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Many high schools have traditionally included rituals like a benediction or invocation at their graduation ceremonies. While these terms might refer to a variety of things, many believe the words themselves invoke a religious ritual �� one that is not allowed to be introduced or endorsed by public schools. The question of prayer during a graduation ceremony has also been a point of controversy for many years at high schools across the country. This year has been no exception, with a Texas public high school graduation coming to the forefront in the latest battle. We will take a look at the issue of prayer during graduation ceremonies, including why some believe that the practice is in direct violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.

What Happened in Texas?

Medina Valley High School in Castroville, Texas, has had a long tradition of including an invocation at the beginning of their graduation ceremonies and a benediction at the end. This year, a student at the school, along with his parents, took issue with the use of terms in the graduation ceremony that some could construe as religious. The family took their case to a district judge, who ruled that Medina was violating the constitution in using such terminology and ordered them to remove the invocation and benediction from the graduation program.

Ayesha Khan, the lawyer for the family, told , "We think that the district has been flouting the law for decades. We're glad

Many educators and parents are fed up with the current state of public education and have decided to take matters into their own hands. To make their voices heard in state legislatures and Washington, they have invited all disgruntled with the school system to meet together this summer in Washington, D.C. The Save Our Schools March has been gaining steam since its inception a year ago, and now many local marches are planned across the country. We'll look at the purpose of the Save Our Schools March and why so many nationwide have become frustrated enough with public education to take a public stand.

What is the Save Our Schools March?

This movement has cumulated into the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action, which began approximately one year ago. Many parents, students, educators, and community members have become increasingly frustrated with the No Child Left Behind Act, which went into effect ten years ago, and the more recent Race to the Top initiative by the Obama Administration. According to the organization's website, this group has seen the educational system transform into one that is primarily governed by test scores rather than real instruction.

Many in this movement have taken their concerns to state politicians, and some have even gone to Capitol Hill with their issues. However, they do not feel that anyone in a position to make the necessary changes has listened to their pleas. That is when the Save Our Schools March and

Standardized tests have come under fire once again in Washington D.C., as the results in three schools have now been thrown out due to testing procedure violations and allegations of impropriety. The city has also implemented tighter security guidelines and is monitoring more schools for testing irregularities each year, according to a report at . The results of this investigation have resulted in specific measures being taken to ensure the integrity of the testing process in the future. However, questions still remain about how Washington D.C. schools ended up in this position in the first place and whether high-stakes testing is to blame for the problems.

This video reports on the C.D. schools' standardized test scandal.

A History of Washington D.C. Test Issues

Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington D.C. schools, sang the praises of many of the schools that raised their standardized test scores by astronomical numbers under her watch. Rhee used the test results as evidence that her sometimes unpopular methods of education reform were working. One school, in particular, Noyes Education Campus, showed two-year gains that were nearly unheard of in the public education system. However, the school also displayed an unusually high number of erasures on their tests, which raised the eyebrows of some education officials and the media.

USA Today was all over the concerns and looked at other schools within the city to

Public school auctions are not a new idea, but with the economic woes in recent years, these fundraisers have reached an all-time high in many areas across the country. As the need for successful fundraising increases, so does the intensity of the public auction experience, with more expensive merchandise offered up and even a few tempers to diffuse throughout the evening. This article will take a closer look at the public auction experience, including some of the problems schools across the country have encountered in their efforts to raise necessary funding for their students.

The Benefits of a Public Auction

According to an article at , the public auction has long been a popular fundraising choice in schools because it offers a myriad of benefits, including:

• The potential to earn plenty of money for the school
• The ability to build a sense of community among students, staff, and parents
• The positive reputation fundraising builds within the community
• The involvement of numerous volunteers in a single purpose and activity
• The chance to provide a single, large fundraiser as opposed to multiple smaller events

The public auction falls into three distinct categories: the live auction, where individuals publically bid on items; the silent auction, where bids are listed until the deadline; and the online auction, which is similar to the silent auction but conducted through the Internet. In many cases, the auction is conducted simultaneously with another event, such as a dinner or dance, to entice more people and

Social media, which has become essential for kids and techno-savvy adults, is now entering the realm of public education as well. Schools and districts across the country are leaping aboard the Facebook bandwagon, creating pages that allow students and staff to interact during and after school hours. This online tool provides a whole new dimension to the public school community, but not everyone is thrilled with the idea of posting school business and social interactions on the Internet for the world to see. We'll take a look at both the pros and cons of the use of Facebook in public schools, as well as some districts that have embraced FB already.

This video looks at the pros and cons of using social media.

Positive Ways Schools can Use Facebook

According to an article at , there are many potentially constructive ways public schools can use Facebook to engage their communities. The author of the article, JG Visual partner David Hartstein, says at the beginning of his report, "By setting up a Facebook page, schools can establish a controlled, professional presence that allows them to capitalize on this social space in many important ways, while still protecting their students."

Hartstein suggests a number of ways to incorporate social media into the public school community, including:

Sharing News

While many schools currently rely on their websites or the old-fashioned "paper home from school" methods of sharing