Oh, I bet you thought I was talking about Lake County, didn't you?
Well, sorry, but if you think Federal spending is out of whack, below is the article how the US Foreign Aid agency, USAID, will be spending $12-million on public schools in JAMAICA (population 2.6 million - or about the size of the Orlando metro area), NOT the US. And that is just to improve the "numeracy and literacy capacity of grades ont to three...". Additionally, "USAID is also looking at rehabilitating the thousands of secondary school leavers who are not outfitted with the requisite skills to fill vacancies in the job market." Meanwhile, the same news website said a Brit was caught on an outbound plane with 74 pounds of "ganja"
And, remember, USAID is running these types of programs worldwide, besides reconstruction programs in Iraq and Afghanistan (which I write about in my other blog).
So, read below if you support efforts by the local Lake County schools to get some Federal funds. Maybe if we secede from the US and declare ourselves a separate country, we can clean up on Federal dollars like the old movie, "The Mouse that Roared"!
Also note that sixth graders there must pass a test, or not be able to get into public high schools later.
Meanwhile, the Lake County School District will be spending all sorts of time to qualify to MAYBE get $1-2 million of the Federal Race to the Top funds.
vj
=============================================
USAID boss yearns for day GSAT won't be necessary
BY KARYL WALKER Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator [email protected]
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 - from Jamaica Observer
UNITED States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director to Jamaica Dr Karen Hilliard yesterday suggested that the island's children were being short-changed by the education system and said she yearned for the day when the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) would no longer be necessary for students to move on to high school.
"Jamaica's education system is really failing its young people. The curriculum not relatively job relevant," Hilliard told Observer reporters and editors at the newspaper's weekly Monday Exchange meeting.
Hilliard said USAID had been working alongside the Ministry of Education in improving primary education with the aim of making the GSAT examination irrelevant in the near future.
The GSAT has caused traumatic moments for parents and students as more than 100,000 students vie for limited places in high schools which are perceived to offer a better secondary education.
Many students have broken down in tears after failing to qualify for one of the traditional high schools.
"I can't wait for the day when it goes away. A single percentage point should not determine your future when you are 10 to 12 years old and so the first phase is to get everybody ready through primary school successfully and into secondary school," Hilliard said.
The agency, she said, spent US$11.9 million to improve the quality of education in 71 of the lowest performing primary schools in inner city communities across the island last year.
"Fifty-eight of them performed above the national average and it shows that you can change the worst performing schools in the most depressed communities without throwing money at them," Hilliard said.
The agency is also planning to disburse US$12 million over the next five years in a bid to improve the numeracy and literacy capacity of grades one to three primary school students under its education reform initiative.
Some 250 of the country's poorest performing primary schools are set to benefit from the education reform programme.
Under the initiative, teachers will be taught modern ways of imparting important lessons to their pupils. The move will also strengthen accountability in the primary education system through use of measurement tools and establishment of standards and build regional capacity for school management oversight.
The move will also provide support for educational technology and instructional materials, including e-learning modules and software and training for monitoring and evaluation of students.
USAID is also looking at rehabilitating the thousands of secondary school leavers who are not outfitted with the requisite skills to fill vacancies in the job market.
"One hundred and fifty thousand Jamaican youths are totally uncommitted out there. They are just roaming around," said Hilliard. "We are aiming at retraining, retooling and motivating some of those young people, based on the belief that everyone deserves a second chance."
