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Featured News 2009
Leaving "No Child Left Behind" Behind, Richard Rothstein, 12/17/07
The next president has a unique opportunity to start from scratch in education policy, without the deadweight of a failed, inherited No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. The new president and Congress can recapture the "small d" democratic mantle by restoring local control of education, while initiating policies for which the federal government is uniquely suited -- providing better achievement data and equalizing the states' fiscal capacity to provide for all children. ~ from CEC SMARTBRIEF | 06/02/2008
Experts Hope Federal Funds Lead to Better Tests,
Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week, 8/5/09
The goal should be to make even the test as much of a learning experience as possible, so the student actually benefits from taking it, and teachers are given some important information for the purposes of instruction.
Kay's comment: What a concept! No more coloring in bubbles for the sake of compliance?! And, students and teachers might actually learn something from taking a test?! Bring it on.
Education Secretary Asks School Chiefs for Seclusion, Restraint Policies, Disability Scoop, Michelle Diament, 8/03/09
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is asking state school chiefs across the country to formally submit their policies on seclusion and restraint in schools.
The request came in a letter Duncan sent to all the state education heads late last week.
The move comes after a government report released in May which documented hundreds of cases of allegedly abusive or deadly uses of restraint and seclusion tactics in schools. It included cases of teachers holding students face down for hours, gagging them, leaving them in dark, closet-like spaces for hours at a time and preventing students from using the bathroom, among other allegations. Nearly all of the allegedly abusive cases involve children with disabilities.
Soon after the report was released, Duncan told members of Congress that the report included “very disturbing, troubling information.” He said he would ensure that all states have policies in place for handling seclusion and restraint in schools before the new school year begins.
“Secretary Duncan is committed to ensuring all children, in every single school in this country, is safe and protected,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who is now working to develop legislation to address seclusion and restraint in schools. “We need to do everything we can to protect schoolchildren from abusive, torturous, and — in some cases — deadly uses of seclusion and restraint and to stop these horrific abuses from going unchecked.”
Kay's comment: It's about time someone takes this seriously as too many times this "behavior management strategy" is abused and misused.
At Camp Twitch and Shout, Tourette Kids Can Be Themselves, Leslie Wade, CNN, 7/27/09
According to experts, Twitch and Shout is one of only five weeklong camps in the country for children with Tourette syndrome. Atlanta-based child neurologist Howard Schub says such camps help children better cope with their condition. Some campers have never met another kid with Tourette syndrome. Read more ...
Julia Steiny: Civilizing offenders requires community relationships, The Providence Journal, 7/01/09
This is the last of four columns in a series about the nation’s oldest and most mature restorative juvenile justice system.
This is the first of four columns in a series about the nation’s oldest and most mature restorative juvenile justice system.
Commentary: Lock up teen criminals? by Jane Velez-Mitchell, 5/5/09
A teen is thrown into the abyss of the corrections system and comes back out no better, if not worse. If we had the right intervention for troubled teens, could we reduce their chances of becoming repeat offenders? ... Quietly, the pendulum is swinging in that direction. Missouri's groundbreaking juvenile justice system is the vanguard. It focuses on rehabilitation, therapeutic intervention and conflict resolution rather than force and punishment.
Read more ... http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/05/mitchell.juveniles/index.html
Many students stressed, some deperessed
by Nancy Benac & Trevor Tompson, Seattle Times, posted 6/02/09
Stress over grades. Financial worries. Trouble sleeping. Feeling hopeless.
So much for those carefree college days.
Students build on core skills, by Sarah Hardee • Enquirer contributor • March 22, 2009
Geometry students at Newport High School are finally getting an answer to the age-old question that has plagued math teachers for years: "When am I ever going to use this in real life?" They apply their geometry skills in hands-on construction projects.
Stand and deliver ... Desks allow students to stand while working in class! Movement is good for the brain. (posted 2/26/09)
Unlike children almost everywhere, those in Ms. Brown’s class do not have to sit and be still. Quite the contrary, they may stand and fidget all class long if they want ...
The stand-up desks come with swinging footrests, and with adjustable stools allowing children to switch between sitting and standing as their moods dictate.
“At least you can wiggle when you want to,” said Sarah Langer, 12 ...
“I think we’re so used to the traditional classroom it’s taken a while for people to start thinking outside the box. I think it’s just a matter of breaking the mold.”
Read more ...
Vo-Techs Are a New Elite, Local Districts Complain, by Winnie Hu, The New York Times, 3/2/09
No longer the place to go to learn welding, auto-body, or carpentry, vocational programs now cater to future scientists, mathematicians, and medical researchers.
Learning labs' extra help keeps at-risk students in school, by Jeffrey S. Solochek, Times Staff Writer, 2/8/09
Learning labs are almost deceptively simple: Certified teachers spend time in a large room filled with tables, comfortable chairs, computers and books, waiting for students who need help to come and ask for it.
But in the two years the Pasco school district has used them, the labs have become a top tool in the district's dropout prevention effort. Ramon Suarez, who oversees graduation enhancement programs, credited their implementation as key to getting Pasco off the state's watch list for too many dropouts among special needs students — not to mention a 40 percent decrease in the overall dropout rate.
"It's about making connections," Suarez said. "That's the No. 1 reason many students are dropping out. ... They isolate themselves from school. This helps them connect with teachers and find a place where they can get help."
Misbehaving teens may be at risk for major adulthood problems, Elizabeth Landau, CNN
People who displayed behavioral problems as teenagers were likely to develop mental or personal problems in adulthood ... Certainly there is a relationship between how you behave in adolescence, and as it's left uncorrected and unchecked by your environment, you're going to continue to engage in those behaviors because those behaviors get reinforced ... As for interventions, experts called for greater investment in resources for children and adolescents with behavioral problems. Iguchi noted that many of the existing resources for adolescents are being cut because of budget concerns. (posted 1/9/09)
*Pay now, or pay later ...
Obama pledges schools upgrade in stimulus plan, by Libby Quaid, AP, USA Today
Barack Obama probably cannot fix every leaky roof and busted boiler in the nation's schools. But educators say his sweeping school modernization program — if he spends enough — could jump-start student achievement.
More kids than ever are crammed into aging, run-down schools that need an estimated $255 billion in repairs, renovations or construction. While the president-elect is likely to ask Congress for only a fraction of that, education experts say it still could make a big difference.
*Valuing students begins with providing them with a healthy, safe, stimulating learning environment. (posted 1/3/09)
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