The reason that they don't want you to feed the animals
is because it is dangerous for you
and dangerous for the animals
if you feed them the crap that people eat.

Poverty: brought to you by the liberals.

The SNAP/Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is pleased to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and food stamps ever.

Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed The Animals." This is because the animals may grow dependent on handouts and not learn to take care of themselves.

Thus endeth today’s lesson.

frogger:"I agree and if they already get food stamps and now kids eat free at school as well this will never end.
I do feel for the kids but it has to stop.
Feed your kids AT HOME with the free food you already receive. Get off the couch and feed them. Yes I am sure some work but the abuse has to stop."

I do not mind having the free lunches or breakfasts at school for the children. I do mind supporting their parents if they are lazy and want to live off the system. Why not start by cutting out the free stuff for the parents of these children and not touch feeding or healthcare for these poor children? As long as it goes directly to the children and not SOME of the undeserving parents, I don't mind. (I say undeserving, because there are some that do really need help and are trying their hardest to make ends meet). Sorry about posting so many scriptures below, I just had to make a point to some of you SO CALLED Christians:

Prov. 21:13 He who shuts his ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in his own time of need.
1 John 3:17 But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won't help him--how can God's love be within him ?
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions.
James 2:14 Dear brothers, what's the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren't proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone?
James 2:15 If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, James 2:16 and you say to him, "Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat hearty," and then don't give him clothes or food, what good does that do?
James 2:17 So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn't show itself by good works is no faith at all--it is dead and useless.
James 2:18 But someone may well argue, "You say the way to God is by faith alone, plus nothing; well, I say that good works are important too, for without good works you can't prove whether you have faith or not; but anyone can see that I have faith by the way I act."
James 2:19 Are there still some among you who hold that "only believing" is enough? Believing in one God? Well, remember that the demons believe this too--so strongly that they tremble in terror!
James 2:20 Fool! When will you ever learn that "believing" is useless without doing what God wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith.

just showing you how crazy the right can be. and the catholics think good works get them a ticket to heaven, so giving is clearly to their personal benefit. just sayin'. don't shoot the messenger.

Sooooo, the key to solving the plight of poor children is to kill them before they breathe their first breath??? That's what passes for compassion among the anti-right???? Thank you for exposing the hypocrisy indeed.

Just one thing though, if the religious right are so insensitive to the hunger of poor children, then how do you explain all those private, religious based groups working so hard to feed the poor? Almost every church in Janesville takes a part in food drives and collections to feed the poor. Even the hated Catholics have Catholic Charities! And they don't even need an act of Congress and compulsory contributions (taxes) to fund their own efforts. Maybe if some people would spend less time trying to pin the hypocrisy tail on the donkey with their noses stuck up in the air so high they can't see what's right in front of them they wouldn't make such asinine statements as, "Sometimes it might just pay to actually be a Christian and remember the golden rule AFTER kids are born, not just get em here and to hell with them after that." Neither would they demand proof of what is so obviously true while asserting to be true what is so obviously hogwash.

Fear says, "What I find funny is that all of the religious Right in this country is so concerned about protecting the "innocent" unborn children, yet are fine with starving the innocent kids that are here?"

BRAVO!!! You just summed up the hypocrisy. (and don't add any more programs that might help the children, either)

I am with you whz, but what about their kids? Make them more accountable by taking away aid mostly intended for thier kids? I agree with accountability, but to punish an innocent child for the mis steps of their parents? What I find funny is that all of the religious Right in this country is so concerned about protecting the "innocent" unborn children, yet are fine with starving the innocent kids that are here? Common sense sometimes doesnt follow the rhetoric. Sometimes it might just pay to actually be a Christian and remember the golden rule AFTER kids are born, not just get em here and to hell with them after that.

unfortunatly they are suffering because of their parents poor choices. Free breakfast and lunch at school, food stamps at home, rent assistance, heat assistance, Badger care, medicaid and the list goes on. There is plenty of help if one really needs it and seeks it out. It is sad for the victims if parents abuse this help and missuse funds for drugs, alcohol ect. Society does its part, lets make the abusers more accountable.

