School district fights back after Florida girl banned by judge from school

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Monday, May 13, 2013

A Florida school district is appealing a decision issued by a Duval County judge last month, banning a 14-year-old student from all public schools in the county.

The female student, Judge Henry Davis argued, poses a serious danger to others. His ruling came after a March fight hospitalized eighth grader Aria Jewett. Jewett was left with torn membranes around her brain and leaking cerebrospinal fluid after the other student allegedly lured her off campus and slammed her head against a stone wall, fracturing her skill as 30 others watched and shot video on cell phones.

But since the court decision, the Duval County school district has argued the court cannot ban a student from every public school in the area.

According to a Huffington Post article, the district argued that while the student may be dangerous, she still has the right to a public education under the state constitution.

An appeals court suspended the judge’s decision, but it’s unclear to which school the student will return.

Should the court have the right to deny public school attendance to a dangerous student? Or should public education always be available for children and teenagers?

Share your thoughts!

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Study finds school climate key to student success

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Thursday, May 9, 2013

A review of research by experts at the National School Climate Center determined this month what many educators have been saying for years: school climate matters.

Reviewing more than 200 studies, researchers concluded that “sustained positive school climate is associated with positive child and youth development, effective risk-prevention and health-promotion efforts, student learning and academic achievement, increased student graduation rates, and teacher retention.”

The review found that school climate affects middle school students’ self-esteem and lessens the negative effects of self-criticism. A positive socio-emotional climate at school was also found to relate to the frequency of students’ substance-abuse and psychiatric problems.

A series of studies that was part of the review revealed that a positive school climate is connected to decreased student absenteeism in middle school and high school.

How have you seen a school’s climate impact a student, negatively or positively? What are schools in your area doing to improve school climate?

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Survey: high school students know little about the debt they’ll take on during college

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Tuesday, April 23, 2013

No surprise here: a recent survey found that all high school seniors have no idea how much money they’ll need to borrow to pay for college.

The survey, conducted by the Credit Union National Association, asked 847 students ages 17 and 18 if they were planning to take out student loans, and if so, how much they expected their total debt to be upon graduating college.

According to a Huffington Post article, half of the respondents said they didn’t know how much they would owe. Of those who did have an idea, 22 percent expected to owe between $11,000 and $50,000, and 15 percent expected to take on $10,000 in debt or less.

The class of 2011 came out of school with an average student debt load of $26,600, according to the Project on Student Debt.

The survey also found that 60 percent of students didn’t know how many loans they’d need to take out to pay for their education. Only 13 percent believed they’d be able to graduate with a single loan, and 25 percent thought they’d need two or more.

A lack of financial literacy regarding student loan debt is one of the major issues facing students attempting to pay for the rising costs of higher education, experts have said. Too many students get in over their head with loans simply because they do not realize the pressures to pay them back after college, when they may also be struggling to find work, buy a home or start a family.

Do you think high school students should receive more education about paying for college? Whose responsibility should it be to provide this education: parents, high schools, colleges or some other entity?

Share your thoughts!

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Nashua’s Kurup presents at White House Science Fair

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Monday, April 22, 2013

Nashua’s own “Top Young Scientist” was at the White House Monday morning to participate in the third annual Science Fair.

Nashua South student Deepika Kurup presented her award-winning science project at the fair on April 22, sharing her solar-powered water purification system with national leaders.

The ninth-grader developed the cost-effective and sustainable system as part of the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge last year. She was named “America’s Top Young Scientist” this fall.

Since then, Kurup has shared her invention with local students and educators. Her appearance at the White House Monday was the most recent in a string of recognitions for the young student. All exhibitors at the White House Science Fair were hand-selected to participate.

Watch a live stream of the event at the White House website.

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Windham dodgeball ban gaining national attention

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Monday, April 1, 2013

Students attending Windham schools won’t be dodging balls during gym class anymore, after the school board voted last week to ban dodgeball and other “human target” sports in a 4-1 vote.

Windham Patch reported that school officials launched an inquiry into the common gym class and recess games after a parent complained. Administrators cited bullying concerns as the reason to prohibit students from playing the games during school hours.

“We spend a lot of time making sure our kids are violence free,” Windham Superintendent Henry LaBranche told the Eagle-Tribune. “Here we have games where we use children as targets. That seems to be counter to what we are trying to accomplish with our anti-bullying campaign.”

The decision has been gaining national attention, and on Monday, The Huffington Post ran their own story on the move, saying the decision actually falls in line with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education’s recommendations.

The association pointed out that not all students are able to participate equally, since some of the players who require more physical activity are typically eliminated first.

What do you think about the ban? Should other schools follow suit, or has Windham gone too far?

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State hopeful NCLB waiver could be approved in coming weeks

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Wednesday, March 27, 2013

New Hampshire Deputy Commissioner of Education Paul Leather said he’s hopeful the state is “closing in” on word of whether its waiver of No Child Left Behind will be approved by the federal government.

The state’s waiver from some of the requirements of the education reform bill was submitted in September 2012, more than six months after state officials first said they would not be applying for a waiver.

