Outdoor Mamas

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Comment by Rhonda Cratty on October 26, 2009 at 7:58pm

A major part of President Barack Obama’s educational plan is “The charter movement;” which began in 1991 with the idea that Charters would not have bureaucratic entanglements of Public schools, that they would resurrect the educational system with innovation and best practices.
Slide show more research, facts and studies to help you have an informed decision for our children.

At the center of our upcoming election, (in Denver) is neighborhood vs. charter schools and unions vs. non-unions. (Compensation is part of this argument.) Choice, freedom, innovation and flexibility and the efficacy of charter schools may get the press, but the upcoming vote for school board members will impact reform policy. Let’s forget the political debate and look at Charter School Facts from a variety of sources:

According to Kevin Welner, director of the education and the Public Interest Center (EPIC) at the University of Colorado Boulder’s School of Education, “Innovation is occurring in some charters, but no more so than in public counterparts.”

According to Colorado Department of Education data: 65% of charter schools use back to basics approach, students spend more hours in the classroom, students are engaged because a school is selected that focuses on their interests or learning styles. Students have parents that are engaged, they have sought out and support learning alternatives.

CREDO, a recent Stanford University study of schools in 16 states found that 46 percent of charter schools showed no significant difference in student achievement than public school counterparts. The study also found 17 percent of charter school gains were better than traditional public school, and 37 percent showed gains worse than public school peers. An additional finding from CREDO was students in poverty and English-language learners did better in charters than in the traditional system. Nationally, the study found students not in poverty or those who are not ELL students “do notably worse” than those who remain in the public school system.

Colorado Department of Education recently released a study that found "no across-the-board academic advantage" for either charter or traditional schools in the state.

Denver School of Science and Technology, where 45 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced lunches; and West Denver Preparatory Charter, where 90 percent of the student body is eligible for free or reduced lunches were the two schools that ranked highest in, the district's 2009 School Performance Framework rankings, which measure student growth, Students there have longer class days, spend more time on math and literacy, and have access to tutors.

The rest of the "distinguished" schools in the rankings were traditional public schools.

As we study for our choices in the upcoming election it is important to go back facts. This is not an emotional vote; it is future education of our citizens. The political debate of charter verse public schools should not drive our vote. We need to look for school leaders with balance; people who are interested in reaching out to parents, community and teachers. You are looking for your school board to have major focus on teaching, on making schools work, including professional development for teachers, mentoring, and a formal evaluation process.

–R.R.Cratty
Slide show below contains more research, studies and facts:

Keep Reading at: http://www.examiner.com/x-2016-Parenting--Education-Examiner~y2009m10d26-Charter-Schools-within-Election#

Comment by Karrie McAllister on October 26, 2009 at 12:53pm

Welcome, Melissa! Great site you've got going there-- best wishes with your online and offline adventures!

Comment by tali buchler on October 26, 2009 at 7:35am

share your favorite desert escape: http://www.growingupcreative.com/2009/10/the-desert.html

tali

Comment by Melissa Culbertson on October 21, 2009 at 8:46am

So excited to have found this group! I've been an outdoor adventurer for years and just recently (um, like yesterday) started a new blog about children and the outdoors:
http://www.adventuroo.com

It's so awesome to see there's an entire community of like-minded mamas and I look forward to getting to know you all!

Comment by Rhonda Cratty on October 17, 2009 at 8:36pm

Recycling 101: What can kids do? See the slide show after the article for more recycle, reduce, and reuse ideas.


With most products it takes less energy to make a product from recycled materials than it does to make it from new materials. Natural resources are things of value provided by the Earth, they include land, plants, minerals, and water. If we use materials more than once, we are conserving our natural resources.

For every ton of paper made from recycled materials we save up to 17 trees and use 50% less water.Keep Reading at: http://www.examiner.com/x-2016-Parenting--Education-Examiner~y2009m9d25-Recycling-101--What-can-kids-do

Comment by tali buchler on September 14, 2009 at 2:11pm

this is a great site for outdoor activities: http://greenhour.org/content/activity/detail/3178/#make
this will link you to a 'how to keep a moon diary'.
i think we will try starting Friday.
also, a twitter mom - mommy coddle just posted '10 Ways To Get Outside--Even After School Starts' http://www.mommycoddle.com/2009/09/10-ways-to-get-outsideeven-after-school-starts.html


tali
growingUPcreative

Comment by Marisole on September 7, 2009 at 2:55pm

We live among the trees and grasses. We live outdoors (practically). I love living among the deer, coyotes, white tailed bunnies, yep, bunnies, b/c they are cute and little. We travel sometimes by RV and sometimes by foot. Hope to hear and share much more about the outdoor life.

Comment by tali buchler on August 18, 2009 at 9:33pm

hi all ,
i am new to the group, but i see some familiar faces.
tali
www.growingUPcreative.com

Comment by SaVonni Yestanti on August 18, 2009 at 4:47pm

...awww...so cute! Thanks for the heads up about GreenHour!

Comment by Karrie McAllister on August 18, 2009 at 4:19pm

Hi Outdoor Mamas! No surprise to me that this board hasn't had much activity this summer...we've all been outside with our kids!
In any case, had to share something. My son made the issue of the National Wildlife Federation's GreenHour! You can see him here, looking proud with his fort. This photo was taken early on, and it has since evolved to have moss carpet, animal bone decoration, a firepit, etc. They also gave me a great plug for one of my blogs, Dirt Don't Hurt, which was awesome.
If you don't subscribe to the GreenHour newsletter or aren't familiar with it, I suggest checking it out.

Cheers!
Karrie
www.karriemcallister.com

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