""
As vato stated, a lot of the poverty problems are self created by the parents lifestyles.
""
another correct statement, does that mean that they should be made to suffer for the poor choices of their inept parents?

oneday- Completely correct. That being said, if your 2-3 jobs are getting in the way of raising your kids? Time to let the mortage go and move into an apt. Somethings are just more imporatnt than money. Dump one of your jobs and go without somethings. Or apply for government assistance if things are that bad , that is what AFDC is there for. Some(vato) hate it, but better to get a little help than to let you kids go unraised and not be a part of their upbringing because you felt the need to work that third minimum wage job.
Vato- doesnt disqualify you from an opinion, but it certainly doesnt give you a point of view if you cannot realize the realities and struggles that many of these kids face. Calling realities excuses doesnt make you look tough, it just makes you look ot of touch, IMHO.

Granted there are many bad parents out there who do not get involved with their children's education, but not all parents that are poor are bad parents. What about those who used to have good paying jobs who are now working 2, sometimes 3 minimum wage part-time jobs just to make ends meet. No, they are not available for parent/teacher conferences or available to sit down with their kids and help them with their homework, they are working just to keep a roof over their family's heads. The kids are now out on the streets unsupervised because the parents have to work, they would rather be home with their kids at night but they can't if they want to make the rent or house payment for the month. Now that it is taking every dime they make, and then some to exist, there are some on this site who condem them as lazy and drug users when they need the help of reduced price or free lunches. What has happened to this country? Showing compassion for others seems to be now looked on as a bad thing.

As vato stated, a lot of the poverty problems are self created by the parents lifestyles.

"dkush21
Mar 1, 2012 at 5:14 p.m.
Suggest removal

Yes, I agree that parents need to get involved more. The problem is that you have children having children. And most of these parents can't even take care of themselves , let alone their own children. Alot of them don't want the responsibility of children, yet they keep having them. What better way to get financial aid. I hate to say it, but some parents are just plain lazy. And it's these poor children who suffer because of the sins of the mother and father."

I agree and if they already get food stamps and now kids eat free at school as well this will never end.
I do feel for the kids but it has to stop.
Feed your kids AT HOME with the free food you already receive. Get off the couch and feed them. Yes I am sure some work but the abuse has to stop.

Vatoloco: Other perspectives have value, too. Had the Three Blind Men compared notes and reached a consensus, they might have correctly deduced that it was an Elephant. :-)

It's a federal program. But it doesn't matter because if he sees fit he will send this money back and have us pay for it so everyone will have something else to hollar abot. Walker I mean.

For the 48% of students receiving free or reduced lunch - do those expenses get paid for through some Federal program, or do those expenses impact our local school budget? Just curious if this is part of our budget problems.

This story just gives continued real hard evidence of the wealth gap which CONTINUES to grow at an unprecedented pace. The story should have ALSO have gone into how the 500 companies in the S&P, have had about 3/4 of them having record profits-revenues the last fiscal quarter. Your top corporations are at ALL TIME HIGHS of over all wealth-market capitalization. I just don't get how people are not seeing this? The sham of the monetary policy we have enacted has become the biggest failed trickle down scheme ever conceived. All the easy $$-liquidity our policies have created has funneled straight to the top, and not trickled down to hardly anyone.
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The current state of affairs reminds me of a big poker game. If you have the huge stack, you can push around anyone, and become more and more fat, with very little effort or skill what so ever. If you are sitting on a small stack, you just try and grind out a meager existence by working your az off, with hopes you may strike it big eventually, and have that big stack...Where, more then likely, you will just get run over, and busted out.

Who hijacked vato's account!! Dont let the other vato back, I like this one!!

Bless you dkush!! Well said!

Ezoner I dont know where you copy and pasted this from:
""The ones that do cause teachers to rally around each other. The voices are muted because of low educational standards and low expectations. When some teachers actually do try, they are challenged by some parents and administrators because the result is some students just cannot handle the material and they must dumb down the material, or they just give up because they are pressured from both sides with competing goals.""

But that is a CROCK and I would ask you again to stop providing generalizations and provide some specific examples.
I challenge my son's teacher to keep him challenged all the time. He is a 1st grader reading at a 4th grade level. Her responses are always immediate and well thought out. His reading level continues to advance even though he is reading at such a high level. Even though the curriculum says that they dont need to test him past a second grade level, she does. EVERY teacher I have run across is EXACTLY the same. They always want to keep the kids challenged regardless of their level low or high. Adjusting the childs learning plan to his/her advantage and a way that they can advance their skills no matter whether they are bright or behind.
You keep making BS generalizations, I will provide specific examples. JOKE!!! Stop copy and pasting from Conservative think tanks.

