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Small Private School with No Set Tuition

Tamara — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:10:33 +0000

Imagine a school where parents do not pay a set tuition, but instead pay a basic fee of $40 for each one-hour class, paid directly to the teachers rather than to the school. And any students who can’t pay the fee receive scholarships, which means that the teachers donate their time without pay. MacPherson Academy in Lexington, Kentucky, which resembles a hybrid of a private school and home-schooling, is such a place.

Founded in 2001 by Judy Mortkowitz and operating under Kentucky’s home-school regulations, MacPherson Academy is a small school that currently serves about 15 students in middle and high school. According to their website:

MacPherson Academy is a full-service, core subject school for full and part time students, featuring a variety of teacher-taught classes for high school, junior high school, and advanced 5th and 6th grade students. Our outstanding student/teacher ratio allows us to teach to the student’s level, explaining and inspiring, while providing a challenging college preparatory curriculum.

Most teachers at the school are retired teachers or have other income, and the school’s facilities are donated space from a local church. Mortkowitz, who runs the school and teaches classes, receives the same fee as the other teachers. MacPherson Academy is a perfect example of how a community working together for the good of their children can accomplish great feats.

Learn more

MacPherson Academy website
http://www.macphersonacademy.com/

Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky.com: School caters to kids who’ll work hard
http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1129514.html

Doodle 4 Google

Tamara — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:58:27 +0000

One reason parents choose private or independent school education for their children is the emphasis on educating the whole child, with the arts playing a large role in the curriculum. After all, research shows that young people who participate in the arts for at least three hours, three days a week for a year are: 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools, and 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair.

Google recognizes the importance of art in children’s lives with their Doodle 4 Google art competition where they invite K-12 students – of both public and private schools – to create a Google logo for display on the Google homepage. The theme for this year’s competition is, “If I Could Do Anything, I would…” The competition is divided into four age groups, and prizes include a $15,000 college scholarship. laptop computers, and a trip to New York. Technology Booster awards that consist of 20 netbook computers will also be awarded to sponsoring schools.

Judging the competition are experts from organizations such as Charles M. Schulz Creative ASsociates, Dr. Seuss Enterprises and more. Even Eric Carle, creator and illustrator of children’s books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is participating as a judge!

Schools must register for their students to be able to participate. Registration closes at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) on March 17, 2010, and entries are due by March 31, 2010 no later then 11:59:59 P.M. Pacific Time (PT). The winning doodle will be featured on the Google.com homepage on May 27, 2010.

Learn more

Doodle 4 Google
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/

National Arts Education
http://www.americansforthearts.org/public_awareness/

Edublog Awards 2009 Nominations

Tamara — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:40:26 +0000

The nominations for the 2009 Edublog Awards are now open. As an educational blog ourselves, we are happy to nominate some of the wonderful sites that we follow. Our nominees are:

Best teacher blog: Educating Alice by Monica Edinger

Best class blog: The Children’s School Nelson Middle Years, Grade 7

Best individual tweeter: Robert Kennedy, About.com: Private Schools

Best librarian / library blog: Jennifer, Librarian of the Jean Little Library

Best resource sharing blog: Edutopia

UNESCO on Private Education

Tamara — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:09:26 +0000

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently published their 2009 World Report entitled, Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue. They have identified eight Millennium Development Goals to achieve by 2015 that respond to the world’s main development challenges. The second goal is to achieve universal primary education, ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.

The report is filled with fascinating information related to education from nations around the world. Interesting to note is the data they collected from 2007 on the number of students who attend private secondary school. Worldwide, 18.21% of all secondary students attend private schools. In the United States, 8.76% of secondary students attend private schools, which ranks as 95th on the list. The country with the most secondary students attending private schools? Bangladesh tops the list with 95.63%.

For more information or to download the complete report in PDF format, click here to visit the UNESCO site.