G r a c e
K i n g
H i g h
Irish Eyes
Volume 44 Issue 6
Student hobbies
S c h o o l
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
See pages 6-7 4301 Grace King Place, Metairie, LA 70002
Upcoming
Events
May 10 Senior’s Last Pep Rally
May 11 Senior’s Last Day/Award’s Ceremony
May 13 Mother’s Day Photos by Eric Sheu and Tia Banerjee/Yearbook photos courtesy of Shillelagh
May 18 Graduation @ Pontchartrain Center 4 PM
May 24 Students’ Last Day
May 28 Memorial Day
May 29 John Kennedy’s Birthday
June 2 SAT Testing
June 6 D-Day
June 9 ACT Testing
June 14 Flag Day
June 17 Father’s Day
Shift in population will result in school closures By Jessie Chen Managing Editor
Seven years after Hurricane Katrina flooded the Gulf Coast, many of the cities affected are still recovering. With the population shift in Jefferson Parish, many changes have occurred. Several elementary schools are scheduled to close due to population decrease. “Population shifts do happen. Society is not a fixed thing, it’s always in a flux,” English teacher Mary Biggers said. Some of these schools targeted include Bunche Accelerated Academy, St. Ville Academy, Kate Middleton Elementary, Norbert Rillieux Elementary, and Waggaman School. “If it’s necessary I guess I’m okay with it, although I don’t want to see teachers lose their jobs,” Natalie Almerico said. Many of these schools were small, neighborhood institutes built for the convenience of busy parents. “Neighborhood schools are better for children and parents. It would be optimum
to keep neighborhood schools, but to balance that with the fiscal responsibility can be tricky,” Biggers said. Superintendent Dr. James Meza addressed the concerns in numerous school board meetings held over these past few months. After a recent audit report by the Management Advisory Group, it would make sense to close down schools. “The JPPSS cannot afford the luxury of waiting until the student population grows back to pre-Katrina levels or hope that the demographics will change overnight,” the report said. It can be difficult adjusting to the new surroundings. “It does have a negative effect in that they are being taken out of their environment that they’re used to and moving them to a new environment. At first, it will probably be a negative effect until they grow accustomed to the new environment,” Almerico said. At the beginning of the school year, rumors that Grace King might close down gave students, parents, and teachers alike an uneasy feeling. “It would be very uncomfortable to go to another
school, I would feel like I don’t fit in at all,” sophomore Rabia Sayyid said. While the overall population in Jefferson Parish is decreasing, the Hispanic population is on the rise. The Hispanic population in the parish has doubled over the past ten years.According to Greg Rigamer, a demographer and chief executive officer of GCR and Associates, Jefferson Parish already had an established Hispanic population, even before Hurricane Katrina. The ones that came to help rebuild were drawn to the metropolitan area, which led to the increase. Currently, Hispanics constitute 12 percent of the population in Jefferson Parish. Just as students must adjust to new learning environments, children from different cultures must learn to adjust as well. However, it may be easier for some cultures to assimilate into the American culture. “Now, Hispanics have access to everything, and everybody wants to reach out to us,” Spanish teacher Walter Sologaistoa said. “There is a part of our population that is integrated into mainstream America which helps with expectations.”
American education system not lacking in creativity By Nga Nguyen
Opinions/Entertainment Editor
America has been criticized for having a poor education system, but students throughout the world strive to study abroad at some of America’s finest universities. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, compared to 30 industrialized countries, American students rank 25 in math and 21 in science. Asian countries and regions such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong outpace the U.S. as did Finland. The U.S. faces educational challenges from a heterogeneous population while other countries like Finland benefit from homogeneity,
according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Roughly 60 percent of eighth graders cannot read proficiently. By the end of eighth grade year, the U.S students are two years behind in math compared to other countries. The U.S. has some of the most outstanding universities. However, the results of our scores are below average. Despite the stunted statistics, America has some of the most prestigious universities across the world. Students all over the world work to get into these American universities. The U.S. holds the world’s largest international student
population. Nearly 700,000 students across the nation. Ideas of such are are choosing to study abroad in the created in America and carried out U.S., and numbers are continually of the country to be assembled. rising. Of the 2.6 million graduate The attraction of education in the students in the United States, over 10 United States will remain appealing percent are international students. due to the outstanding innovations There are nearly 1,700 institutions that will come. to choose from which offer a variety of choice American Inventions and flexibility, which is and Innovations believed to be the main attraction. • Digital Music - James Russel (1970) Innovations • The Personal Computer - Ed Roberts including Apple products, such as the (1975) iPod, iPhone, and • GPS - Ivan Getting, Roger Easton, iPad, are enticing. Also and Bradford Parkinson (1978) Promethean boards • Facebook - Mark Zuckerberg (2004) have been established inside classrooms