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October 20, 2016 |
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NYSSCA
Our Annual Conference will be held at the beautiful, Tarrytown DoubleTree hotel in Westchester County on Nov. 18-19. We will celebrate, "School Counselors Making a Difference." Early Bird Registration and Hotel Discount Deadline, Oct. 21. Visit our Conference Page for the conference brochure, hotel information and registration information. Registration for attendees and exhibitors is now open.
Check out all the great things to do in beautiful Tarrytown.
NYSUT
In collaboration with SED, NYSUT is co-sponsoring a free one-day professional development conference for educators working with English language learners. The event, which can be used to fulfill state professional development requirements, will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Click here to register by Nov. 7.
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Killer clown threats impacting schools and communities
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SSAC
Media outlets across the nation have been reporting on a growing trend of adults dressing as clowns designed to scare children and others. In many cases, these "Killer-Clowns" as they have been called, are impacting not only communities, but schools and school bus stops. Police reporting indicates children and parents have seen these clown dressed adults lurking around areas that young people frequent. In cases where law enforcement has apprehended the clown, most were concluded it was some type of a sick prank. In some states where they have strict laws against wearing of masks, the clowns were taken into custody and charged with violation of state statute. Schools should make sure they are informing their parents and students that if they see someone dressed as a clown, 911 should be called immediately and they should not engage contact with the person. In all cases, the schools should alert local law enforcement if their students, staff or parents report any suspicious behavior involving costumed adults frequenting bus stops or schools.
In some cases reported to law enforcement, the clowns were found in possession of a weapon and in one case, the "Clown" was found to have a plan to cause a major shooting at a school. "As with many issues like this, education and observation remain key", Stated Police Lt. Sean Burke, of the Lawrence Police Department (MA) and president of the School Safety Advocacy Council. "Law Enforcement nationwide is taking such threats very seriously and where the law can be applied, it is having an impact", continued Burke.
Business Insider
With a population of just over 11,000, Dobbs Ferry, New York is your typical sleepy town, except for one thing. When the first school bell rings, kids are wide awake. Last September, Dobbs Ferry School District joined a small but growing cluster of schools around the U.S. that have started pushing back their middle and high school start times in an effort to combat student grogginess. Bolstered by a mountain of sleep science research that says pre-teens and teenagers are some of the most sleep-deprived people and would actually do better in school with more rest, these forward-thinking schools are finally cutting worn-out students a break. They're letting kids sleep in.
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Education World
A report from the Independent Budget Office of New York City looks into why chronic absenteeism is such a problem for the roughly 82,000 students who comprise the city's homeless population and what changes can be made for improvement. The report, which focuses on the city's largest school district, makes a good read for other district administrators looking to make changes to help improve the quality of education for homeless students.
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eSchool News
As part of October's National Bullying Prevention Month, educators and students are turning to technology solutions that allow for anonymous reporting and encourage those who witness bullying to stand up against it. National statistics from Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center reveal that 22 percent of students reported being bullied during the school year. Sixty-four percent of children who were bullied did not report it, and school-based bullying prevention programs have resulted in a 25 percent decrease in bullying.
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DNAInfo
The Public School Athletic League, the country's largest and oldest sports league, shares roughly $27 million a year to support more than 45,000 student athletes across hundreds of schools in New York City. Of that, approximately $2 million more was spent on boys' athletics programs than on girls' during the 2014-2015 school year, according to data released to DNAinfo New York under a Freedom of Information Law request. According to the Department of Education, PSAL spending is determined by "the number of hours allotted per team plus the estimated costs of the following: student insurance, officials, assignors, school supplies allocation and transportation."
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Education Week
Zephyr Teachout, who ran against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo two years ago in the Democratic primary by attacking his policies about testing and the Common Core State Standards, is now campaigning on a similar platform as she seeks a seat in Congress as a Democrat. Her GOP opponent, John Faso, is a big fan of charter schools and used to work on budget issues for the Buffalo, N.Y., school district.
