ways to cut that number of struggling students down dramatically.

CONAN: Tim Taylor, you’re not a spokesperson for the Colorado Public Schools. You’re an advocate. But can you help us answer some of those questions that David Berliner posed?

TAYLOR: Well, I mean, many of those things are very important, and we believe that the policy in Colorado takes a look at the entire spectrum of what’s going on in literacy in Colorado. The first and most important thing is early identification of these kids. And we know, in Colorado, we’re getting that right most of the time.

The Department of Education is on top of it, and we’re getting – about 90 percent of the research is showing us that we’ve got the right kids. We know who they are. And the second thing is to intervene as early as possibly can – kindergarten, first, second – and give those kids every opportunity you can. That’s where this bill has injected $21 million worth of supports to make sure that the kids get this.

And as an option of last resort, if the kids are not literate by the end of the third grade, we have got to stop lying to them and putting them into fourth grade, where they don’t have the skills to succeed. One of the things that this bill does in Colorado is changes the culture around literacy. It makes it one of the most important things that can happen in a child’s life by the time they get to the end of third grade.

And that is really at the core of what our bill wanted to and what we succeeded in doing, and that is because we’ve had flat literacy rates in the United States for the past decade. It is time to act. We are failing these kids at an alarming rate.

CONAN: Let’s get Jerry on the line, Jerry with us from Jamesville in Wisconsin.

JERRY: Yeah, hi. I just wanted to say that, like, that woman was talking about your…

CONAN: That her – she made the decision to hold her child back, and…

JERRY: Yeah, and that the child was – her self-esteem, that’s the word I was looking for. And it was just the opposite with me. I was in third grade, and I was held back, and my self-esteem went down after I was held back. All the other students and kids of my age went forward, and I felt belittled and small. And I was passing my grades at that time with C’s and B’s. I wasn’t an all-A student, but I was passing.

And in the tests, in giving a report on a book, I could give you the color of the eyes, and if somebody had six toes. I mean, I was able to, you know, give that kind of information. And from that point on, I was able to – I wasn’t able to basically open a book again. I was – I mean, I’ve read, but I read very slow, but I cannot comprehend. And I can understand, but because I’m slow at reading…

CONAN: So it obviously didn’t work in your case, Jerry. Did – how did you do? Did you graduate school and move on?

JERRY: That’s just it. That’s just it. I didn’t even graduate. I stayed in school, I loved school. I actually loved school. I just – I made it to the end of my 12th year of school, of high school, ended up dropping out because I just, I couldn’t seem to ever get caught up. Everybody that I knew – I mean, I know…

CONAN: Jerry, I’m afraid we’re going to have to leave it there, but thank you very much for the call. We’re talking about retention. It’s the TALK OF THE NATION, from NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION, from NPR News. I’m Neal Conan. We’re talking about the debate over how to help third-graders who can’t read at grade level: Hold them back a year and help them improve, as some states require, or, as others say, avoid the stigma and consequences of retention and promote students to the fourth grade, but give them extra reading help through tutors or other tools.

If you’re a teacher or a parent making that tough decision, if you were held back, call and tell us your story: 800-989-8255. Email: talk@npr.org. You can also join the conversation on our website. That’s at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.

Two people with different views on the matter are with us: Tim Taylor, who serves as president of Colorado Succeeds, a nonprofit coalition of business leaders focused on Colorado’s education system, and David Berliner, educational psychologist and Regent’s professor of Education at Arizona State University.

David Berliner, I know you will take issue with some of the statistics that Tim Taylor has. He will take issue with yours. People here are, on both sides, people of goodwill who are trying to fix the system. Is it simply a matter of resources?

BERLINER: Well, I think it is a lot of resources. But I want to get at a point that one of your callers had, that she saw a great growth in her daughter. What she didn’t have was identical twins. If she had identical twins and had let one go ahead and be promoted and kept one back, the research overwhelmingly says that the one who was promoted would have done better and been more personally secure in schooling.

That research is really incontrovertible. It’s not a matter of disagreeing on the data. Retention in grade is a bad choice. Now, the Colorado legislation says it should be the choice of last resort. I agree. They’re certainly wise enough to say we need to do everything else. But Colorado is not facing some facts about the reading problem, like it’s got one of the fastest growing poverty rates in the nation.

It’s got about 17 percent of its children in poverty, and that means that the kids who are going to be left back are likely to be poor. They’re likely to be boys. They’re likely to be minorities. They’re likely to be English-language learners. Do you really want a system that, as a last resort, discriminates?

And it seems to me what you need to do is put lots more money in up front, so that you don’t reach that point of last resort.

