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Nursing Career Without Losing Your Paycheck!

by: Luke T. Axton

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? This is a concern that rides the minds of many high school and college graduates alike. It can be difficult deciding on a future career. After all, we figure we're going to have this position for years to come. This is why it's very important to choose the right one that makes us happy and pays the bills.

One of the more famous and desirable fields to pursue these days is nursing. Have you considered a career in the medical field? While nursing degrees have always been well known for their dependability and benefits, more recently they've become even simpler to reach. Yes indeed, now days you can acquire an online nursing degree from the comfort of your own home.

Ever since I can remember, my mother has been a registered nurse. I recall her telling me about the time she earned her nursing degree. Of course it wasn't an online nursing degree back then, but who had Internet access in the 60s? She enjoys the working in the medical field and helping those in need of regular care. There is always a certain enjoyment involved when you strive to make others feel better and live longer.

By the time I reached high school, it was clear to me that my mother made a decent income as a registered nurse. She was taking care of three boys on her own, but we always lived well. Not to mention the insurance benefits were perfect. That is something to consider if you're looking into a medical degree. When you work for the state, there are many perks. After twenty years at the same hospital, my mother was able to retire with great benefits.

Are you looking into an online nursing degree? You have to admit, it's great to have access to so much from home. Never before could we achieve so much learning and education from our homes. With a nursing career, you will soon learn that there are many benefits and transfer available.

I watched my mother only work on weekends the entire time I was growing up. How can you beat that schedule? If you are interested in acquiring an online nursing degree, get online today and sort through your options. This very well may be the career choice for you. Cyberspace can give you the rundown on everything the online nursing degree has to offer.

About The Author

Luke T. Axton provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for http://www.education-magazine-portal.com, http://www.resources-on-education.com, and other related issues.

by: Patricia Hawke

In June of this year, the United States Supreme Court ruled to restrict schools across the nation, including Denver Schools, from using race to determine attendance. This decision will limit the integration at many schools across the nation. The decision was split with a five justice majority ruling that school programs in Seattle and Louisville violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection to ALL students. Educators in Denver Schools fear that the decision may lead schools to stop efforts to balance the racial mixes within their districts.

This decision will definitely affect the way Denver Schools achieve racial integration. Administrators in Denver Schools are among those in Colorado that use such tools. The Boulder Valley School District, for example, seeks diversity by placing students based on family income. "These policies ... are on a stronger footing today than they were yesterday," said Kevin Welner, a lawyer and director of the Education and the Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

School districts have a lot of options in trying to build schools that are racially integrated, including targeted recruitment in neighborhoods, or redrawing school-attendance zones. Denver Schools use several criteria when determining school zones and districting; and one of those criteria is race. Students are sometimes bussed further from their homes to achieve racial diversity and avoid segregation. Some education experts within the Denver Schools feel that they may abandon race-conscious policies because of this decision. Administrators say that race is used to target students and move them to other Denver Schools where their needs can be better met, and so racial diversity can be achieved. Denver Schools feel that the decision has left them little room to maneuver and achieve their goals.

The delicate balance between justice and diversity is a hot issue nationwide. Instances where white students have been denied entrance into magnet programs because of their skin color initiated the court cases. Currently, Denver Schools’ representatives use race and racial density within areas of their district to decide where to build schools. Their goal is to bring enriched magnet programs, and some well-educated families, into inner-city neighborhoods.

Some within the Denver Schools have voiced concerns that students may be the ones who end up getting shortchanged if race is not a factor. They are voicing concerns that their children will be forced to attend schools within their neighborhoods, instead of being allowed to attend more racially diverse schools where the quality of education, educators and administrators may be higher. Others feel that it may force schools systems across the nation, and within Denver Schools, to make sure schools are equally staffed, supervised and supported so that all children will receive an equal education.

About The Author

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Colorado/Denver/index.html

by: Patricia Hawke

The Dallas Schools presented a budget to the trustees that may have teachers receiving raises as high as $5000 next school year. The proposed $1.16 billion budget contains nearly $31.5 million for salary increases and new incentives for educators and support staff of the Dallas Schools. The Dallas Schools will also cover the rise in health insurance costs for its employees, instead of passing that cost on through higher premiums, which means lower pay checks.