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THE Journal
With the help of a new $500,000 grant, Teaching Matters will offer its Teacher Leadership Program over the next two years to teachers in New York City. The program is expected to eventually enhance the skills of 15,000 teachers. Teaching Matters received the grant from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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The Atlantic
For 15-year-old Zion Agostini, the start of each school day is a new occasion to navigate a minefield of racial profiling. From an early age, walking home from elementary school with his older brother, Agostini took note of the differential treatment police gave to black people in his community: "I [saw] people get stopped ... get harassed ... get arrested for minor offenses." Almost a decade later, Agostini said he now faces the same treatment as a sophomore at Nelson Mandela School for Social Justice in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
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District Administration Magazine
Atlanta's film industry has in recent years boomed to third place behind Los Angeles and New York City, and incoming studios noted a major skills gap when looking for videographers, scene constructors, prop creators and costume designers. Leaders of Fulton County Schools in Georgia responded. Three years ago, administrators met with studio executives to develop curriculum pathways that would align with industry needs. Now, students at the Fulton County College & Career Academy can enroll in half-day programs in five film-related pathways: carpentry, culinary, audio-video technology, digital media/animation and audio-flight operations.
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USA Today
For decades, communities across the USA have tried all manner of raising high school graduation rates: higher academic standards, better school funding, stricter testing and calls for arts, vocational, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. New research suggests there's another way to raise graduation rates: simply increase the number of adults in a community.
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By: Savanna Flakes (commentary)
Robert Marzano's six-step approach to supporting students with vocabulary acquisition and retention is still one of my favorite approaches to teaching vocabulary. After teachers have sorted vocabulary terms into the three tiers and determined which words merit more attention in upcoming text, I encourage teachers to think about how they will differentiate instruction for learners who will need explicit and specialized vocabulary instruction.
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New York Magazine
Why don't school schedules align with work schedules? It's a question working parents ask themselves all the time, and one examined in a new report from the Center for American Progress. What the report found was that most schools close "several hours" before parents would normally expect to finish working; that most schools are closed about 29 workdays throughout the school year; and that most important school events, such as parent-teacher conferences, are scheduled during common work hours (weekdays).
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The Conversation (commentary)
The American school system puts students in grades based on age. However, for a large number of students, being with same-age peers in the classroom does not work. A recent report from Johns Hopkins University shows that about two out of every seven children are ready for a higher-grade curriculum. These children are not learning something new each day, and are likely bored in class. This has serious implications: Research has shown that greater intellectual stimulation is important for helping talented kids achieve their full potential.
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U.S. News & World Report
Violent threats made toward high schools involving clowns have swept the nation recently. "There's movies with creepy clowns, but that people are threatening kids with creepy clowns is just out of control and crazy," Cathy Archambault, a parent of a student at Bristol Central High School in Connecticut told a local news station. But many of these incidents have turned out to be hoaxes. A Montana teen was facing charges last week for making a threat against Missoula high schools involving clowns, which he said was a prank, a local newspaper reported.
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Center for American Progress
In December of 2014, The Washington Post reported on the decline of manufacturing in towns such as Downey, California — a once-proud aerospace manufacturing hub. The Post told the story of Bob Thompson, a man who, in 1965, walked to the Rockwell factory in his town and landed a job at the plant. He was in his early 20s and had never gone to college. Thompson worked hard and leveraged his free public education into a lifetime in the middle class and a pension that allowed him to retire. His story is an archetype of the era's American dream. Today, however, many Americans believe achieving that dream is no longer possible.
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The Washington Post
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, suffer from unwanted and intrusive thoughts that they can't seem to get out of their heads, called obsessions, which often compel them to perform ritualistic behaviors and routines, or compulsions, over and over to try to ease their anxiety. Children and teens may not realize they have it — and parents and educators often misunderstand or misdiagnose the condition.
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MindShift
As most parents know, kids respond emotionally to the grades they receive — and well beyond the jubilation that goes with an A+ or the despair that accompanies a D. When Jessie, an eighth-grader, got an uncharacteristically low score on a Spanish test, she felt not only embarrassed — "because I'd never done that badly before" — but lousy as well: "I didn't feel as good about myself," she said.
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Youth Today
During adolescence, feeling rejected and ignored often undermines development of positive self-esteem. It is difficult for parents to know when to offer assistance and when to allow their youth space to resolve issues independently. While the parent may have intended to give their young person space to resolve an issue, the youth may perceive the parent as not caring or ignoring them. Parents who do not know how to talk about sexual and/or identity development may be lost due to an inability to understand and connect. Feeling rejected and/or ignored may lead a young person to seek a more supportive environment.
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