CONAN: Tim Taylor, I hate to inject – I hate to be the one injecting even more statistics, but it is three times more likely that somebody retained at third-grade level will be African-American, twice as likely that they will be Hispanic.

TAYLOR: Yeah, and some of those demographic trends that David mentioned is the reason we did this. In the past, most retention had been done on a subjective level, and we need it to be done objectively. And if – one of the places that we looked as we did this legislation was in Florida, where their low-income population reading scores grew by two-and-a-half grade levels between 1998 and 2009, when they put this policy in place.

In Colorado at the same time period, our scores grew by four points. It’s incredible that we could envision leaving these kids behind, and just because they are low-income, or they are children of color, that they can’t read, or we wouldn’t expect for them to read.

We have got to change the culture around this and expect that every child is able to read. It’s the only shot they’ve got to compete in a competitive global economy, is to have the reading skills they’ll need to go out and get a job. Our employers do not have jobs for kids who are unable to read coming out of high school.

CONAN: Let’s get another caller in. This is Koshaun(ph), Koshaun with us from Augusta, Georgia.

KOSHAUN: Yes.

CONAN: Hi. Go ahead, please.

KOSHAUN: Hi. I’m a high school math teacher, and I agree with both gentlemen on your panel. It’s a struggle when the kids are promoted without being able to read, because, of course, it eliminates their ability to comprehend. And being a high school math teacher, it’s a challenge when the kids cannot understand what the instructions are. And when they read at an extremely slow rate, it’s like they’re trying to memorize words. So they kind of shut down on word problems.

Now, I also agree that retention is not always the answer. I support some type of intervention. And if the third grade is where these decisions are being made, I think that the parents should have some option, or someone will have something in place to where if it’s just reading alone – because you have some kids that can excel in other areas, but may struggle in reading. They have spatial sense. They have strong memory skills that may help them to excel in other subject areas.

And it’s also affected by the teaching strategy, what type of instruction that they have. And if they’re retained, and they’re placed in the same environment, where the parents aren’t supporting the kids’ reading, or the parents don’t have the kids reading beyond the school setting, then who’s to say that retaining that student would help?

CONAN: Yeah, and I hear what you’re saying, Koshaun, but resources – as you know far better than I – are limited.

KOSHAUN: They are limited. And the thing about it is accountability has to be placed, and I think on the parents. But in a lot of cases – what is sad – is that you don’t have the parental support, or the parents don’t have the resources, in a lot of cases, for these kids that are failing. And the ones that do, I think they go out, and they acquire the resources on their own.

And with budget cuts, a lot of school systems don’t have the supplemental education services in place. But a lot of areas, they do, and a lot of kids, unfortunately, they don’t take advantage of it. And it is frustrating, you know, seeing kids entering high school that really cannot read, and I’ll give an example.

Right now, I’ll call out eight words, just: tear open top of bag along dotted line. Now it’s difficult to remember those eight words, but I gave you the instructions to open an air freshener. It just says tear open top of bag along dotted lines. Now, trying to remember those eight words may appear to be a challenge, and imagine a kid reading 22 words of instructions. And they just shut down.

And these are some challenges that I know myself face as a math teacher, and other instructors, also. But it is something that a decision will have to be made, and it’s going to be based on what satisfies, I guess, the greater good. Again, the accountability, though, it has to take place at home.

CONAN: Thanks very much for the call, Koshaun. Appreciate it. David Berliner, given that we live in a world of limited resources, should more of them be devoted to this particular age group?

BERLINER: Well, I think so. I think we find other countries – for example, Finland and South Korea – which beat us every time we do the international tests, do not allow grade retention. What do they do instead? Finland makes sure that every kid gets help along the way whenever they fall behind.

You get pneumonia and you’re out six weeks, you get tutoring to help you catch up. You’re falling behind in second grade, you get tutoring to help you catch up. Finland invests in making sure no kid falls behind. What Colorado is trying to do is very laudable, making sure no kid falls behind, but then they’re saying if we fail, we’re going to leave them back. And my argument is that’s still the wrong decision to be made.

CONAN: And as you know, there are other states, such as Florida, which we mentioned, where retention is not – it’s automatic. If you fail the test, you’re held back.

BERLINER: Arizona, my state, is doing the same thing, and I think it’s the wrong decision for almost the entire group they’ll leave back, and it’s also a biased decision.

CONAN: Let’s go next to Kathleen, Kathleen with us from New Bern in North Carolina.

KATHLEEN: Hello. Thank you so much. I was held back in first grade because my age. I was apparently too young or too old. Anyway, I turned seven in October when I got into first grade, and it completely affected my self-esteem. I felt like I was dumb. And I couldn’t do well on standardized tests, which led me to not pass a certain test that determined whether or not I would go into a gifted program.