On the other hand, our representatives are not doing a damn thing for us, so let's cut their pension, wages, benefits and perks.

I have to say though, that alot of these teachers are probably raising your kids for you. I think they are worth every penny.

Yes, I agree that parents need to get involved more. The problem is that you have children having children. And most of these parents can't even take care of themselves , let alone their own children. Alot of them don't want the responsibility of children, yet they keep having them. What better way to get financial aid. I hate to say it, but some parents are just plain lazy. And it's these poor children who suffer because of the sins of the mother and father.

Vato- we are agreeing too much today, Im going to bed!!:)

Ah , so now its not about the math curriculum its about the unions. Nice slight of hand, but changing the subject doesnt change your teacher bashing ways. You OBVIOUSLY hate unions no matter where they exist. I just understand the need for them, especially in this climate. You and many like you want to pay less for instruction and expect more.

Read what is written? This is what YOU wrote:""I have a daughter that just KNOWS math. She just gets it, but I need to teach her because most teachers have a set method of delivery. A cookbook approach.""
I simply refuted your experience as FALSE. There is no cookbook approach going on and I explained it and even supplied you a source. You and Bill continue with your generalizations and union hating.
Again, unions wouldnt be necessary for teachers if their salary and benefits werent under constant attack from a certain ideology that is in a constant state of degrading the profession. Its like anything , you get what you pay for.
This incessant whining about tax dollars this and that should be directed someplace else. try harder to provide specific education related examples Ezoner, not blind union hate.

I would like some estimates from some of the public education haters in here. What percentage of teachers in Janesville would you classify as bad teachers? Of course any guess you would have would be a guess and nothing else. SO what would be your guess? I would guess 5-8% TOPS. Vato? Ezoner? Bill?

Fear -- You need to read what was written:

The problems are: Few parents actually get that involved. The ones that do cause teachers to rally around each other. The voices are muted because of low educational standards and low expectations. When some teachers actually do try, they are challenged by some parents and administrators because the result is some students just cannot handle the material and they must dumb down the material, or they just give up because they are pressured from both sides with competing goals. Basically -- they become numb. SOmetimes you get a teacher that you re-energize, sometimes you get an admin trying to meet performance criteria, sometimes the government sets criteria and standards that don't make sense. There are many reasons, not just one, not black and white. Its more like playing whackamo (Sorry for spelling). When I was in school we had an english teacher and librarian - he was completely worthless, but was protected by the union. Until he stole money from a class savings account, he was untouchable. Trust me -- my mother tried to get rid of him for 6 years and she was on the board. So until he did something illegal, or immoral, he was protected. This happens everyday in every school and in every public , union based school system. You may never get rid of it even when unions arent present, but we cannot set back and just say all is ok, because its not.

That is proof? Maybe the answer is sending them to a private school Bill?

http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/1...

Not even in MPS are choice schools outperforming public schools!! Again other than rhetoric, how do you know of such widespread poor instruction. Like Ezoner I see generalizations yet even the statistics dont bear out your "facts". I say make those silly vouchers available and see how many parents will be able to transport their kids to and from whatever school they choose. What a great idea make school choice like a lotto like they do in MPS, where the public schools are outperforming the choice schools!
Vato- You are correct on your assertion

Do you really want some proof, Fear? Make school vouchers available to Janesville's students. See how many parents stand in line to get them. Let the customers decide. If Janesville has nothing but quality teachers doing absolutely the best they can, then there will be no takers for those vouchers, will there? If those who take the vouchers find that their students were better off back at the public schools, then they'll be free to do that as well. Either way, the truth will be evident. And just imagine to what lengths will the teacher's union will go to prevent that from ever happening here? I'll bet they think the outcome would be just about how I envision it would be.

Okay, maybe not copy-paste, but droning.

And fear shuts down another blog with the incessant copy and paste.

Quite right, Why_Think. I did overlook Dr. Schulte's title. I'll try not to do that again.

However, not all criticisms are cheap shots. That's a fact that is often overlooked by those who defend our public schools. The fact is that there are many poor teachers that the school system either cannot or will not fire. That fact eats at the quality of public school education like acid since it discouraged high quality teachers either from staying in their profession or maintaining their high personal standards if they do stay. When we deal with this problem, public schools will take huge step forward. Until we do, expect more excuses for failure and even outright denial of the failure of our schools by those with an interest in maintaining the status quo.

Mr G - very well put at 12:41.

