Guided missile destroyer named after Korean War hero spotted off Gourock
USS Thomas Hudner's roles have involved anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, as well as strike operations.
(Image: Roy Elliott) The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer was launched in April 2017, having been built at Bath Iron Works in Maine.
Several members of the Greenock Telegraph Camera Club captured the vessel off Gourock earlier today.
OTHER NEWS:
She is named after US naval aviator Thomas Hudner, who received the Medal of Honor for his efforts to save the life of Jesse L Brown during the Korean War in 1950.
Both men were on patrol near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea when Brown's aircraft was struck by ground fire.
Hudner, who was later promoted to captain in 1965, deliberately crashed his own plane on a snowy mountain in a bid to help him, but Brown succumbed to his injuries.
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David Muir shares emotional reunion between WWII veteran and fighter plane
"World News Tonight" anchor David Muir reported on a remarkable moment as a 100-year-old World War II fighter pilot returned to the skies over McKinleyville, California, taking the controls of the same type of aircraft he flew during combat missions more than seven decades ago. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Joe Peterburs, who enlisted in 1942 at the age of 18, took to the air in a P-51 Mustang, the legendary fighter aircraft in which he flew 49 combat missions during World War II. The historic flight was made possible by the nonprofit organization "Rumble Over the Redwoods," dedicated to preserving aviation heritage and inspiring future generations. Peterburs' incredible military service spanned decades. After earning his pilot wings and becoming a second lieutenant, he faced numerous challenges during WWII, including being captured by German forces after an ejection and subsequently escaping. His service continued through the Korean War, where he flew 76 combat missions, and extended into the Vietnam era. He ultimately retired as a colonel in 1969. During the commemorative flight, Peterburs demonstrated that his adventurous spirit hadn't dimmed with age. Observers watched in amazement as the aircraft performed a roll, with the centenarian veteran and his pilot briefly flying upside down, waving from high in the sky. After landing, Peterburs was visibly moved by the experience. "It was a really exhilarating experience and brought back a lot of memories," he told ABC News. The veteran pilot also shared a powerful message for future generations: "To maintain what we have today, you got to do your best. Do your best in whatever you endeavor. And I wish you a lot of luck." The flight served as both a personal milestone for Peterburs and a powerful reminder of what World War II veterans did for our country.
USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
What is redshirting? The controversy for parents' rights causes stir in Washington, DC.
DC Public Schools officials said schools will more strictly enforce a policy disallowing parents from delaying toddlers' kindergarten start date. Jennifer Lilintahl said she knew her 5-year-old daughter wasn't ready to learn how to read with other kids her age in the kindergarten classes last school year at Lafayette Elementary School in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Washington D.C. Although her daughter was eligible to attend kindergarten due to her age, Lilintahl enrolled her daughter in a mostly play-based pre-kindergarten class at a local preschool for the third year in a row. This January, Lilintahl emailed the school's principal to say her now almost-6-year-old daughter is ready for kindergarten this fall. But the principal said the girl must enroll in first grade for the 2025-2026 school year, which begins on Aug. 25, because she'll be six-years-old in September. Lilantahl was dismayed. She thought it wouldn't be an issue because she knows other parents from the district who had previously delayed their child's start of kindergarten by one year. Several other parents made similar requests to enroll their nearly six-year-old children in kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year. Their requests led DC Public Schools officials to say in the 2024-2025 spring semester the district is going to more strictly enforce an existing policy that disallows parents from delaying their children's kindergarten start date, said Evan Lambert, a district spokesperson. That means parents who don't enroll their kids in kindergarten when the district says they are supposed to will have to forego that year, he said. Typically, kids in states where kindergarten is required start when they are 5 years old before a certain cutoff date, which ranges from August to December. If their schools allow, parents can choose to delay their required kindergarten start date to the next school year, which is a practice in schools widely known as "redshirting." Opponents of redshirting often argue it creates inequities among schoolchildren because it gives older kids an upper hand when they enter kindergarten. Recent national test score data shows the achievement gap among the nation's highest and lowest learners in American schools has widened over the last several years. Those who support the practice often say parents are not trying to take advantage of the system, but that they are best able to determine whether or not they ready for the academic rigor of kindergarten, including the social and developmental expectations of those classrooms. Lilintahl is adamant that her family is not trying to give her daughter an upper hand by making her the older student in class. She said her daughter genuinely deserved and needed the extra year in pre-kindergarten and she consulted with the young girl's nursery teacher and pediatrician about her worries, who agreed with her. She has petitioned the district's decision and joined other parents to protest this enforcement of the policy. The school principal Katie Prall sent her family a final rejection letter, which Lilanthal provided to USA TODAY, on Aug. 4. In the letter, Prall says she and staff "reviewed all relevant evidence," including test scores, past education and input from parents before making its decision. Lilantahl said she's "really angry" and said the principal and school district