And when that happened, I felt like I was not only left behind by my age group, but also my intellectual peers. It was really frustrating and very sad. But I got help later, but I fell through the cracks of the public school system.

CONAN: And Tim Taylor, this is – I know you believe sincerely that retention is, in some cases, clearly the best thing to do, but the effects – as Kathleen and some of our other callers have illustrated – they’re very real.

TAYLOR: Oh, absolutely. And in that case, it sounded like the retention was done based on an age piece. And what we’re trying to identify is whether the kids have the skills. And we need to change the culture in our schools so that isn’t done in some schools, but not in others, or a teacher has the final decision. This is something where we have to look at the test scores, find out whether the student has the capacity.

And if we change the culture across the board, this is not going to be a stigma for these kids. This is what’s going to be happening to all their peers around them. And what – the gift that we’re going to give them is the joy and the love of reading so they can succeed through the rest of their school career, and they can read to learn when they’re in high school and college, when they’re going to need those skills to be productive citizens.

CONAN: Let’s talk to Jenny, Jenny with us from Mulvane in Kansas.

JENNY: Yes, hi. How are you?

CONAN: Good, thanks.

JENNY: I have two sons, one who’s graduating this year and one who is in seventh grade. And both – one in math, and one in reading – that would pass the standardized test, but was failing their daily work and their class work. I’m a stay-at-home mom who would help and try and get the teachers’ attention, and they passed my children. And as they got older, they now struggle, have struggled, with both math and reading.

I had asked that my younger son be held back both in third and fourth grade. And they went ahead and passed him because they couldn’t hold him back, they said, because he passed the standardized test.

CONAN: And you wish there had been an option.

JENNY: Right. And now he’s in seventh grade, and he honestly has told me himself that it wouldn’t have been a bad thing had he been held beck because then he wouldn’t feel so left behind now. He struggles now. And honestly, what I think our – we need is to get rid of summer break. Two long breaks in a year, you know, maybe a couple more besides the holidays. But wasn’t summer break meant for when we had farms and we needed our children to come help harvest our crops? This is a little old-fashioned, and I think everybody is moving past us.

CONAN: I hear what you’re saying, but it’s another idea for another day. We’re just trying to focus on one issue at a time, Jenny. But thanks very much for the call, and we wish your children the best of luck.

JENNY: Oh, they’re doing pretty well now, but he does struggle more than what I think he and I think he should have. They did not hold him back.

CONAN: Jenny, thanks very much. This is an email from Cindy(ph): After spending over 30 years as a school library media specialist, I’m convinced retaining students who have not reached grade-level goals by third grade is good practice. I watch students fall farther and farther behind, year after year, when earlier intervention could have changed their entire school experience. Our school system is one-size-fits-all into which we put individuals whose readiness is not all the same. Letting students experience success by giving them a second chance is good for the child, not a punishment for their nonperformance. It may also prevent future problems that students who lag behind in school often experience.

And, David Berliner, again, these are anecdotal, but these are…

BERLINER: Yes.

CONAN: …people with experience, suggesting that this might be a good idea.

BERLINER: Well, you’ve cast the problem as retention and promotion as if these are the only options and the whole debate we’re getting today is about that, and it’s not. Colorado is willing to spend money on leaving kids back. I don’t know what they spend per kid in elementary school. Let’s say it’s $10,000 a year. So the state has committed to spend an extra $10,000 to leave a kid back in third grade.

Why not spend that $10,000 on tutoring services for the child in fourth and fifth grade to help the child catch up? It’s not just the choice of retention or promotion. It’s a choice of how are you going to use the resources you’ve already committed by the state to the child?

And I would suggest that the tutoring option would work just as well. You put the kid back, you’re going to put the kid back with 30 more kids. The teacher is going to have limited time to work with that kid. You might as well invest in a tutor with the money you are already going to spend by leaving the kid back.

CONAN: Tim Taylor, was that considered as an option, or how did this issue come to focus on retention in third grade?

TAYLOR: We hope that we found the balance in Colorado and that, again, that we try to do both. We don’t think it’s an either/or. We are putting significant funds and $16 million for summer school reading tutors, full-day kindergarten, other pieces that will help get – kids get prepared. But as they move through the system, we just want to make sure that by the time they get to the end of third grade, they have the skills they’ll need to succeed in the fourth grade.

And I want to be really clear about this as well, is that we’re talking about the functionally illiterate. This is – these are kids who are truly not just a little bit below grade level, but who are functionally illiterate. And some kids just need a little bit more time, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s a falsehood to think that we’re just going to push them through the system and everybody is going to get this at the same time. But it’s like building a house.

