Just hang tight. I do believe they cycle polls one every week. Today is day 7 for this one.

Come on already we need a new poll.

As someone who personally attended the doc's education system for a short time, I can assure, it was definitely a joke. I was there. I experienced it. The system needs a serious overhaul.

Sorry about that, my defense of Obama was meant for another blog.

A couple things...
Rock River Charter School is the established Charter school located downtown by the river.
TAGOS is a charter school/leadership academy that is only 1 year old. TAGOS does take expelled student and non-expelled students (mainly non-expelled) Rock River only takes the non-expelled students.

The education program of DOC is not a joke. Those teachers do an amazing job of working with kids at Wales, Southern Oaks, etc... At detention, the teachers do what they can with students for a varying length of time. It takes a special teacher to work in either environment.

As far as the intervention, students/parents need to take the time to fill out an application. TAGOS has a faily involved application process and uses a lottery to determine who is taken.

TATE has a one-page application and when there is room takes just about anyone. Their job is to work with students who are already expelled,suspended or leaving corrections/mental health/treatment facility. TATE has been used as an intervention in the past but that is not the main focus.

The other option should have been more general - Alternative Programs:
School With in a School
TAGOS
Rock River
CRES - Sober School
Al-Pro
etc...

Not sure why TAGOS was mentioned the only alternative program mentioned. These other programs also work as interventions. The differnce is TAGOS does take expelled students but it is a small portion of their total enrollment.

I'm all for expecting students to take personal responsibility for their actions. One of the problems, I believe is that students may not really believe that their actions will lead to expulsion, and I'm sure that they don't understand the serious and lasting consequences that will come from that. It's sort of a biproduct of that "invincible" attitude that youth have. So once a student does get expelled, I'm grateful that Janesville has some opportunities for them because (for some) the expulsion does serve as a wakeup call and they are ready to make some changes. Not all though, and those who aren't ready/willing to make any changes don't last long in these other programs either.
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I think we all need to understand one more aspect of this problem. Some (not all) of these kids have such a completely different worldview - that I think it would really be a shock to many of us. Their examples of what it means to be an adult, the environment they go home to every night, can all make it incredibly difficult for them to make more beneficial choices. That's not an excuse for bad behavior - those students will still need to learn to make appropriate choices or face the consequences. But it is a reason for us to give them resonable opportunities to succeed.

new survey already please.

tibetrin,
I also know someone who went to Charter without ever being expelled. I think it's great that, and it's always case by case, students have that option available to them.
Jakiao,
The education system that the department of corrections uses is terrible. I'm referring to the "school" kids in juvie have to go to. It really is a terrible joke.

I believe that whythink may have inadvertently posted on the wrong board...that happens. No biggie. And the comment about TAGOS. They do help prior to expulsions. A friends daughter has had disruptive behavior since 6th grade-- leaving school with "boyfriends", telling staff that her mother was in the hospital and she needed to get to her. She has completely displaced herself from her education. Her parents have removed her from the high school she was attending and are home schooling her until the end of the semester, when TAGOS will accept her into their program. She was never expelled. Glad to see there are programs out there to help.

In the case of students that break the law, then yes they should be prosecuted for their actions. But that shouldn't mean that education should stop. However, by that point the education they would receive would be out of the hands of the Janesville School District and left to corrections (should they be sent to jail for their crimes). Should they be released, then evaluate them and either put them back into the general population or place them in one of the programs.
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When I was in middle school, one student in my grade was found with marijuana on him in the school. I don't know the circumstances of his arrest, etc, but he was allowed back to school because his mother escorted him to his classes. It was her guarantee that he would never be able to bring drugs or anything else illegal to school again. It worked out, and he was able to complete the school year.
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There ARE options, but telling a student they can't have an education because they messed up isn't one of them.

Due to the latest expulsions at Parker. An ongoing investgation of about 20 students caught on camara stealing cell phones, ipods, money and mp3 players. This theft ring has been going on for quite some time. These students do not belong in any kind of school or program they belong behind bars.

The only thing that bothers me is that you basically have to hit rock bottom to get into TAGOS. It's not being used as an intervention for kids- and it's a great program.

I believe that students should be given a second chance for making a bad choice. TATE does that. It is a safe place for students to be during the day instead of out on the street finding more bad choices. The TATE center staff does a great job and were recently awarded an asset builders award from Partners in Prevention. Keep up the great work TATERS!!!

This is most definitely not the place for a political discussion. Can we all please stay on topic?

Methinks whythink has been puffin on da wacky weed. I can't wait for his defense of Palin in being found guilty of power abuse. Although W has been abusing power for two terms.

whythink

You are living up to your name :)

What does Obama, Ayers have to do with public school expulsions?