for "being so rigid and illogical." "This is not only setting her up for failure for first grade, but for her entire education as well as the rest of the classroom," Lilintahl said. "We're really angry, to put it bluntly, at this principal the school district for being so rigged and illogical." Lambert told USA TODAY that district officials cannot comment on the case, citing student privacy laws. The district "is committed to ensuring every student has access to a great education in our schools," he said. "DCPS assigns grade levels based on age to make certain students are placed with their peers and in alignment with district education standards," he wrote in an email. "In rare cases, school-based teams may determine—based on evaluations comprising observation and formal assessments—that a different grade placement is appropriate after enrollment. Families are encouraged to enroll and work with their school team." The controversy in the nation's capital over delaying schooling illuminates tension between schools that want kids to attend the grade they qualify for and parents who say they know best for their child. The debate is one of the latest issues for the growing parents' rights movement, which has been dominated by public school parents want more control over what their children learn and where they go to school. For them, deciding when their kids start school is now not up up for debate. Keeping them there: Why parents who moved kids to alternative schools amid pandemic Ariel Taylor Smith, senior director of the National Parents Union Center for Policy and Action, said parents should have the right to choose when their kids start kindergarten. Some kids need the "additional year of schooling" in pre-kindergarten and parents and their communities often know better than a school district, she said. She argues that not giving parents the choice will lead those who have the means and access to leave public school districts. "Kids will go to private schools if they're not allowing an extra year," she said. Public school enrollment is already on the decline and national data shows public school are expected to lose 4 million kids by 2031. The drop is due in part to declining birth rates and more access to other types of schools, including private and parochial schools, in regions with school vouchers and other choice programs. School districts often receive less money when students leave their schools because many state funding models are based on either enrollment and attendance. Though some principals have allowed redshirting in DC Public Schools in the past, that will no longer be the case, unless there is an exception in rare cases, said Evan Lambert, a spokesperson for DC Public Schools, in an email to USA TODAY. Lambert cited a local law that says all children who live in the region are required to attend school beginning the school year "in which the child is or has become five years old by September 30." At a June 23 news conference, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said "we shouldn't have a policy to say we want some kids to be advantaged to the disadvantage of other kids." Moving forward, the district will strictly follow the law by assigning age-centered grade levels, he said. As millions of kids skip kindergarten: The learning gap widens – and schools may lose funding Why redshirting draws both opposition and support About one in 10 parents said in a survey they delayed their child's kindergarten start date during the 2021-2022 school year, with a majority indicating their kids' weren't emotionally or academically ready or they were too young. The research, published by EdChoice, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for school vouchers, and conducted by Morning Consult, shows one in five parents surveyed were influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. An older academic journal article, published in 2013, said about 5% of kids in the United States were redshirted each year. Redshirting sets up a clash between the parent who says they want to do the best thing for their kids and those who are concerned about inequity between kids from families of different means, said Deborah Stipek, a professor of education at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. Wealthier families have more access to childcare, which gives them more flexibility to delay school, she said. "I'm sympathetic with parents who want to redshirt their child, but on a broad scale, the issue is that it does create some inequities, because parents who are able to hold kids back are able to provide more resources and have childcare resources," she said. "On average, kids who come from low-income families already start with fewer foundational skills than those with more affluent families. If kids with more affluent families come in at an older age, it creates a bigger gap." Parents often delay their child's kindergarten year when they believe they are developmentally behind or want them to have an extra year of schooling. Stipek pointed to research that shows boys from affluent families are more often redshirted by parents who think the delay could give them a competitive edge. "Boys tend to be a little behind girls on average," Stipek said. Stipek and others who've researched the effects of redshirting for decades call it a nuanced and complicated issue for parents and schools because there's not a clear "readiness" indicator for kindergarten. "I think we've decided to use age, because as imperfect as it is, it's reputable," Stipek said. "But the problem is there's huge variability in kids' readiness for a more structured educational environment." Whether schools choose to allow for redshirting or not, they need to better prepare their kindergarten teachers to educate children from different ages and skill levels, she said. "I think the real issue is not should all kids be required to enter at a particular age," Stipek said. "The real question is how are we creating educational environments to adapt to kids differences when they want in the door." Kindergarten has changed over time. The first year of a child's academic career used to be more play-based, but now there's more of a focus on academics, said Christopher Brown, a professor of early childhood education at the University of Texas at Austin. That's largely because average reading scores have declined and there's more pressure on teachers to make