If you have a foundation and the foundation isn’t quite ready, you wouldn’t dare put the second or the third stories on that house. So let’s make sure that we let the foundation set and the kids have the skills they need, and then we can build something really meaningful on top of that. And they can succeed and have – be productive citizens and contribute to our economy.

CONAN: Tim Taylor, president of Colorado Succeeds. He’s with us from KUVO, our member station in Denver. David Berliner, Regents’ professor of education in Arizona State University, with us from member station KJZZ in Tempe. You’re listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.

And this from Joy(ph) in Alabama: I heard your topic on my local NPR station, WBHM. I think that’s in Birmingham. Pretty sure it is. I’m struggling with this because my son in first grade has been considered for retention by his teacher and administrators. They say he’s immature. However, he can read at a first grade instructional level. However, he can do math, word problems without an issue. We, his parents, do not want to retain him. When we discussed it with him, he was against it. Looking for opinions on this. He is a May birthday, and can they keep saying he’s just so young? What to do?

David Berliner, any…

BERLINER: Yes. I met a kindergarten teacher who retained a kid because he was immature. And I said, so the decision to help the child mature is to leave them with more immature children instead of with more mature children, in which he’ll learn the social norms of what maturity means? It’s the same issue here.

By leaving the kid back, you’re ensuring that the child will be with more immature children. By promoting the child, if it’s an immaturity issue, you’re at least putting the child in a classroom where the children are gaining maturity.

For the immaturity excuse for leaving the kid back, I think that’s just a terrible reason to do so. You want the kid – if the kid is so immature, promote him a grade or two so that the kid is hanging out with mature people and he learns the skills of maturity.

CONAN: So if it’s a immaturity issue, perhaps the mistake was made at the start.

BERLINER: Yes, I think so.

CONAN: All right. As we go ahead and other states consider such legislation, David Berliner, why do you think it has become a political issue to focus on reading at third grade level?

BERLINER: Well, I think we all agree – Tim and I, and everyone else in the country agrees – that if you have a problem at third grade with a kid, the predictions are pretty dire. So we know we need to do something. The question is what do you do? And are you willing to invest in those kids the money you need? The commitment is made when you leave a kid back to invest roughly $10,000 in that kid. There has to be better ways to do it, given everything we know about the effects of leaving a child back, both the personal effects, the social-emotional. And frankly, the data is pretty overwhelming that they don’t do better in the long run, and they drop out at five times the rate of kids who are not left back, according to the National Center for Statistics.

So what we need are other methods to cope with the child who’s not reading well. And again, I think the Colorado legislation is pretty clear. They’re trying to do that. I just think the final decision that they’re going to make on a kid is still the wrong one.

CONAN: Tim Taylor, thanks very much for your time today. Appreciate it. Tim Taylor joined us from KUVO, our member station in Denver. And our thanks as well to David Berliner, who you just heard, who’s a professor of education at Arizona State University with us from KJZZ in Tempe. Coming up: President Theodore Taylor – excuse me – President Theodore Roosevelt, Booker T. Washington and the White House dinner that changed history. Stay with us. I’m Neal Conan. It’s the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.

Schools too are conscious of the need to entice students into their establishments. By presenting their unique selling points (yes, schools do have unique selling points!) in the best way possible, they can build on their promises to ensure top class educational courses. School prospectuses are sometimes complex, and contain detailed lists of information. The school prospectus design will give a simple and uncomplicated overview of what each school has to offer.

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By engaging the services of a school prospectus design company, you will be placing your requirements with experts who will portray your school in the best possible manner. If you are confident in the ability of your school prospectus to deliver courses that will best meet the needs of your students you will be well placed to fill all course placements. Teachers are busy, you are busy; hand over this essential task to those who have the appropriate experience and watch your school head towards number 1 in the top schools list.

GENESEE, MI — Genesee High School’s 50-year tradition of keeping the location of its junior-senior prom a secret held strong this year on Friday evening.

Bridget Shaw, a Genesee High School English teacher, chose the prom destination: the three-story Michigan Princess Riverboat in Lansing. The theme was “Hollywood.”

Students were taken via charter bus to the boat.

“It was exciting trying to figure out where we were going on the expressway,” said junior Andrea Saunders, 17. She said students conjectured their destination might be Michigan State University when they took the Lansing exit.

That prom would be held on a boat was a rumor at the high school, but it was shadowed by the other rumors flying around the school.

“We were just shocked to actually see (the boat),” Cassidy Schaub, 17, said. “To see it come to life was really cool.”

