**NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY
RELEVANT TO THE CENTER'S FOCUS
Keep up with the National Initiative for Transforming Student and Learning Supports.
For details and for free access to the new work entitled: Transforming Student and Learning Supports: Developing a Unified, Comprehensive, and Equitable System,
see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/newinitiative.html
'The Single Biggest Risk Factor in Getting Expelled Is Being a Preschooler'
. Preschoolers are eight times, on average, more likely to get kicked out. States are starting to notice and intervene. (Governing)
http://www.governing.com/topics/education/gov-california-preschool-discipline-expulsion-suspension.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cb_bureau_colorado
Related Education Commission of the States Resource: Suspension and Expulsion
https://www.ecs.org/suspension-and-expulsion/
WA State Works to Meet Needs of its Homeless
Students.
Reykdal says his office and others throughout
Washington are working to provide homeless students with the resources to
graduate. He spoke with U.S. News & World Report about these efforts and
what approaches are successful. (U.S.
News & World Report).
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2018-11-02/washington-state-works-to-meet-homeless-students-needs
New York City will hire 100 new coordinators to serve record
number of homeless students:
Chamcellor Carranza said the city is modestly
expanding its efforts to locate families in shelters that are near their
children’s schools. And he has restructured the education department so a
single point person, LaShawn Robinson, is in charge of overseeing homeless
students.
(Chalkbeat)
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2018/10/29/carranza-new-york-city-will-hire-100-new-coordinators-to-serve-record-number-of-homeless-students/
Related Education Commission of the States
Resource:
Do You Know How Many Youth Are Homeless in Your
State? David Berliner: My students asked who I would vote for.
I told them that I was done voting for politicians who spout foolishness [about
reforming schools] over and over again! (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/22/education-professor-my-students-asked-who-i-would-vote-heres-what-i-told-them/?utm_term=.993987fac8ee
Surveys
consider effects of student engagement .
Data collected from surveys by Gallup show that 47% of students say
they are engaged in school and such students are 2.5 times more likely to get
good grades than their disengaged peers. The data show the engagement is highest
among elementary-school students, but it drops off between fifth and 10th
grades. (Gallup)
https://www.gallup.com/education/244022/school-engagement-talk.aspx
Schools scramble to get students back in class after Hurricane Michael.
Florida Panhandle officials are trying to figure out how to resume
classes after Hurricane Michael damaged or destroyed many schools last week. The
challenge is especially daunting in Bay County, where schools are closed until
further notice. School leaders are working to come up with a plan to get
thousands of students back in the classroom as soon as possible (there are
26,000 students in Bay County) Bay School District officials are considering
split sessions for high school students on campuses that escaped relatively
unscathed. One high school would hold classes in the morning, and another in the
afternoon.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/14/us/hurricane-michael-schools-students/index.html
More students in New York City schools homeless than ever before :The number of students in New York City's public schools living in
temporary housing reached a record 114,659 this past school year, according
to the Advocates for Children of New York. This marked the third year in a
row that the number exceeded 100,000, the group said. The New York Times
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/kvuICNzxBkralWmkfDobhsfCdBiS?format=multipart
hf
Too Many States Minimize Student Subgroup Performance in Essa Accountability Systems:An analysis by the Alliance for Excellent Education indicates that many state are skirting ESSA's requirements related to identifying low-performing schools, and those where subgroups of students are struggling (e.g., vulnerable subgroups of students,
such as racial minorities, English-learners, and those with disabilities).
https://all4ed.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ESSA-Subgroup-Performance-State-Accountability-Systems.pdf
One Third of Middle- and High-Schoolers Were Bullied Last Year, Study Shows:
A third of students say they were bullied last school year, according to a
report released today by non-profit group YouthTruth. That’s an increase from
two years ago, when just over one in four students had been. (USA Today)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/allthemoms/2018/09/24/one-out-three-students-were-bullied-us-school-last-year/1374631002/
A Benefit of Free Lunch for All: Fewer Students Get Repeatedly Suspended, New Study Suggests
It’s the latest evidence that universal meal programs, which have also been linked to higher test scores and better health in other research, help students. (Chalkbeat)
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2018/09/18/could-expanding-school-lunch-programs-help-keep-kids-in-school/
Most States Still Don't Require Full-Day Kindergarten, Report Finds.
The newly updated report, which was released
last month, finds that that only 15 states and the District of Columbia require full-day kindergarten.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2018/07/most_states_still_dont_require_full-day_kindergarten_report_finds.html?cmp=soc-twitter-shr
Special education students on the rise. The
number of students receiving special education in public schools is rising, with
about 13 percent of all students receiving such instruction, according to a
recent study. A Department of Education report, titled the Condition of
Education 2018, states the number
of students aged 3 to 21 receiving special education services
increased from 6.6 million to 6.7 million from the 2014-2015 school year to the
2015-2016 school year. Among those, 34 percent had specific learning
disabilities, of which 20 percent had speech or language impairments and 14
percent had other health impairments.
>County to pay rent so children don't have to change schools.
To keep 26
children from being yanked out of their Northeast Portland (OR) elementary
school mid-school-year, Multnomah County will spend $48,000 to cover the
steep rent increases that threatened to displace them and their families.
Rigler Elementary School is in the county's SUN Community Schools program,
which provides after-school activities and social services to disadvantaged
students. The county-connection made reallocation of funds possible. County
officials decided that, through the SUN program, they'd made an investment
in Rigler children's success and wanted to support that community.
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2017/02/county_to_pay_rent_for_26_port.html#incart_river_index
>North Carolina's School-Based Mental Health Initiativ. Requires all LEAs/charter schools to develop
and implement a plan for assessing and improving the effectiveness of existing supports for addressing the mental health
and substance use needs of the student population. Each plan is to address (1) universal prevention, (2) early intervention services,
and (3) referral, treatment, and re-entry. In addition, state-level supports via consultation and training are described.
Policy statement
FOR THE LATEST FROM OUR CENTER, GO TO
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/review.htm
September is
National Suicide Prevention Month -- See
the resource links at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p3002_02.htm
Also access other news stories relevant to improving addressing barriers to learning through links at
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/whatsnew/linkstolatest.htm
We draw on a variety of standard sources to amass the above items
(e.g., ECS e-clip at
http://www.ecs.org/e-clips)
|