sure kids are ready for assessments. "Elementary schools are worried about test scores and policymakers view it through the lens of academic achievement," he said. Even so, kindergarten teachers have told Brown that kids come into their classes with a range of foundational skills regardless of their ages. "Schools should consider how ready they are to support kids and families when they walk in the doors and helping them get where they need to be," Brown said. Historically, research on redshirting has shown that kids who entered kindergarten a year later than their peers "score a little higher," he said. "But that usually evens out in upper grades." Where is redshirting allowed or banned? Among the states where kindergarten is required, policies on the practice vary widely by school community. The option of choice largely depends on where families live, and some states do not require kindergarten at all. States and school districts largely determine whether or not students are allowed to start kindergarten at a later date than their peers. "Oklahoma, for instance, requires children to enroll in half-day kindergarten in the school year after they turn five (September 1 birthday cutoff), but parents are allowed to delay their child's kindergarten entry by a year at their own discretion by submitting a form," Richard V. Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, wrote in a commentary for the Brookings Institution. For parents who are questioning whether or not to delay their kid's kindergarten start date, Brown said to research what options and type of kindergarten classes their local school offers, to talk to other adults who may know what's best for the child, including a preschool teacher, and to consider those choices early. They should also consider whether or not they have the childcare resources to keep their kids out of kindergarten an extra year. "Then consider, do we think little Johnny's ready for school?" he said. "A lot of parents don't start thinking about it until their kid is four. Be informed, make a decision, and once you make it, support it." Brown said he's personally "always been an advocate that if you feel like they're ready, send them." No matter what parents choose, Brown said parents should be confident about their decision because kids can sense when their parents have doubts about their awareness of their abilities. That can take a toll on their self-esteem and academic and developmental skills. Lilintahl said she wants to avoid future learning setbacks for her daughter. The district tested her 5-year-old daughter on July 29 to determine her readiness for school, and she failed the reading portion of the test, she said. The mother said she'll continue to fight the district's decision, and has expressed her frustration with jurisdiction officials, but she's "lost a lot of trust in the school and principal." First grade isn't an option for their family. "She doesn't know how to read," Lilintahl said. Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@ Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Southside Estates, Duval schools' newest elementary, opens. Are you ready for 2025-26 year?
Days before the first school bell in months, halls at Southside Estates Elementary were already full of students, parents and school employees primed for the 2025-26 school year. People there were starting another chapter in the school's story, Principal Teresa Brown told a crowd at an Aug. 7 ribbon-cutting celebrating completion of a new $60.7 million building replacing the original school, which dated to the 1940s. 'They are going to have the best education at Southside Estates,' Brown said afterward about kids entering the new 101,000-square-foot facility, built to consolidate classes from the namesake school and from Windy Hill Elementary. More: What to know about Duval County's back-to-school free tax holiday break. How long is it? The new building, a roughly 1,000-student prototype designed to be replicated at some future projects, is part of series of changes happening in Duval County schools. As the start of the new academic year draws close, here are answers to some questions that students or their families could need to know. When do other counties start classes? Aug. 11 is the first day of classes for conventional public schools in Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties as well as Duval County and most counties around the state. Bradford County is one of a handful of school districts starting classes Aug. 12. What time does school start? When do classes end? In general, Duval County school hours run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for elementary schools; 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. for middle schools; and 7:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. (15 minutes earlier than last year's dismissal time) for high schools. However, more than 40 schools are considered exceptions to those schedules ― some vary by more than two hours ― so the school district has a webpage spelling out times for the special cases. For students already thinking about the end of the school year in May (and all the achievements they'll reach before then), the school district has a calendar of 2025-26 academic year dates to plan around. Can kids still be registered for school bus service? Duval County households who need bus transportation have to register each year and do that for each child who'll need to be picked up. If you haven't registered yet, the school district has a tutorial video to get you going. The district also has a webpage about bus transportation, vendors and FAQs, as well as one about bus stops. Keeping parents in touch with schools Before kids can be signed up for bus service, however, an adult has to register for what the school district calls a Linked Parent Account, the district's system for sending information online on subjects ranging from student grades to urgent messages during emergencies. And there's an app, right? Of course. The school district tells parents one of the best ways to stay up to date on what's happening in schools is by using the Duval Schools App, which the district says 'streamlines everything your family needs to stay connected with your child's school.' This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New Southside Estates Elementary opens. Ready for 2025-26 school year? Solve the daily Crossword