As students entered the riverboat, the DJ played popular movie theme songs. The decorations included red carpets, a city skyline on the walls, a Hollywood sign, camera reels and dangly stars and lights.

The first floor housed a hard wood dance floor, the dining room was located on the second floor and the third floor was open to the air.

“The weather was splendid,” junior class president Ramzy Abueita, 17, said. “There was a spectacular view across the river.”

He said as junior class president, he was responsible for helping pick the theme, decorations and food but was just as surprised as everyone else.

“It was better than what anyone expected,” Saunders said.

For many students, the occasion was bittersweet.

“It was the final thing together before the seniors leave,” Schaub said. “The junior and senior class were really close.” 

Enlarge Genesee County Proms – Week 2 gallery (104 photos)

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The Legislature passed House Bill 748 despite the Baldwin County Commission’s failure to adopt a resolution in support of renewing the tax.

The existing sales tax is due to expire on May 31, 2013. If approved by voters, the new tax would kick in on June 1 and continue for the next five years.

Davis has said that extending the tax would save nearly 400 jobs.

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I offer an alternative support for our young men and women who sacrifice daily to protect our freedoms and enable those same freedoms for people in oppressed countries. One of those freedoms being the right to express your opinion, we can agree to disagree.

Pumphrey brings up the My Lai incident, which was big news for the media; we can all agree this was a horrible deprived act, by a group of scared soldiers led by a whacked-out lieutenant. No one wants war; its an ugly way to resolve our differences. However, if and when the need arises to take up arms, I am one American that appreciates our military might. Sure, we can discuss these terrible acts of lunacy like the My Lai incident to ensure they are never repeated. But let me tell you about another military incident, one of many involving our military, which you never heard of, because it never received any media coverage and was never intended to.

In the late 60s, a US Navy destroyer on its way to the Vietnam war zone stopped in a small Central American country for some much needed rest after over two months of battle readiness training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where 18-, 1-9 and 20-year-old kids became hardened in anticipation for what awaited them. Upon their arrival, the 200+ compliment of crew and officers ready for a few days of rest and relaxation before crossing the Pacific were greeted by a local priest. He met with the captain of the ship and told him about an orphanage for approximately 200 children that had been under construction when the funds went dry and not even the government of this nation could or would offer any help. So, the children of this orphanage lived and went to school in leaking buildings, no running water, with unfinished electrical service and dilapidated unpainted walls.

The priest appealed to the captain for a handout. The captain, after verifying the situation, called the crew and officers to muster. He did not command or order, he explained the plight of the orphans and asked if anyone with skills could offer any help. The entire crew stepped forward and put aside several days of R and R. They volunteered their talents and time without hesitation and to the last man, they spent the next three days and nights working, providing power, plumbing, wiring lights, hammering, nailing, repairing roofs and painting, not only doing the work, but going into their own pockets to help finance the supplies needed to complete the construction. Officers and men worked side by side to get the orphanage and school in shape so the residents could have a safe environment in which to live and learn.

Oh, I also forgot to mention, the nuns and children of the orphanage provided meals for the work force in appreciation of their efforts. They would wait patiently until the men were done eating before they took their first bite. When the crew realized what was going on, they insisted the children and nuns of the orphanage join them to share in the staples, making sure the orphans and nuns ate first, again, going into their pockets to ensure there was enough food for everyone all three days they were there.

This ship was a Navy destroyer, designed for war, armed with the latest weaponry that could unleash fire power that could level an entire enemy strong-hold. The difference was, stationed on board this vessel of war were officers and men with a heart, who gave of their time and treasure to help others in need, Officers and seamen with enough internal fortitude to think of others before themselves.

This is a true story, and there are many others just like this one. But you wont hear about them in the news because its not salacious, there is no blood and guts, its not a My Lai massacre and it wont sell copy. There are some people who would rather write and talk about the horrors of war and color our entire military machine as terrorists. Then there are others that are proud of our men and women in uniform and proud of being a veteran and proud to be called an American.

If you want to call that silly and irrational adoration of our military, be my guest. Just thank God you live in a country that provides you that right and privilege. While you are at it, thank our military and our veterans for the privilege as well.

Emily won a place on a project that will see her travel to London and interview Paralympic athletes and then report on their challenges and success for the newspaper.

The position was created in a bid to increase awareness of the Paralympics and Emily’s published piece is expected to be exposed to some five million readers.

Emily will also attend the Paralympics closing ceremony, the Limavady Chronicle reported, after which she will be trained by journalists at The Guardian.

Her by-line will feature in the Saturday edition of the paper during August.

Today, we live in a fast-paced world and our digestion suffers. The sugar content and starch content of many meals today is far too high with a minimum of fruits and vegetables consumed. This way of eating can make you susceptible to fermentation, especially when stressed to the time.

