Blog #2: Closing the Achievement Gap

Many seniors in high school are finishing college applications and planning their future after they graduate in just a few months. Yet, some seniors are struggling to even meet requirements for graduation and don’t know what a college application looks like.

The reason for such extreme differences in students is the achievement gap. This is the extremity in different measures of performance of groups of students based on factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and race.

One of the many examples of the achievement gap is seen in low-income and high-income schools in Chicago. Oprah did a segment called "Trading Schools" on the differences in the way they are taught and materials available at each school. It also portrayed the difference in expectations students have for their future based on the wealth of their school.

Teach for America is one program that is made up of mostly recent college graduates who are sent throughout America to some of the lowest-income schools. The goal is to help close the achievement gap and create an equal opportunity for learning for all students, regardless of the geographic area and income of their school.

Those who are admitted to the program go through a five-week training during the summer before they begin to teach. They are matched up to a grade and topic to teach based on preference and need. The location of teaching is determined in the same way.

Laura Vinsant recently finished teaching second and third graders in Baton Rouge through Teach for America. She said her students have the ability to learn so much, but they just need a role model to help them understand that ability.

Vinsant graduated from Louisiana State University with a public relations degree. Although she was offered a job in the public relations field after graduation, she chose to take part in Teach for America for two years first. She said she feels it was definitely the right decision.

Teach for America is currently accepting applications until Feb. 19.

Mary Ann Roser article

Headline: Austin Reporter Shares Experience Covering Medicine and Health

Blurb: Medicine and health reporter Mary Ann Roser spoke to journalism students at St. Edward’s University about her background in the field and the powerful stories she has covered recently.

In the last few minutes of a Journalism class at St. Edward’s University, students were shown a video of a story that reporter Mary Ann Roser covered. The video resulted in a classroom full of amazement.

The powerful story of a girl with a rare medical condition was the foundation of Roser’s lecture to the class. It portrayed her dedication to beat reporting and the possibilities it can hold.

Roser, medicine and health beat reporter at the Austin American-Statesman since 2000, spoke to journalism students at St. Edward’s this morning about beat reporting. When explaining what beat reporting is, she said it is a defined area of coverage.

Within her beat, Roser said she covers a variety of topics including medicine technology, pharmaceuticals, the Food and Drug Administration, and health care.

“I am not the New York Times,” Roser said when explaining that she works for a regional newspaper. She said she covers stories based in the Austin area the majority of the time; however, sometimes her stories have national implications.

Roser shared stories she is currently or has previously worked on. A story in progress is about a 23-year-old man who has hemophilia, a bleeding disorder that could be life threatening without medication.

The man is about to reach his maximum in health care because of the expense of the medicine. Once he reaches his maximum in a couple of months, he will not be able to take his medication and will hold an extremely high risk of death with even a small sign of blood. Roser said the man felt like he had a death sentence, but has done nothing to deserve it.

A past story shared was about a 7-year-old girl who has Crouzon syndrome, a uncommon condition that causes bones in the face and skull fuse. It also causes increased pressure as the brain, eyes, and other facial features continue to grow.

Roser spent several months on the story about this young girl who underwent major surgery. She kept up with the family before and afterwards and said she really got to know what they were going through. Roser shared her article with the class and a video that went with it, which helped portray the total story in a powerful way.

With most stories, Roser said she likes to include video along with the article because multimedia has become such an important part of journalism. The online content often contains video she has filmed. She has been learning to edit footage herself on iMovie because it is easier than having to tell someone how she wants the story told.

She said links and pictures are also essential parts on online articles.

Roser’s time with the class allowed students to better understand what it takes to be a beat reporter and the powerful stories one can cover working on a particular topic.

In class writing 1-print version

Headline: Man Shot and Killed at Home During Robbery

A man was shot to death in his driveway during an apparent robbery Tuesday night in north Houston.

According to Houston police, Juan Luna, 28, was with his family in the driveway of his home when a car pulled up and shot Luna. Houston homicide detectives are currently investigating the crime.

When the car pulled into the driveway, the gunman said, "This is a robbery," and fired the gun once. Houston police said the car was a dark-colored two-door import. After shooting Luna in the chest, the car sped away.

Juan Luna was a construction worker and married with two children. The family resided in the 600 block of Coronado. The shooting took place about 7 p.m. Luna was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital and died hours after being admitted.

Houston homicide detectives are requesting assistance from the public. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact HPD homicide detectives at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Austin Offers a Free Day of Dance

Picture courtesy of www.freedayofdance.com

Those who have always dreamed of being a dancer get their chance today to learn some new moves during Austin’s second annual Free Day of Dance.

About 70 hour-long dance lessons are being taught throughout the city for free at six participating studios from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Lessons are given for dancers of all ages and levels. The event is sponsored by Austin City Dance Club, Austin Uptown Dance, Arthur Murray Dance Studio, Esquina Tango, Go Dance, and Rhythmic Motion. Owner and instructor of Austin Uptown Dance said this is the studio’s second year in participating in the event and looks forward to participating in the future.

“It’s our opportunity to share the joy of dancing here in Austin,” Watson said. “For those who have put off learning, it’s an awesome opportunity for them to see what dancing is really about,” she said.

Ann and Terry Armstrong of Georgetown took advantage of the free dance lessons this morning. They said they are already a part of the Heart Whip Dance Club in Georgetown, which is how they heard of the event. Terry Armstrong said they usually take swing lessons at home but decided to take two-step lessons for a change.

“We’re looking to diversify our dancing here,” Ann Armstrong said.

The Austin Free Day of Dance focuses on the benefits of dance such as stress relief, physical activity, making new friends, increased flexibility, balance and stamina, and improved posture.

Austin resident David Miller attended the event for the second time. He took jitterbug swing and two-step lessons at Austin Uptown Dance to socialize and learn some new dance moves. “I’m looking forward to learning more swing dancing,” Miller said.

Other types of dance to be taught are belly dancing, country waltz, and rumba.

The city-wide dance lessons give all those in and around Austin an opportunity to try something new out without any restrictions. See the full day’s schedule of lessons here.

For those unable to make it out today for dance lessons, see pricing and schedules for the participating studios [map here with links]:

Austin City Dance Club

Austin Uptown Dance

Arthur Murray Dance Studio

Esquina Tango

Go Dance

Rhythmic Motion

See Melinda Valero's Coverage of the Free Day of Dance on "Top of the Hill News"