Philadelphia Officials Vote to Close 23 Schools:
Officials on Thursday night approved closing 23 public schools, about 10 percent of the city's total, largely backing a plan by the school district to erase a huge budget deficit and reduce the number of underused schools Ref. Source 2
Unrelenting Poverty Leads To Desperation In Philly Schools
Close to 40 percent of kids in Philadelphia live in poverty ? but discussion of the link between poverty and student achievement is almost absent from an ongoing debate to fix schools. Public health and education experts say poverty and hunger undermine children's development.
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Pennsylvania School Tries To Kick Out Two Students After Their Families Became Homeless:
As if their lives hadn't been thrown into enough turmoil when their house was foreclosed on and their family became homeless, two Pennsylvania students learned last Monday that they were no longer welcome at the school they had attended their entire lives Ref. Source 8
Textbooks Or Tech-book Debate Heats Up In Waynesboro
A debate over textbooks vs. technology got heated in Waynesboro, Pa., the HeraldMailMedia.com reported. The school board is closely approaching the deadline to order books, and a debate over the merits of tablet and computer-based learning nearly shut down the meeting. Some members value technology-based learning, while others are reluctant to invest in equipment when there is little empirical evidence to support the notion that tablets and computers improve student learning.Schoolhouse Beat
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