Budget Impacts Sizes of Dallas Schools

The budget for the Dallas Schools also contains funding for the effort to have smaller class sizes in middle schools, and more arts teachers in the elementary schools. Added funds will also give the high school teachers an additional planning period. These are the things that teachers in the Dallas Schools say are important to them. These three efforts alone, proposed and encouraged by the teachers and administrators of the Dallas Schools, could take a $17.1 million bite out of the proposed budget. But all involved say that the pay off is well worth the cost. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa of the Dallas Schools called the plan a "robust, teacher-friendly" budget. Educators laud his long-term vision in an era of high-stakes testing. There is a national battle on where to spend scarce educational funds.

Pay Packages for Teachers in Dallas Schools

On average other school support staff such as administrative employees will see about a 3% raise. The Dallas Schools will create incentive stipends to encourage principals and teachers to move to "hard to staff" schools. Within the Dallas Schools there are three area high schools and two middle schools considered “hard to staff’ due to their location in low income and high crime areas. Those willing to move there could get anywhere from $6000 for teachers, to $10,000 for principals. The details of that incentive plan are still in the planning stages, but administrators in Dallas Schools feel that this will attract experienced quality teachers and administrators to the areas where their skills are the most desperately needed.

The trustees of the Dallas Schools are scheduled to vote on the budget at a meeting in June. The overall spending in Dallas Schools is expected to increase by about $38 million; however the Dallas taxpayers will not see an increase in their contribution. They will actually see a lower tax rate because of a growing tax base, increased aid for schools from the state, and lower interest payments on the 2002 bond program. Dallas Schools Teacher Union President, Aimee Bolender, said that the proposed salary increases are "more than fair, and that the other initiatives – smaller classes and more planning time – will benefit educators. More importantly it will have a positive impact on the education of the students of the Dallas Schools that we serve”.

About The Author

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Texas/Dallas/index.html

 District

 by: Patricia Hawke

In terms of numbers, Los Angeles Schools make up the second largest public school district in the country. Only New York City Schools top them. The issues of running any urban system are complex, but in massive districts the numbers make efforts even more difficult.

Los Angeles Schools Struggle with Graduation Rates

Simply getting students to graduate is a challenge for the Los Angeles Schools. A 2006 USA Today study reported that Los Angeles Schools were among several large urban districts with less than 50% of its students gradating from high school on time. That report put the number of graduates in Los Angeles Schools at 44.2%. This is well under the California state graduation rate of 71%.

Another report released from Princeton University in 2005 estimated the lost income of these dropouts at over $36 billion. These numbers are not surprising to educators in the Los Angeles Schools. Numerous studies over the years have confirmed what Los Angeles Schools teachers know. High School drop-outs are far more likely to become teen parents, commit crimes, and use government funded social and medical services. Graduates have higher incomes, raise better-educated children, and experience other social benefits.

Los Angeles Schools Receive Funds

As the result of a 2005 lawsuit filed by State Schools Chief Jack O’Connell and the California Teachers Association, some of the poorest rated Los Angeles Schools were awarded extra funding in May of 2007. The lawsuit was filed in 2006 against California Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Department of Finance. It alleged that they had failed to appropriately fund Proposition 98 during the 2004 to 2006 school years.

O’Connell is using the lawsuit’s awards to provide $2.7 billion to some of California and Los Angeles Schools’ highest risk schools. The funds are part of a program called the Quality Education Investment Act. The funds will provide chosen Los Angeles Schools with additional per pupil funds of $500 for k-3rd grade, $900 for 4th through 8th, and $1,000 for 9th through 12th . Los Angeles Schools intend to use the money for hiring more teachers, addressing class size concerns, professional development, and hiring in-school counselors.

Los Angeles Schools are in need in many areas. The national achievement gap is huge here because of a large population of English Language Learners, and a low socio-economic population. One concern of the Princeton study mentioned above is that it pointed out huge discrepancies in graduation rates between white and non-white students. African-American students and Hispanic students have the lowest graduation rates; and Los Angeles Schools are largely made up of these student minorities. Over 100 Los Angeles Schools will receive the additional funds over the next seven years.

About The Author

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/California/Los-Angeles/index.html

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