Can Public Schools Legally Charge for Fees and Uniforms?

Los Angeles is leading the pack with teacher ratings designed to better evaluate teachers' performance despite variables like parental involvement and income levels. The tests, coined "value-added" evaluations, look at the progression of each individual student when providing teacher ratings rather than simply applying standardized test scores across the board.

According to a report in the City Journal, these value-added tests were used to evaluate teacher performance in both math and reading for third, fourth, and fifth-grade teachers across the Los Angeles Unified School District. How well did the teachers score?

Making the Grade

According to a report on National Public Radio (NPR), the original value-added evaluations were conducted by two investigative reporters at the Los Angeles Times: Jason Felch and Jason Song. The two compiled standardized test scores on every Los Angeles school district child for the past seven years. The reporters could conduct a comprehensive analysis of teacher performance using the data collected on the test scores and the teachers. The findings on 6,000 California teachers were published in the Los Angeles Times, along with the data that showed how well students performed on standardized tests.

A report in the Los Angeles Times explained that the value-added portion of the evaluation was based on a student's individual performance on initial tests and how that performance improved or backtracked. A student's improvement in school could be directly linked to the performance of his teachers, making this assessment much

School districts across the country have been forced to slash budgets, cut programs and even fire teachers during the recent economic slowdown. However, that reality hasn't stopped one lavish Los Angeles school from opening its doors this fall. According to a report at Yahoo News, the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will open to students for the first time this school year. The final price tag on the mega-complex? More than one-half billion dollars!

With this monumental price tag, the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools campus enjoys the distinction of being the most expensive public school in the country. While some are excited about the opportunities the school will offer, others are furious about such lavish spending at a time when state governments and individuals are being forced to tighten their belts.

An article in The National Ledger reports that California residents, as well as citizens across the country, are angry about the opening of the school in the midst of teachers being cut from payrolls and public services ending in the Los Angeles area.

This video reports on the opening of the Los Angeles School District's Robert F. Kennedy School.

A Brief History into the Pricey School

The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools are located on the precise site where the Ambassador Hotel once stood. This hotel was the scene where presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy's assassination

Historically, vocational training was often viewed as a "fallback" plan for high school students who struggled in a traditional academic setting. However, today's students are beginning to tune into the benefits of vocational high school, from jumpstarting a career in various industries to becoming the first step toward a degree in a specific sector. Consider the latest information about vocational high schools to determine whether this might be a savvy step in your academic career.

This video describes how vocational training gives students real experiences.

Opportunities In Vocational Training

According to a report at StateUniversity.com, vocational training prepares high school students to move into a high-paying, skilled job much more quickly. Many vocational programs also include the necessary certification for different jobs, giving students graduating from these schools an advantage when they enter the job market.

Much vocational training is hands-on, which means that in addition to appealing to different types of learners, these programs offer the specific experience needed to land a job and begin working almost immediately after graduation.

In the last several decades, the popularity of vocational high schools has declined. Many of these schools offer training in production and manufacturing, which no longer offers as many job opportunities for students.

However, vocational schools are currently in the process of transforming from programs of the past to programs of the future. Some of the new offerings at

When parents send their children to school, most worry about whether their children will like their teachers or succeed in their classes. Few are concerned about the potential of cancer-causing elements like PCBs lurking in or around their children's school grounds.

Alas, recent assessments of New York schools have raised some troubling findings that indeed have parents concerned about their children's exposure to these potentially harmful elements during school hours.

Study Uncovers Disturbing Findings

According to a report at the New York Times, a pilot study into the presence and potential risks of PCBs was conducted in New York City school buildings. In the first three schools examined, elevated levels of the compounds were discovered. Remediation work on the schools and surrounding areas has already begun, and the city's Department of Education has stated that all three schools are on schedule to open to students on September 8.

The Formation of the PCB Task Force

However, the assurance does little to calm the concerns of parents who send their children to schools in the city. One parent of a student at French Hill Elementary School in Yorktown Heights, Dr. Daniel Lefkowitz, discovered hazardous levels of PCBs around a window and in the soil around the school in 2004. His findings resulted in a major cleanup of French Hill Elementary that amounted to a total bill of more than $300,000.

The discovery also launched the beginnings of a PCB Task Force that calls