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School closures have become a hot-button topic across the country, as parents, students, and community members are rising up to protest such actions by their local governments. States like Illinois and New York have all experienced recent confrontations over this issue, as they have struggled to balance budgets and increase the quality of education to the students in their areas. Do closures of underperforming schools really improve the performance of students in those areas? We’ll take a closer look at two of the districts facing this difficult question, as well as research that may question this method as a means of raising the bar on education standards.

This video reports on proposed school closures in Columbus, Ohio.

Chicago Parents Question Closure Decisions

New Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has faced a serious education crisis since taking his office earlier this year. According to numbers from Catalyst Chicago that were reported in Progress Illinois, 140 of the 675 Chicago 51����s are eligible to be shut down, based on a three-level metric that rests largely on the Illinois Scholastic Assessment Test results. All of the schools on the list were situated in communities largely populated by minority students, which further complicated the issue.

Parents rose up quickly to form a community organization that provided alternatives to closing down schools in their neighborhoods. The agenda, titled, “A Neighborhood’s Agenda for Schools,” included recommendations like hiring and training

Parents can play a significant role in the academic success of their children. Unfortunately, many parents don’t realize the importance of involvement in a child’s school career and are not sure how to get involved constructively. Too much or too little parental involvement sometimes becomes detrimental to the child – a difficult obstacle for many to overcome. The good news is that you can take relatively easy steps to show your child you are interested in his or her school work and offer the necessary help and support along the way.

The Parent-Child Relationship

A successful school experience begins at home, with the relationship between the parent and child. This process involves developing good habits at home that your child will easily adapt to during the school year. It also incorporates nurturing a comfortable, trusting relationship with your child that will make him more willing to come to you when problems and challenges in the school environment do occur. Some of the ways to encourage your child’s success in school include:

This TED Talk discusses 5 Parenting Tips for Raising Resilient, Self-Reliant Kids.

Good Habits

Good home habits will limit distractions and put schoolwork at the forefront throughout the academic year. First, instill a love of reading in your child, by keeping plenty of interesting books at home and reading together on a regular basis. Let your child see you sit down with

Immigration is a hot topic on both sides of the congressional floor in this country, as lawmakers continue to debate the legal, ethical and moral issues surrounding undocumented persons living in the United States. In the center of the battle are undocumented students who came to this country with their parents and now face high school graduation with little hope for the future. This past week, the state of New York made a move to change the fate of the thousands of undocumented students living there, with a vote by the Board of Regents to allow undocumented students access to state financial aid for higher education.

Vote First Step in Immigration Reform for State

According to a report in the , the vote by the state Board of Regents does not officially change the status of undocumented students who wish to pursue higher education in the United States – yet. The hope is that this positive vote will spur lawmakers to extend financial aid to these students through their means. The bill, referred to as the Education Equity for DREAMers Act, has not yet been brought before the legislature for any sort of decision or vote. However, the preliminary vote by the Board of Regents may be the push state lawmakers need to put this bill on their table as well.

“These are students who are attending our

The big yellow school bus that lumbers through residential streets throughout the school year is a sight often taken for granted by parents and students alike. However, those buses may become scarce in New York if dire predictions about a transportation strike in New York City ring true. A union representing city school bus drivers has warned of an impending strike if their labor demands are not met soon.

The Dispute Leading Up to Strike Talk

According to a New York Daily News report, local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union is the group threatening the strike. The primary point of contention is a demand by the union that pre-kindergarten bus drivers receive seniority-based job protection like other school bus drivers in the city. The union wants these bus drivers to receive protection, even if their current company does not win a new contract. The concern arose when city officials began talking about collecting bids for a new transportation company when the contract expires in June of next year.

The president of the drivers’ union, Michael Cordiello, told the Wall Street Journal that if the city did away with senior protections for experienced drivers, the result could be many more unprepared bus drivers on the streets of New York City. He mentioned a charter bus accident in the Bronx that occurred in May, killing 15 people.

This video reports on the 2013 school bus strike in New York City.