Many naturopaths and nutrition researchers such as Dr. Richard Schultz, Mark Pedersen, Eric Bakker and James A. Duke stress the importance of eating a lot slower than we do today, and especially chewing each bite slowly and deliberately several times before swallowing and in addition, not to eat when we are stressed or tired. Do you eat your main meal later in the evening, perhaps eight or nine after a glass of wine? This is a common situation, especially for city dwellers.

Many people in countries like Spain and France still take their time with meals that allow their digestive systems to work more efficiently, with faster production of digestive enzymes to digest their food before they return to work.

The main recommendation is increase the quality of your food and decrease the amount of your food.

There are many options to play outside and the toys can be installed in your garden. These toys are lightweight and can easily be moved from one place n your garden to another. All products are made from high quality and durable materials and will last for years.

If your child loves adventure, then climbing frames will catch his or her fancy. The rise can be difficult and require strength and energy. Outdoor toys are certainly different from those inside, because they are necessary for health development not only fun.

Trampolines can be fun to play and your child can invite his or her friends. This toy helps to improve coordination and makes the child healthy and fit. If you are too busy to watch your children while using the trampoline, you can choose a closed structure. There are offset safety boxes. Before buying this toy you should look tough several jumpking trampoline reviews.

A wooden playhouse is like a dollhouse for your daughter. Boys will like it too. Wheeled toys are perfect for boys and girls as well. You can decide to but a scooter or trike that suits for children from the age of 3-5. Outdoor toys can really make a huge difference for recreation.

Some questions you may have are: How do I become a bartender? How much is Bartending School going to cost me? Do I need bartending certification? Bartending school is a practical, affordable and way to start a new career. To become a successful bartender, also known as a mixologist, takes years of practice. Mixology is the art of combining various ingredients to make cocktails. There are some things that good bartenders need to know to run a bar effectively. For a bar to be successful, you need to know the basics of wine, beer, liquor, spirits and mixers, as well as the right equipment and the proper technique for mixing drinks and cocktails as well. Bartenders fill drink orders from patrons. They are responsible for checking the identification of customers to ensure they meet the minimum age requirement for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco products.

While there are no specific educational requirements for most food and beverage jobs, many employers prefer to hire high school graduates, including bartender training. Some bartenders attain their knowledge and skills through formal vocational training by attending bartending schools or a vocational and technical school where bartending classes are taught.

Some online bartending school do exist. They offer a comprehensive curriculum, where students can access reading materials and attain access to the practical side of their course preparation. Some bartending schools also send the students the necessary books that contain recipes guides on how to make popular mixed drinks and cocktails as well as strategies for creating your own specialty drinks.

These bartending programs include instruction on State and local laws and regulations for serving alcohol, cocktail recipes, proper attire, professionalism, and conduct, as well as stocking bars. Specialized training is often needed in food handling and legal issues of serving alcoholic beverages. Bar tending courses can last a couple of weeks to a few months. The cost of the program of study varies by the individual school.

A career as a professional bartender is fun and exciting, and appeals to people of all ages over the legal age to handle and serve alcohol. Bartender jobs are often held by those looking to better their career, college students taking on part-time work, and professional career workers who wish to supplement their income. Bartenders prepare mixed drinks and cocktails, serve bottled or draught beer, and pour wine or other beverages. They must know a wide range of drink recipes and be able to mix drinks accurately and quickly.

Some establishments use equipment to automatically measure, pour, and mix drinks. With bartending jobs, bartenders must be able to operate this equipment. However, much of a bartender’s work must be done manually. Bartenders must still be able to work quickly to handle large volumes of drink orders and be knowledgeable of the ingredients for drink requests.

Besides mixing and serving drinks, bartenders stock and prepare garnishes for drinks; maintain an adequate supply of ice, glasses, and other bar supplies; and keep the bar area clean for customers. They also may collect payment, operate the cash register, wash glassware and utensils, and serve food to customers who dine at the bar.

With bartender training you may also be responsible for ordering and maintaining an inventory of liquor, mixers, and other bar supplies. Most employers prefer to hire bartenders who are 25 or older and have a full knowledge of state and local laws concerning alcohol sales. Bar tenders should remain cognizant of their responsibilities, especially when in doubt about the possible under-age or level or intoxication of patrons.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that employment of bartenders will grow about as fast as average, which is projected at 10% between 2008 and 2018. Bartenders earn a median hourly wage (including tips) of $8.54. The middle 50 percent earn between $7.53 and $10.98. The lowest 10% earn less than $7.00 while the highest 10% earn over $14.93 an hour. Bartender training is an added advantage to earning a higher level of income. Bartenders working in public bars often earn over half of their earnings from tips.

