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May 8, 2008

This morning BoardBuzz read about the scoop from TechCrunch:

The Attorney General of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, is about to make an announcement at noon ET that he and the attorneys general from 48 other states have negotiated a deal with Facebook to implement new safety and privacy rules, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. Facebook will be making its own announcement later on today.

And lo’ and behold, the world's 2nd largest social networking site did announce their commitment to working with the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia to improve the safety of underage users. This development mirrors an agreement those same 49 states made with MySpace last January. Texas alone has not endorsed these agreements. Texas officials want to set even higher standards and see faster response times to identity verification.

Facebook officials also announced that many safety improvements have already been enacted and others are in the works. In the deal, the social network agreed to develop age verification technology, protect minors from inappropriate contact and content, restrict the ability for people to change their ages on the site, monitor the site for harassment, and remove inappropriate content as stated in its Terms of Service.

"Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset," said Facebook chief privacy officer Chris Kelly in a statement. "We are proud to join 49 states and the District of Columbia in affirming our commitment to these principles and to continue improving our technology and policy solutions to keep kids safer on Facebook. The Attorneys General have shown great leadership in helping to address the critical issue of Internet safety and we commend them for continuing to set high standards for all players in the online arena."

Facebook even reaffirmed its participation in the Internet Safety Task Force, which came about through MySpace's earlier agreement and focuses on identifying effective online safety tools and technologies. Moreover, Facebook has agreed to make third-party developers and advertisers adhere to its safety and privacy rules.

"Social networks that encourage kids to come to their sites have a responsibility to keep those kids safe," said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper in a statement. "We've now gotten the two largest social networking sites to agree to take significant steps to protect children from predators and pornography."

BoardBuzz applauds Facebook for recognizing their responsibility to keep kids safe online. We expect the platform will become more secure as a whole, and all users will benefit from these new standards. For more about online social networking, be sure to check out NSBA's Creating and Connecting report.

Posted at 6:47 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

May 1, 2008

Have you ever wondered what people are really thinking? As a principal, counselor, administrator, school board member, or teacher, a lot of faith is put into the idea that we are doing a good job and the people we work with feel the same way. But sometimes those perceptions are wrong, sometimes our perceptions aren't those of our key stakeholders, and sometimes the educators need to be educated.

NSBA's Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) recently conducted a study led by Dr. Brian Perkins (along with recommendations from the PTA) regarding school climate. What We Think, surveyed more than 10,000 urban parents in 17 different states to find out their opinions about bullying; teacher/student respect; safety; and expectations, to name a few of the topics.

NSBA and CUBE have previously examined student perspectives on school climate (Where We Learn) and teacher and administrator perspectives (Where We Teach). The third study came to some interesting conclusions, including:

~ Slightly more female parents (76.7%) indicated visiting the school to support its activities than did their male counterparts (72%). ~ Parents overwhelmingly believed that their child was capable of high performance on standardized tests (84%).

~ Most parents felt respected by the teachers at their child's school (87%).

~ Parents with children in the middle grades (6-8) indicated that their children were bullied at least once per month more than parents at other grades (13%).

~ Generally, parents who used self-experience as their primary source of information about their school held more positive views about safety (76.1%), while parents who used the newspaper as their primary source of information about their school held more negative views about safety (12.5%).

Take a look for yourself. The study (as well as the first two) is available on CUBE's website and the results are sometimes surprising. Our friends at Education Daily and Public School Insights already have, and there's no disputing the fact that parents have an important insight into our schools and are crucial to their success.

Posted at 4:33 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

April 17, 2008

BoardBuzz was shocked to learn that bullying has reached (yet another) new height. It seems that, according to this article via ABCNews.com, some students are exploiting students food allergies to make their lives miserable. Now bullies aren't just picking on the smallest or weakest kids in class--they're ganging up on children who have severe food allergies.What will they think of next?

"There was a group of five girls ... and they decided they didn't want me sitting at their lunch table anymore," said [Sarah] VanEssendelft. To get her to leave, they all brought in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

For VanEssendelft, it might as well have been arsenic.

