Thursday, January 20^th

NEA Unveils New Classroom Superheroes Site

It’s a refreshing change of pace in the era of teacher bashing: a new website honoring public school teachers for the work they do every day in the classroom.

Called ClassroomSuperheroes.com, the site features the stories of educators and education support professionals around the country who go above and beyond for their students – buying supplies out of pocket, creating innovative ways for students to succeed, staying late at school or arriving early to help their students.

Once Classroom Superheroes register, they set up a superhero profile, choose their superhero “powers,” and tell their story of why they became an educator.

For instance, check out Lisa Schue’s Classroom Superheroes profile. “My husband often teases me that even if we won the lottery I would still teach,” writes Schue, who is a first grade teacher. “I admit that I would because it feels like this is where I am meant to be. I love it and no matter how tough of a group I have, I still spring out of bed and am anxious to go greet the kids and encourage them and empower them.”. Read More

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Gang Prevention Summit Exposes Problems Facing Officials

When gang prevention officials wanted to start a soccer club to give at-risk youth better options for free time, they found even the simplest of tasks to be more than they bargained for: the naming of the team.

Following great debate, they settled on Soccer Crew 9540.

"Coming up with the number was difficult," said Rick Buchholz, a coordinator with the Gang Response Intervention Team, a group dedicated to providing community support to police for gang prevention activities.

Numbers 13 and 81, and their mathematical equivalents, for instance, were definite 'no's', as both could be construed to signify established gangs – MS-13 and Hell's Angels, with the latter's initials defined by numerical placement in the alphabet.

"They can take a number and twist it to represent their gang," Buchholz said. So GRIT members turned the tables and devised a creative solution with a meaningful message. Read More

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Teacher-Led School Innovates With Student Regrouping

Detroit's troubled school system remains in emergency management, its enrollment dwindling and its labor-management relations contentious. Yet in spite of those challenges, a school there is making a bid to innovate with many of the formal structures that have long guided not just teachers' roles, but also how students are organized in classes.

At Palmer Park Preparatory Academy, teachers are gradually assuming administrative duties to become the city's first teacher-led school. An extended day, part of the district's reform policy, gives the staff time every afternoon to compare teaching strategies. And finally, a new, pilot schedule for 7th and 8th graders lets teachers regroup the middle school students in different English/language arts and math classes frequently, based on the students' performance and how quickly they are learning new material. Read More

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Texas Has Highest Suicide Risk Rate for Youth in the Country

Alfonso Mercado said he's worked with children and adolescents for 10 years as a therapist.

He said according to a study by the Texas Mental Health America, Texas has the highest suicide risk rate in the country for youth.

"Suicide among the youth is also the third leading cause of death...so we really need to pay attention to the warning signs and identify and provide early treatment and intervention before the depression becomes worse to the point of that psychiatric emergency where someone is in danger of their selves or others," said Mercado who works at Tropical Texas Behavioral Health.

Mercado said during teenage years, there are biological changes and hormonal shifts that play a role when dealing with depression and parents need to be on the lookout. Read More

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Voices in Action: National Youth Summit

President Obama has set a goal that by 2020 the United States lead the world in college completion.

Over the summer the U.S. Department of Education (ED) conducted a National Youth Listening Tour (NYLT) to engage youth in a conversation on what it will take to meet the President's goal. ED met with over 40 youth-serving institutions and over 1800 middle and high school students from across the country.

To close the tour, ED will host a Voices in Action: National Youth Summit, on Saturday, February 26, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

This is no ordinary conference. There will be DJs, spoken word artists, marching bands, and art. It's going to be fun! And there will be an opportunity for students to present their best ideas on meeting the President's 2020 College Completion Goal with youth, partner organizations, and policymakers from across the country. Read More

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Accountability is Working in Florida

In November, voters in 37 states elected governors, most of whom are new to office. Job creation and economic growth will likely top the list of challenges these leaders will tackle first, and rightly so. But let's hope education reform is not far behind. Florida's investment in reform is already paying off.

Providing a quality education to every student will strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the world economy. The export of knowledge-driven industry is a far greater threat to our prosperity than is illegal immigration, which seems to dominate the news and political discourse. Without a pipeline of homegrown talent to fuel growth, the lure of cheaper labor, lower operating costs and less government regulation outside the U.S. will be difficult to overcome. Read More

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