Bartender training and the hospitality industry

Administrators have struggled to find effective ways to help curb bullying in their schools in recent years, and a growing number of bullying prevention programs have emerged to meet the demand.

Many schools started by cracking down on bullies, then later focused on propping up victims, with the hope of helping to make them “bully-proof.” Now, they have shifted their efforts to people who witness bullying.

Fostering ‘Upstanders’

“A few years back, I used to be a bystander,” panelist Lee Tu, a student from Allston, Mass., tells the audience during a recent anti-bullying conference sponsored by Harvard University. Tu says she saw a fellow student “called a whore … and I didn’t really do anything.”

But for most kids, it’s a big leap to imagine they shoulder any blame for doing nothing when they see bullies in action.

“If they’re not the person shoving someone in a locker, or they’re not online spreading rumors, they think they are not part of the problem,” says Marc Skvirsky, vice president of the organization Facing History and Ourselves.

Skvirsky helped create a study guide to accompany the Bully documentary. The guide focuses both on bystanders and what many anti-bullying campaigners call “upstanders”: kids and adults who stand up to bullying when they see it.

If they’re not the person shoving someone … they think they are not part of the problem

- Marc Skvirsky, vice president, Facing History and Ourselves

“We really want students to really reflect on their choices and the consequences of indifference,” Skvirsky says.

Erica Newell works with the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, or MARC, which provides schools free or low-cost programs aimed at combating bullying. Today, she’s teaching middle-schoolers in the town of Medway about the power of bystanders.

Bullies are much like performers, she tells the crowd. Their audience, she says, are bystanders, “just sitting there watching, right? So they’re not saying, ‘fight, fight, fight,’ — but they’re also not doing anything.”

“So who are they helping?” she asks. “The bully, right?”

Newell tells kids that she gets why they don’t want to stand up to bullies. She understands they don’t want to make themselves a target. But, she says, there are less risky options.

“Don’t join in. It’s OK to turn around and walk away,” she says. “You don’t have to be BFFs or sit together at lunch all the time. Something as simple as that is showing the victim support.”

Changing Perceptions Of What’s Cool

After the assembly, seventh-grader Carly Hundertmark says a friend once offered such a gesture to help her when she was bullied.

“She would always call me over to a different table and find [a] way out of the situation,” Carly says. “And she was actually the one who told my mom, ’cause I didn’t feel comfortable about it.”

Part of what made it hard to talk about was that the bully was one of Carly’s friends.

It was the same for Shannon McHugh. “In the movies, it’s always a big tough guy who picks on the little nerd. But, it was my friend,” Shannon says.

“We would all joke around … but then, she kind of took it to the next level and it started getting meaner,” she says. “And she took it to the next level, and the next — and she just turned and bullied all of us.”

Westfield State University professor Elizabeth Stassinos says that’s often the case. Kids often play both roles of bully and victim, and it’s often hard to know who is engaging in aggressive or bullying behavior. That’s why, she says, just cracking down on bullies is ineffective and why peer intervention is key.

“Kids themselves need to create new social norms where bullying is not cool, and create an environment where the cool way of dealing with bullying … is for one kid to say to the kid who’s aggressive, ‘Hey, why are you hating on so-and-so all the time?’

“It’s very much like drunk driving,” Stassinos says. “It’s more effective when a student takes the keys away from another student.”

Making it cool to stand up to bullies may sound like a tall order, but it begins to seem a little less impossible when stars like Lady Gaga get into the game.

At Harvard last month, when she announced her new Born This Way Foundation aimed at combating bullying, she told kids it’s on them to change their school culture.

“There is no law that can be passed,” the pop star told the students. “I wish there was, because you know I’d be chained naked to a fence somewhere trying to pass it.”

Indeed, some people feel that laws can do more harm than good. New Jersey recently passed the nation’s strictest anti-bullying law, leaving schools with an 18-page “compliance checklist.” One school made headlines for investigating a second-grader who said another kid had cooties.

Harvard education professor Rick Weissbourd says it’s easy for adults to overreact.

“There’s an allergy to kids experiencing any adversity,” he says. “[But] we don’t want adults intervening every time a kid teases another kid. We want kids to be able to learn how to develop coping strategies, and learn how to deal with conflict in constructive ways.”

Not All Programs Created Equal

The MARC program spends nearly as much time defining what bullying isn’t as what it actually is, but not all programs do. In fact, some experts say it’s a bit like the Wild West in the fast-growing industry of bully-prevention programs. Anyone can peddle anything — and they do.