BTW no one just "knows" anything, you must be taught at some point. So your daughter doesnt just KNOW anything.
Jack Nicholson said; " Go sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here."

""I deal with some of the teachers that are incapable of teaching, because the school system cannot make the personnel changes required to be successful.""

That is NOT true, if you report a teacher for being "incapable" as you so generally put it, there is communication that is started. It is YOUR job as a parent to address issues with the teacher , then the principal. If there are rampant issues with other children having problems with that incapable teacher there are steps for removal. Incompetant teachers CAN be removed, but one angry parent can not and should not be capable of having a teacher run off the job. You obviously have a personal beef with this teacher , and think that because you are not getting the results you want that they should be immediately FIRED.
Hence the need for the union. There are teachers iun the district as we speak that are on probation that have to submit lesson plans , that are very close to being removed if they dont get thieir act together.
You make assumptions and generalizations all the time, so it doesnt shock me that you have done it here once again. You obviously have asked no questions about the programs and curriculum, so your snide remarks dont surprise me at all.

""She just gets it, but I need to teach her because most teachers have a set method of delivery"": That is an absolute falsehood.
Milton School district for example has a math curriculum called Bridges and promotes math strategy, many different methods for solving problems. The teachers in Janesville also have a math curriculum that promotes different startegies for solving math problems, its not at all robotic.
I attended a meeting at my childs school about EXACTLY how they teach the program and how they encourage the kids to use all of these different strategies. Not at all machine like or a set method.
Ezoner- please stop generalizing and be specific> please be aware of the curriculum before spouting off at the mouth.

http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/curric...

If you disagree with a multi-faceted approach which is what is really happeneing. Then tell us what SPECIFICALLY would be your approach? Other than constant generalized partisan based criticizm, please tell me what you would do?

The fact of this matter is that the poverty rate is alarming in the community. I have a close relative that teaches in an elementary school in Janesville. Poverty rate at this school pretty much mirrors the citywide numbers, and from what I can see the parenting in this particular scool is sliding downward at an alarming rate.
These are things I am aware of happening. Parents not signing up their kids for lunch programs and not sending them to school mith money or food leaving it up to the teachers to get that child signed up or badgering the parents to get in and sign their kids up. Kids being 1-3 mhours late for school EVERY single day because "Mom wouldnt get out of bed to bring me to school", and this is EVERY SINGLE DAY!! Struggling kids parents refusals to address their childrens struggles denying them reading and math programs offered by the district(with decreasing funding less and less). Children with zero supervision allowed to stay awake till post midnight hours. Parents missing parent teacher conferences when speaking with parents in conferences when made aware of deficiencies in behavior and acedemic its the "not my angel" syndrome, etc, etc I could go on and on.
Now I would suggest that there may be a very small amout of poor teachers , even here in Janesville, Wisconsin. However I would say that the amount of failures for parents vs, teachers is 100 to 1 , and educating kids should be a team effort not just dropping your kid at a public babysitter every day for 8 hours. If kids are failing its their parents fault in many instances. Once a kid gets to a certain point it becomes more about their own choices, BUT when they are developing school/study habits in the first 5-8 years of school it is on their parents to assist them and teir teachers.
Poverty itself is not the problem. Its the causes and effects from poverty and the behaviors that lead and have led to poverty is what is being transferred to kids, and its not their fault and in many cases is not their teachers fault.
Teachers are increasingly becoming social workers as much as teachers now , and that is a shame.

Now to the real condescention that shouldnt be ignored, the "excuses" that are supposedly floating around out there about kids living in poverty. I ask Mr Billnewbie, how many families in real poverty do you know? How many times have you been in a classroom in an impoverished school with high poverty rates?
Lets not talk EXCUSES, lets talk reality.

First off I absolutely agree with my good buddy vato here(shocking) minorities or language barriers do not prohibit learning. I actually believe that hispanic kids that have to learn english while attending school are advanced learners because they face extra challenges.I alos believe that being poor doesnt mean you cannot be a successful learner, either. Whether or not you have money or not is not the factor here, its the social implications in a MAJORITY of poverty stricken families.
What I hate is blanket statements,"Poor Kids cant learn" is BS. HOWEVER, The fact of the matter is MANY of the families that live in poverty are there because the parents have made irresponsible choices, and many times that translates into poor parenting. What I find so fascinating is that the responsibility of educating kids falling 100% in the lap of the teacher. That is the worst possible scenario, especially for younger kids 3rd grade and younger. Parents should be partners in education with their kids. Unfortunately the rule more than the exception shows that kids in poverty have parents that do not participate in their childs education. Many kids are parked in front of the TV all night, playing video games all night, left to play outside unsupervised until late hours on school nights. No re inforcement at home, no communication with the teachers about what can we do, where is my child, skipping parent-teacher conferences.

