Schools

Benton Harbor schools are getting a multi-million dollar grant to help students. The school district will get around$675,000 a year for five years. This money is coming from the Michigan Department of Education. It will be used for after school programs and summer academic and enrichment activities at four magnet schools and for some high school students. The Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor will partner with the schools.

Goshen schools are considering getting rid of their bus routes altogether. At a school board meeting tonight, a study group recommended several changes to help deal with a million dollar budget shortfall. The short term solutions include eliminating field trips, expanding walk zones and changing the start and end times for all schools. The school board will discuss that option at its next meeting on May 28.

SOUTH BEND - When the 2010 election swept John Stancati and two other new members onto the South Bend school board - signaling a public hunger for change - he didn't seem a big name in the world of education. Yes, he was a public servant, having just retired after 21 years as director of South Bend Water Works. But the Democrat was a political force, effective at raising money and influencing voters, say former mayors Stephen Luecke and Roger Parent, who benefited from his help.

STEVENSVILLE--Some people will head to the polls Tuesday and vote yes or no on two new bond issues for Lakeshore Public Schools. Two proposals totaling $53 million are aimed at improving schools but there are some people against the measures. The district says a person owning a $180,000 home would see their taxes increase by about $15 a month.    It's an amount some people are not willing to pay. Kids working in a dark room to stay cool, art supplies piled along walls in the hallway and students doing science experiments in the hallways.    They're all reasons why Lakeshore Public School leaders say people should vote yes Tuesday.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - An Indiana Department of Education spokesman says the agency hasn't received any reports of problems by schools administering a required standardized test after computer troubles caused testing to be halted earlier this week locally and statewide. Daniel Altman says as of Thursday afternoon, everything appeared to be running smoothly. The department asked schools for a second straight day to reduce the number of students taking the test by half to avoid problems.

We've got good news to report from local schools on ISTEP testing Thursday, and the Indiana Department of Education says it's heard no problems. Penn-Harris-Madison, South Bend and Goshen schools all tested at 50%. Elkhart Schools, like the rest of them, started the testing on Monday but had to stop midday because of computer problems. Testing started back up Wednesday with only half the students taking the tests. There were still a few glitches.   “Today, we're still at the state's request going about half speed, and we're back to that minimal problem level,” said Shawn Hannon with Elkhart's program evaluation office.

Homeschool students will now be able to join sports teams at their local public schools under new rules adopted by the Indiana High school Athletic Association. The Indiana high school Athletic Association will require that the students must have been home-schooled for three straight years. They have to complete all state-required school testing and attend at least one class a day at their local public high school to be eligible to play a sport. Annette Crepinsek who home schools her kids says they pay taxes just like everyone else and should have the same opportunities when it comes to sports.

Students were suppose to be taking ISTEP tests Tuesday, but they couldn't because of technical glitches. This is the 2nd day in a row we've seen problems with ISTEP testing.   Some students were able to log-in Tuesday morning and begin their tests but around 11 there were more problems.    School districts tell me the students would get locked out of their session and in some cases couldn't log back in.    ...

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - Two Indiana school districts that test students for drug use are facing challenges as they look for ways to fund the programs. Officials at Southwest Allen County Schools and Smith-Green Community Schools in Churubusco say the screening is an effective deterrent to drug use but that paying for it isn't easy. The Journal Gazette reports ( http://bit.ly/12hAy9R ) that Southwest Allen has reduced the number of tests it gives to offset the costs.

Several area police agencies, fire departments, medical staff and students held an emergency drill At Penn High School this morning. They attempted to replicate a real school shooting situation as closely as possible. The active-shooter training exercise simulates a gunman breaking into the school while students are in class. "Victims" mimic realistic injuries for medics to treat and even police and EMT response times were portrayed realistically. We want to stress that this was just a drill, but they were creating a very real scenario.