Education

Take Note

October 29, 1997 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Workaholics

At Belmont High School outside Boston, the school slogan this year could be “mind over hunger,” or vice versa. A few hundred of the school’s 936 students are choosing to give up lunch periods to spend more time in class.

As part of a new schedule that has broken the school day into varying blocks of class time, some eager students are taking more than the required five courses. As a result, they don’t have any free periods during lunch time. Students were given a choice of changing their schedules or eating in class or between periods.

“The principal tried to juggle their schedules, but the students wanted them to be left alone,” said Patricia A. Aubin, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Belmont, Mass., schools.

More than 300 students miss lunch period at least one day a week. At least a dozen students have to skip the cafeteria three or four days a week.

Some students resent having to eat their lunch in class, Ms. Aubin said, but have been unwilling to adjust their schedules. “Some students are unhappy, but they would be equally unhappy if we changed their schedule at this point,” she said.

Bike patrol

In an effort to keep school crime down, a new program has ridden onto the scene in the Houston Independent School District. Superintendent Rod Paige announced this month that the district’s police force will patrol four of Houston’s schools on bicycles.

The schools were chosen by HISD police officers who identified them as needing more security. The four schools will also be used to gauge how well the bike patrols work. “The program’s success and its costs will determine how big it becomes to the rest of the district,” said Terry Abbott, a spokesman for the HISD. The fully equipped bicycles cost between $800 and $1,200.

Despite a 14 percent decline in violent crime in the past year, Superintendent Paige said the district would not ease its hard-nosed approach to fighting crime.

The 214,000-student district decided on the bikes to offer officers greater mobility and increase their visibility in the schools, some of which have more than one building.

The Houston police department also announced that its officers would patrol near four different HISD schools on bikes. Those officers will have jurisdiction only outside schools; HISD officers are allowed to patrol inside and out.

--KATHLEEN KENNEDY MANZO & KAREN ABERCROMBIE

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read