Billnewbie -- is 100% on the mark. I agree with each and every statement and have personal experience with many of the statements. I have a daughter that just KNOWS math. She just gets it, but I need to teach her because most teachers have a set method of delivery. A cookbook approach. Each student, each mind is different, and I know how to put the materials in a context that allows her to learn and learn quickly. She would actually do better as a home schooled student, from an academic perspective, however, socialization skills are also a part of the education process and for that reason I deal with some of the teachers that are incapable of teaching, because the school system cannot make the personnel changes required to be successful.

""We have some incompetent teachers working there."" and of course Bill that statement is backed by some proof right? You have proof that the "some" of the teachers in Janesville are substandard, but you certainly project that statement like its some kind of 60/40 split and if we get rid of that dog gone teachers union, lower wage and benefit standards, then we'll have 100% great teachers by your standards? Kind of silly logic if you ask me.
In your "perfect" little workd , after the union has been destroyed. How EXACTLY would you evaluate a teacher? Who should be the one doing it? The principal? So instead of a principal being a steward of the building and support for the teachers it becomes a small business type environment trying to curry favor from the administrator in order to keep one's job? Or do we spend millions of dollars hiring "consulting/review" firms to review our teachers performance based on........exactly what standards? Test scores?

actually she has been in the talented and gifted programs all her school days. And we are checking out the challenge program and looking elsewhere also. She has been nominated to go to some other summer school programs as well. And for sara I am the father, hence the name mistergee. We think that school is a good one, we drive her there every day. The piont was about poverty being a factor when it really isn't. It's more about how you are dealing with the child and homework and general life outside of school that will determine how things are as far as school. If you don't bother to check up on them how can you say who failed the student, the teacher, or yourself?

mistergee1 - I am betting the farm that your family is not a non-English-speaking minority family, either. When my grandparents came here from Germany after WWI, they knew the first thing they needed to do was learn at least functional English. They did so, and expected their children to do so. Little German was spoken at home, and never in public because they didn't want to offend anyone by making them think they were talking about them. Nowadays when there are non-English-speaking parents who are not willing to bother to learn English together as a family for their own advancement as well as their children's, the children's learning of all subjects suffers. If you are of a religious persuasion, this falls under, "God helps those who help themselves."

from to tell the truth "SarahB1, are there any other liberal indoctrination programs you would like to recommend?"
The only thing Sarah mentioned was summer college cources offered by Beloit College and the UW. Are you saying higher education is liberal indoctrination?

bill, it isn't about excuses I was just hoping some of the bashers would give teachers credit for the great job they are doing.
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Poverty is a factor. It shouldn't be an excuse for failure but it certainly has been proven to be an additional challenge.
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When the AP article was printed the number of people ripping apart the teaching profession was truly disappointing. Perhaps the information in this article is a cause for congrats. The test scores need to improve but the FACT that while poverty has risen so has the number of students taking the AP classes/test is reason for some congrats. If not congrats at least not more cheap shots from the cheap seats.
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Oh, and Bill, I believe DR. Schulte has earned her title. Show some respect.

"Minority and low-income students on average tend to perform more poorly in academics than white students of higher incomes, but the district has taken a no-excuses approach." Really? Then why did they use these figures the way they have in the story? The answer is obvious. In spite of the "no-excuses" approach, they still want us to come to the conclusion that poverty equals poor scholastic performance. Hence Why_Think's search for praise. I guess Why_Think didn't get the "no-excuses" memo.

Since the district isn't using excuses while it floats poverty as an excuse (yet again), maybe we ought to review their most valuable excuses so they won't have to float them again.

Hungry children don't learn. We instituted the free and reduced lunch program decades ago to address that very issue. So now that program, due to its enormous expansion, has evolved into an excuse all its own.

Parents don't get involved enough with their own children's education. But parents who try to get deeply involved with their children's public school education are told to go home and leave the education of their children to the professionals. The Pros don't really want a bunch of parents questioning their methods, or their enthusiasm.