In January, the federal government responded to the state’s request, with questions about its plans for teacher evaluation systems and state-managed improvement of struggling schools.

Leather said Wednesday that those questions have since been answered and that the state and federal officials have undertaken a “series of back and forths” during the multiple-step review process.

“I think we’re feeling like it’s pretty likely,” he said of the waiver approval.

Leather said the state will likely know the fate of its waiver in the next week or so.

For more information on the state’s waiver, visit the NH DOE website: www.education.nh.gov.

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Fidelity college savings survey shows more students pitching in on college costs

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The rising cost of higher education is no new issue: around the country, tuition levels increased an average of 8.3 percent at public institutions last year.

And the costs are rising, a new survey of New Hampshire families from Fidelity Investments shows that many families are asking their students to pitch in.

On average, Granite State parents plan to pay 52 percent of their children’s college costs, according to Fidelity’s annual College Savings Indicator study. Of that savings goal, however, the typical family is on track to cover only 18 percent.

As a result, many parents are asking their children to be more involved and accountable for their college education.

The survey found that 84 percent of parents agreed that children won’t appreciate college as much unless they share some of the burden of paying for it.

Another 46 percent are planning on ask their children to put aside some of their own money to pay for school, and 23 percent had already asked their children to save money for college by the time the child was 13.

And while college is often thought of as a time for young students to leave their parents home and gain some independence, nearly half of the New Hampshire parents surveyed said they will consider having their child live at home and commute.

What are you thoughts on the current state of college savings among local families? What kind of struggles have you faced while saving for your college education or your child’s?

Share your thoughts!

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Summer course for youth explores magical world of Harry Potter

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The University of New Hampshire will host its first Massive Online Course for Kids (MOCK) this summer, exploring the world of Harry Potter with young learners.

“Harry Potter as Storytelling: An Online Adventure for the Young Fan” is designed for youth entering grades 4 to 8. The two-weeks session will run from July 15 to July 26, and will cost $200 to participate.

“This online course is designed to help kids avoid ‘the summer slide’ by having them working on their language arts skills in the fun, appealing context of Harry Potter,” said UNH professor James Krasner, who will be teaching the course and is an avid fan of the Harry Potter series. “Students participate in the enrichment program at whatever time of day is most convenient for them.”

Every summer, UNH hosts a number of summer camps and educational enrichment activities for youth of all ages. This is the first time, however, that the university has offered a youth summer enrichment course online. The course was conceived by Krasner and is being developed at UNH.

“Several universities offer Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs), but we wanted to do something new and educationally unique,” Krasner said in a statement this week.

The course will introduce Potter fans to the basic tools of reading, writing, language use, and literary analysis by seeing how they work in the Harry Potter books.

For more information on this new course, or to register, visit www.unh.edu/liberal-arts/potter-storytelling.html.

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Congress tweaks punishment for states that run afoul of IDEA rules

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The federal government is cracking down on states that break rules for special education funding, punishing them under a new tweak to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The change, crafted by Congress with the help of the U.S. Department of Education, was included in the spending bill drafted for the rest of this fiscal year that Congress passed this month.

Under IDEA, states are required to provider certain special education services for any qualifying students. The federal government does provide some funding for these programs, but for years has not provided the full amount promised to school systems when IDEA was drafted decades ago.

The tweak to the state requirements means that states can’t cut their own education spending below whatever amount they spent the previous year and still tap federal dollars for special education, unless they get special permission.

While keeping up special education funding is not usually a problem for states, it has become one during the recent recession.

In South Carolina, for example, $36 million in special education funding was withheld by the federal Education Department after the state reduced its own funding.

It seemed the state would lose that funding indefinitely, but the new tweak brought down under this month’s spending bill means that while states that are out of compliance with the IDEA law will still see funding reduced, the cut won’t be in place permanently.

Instead, the reduction would just be for the year (or years) that the state was out of compliance, with full funding returning once the problem is fixed.

Check out the Education Weekly magazine website for more information on this change.

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Keene State Colleges names new president

Posted by DCURTIS    |    Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Dr. Anne E. Huot

Keene State College announced its 10th president Tuesday: Dr. Anne E. Huot, who brings 23 years of academic leadership experience to her new post.

For the past six years, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at The College at Brockport, State University of New York.

In this role, she provided leadership in the areas of academics, campus climate, strategic planning and community and business relations. She will begin her new role as president on July 1.

“It is a privilege to serve as the tenth president of Keene State College,” said Huot. “New Hampshire is my home and the opportunity to further establish Keene State College as a preeminent public liberal arts college is both humbling and exciting. Access to a high quality education remains critical to preparing graduates for active engagement with their communities and for success in an increasingly complex world.”

Huot is a University of New Hampshire alum, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in medical technology. She earned a masters degree in that same field and a PhD in cell and molecular biology from the University of Vermont.

Huot will take over the president position from Dr. Jay V. Kahn, who has been serving as interim president since the departure of former school leader Helen Giles-Gee last summer.

Read more about Huot on the Keene State College website.

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