Huff Post Collects Information Refuting the Obama-Ayers Claims ((public))
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 2:27pm by stephley
57 Views - 6 comments
Back in February, the Washington Post reported in a fact check, But the Obama-Ayers link is a tenuous one.(Washington Post, 2/18/08)
As part of a larger project where I'm compiling a long list of all the lies and smears spread about Obama, here are 30 lies about Ayers and Obama.
Tonight's Hannity's America featured more of these absurd lies about Obama and Ayers in Hannity's infomercial for idiocy, including an amazing interview with legendary anti-Semitic crackpot Andy Martin:
LIE: Obama and Ayers "appeared together at various public engagements...it would seem that they are more than just a little bit friendly."(Sean Hannity, Hannity's America, October 5, 2008, "Obama and His Friends: History of Radicalism")
TRUTH: Appearing on a speaking panel is not a sign of friendship. There is no evidence that Obama had any role in ever inviting Ayers to speak.
LIE: In 1995, Ayers and Dohrn "hosted a political coming out party for a young Barack Obama."(Sean Hannity, Hannity's America, October 5, 2008, "Obama and His Friends: History of Radicalism")
TRUTH: This was an event for Alice Palmer, not a "coming-out party" for Obama. Obama was invited by Palmer to the event.
LIE: "I'm sure he's very patriotic, but his relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question....Because, if you're going to associate and have as a friend and serve on a board and have a guy kick off your campaign that says he's unrepentant, that he wished he'd bombed more. And then, the worst thing of all, that I think really indicates Senator Obama's attitude, is he had the incredible statement that he compared Mr. Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist -- an unrepentant terrorist, with Senator Tom Coburn. Senator Coburn, a physician who goes to Oklahoma on the weekends and brings babies into life.' (John McCain, April 20, 2008, ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos)
TRUTH: Obama was not friends with Ayers. Ayers did not kick off Obama's campaign. And Obama was not comparing Ayers' actions with Coburn. Obama was pointing out that he works with people even when he disagrees with them.
LIE: "Obama's oldest friend in politics is a murderer and unrepentant terrorist. Why are they friends?"(ExposeObama.com email, Sept. 7, 2008)
TRUTH: Ayers isn't Obama's oldest friend in politics.

http://teamsugar.com/group/1950914/blog/...

that Severson (the one who is the school board president)is smart to get community involvement to problem solve this issue. There must be a balance bewteen removing disruptive or dangerous students and still provide for their educational needs.
He's one of the best board members we've had.

Truancy Abatement and Transitional Education Center: 1 semester program for expelled students. They can earn 2 credits toward HS graduation working on math, english and social studies. In addition, they help at ECHO, J-Pac, and the Salvation Army. The focus of the expelled portion of the program is for students to earn their way back into the Janesville school district. Serves grades 6-12.

TAGOS: 1 year old Charter school/Leadership academy. Students can graduate from TAGOS. Project based school. The only other program within the JSD that takes expelled students.
serves grades 7-12

The mentoring program, pre-expulsions, continuances all involve intervention before the explusion takes place.

That is what I know.

TATE is the most established and its main focus is preparing students to return to school and be successful. TATE also serves suspended students and pre-expulsion students.

Unless your an expert on the Janesville school system, who would have a clue what any of the choices are.....

I am a FIRM believer of when our emotions start making our decisions, that is when factual reactions go out the window. Yes, it is sad that these kids come from mostly dysfunctional families, but feeling sorry for them only rewards the behavoir.

Out of fairness to the well behaved children, I think the disruptive should be removed from public school, but should be placed in a military school. Let's get back to the 60's where if you didn't obey the law, you either go to jail or the military. Why throw these kids out on the street so their violence can just esculate? Contain them within an environment that will teach them dicapline, which obviously their parents don't. And a public school teacher shouldn't have to deal with these types of children, their work place should be a guarenteed safe environment, as well as for the other children. Our society has become too tolerant on thugs, and fear of these kids and what they will do or who they will call is getting in the way of logical thinking.

Are America's children really NOT guaranteed the right to an education under the US Constitution?
Believe it or not, the word "education" does not appear a single time in the United States Constitution, and in 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled that America's children are not guaranteed the right to an education—either implicitly or explicitly.

My Grandma tought them little boogers for forty-four and one half years. Kindergarten through six grade grammar school, before she retired. And then eventually died. And some of her final words were to "Make sure the children learn"
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And when they ask if yuo have ever smoked pot, say no.

Sometimes, I wonder. If I was the only child raised up on "The Waltons" and "Little House"

Kicking a student out of school who has slipped up is about as stupid as cutting funding to schools because of low test scores. If the student needs some extra help to get back on path, then special arrangements should be made.
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That being said, the charter school is a great asset to the school district. I've seen the work they do there, and I've seen how happy the students are who managed to pick up the pieces and succeed at their education thanks to the school.
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If the student isn't a danger to those around him (and I mean immediate physical harm), then expulsion looks like nothing more than giving up on the child.