-
School Violence in Decline, Report Shows
Tweet Share on Facebook February 29, 2012 CommentThree teenagers were killed this week when a 16-year-old gunman opened fire in the cafeteria of Chardon High School, near Cleveland. Two other students were wounded, and countless kids, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members of Chardon—a city of about 5,000—will likely never be the same.
Thirty-three violent deaths occurred at elementary and secondary school schools between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010, either on campus, on the way to or from campus, or during a school event, according to a recent report produced jointly by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. These 33 deaths not only account for students, but also for staff members and others on school grounds, such as parents and intervening law enforcement officials, who were victims of homicide or suicide, the report clarifies.
-
3 Tips for Parents to Help Their Kids with SATs
Tweet Share on Facebook February 27, 2012 Comment (7)'Tis the season for taking the SATs. Many nervous high school students will shuffle into empty classrooms March 10 and May 5—No. 2 pencils in hand—to answer up to 3 hours and 45 minutes worth of math, reading, and writing questions. Students have likely prepared for the test content by studying sample test questions and perhaps taking the practice exam (the PSAT).
"Familiarity with the test is important because it's like knowing the game, or knowing the ball field," says psychologist Ben Bernstein, author of Test Success! How to Be Calm, Confident and Focused on Any Test. However, he notes that knowing the game—or in this case, understanding the test—isn't enough. Test-takers must also be able to perform under pressure when they prepare for and actually take the test, he says.
-
Education Department Wants Tweets from Teachers and Students
Tweet Share on Facebook February 22, 2012 Comment (2)February has been a busy month for K-12 education. On February 1, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan kicked it off by announcing that all U.S. schools should transition to digital textbooks within the next five years. On the 9th, President Obama waived 10 states from No Child Left Behind. And last week, the president proposed a 2013 budget that includes a $1.7 funding increase for education.
Although these federal policy decisions may not seem directly connected to day-to-day classroom activities, the Department of Education is using Twitter to encourage teachers, administrators, parents, and students to play a more active role.
-
Students Learn Better with Engaged Parents
Tweet Share on Facebook February 20, 2012 Comment (12)As kids get older and advance to high school, talking to them about their school life can become more difficult for parents. With younger children, parents may have been required to sign off on report cards and progress reports, attend more parent-teacher conferences, or simply drive their kids to school. But when students reach high school, connecting with children over school can become challenging.
Even if parent engagement in academics is hard, it's incredibly important, says Sherri Wilson, senior manager of family engagement at the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Wilson helped organize the recent National Take Your Family to School Week, designed to build partnerships between families and schools through individual school events such as teacher-parent breakfasts, game nights, and workshops for applying to college.
-
3 Tips for Parents to Help Their Bullied Kids
Tweet Share on Facebook February 15, 2012 Comment (7)Kenton Raiford, who was bullied in middle school, now witnesses a lot of bullying in his senior year at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo, Calif. While bullies get physical sometimes, he says, "It's more about mental and emotional attacks."
Bullies at his school ridicule low-income students for wearing hand-me-downs, harass lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students for their orientations, and tell immigrant students to "go back to their country," Raiford says. To curb these negative comments, Raiford is setting up a Stop Bullying Campaign in his high school for May.
-
Classroom-Based Assessment Should Replace 'No Child', Experts Say
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2012 Comment (4)President Barack Obama announced last week that 10 states will be exempt from the requirements of the highly-criticized No Child Left Behind legislation. In exchange, those states will have to agree to a series of reforms. But some experts say the law should be scrapped completely for models that don't rely on standardized tests.
"It behooves us to take a careful look at the policies at the heart of NCLB, because they have not worked, [and] if they are not working, we need to change them," said Monty Neill, chair of the Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA), at the FEA House Briefing on Assessment last Thursday.
-
Education Roundup: 10 States Waived From No Child Left Behind
Tweet Share on Facebook February 10, 2012 CommentWelcome to the High School Notes weekly roundup of education news. Every Friday, you'll find out what's making headlines around the Web.
No Child Left Behind
President Barack Obama announced yesterday that 10 states now have flexibility from No Child Left Behind mandates that focus heavily on annual testing benchmarks. In exchange for the NCLB waiver, the 10 states will implement different plans to create college- and career-ready students and will use comprehensive systems to support and evaluate teachers. The 10 states approved are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
AP tests
The number of high school students who take advanced placement (AP) tests has increased over the last decade, and AP test scores have seen an increase as well, according to the College Board's "8th Annual AP Report to the Nation" released Wednesday. Last year, 903,630 students took at least one AP test—more than double the number of students who did so in 2001.
-
High School Students Tackle Foreign Affairs
Tweet Share on Facebook February 8, 2012 Comment (1)For two weeks this summer, a team will meet at Yale University to discuss U.S. foreign affairs, work together during a simulation of an international crisis, and travel to New York to visit the United Nations and Council on Foreign Relations. Although this may seem like the schedule of politicians or ambassadors, this team will comprise high school students—sophomores, juniors, and seniors participating in the EXPLO Foreign Affairs program, run by the nonprofit EXPLO, in partnership with Foreign Affairs magazine.
EXPLO hosts academic enrichment programs each year, but this summer's program is the first to focus entirely on global issues. The curriculum, developed by Foreign Affairs Editor Gideon Rose, includes discussions led by members of the magazine's staff about the history of international relations and current American foreign policy issues, in addition to the simulation and New York trip. The admissions process for the EXPLO program is selective, according to its website, and the application is complex to ensure that students who really want to learn about global issues attend.
-
Teen Dating Violence in Focus This Month
Tweet Share on Facebook February 6, 2012 Comment (1)To many, February is the month of love, as grocers stock up on heart-shaped candies, florists order red roses, and restaurants book a flood of Valentine's Day reservations. But February is also about the other side of the coin—it's National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
Congress approved of nationally recognizing Teen DV Month in 2010, which is designed to bring attention to the startling amount of abuse in the relationships of many young people. "In a 12 month period, one in 10 high school students nationwide reported they were physically hurt on purpose by their boyfriend or girlfriend," said President Barack Obama last week in a presidential proclamation about Teen DV Month. "And still more experienced verbal or emotional abuse like shaming, bullying, or threats."
-
Education Roundup: Stomach Virus Plagues San Francisco High School
Tweet Share on Facebook February 3, 2012 Comment (1)Welcome to the High School Notes weekly roundup of education news. Every Friday, you'll find out what's making headlines around the Web.
Student health
About 325 high school students and 30 teachers are suffering from a stomach virus at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco this week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. School officials are investigating how students were exposed to the bug, which has been causing severe nausea and vomiting. The school has closed its doors until Monday.
Bombing plot
A 16-year-old student was charged with a felony Tuesday after authorities discovered he was plotting to detonate a bomb in his Utah high school. The minor and another student, age 18, were arrested last week when a classmate tipped off the police with suspicious text messages he received from them. Upon investigation, police found detailed plans of the potential bombing, including blueprints of the school and security systems.
