No Child Left Behind In The Bakken; Children Being Left Behind In California Schools -- September 9, 2015

The Dickinson Press is reporting:

Thousands of U.S. schools sit along rail corridors used to carry toxic substances such as crude oil and would be at risk in the event of a derailment, an environmental group said on Tuesday as it called for a temporary halt on oil trains.

ForestEthics said its analysis of U.S. Department of Education data show nearly 15,000 schools with 5.7 million students sit inside the so-called 'blast zone', the one-mile area along railroad tracks the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) recommends be evacuated in case of crashes.

Looks like "they" gotta move a lot of schools. Another good reason for new charter schools and home schooling. These public schools are dangerous. Columbine comes to mind. 

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For The Archives

The Huffington Post is reporting:

California lawmakers negotiated frantically behind the scenes on Tuesday over the fate of several proposals to dramatically reduce the state's use of fossil fuels and slash the amount of greenhouse gases that legally could be emitted.

The measures, part of an environmental agenda championed by state Senate Democratic Leader Kevin De Leon, aim to require public utilities in California to use renewable resources for half the energy they provide by 2030, and mandate a 50 percent cut in the use of petroleum in cars and trucks by the same year.

Equally controversial is a proposal floated last week by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown that drivers pay $65 per year in additional fees to help pay for road repairs in the state.

Kevin's senatorial district is the city of Los Angeles.  I hope he succeeds in getting all the cars off the Los Angeles city streets and roads. But something tells me if the state can't even succeed in getting an additional $65 out of drivers, there's no way drivers are going to give up their cars.

[Update: the provision to cut petroleum use by 50% was removed from consideration by the California legislature. The press, Governor Brown, and Democratic supporters said "fierce opposition from the oil and gas industry" scuttled the bill. LOL.]

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No Child Left Behind In The Bakken

From The Bismarck Tribune:

Oil prices may remain in the dumps, but it’s not having the impact on school enrollments many feared.

“It’s not bad considering everyone’s ‘the sky is falling’ mentality,” said Suzanne LaMontagne, secretary for the Divide County School District.

In fact, seven schools in the northwestern corner of the state are reporting new families to replace those who left.

“This has probably been the most stable year we’ve had in the last five years,” said Superintendent Sherlock Hirning, of Divide County.

Based on oil activity, Hirning reported a decrease of three students.

“It’s interesting that we have 22 new students here that were not here over the summer, and 12 that left,” he said.

The story is much the same in Lignite, said Burke Central Superintendent Sherry Lalum.
“We lost a bunch, but we also gained some," she said.

With recent talk of declining oil revenue, layoffs and cutbacks in new drilling, many schools weren’t expecting new faces.

But Westby, Montana, enrolled 12 new students and was expecting four more.

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Californian Children Being Left Behind

The Los Angeles Times is reporting:

Echoing a nationwide downward trend, most California students are falling short of state learning targets and are not on track to succeed in college, according to the results of new, more rigorous standardized tests released Wednesday.

And the picture is even worse for L.A. Unified, the nation's second-largest school system, than it is for the state. Across California, 44% of students achieved targets for their grade in English, while 34% did so in math. In L.A. Unified, the figures were 33% and 25%.

“The results show our starting point,” state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said, “a window into where California students are in meeting tougher academic standards that emphasize critical thinking, problem solving and analytical writing.

“I am encouraged that many students are at or near achievement standards. However, just as we expected, many students need to make more progress.”

 What they need to do is add a third test: Spanish. That would move the needle. 75% would pass, and would raise the average of the overall test score.