Massachusetts anti-bullying campaigner Joe Wojick, also known as “Joe the Biker,” travels schools with his tough persona, rap songs and his motorcycle jacket to tell his story.

“When I was your age, they called me ‘yubbie,’” he tells a group of students.

They may be compelling tales told with the best intentions, but Stassinos says schools should not be investing in programs that are not research-based.

“It’s often a feel-good experience, but it’s a one-off event, and it doesn’t change the climate,” she says. “It seems just like a horrible waste of money to fund programs that aren’t proven to work.”

Stassinos says the evidence is clear about what works: the slow and tedious task of changing kids’ hearts and minds about what’s cool — and what’s not, and convincing them to speak out against aggressive behavior.

Methodist College has so far entered a record total of 20 relay teams for this year’s run in May but they plan to recruit even more before the entry deadline on April 6.

If they succeed, the school will scoop the 1000 cash prize offered by marathon organisers – just like last year when their school colours were in the majority among the thousands of runners.

While other schools are being encouraged to sign up as well, Methody sixth form pupil Siobhan McDonald told the South Belfast News: “We find that taking part in this big event is an excellent team building exercise for those involved.”

About 1:15 p.m. students were escorted from the school and taken to nearby Glen Iris Elementary School for the remainder of the day, according to a statement from the Birmingham school system.

EPIC is located on 10th Avenue South, near the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Parents may pick up their children at Glen Iris at 3 p.m. There will be no after school care, so parents whose children usually stay for after school care should pick them up at Glen Iris as well, according to the statement.

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As each grade of students stood to hear the amount they had read, the room erupted into applause and excitement. The students ranged from Kindergarten to fifth grade and read a whopping cumulative 9,184 books.

“We were originally thinking they would read a couple thousand books,” said Morrish Elementary School Principal Rodney Hetherton. “They ended up reading over 9,000 books. That was a great job and I’m proud of them.”

The Michigan Masons Bikes for Books Program is sponsored by the Swartz Creek Masonic Lodge #458. This is the second year the program received 100 percent participation from all of the Swartz Creek Elementary schools.

The Bikes for Books Program is run in the month of March in correlation with National Reading Month. The program awards a grand prize of one bike and helmet to a lucky boy and girl at each of the schools participating across the state.

Students are asked to write a brief summary for each of the books they read during the month. Later, at the end of the month, students are rewarded with various prizes, while only two are selected for the grand drawing of a bicycle.

Books read per grade

• Kindergarten: 2,276 books
• First Grade: 2,383 books
• Second Grade: 2,873 books
• Third Grade: 1,028 books
• Fourth Grade: 432 books
• Fifth Grade: 192 books

“Adding these incentive like this makes it fun and exciting,” Hetherton said. “It gets more books in their hands.”

Mark Gonyea, chairman of the Bikes for Books Program for the Swartz Creek Masonic Lodge #458, said the lodge encourages the students to read and are proud to take part in the education of children in Swartz Creek.

“We are looking forward to continuing the Bikes for Books Program in Swartz Creek Elementary schools.” Gonyea said.

The Bikes for Books program presented bicycles at Gaines Elementary on March 27, Elms Elementary on March 29, and Morrish Elementary today, March 30. They will be presenting bicycles at Dieck Elementary on May 4 and Syring Elementary on April 11.

Amanda can be reached at 810-875-2208 or temery@mlive.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @AmandaEmeryFJ or on Facebook.

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Teachers at Merrick Academy voted to make the United Federation of Teachers their exclusive bargaining agent in 2007—a process that made Merrick the first of several charter schools to unionize through the UFT’s campaign to bring the typically non-union schools under contract. The UFT and the school struggled to reach a contract agreement from day 1, and those struggles came to a head summer of 2010, when 11 teachers at the Queens school learned theyd been fired via a FedEx mailing.

In November 2011 the UFT and Merrick Academy agreed on a contract which included salary increases for the teachers.  But after four months salaries have not increased, UFT Vice President for High Schools Leo Casey explained, so the union is suing the school over a breach of contract.

Casey said the teachers have not been given back-pay they are owed and are still waiting for their current salaries to be raised. He also said the union is notifying the Public Employee Relations Board about other contractual issues at the school, noting that teachers who represent the union are being punished with disciplinary letters and, in one case, suspension without pay.

In most places that we organize were actually seeing the ability to establish good, working relationships but we are having a problem with some schools, he said. Were not going to just organize a chapter and then walk away from it. [Merrick] organized into a union for a reason, and the law protects their right to do that and to have collective bargaining agreements respected, and were going to make sure that that happens.

Since the union began helping charter schools unionize, 15 schools have formed unions—most recently the French American Charter School in Harlem.