School Makes Boy Take American Flag Off Bike

Officials Later Backpedal; Allow Boy to Fly Flag on Bike After Bad Pun



13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike. He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert. He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was told to take it down.

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2 teens sentenced for having guns in school

MACON — Two teenagers in Bibb County have been sentenced for bringing guns to school.

Prosecutors said a 13-year-old from Rutland Middle School received a 13-month sentence Friday to the Youth Detention Center for having an unloaded handgun in his locker.

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The Bi-Annual "Teachers take charge to save AILING PUBLIC SCHOOLS" Event

LOS ANGELES -- Four years ago, Francis Parkman Middle School was spiraling downward with plummeting enrollment, abysmal test scores and notoriety for unruliness. Then teachers stepped out of the classroom and took charge of the school.

Today, the rechristened Woodland Hills Academy, named for the school's suburban location north of Los Angeles, is run by a teacher-controlled committee where the principal carries the same weight as a teacher and the district has minimal say in operations.

Test scores are up 18 percent and enrollment has spiked more than 30 percent. The model works, teachers say, because everyone from the principal to the janitor is vested in the outcome. "Everybody has a stake," said teacher Bruce Newborn. "We all suffer and we all win."

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Latino Kids Now Majority In State's Public Skools

Ay carumba. Latinos now make up a majority of California's public school students, cracking the 50 percent barrier for the first time in the state's history, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Education.

Almost 50.4 percent of the state's students in the 2009-10 school year identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, up 1.36 percent from the previous year.

In comparison, 27 percent of California's 6.2 million students identified themselves as white, 9 percent as Asian and 7 percent as black. Students calling themselves Filipino, Pacific Islander, Native American or other total almost 7 percent.

While the result was no surprise to educators, experts say the shift underscores the huge impact Latinos already have on California's politics, economy and school system.

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