Two weeks later, a boy in the back of her class opened up a peanut butter cup. The smell was enough to trigger VanEssendelft's peanut allergy and send her to the emergency room with breathing problems.

"My throat felt tight and my lips were getting really swollen, really fast," said VanEssendelft. "I looked like Angelina Jolie."

On the one hand, mean tricks or sneaking candy looks like mild behavioral problems to school administrators. On the other hand, given VanEssendelft's serious peanut allergy, those sandwiches might very well have been weapons.

And how can schools protect kids from this kind of attack? Who would consider a PB&J sandwich a weapon?

While it appears that school violence has decreased, unfortunately bullying increasing. "Between 1999 and 2003, the NSSC reported an increase of the student population who were bullied across grades 6-12." Troubling news for school districts.

And it seems that even though the students are hatching these ever-more-creative plots to torment other kids, they aren't thinking of the consequences.

"I think a lot of times kids get wrapped up in the experience and they don't think," said Susan Swearer, associate professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Actually, it's true they don't think — they've done studies, the whole myelination in the brain is not complete."

The best way to tackle the thinking problem in adolescents, Swearer explained, is to repeat conversations. "Say it 500 times: someone can die of a peanut allergy."

School districts often have their hands tied -- some may say they aren't doing enough to help these students, and others who might say schools are overreacting. Either way, someone is going to second-guess what schools are doing to deal with this kind of issue.

It might be tempting for schools to do away with peanuts altogether, but [Dr. Kathy Sheerin, of the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic], who is also a mother of a child with a tree nut allergy, has different ideas.

"I think it's great that day cares and up to kindergarten are peanut-free," said Sheerin. "But the mall isn't peanut-free, the movies aren't peanut-free, your next door neighbor's house isn't peanut-free. The kids are going to have to learn to deal with it."

Most kids, in fact, want other kids to learn to deal with it, as well.

Posted at 9:55 AM | Link to this story | Comments (2)

April 11, 2008

BoardBuzz was interested and concerned by this story from CNN. As the anniversary of the violence at Virginia Tech approaches and other incidents of school violence come to light, school officials, parents, teachers, and community members are as concerned as ever about school safety and violence prevention.

What makes this story stand out, though, is that the parents of the student involved recognized some pretty scary behaviors in their son and acted to prevent the violence.

Elaine Sonnen found out about her son's plan during a conversation with him. She ordered him to write down the names of the eight students he wanted dead and then gave the list to his caseworker the very next day. Later, he added a teacher and his own mother and sister to the hit list.

She took immediate action and had her son committed to an Idaho mental institution. Over the next 16 months, he received treatment at several mental health facilities throughout Idaho.

"There, I opened up. I felt better. I moved on with myself," Richard said.

"They felt at that point ... they had done everything they could do for him," added Elaine Sonnen. "He was doing great. He could make it on his own. They had no question."

During NSBA's Conference last month, experts addressed the issue of violence prevention in schools in a session and at a press conference. NSBA's Senior Staff Attorney, Lisa Soronen was also interviewed on the subject. You can watch her interview by clicking here. For more information about disaster preparedness, check out this article in ASBJ.

Posted at 1:46 PM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

March 13, 2008

No, not the Vice President. A class vice president in New Haven, Conn. And you're not going to believe why. The story has all the makings of a real political scandal, that's for sure. BoardBuzz had to chuckle when we read the story on CNN.com. It seems one student's Skittles craving has landed him in hot water.

Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate.

School spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo said the New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy.

Michael's suspension was reduced from three days to one, but he has not been reinstated as class vice president.

Ouch. And all for a sugar jones. To be sure, schools and states are targets of constant sniping from the other direction that they aren't waging zealous enough campaigns against junk food. And the media often sensationalize stories like this that turn out to be more complicated when you know more of the facts. In this case, our friends at the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education note, the state has a strong wellness law that provides schools with an opportunity to get some additional funding if the school or district has a policy of only allowing sales of food items—by anyone—that are on a state-approved list for nutritional standards.

But here's the problem: It's the degree of punishment that often makes for the embarrassing headlines. NSBA Council of School Attorneys board member Dean Pickett of Mangum, Wall, Stoops, and Warden in Flagstaff, Arizona said it best years ago: "Zero tolerance for the conduct doesn't mean zero thinking about the consequences."