Minorities just don't learn very well. Eugenics raises its ugly head yet again. How often does a theory have to be discredited before it stays in the grave it so clearly belongs in?

Now let's look at the real problem facing our school district. We have some incompetent teachers working there. (You'll notice I didn't say they are all incompetent!) Unfortunately, due to a strong teacher's union and a reluctance by the administration to do what is necessary to separate those incompetent teachers from the district, this problem remains unaddressed. Ok, you might say, but most are not incompetent. That's true. But teachers are still human beings. When a good teacher who is doing an exemplary job sees others who are only doing less than the minimum and should be fired but aren't, can't help from being demoralized, especially when the incompetent ones are treated exactly the same as the exemplary ones. In other words, the best teachers eventually reduce their efforts, since effort is not appreciated by the school system or their own union. And the worst keep pushing the boundaries to see just how little they can do.

So Ms. Schulte, if you really want to boost achievement, find a way to cut loose the incompetent and reward the exemplary. That's the way to do it. Unfortunately, you may find the union extremely unwilling to help.

actually vat, the opposite appears to be true in Janesville.
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The number of students living in poverty has grown but so has the number taking AP Tests.
The great Janesville teachers have done exactly what you have asked. They have not put kids in poverty on a vocational track... instead, they have worked hard to move many to the challenge of AP classes/exams.
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If poverty has anything to do with learning it would be self esteem interupting, and the self esteem being a result of poverty.

Mistergee1 - Congrats then, perhaps that school is a really good one seeing I know a few cases like yours.

mistergee, have you contacted the gifted and talented coordinator at the ESC for your daughter? There are a lot of opportunities for her - at the middle school level there is a program that she may qualify for, (at Edison, I think.) Give them a call.

Why do we think students who have been determined to be at the poverty level can't be good students? They probably aren't hungry with free breakfast and luch along with backpack weekend food and food pantries. Some kids are smart and are encouraged at home despite economics. Sometimes poverty motivates kids to do better than their parents. My mom grew up in poverty and it seemed to put a fire under all the kids in her family to do better. And they had no food pantries or free lunches.

Sigma these tests are state given and graded. My child has had a hard time not being bored to death with the work other kids get . She with a few others study different things because of their abilities. We are in the process of finding better education for her because of these facts. She has always been this way. Could it be that her father is a pretty smart fellow and her mother used to be a teacher? Hmmm maybe that needs to be looked at. Hmmm maybe all the states tests are just screwy Hmmm. All I know is that we both take the time to go thru her homework or to challenge her with harder stuff and I believe between us and these teachers everyone wants to rip into, that she is getting a very good education but demands better. And the state tests confirm it. You may " question " it all you want, doesn't change a thing.

Seems to be quite a few people with kids scoring highest in the state....hmmmm. Reality or something else going on at that school? And I do know of others thats why I find it odd you mention this. Are the students all really that good or are the teachers making them look good so they look good? <- serious question.

I'm not quite understanding this, or maybe I am. My daughter gets free lunch, we go to food pantries and such. But and better still she goes to Jackson in the 5th grade and I just got her test scores. They reveal that she is in the top percentages in the state. Doing 8th grade work. So how does low income and free lunches tie into this? I'd guess to say that these teachers that everyone keeps ripping on just might know what they are doing.

They are "poor" but i'd bet they all have cell phones. I'd almost swear that they encourage students to be broke so they will surely take out loans. No one really cares how much money people have, its how much money can we make off of people.

as opposed to the middle class: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-29...

hush peter2010 you'll upset the tea party with facts http://www.irp.wisc.edu/faqs/faq1.htm

A family of four is considered living in poverty if they are making less than $22,000ish a year....not $42,000ish a year.

I wish there was more data, such as how the income level that determines poverty has changed over time versus inflation. Currently a family of four is living in poverty if they make less than $47,712 a year. Also, how has local charity help changed over time. Are people who qualify for Echo able to get more, or less today then at some other time.
I'm just wonderin'...

So, while Janesville teachers deal with a higher and higher number of students living in poverty the number taking the AP tests has, ""One factor is the number of students taking the test," Ehrhardt said. "The number of students enrolled in AP classes over the last 10 years has doubled, and, therefore, there are more students taking the test. That number has increased 6 percent per year on average.""
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Interesting, a number of people ripped the Janesville teachers for the test results. I wonder if any of them are honest enough to change their criticism to praise considering the factor of Poverty.
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doubt it...