Perhaps the most interesting part of the article includes this tidbit, "Michael says he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice the student selling the Skittles February 26 was being secretive." Spoken like a true politician.

Posted at 10:42 AM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

February 27, 2008

“A kindergarten student with a freshly spiked Mohawk has been suspended from school,” reports ABCNEWS.COM. “Surely,” query you Dear Readers, “You must mean a kindergarten student with a gun… or drugs… or who cracked open someone’s head with a blunt instrument?” No, no, gentle BoardBuzzers, you read correctly: The school suspended little Bryan Ruda for the offense of sporting a funky hair cut. (And, for the record, BoardBuzz saw the photograph of the 6-year-old offender, and, well, it was NOT spiked.) Even so, ““[t]he school said the hair was a distraction for other students [and] violate[d] the school's policy on being properly groomed,” school Principal Linda Geyer said.”

Bryan’s mom, whose love for the avant garde apparently extends to decorative children’s hairstyles, was outraged by the schools decision, saying that while she understands the school has a dress code, "They can't tell me how I can cut his hair." Well, apparently, they can, and they did. “The school district's dress code allows school officials to forbid anything that interferes with the conduct of education.”

But, if, Dear Readers, you surmise there’s more hair (ahem) than meets the eyes, you would be correct: This latest skirmish appears to be only one of several incidents in the quest for individuality between little Bryan’s mother and school officials in the Kindergarten Hair War at Parma Community School. “An administrator at the suburban Cleveland charter school first warned [the mom] last fall that the haircut wasn't acceptable. The school later sent another warning letter to her reiterating the ban.” Wait, they sent a letter, too? And, she still didn’t get it? Talk about sacrificing for your art . . . er, hair.

That school finally lost its religion last week, when little Bryan’s “freshly shorn” hair caused a sensation of sorts and disturbed the general mirth.

Now the mom is changing little Bryan’s school rather that changing his hairstyle. What?!!! BoardBuzz is all about individuality, but we must admit that the choices some parents make are hard for us to sort out.

Posted at 11:17 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

September 20, 2007

Speaking of protests, a big one is expected today in the little town of Jena, La., over pending criminal prosecutions against six students for a school fight. The chain of events that led to this point started when some black students asked their high school assistant principal if they could sit under a tree on campus where some white students typically hung out. "You can sit it wherever you like," was the answer. But the next day there were three nooses hanging from the tree.

The principal proposed expulsions for the white kids who'd hung the nooses, but instead a central office committee (which some have confused with the school board) recommended suspending them for three days. The superintendent accepted this advice, referring to the nooses as a "prank." As a result, there were lots of racial tension, threats and fights on and off campus, the district attorney was brought in to read kids the riot act, and, possibly connected to these events, someone torched a school building.

A few days later, six black students allegedly jumped a white classmate, knocking him unconscious, stomping and kicking him, and sending him for a short visit to the hospital. They not only were expelled but were brought up on felony charges, including attempted murder. Some of the charges have been reduced, and a state appeals court has ruled that one defendant should have been tried in juvenile court, but the severity of the prosecutions has sparked outrage and protests nationwide against uneven justice. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have been keeping the pressure on, and rock star David Bowie just donated $10,000 to the legal defense fund for the "Jena 6."

The most detailed timeline BoardBuzz has found is, not surprisingly, the one from the local paper, the Jena Times (although parts of it are a bit defensive). Between 5,000 and 40,000 protesters are expected today in Jena. Schools will be closed. And the tree? The school board had it cut down before the school year started. "A clean slate," explained LaSalle Parish School Board chair Billy Fowler. "I'm serving on the new School Board, and we're wanting to start fresh on some things."

Posted at 9:51 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

May 9, 2007

Oh, those state lawmakers are at it again reminding BoardBuzz of a Will Rogers insight: "Politicians are doing the best they can according to the dictates of no conscience."

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the South Carolina House will consider a bill this week to allow concealed weapons on campus. If this had been the case at Virginia Tech, reasoned the bill's sponsor Rep. Jeff Duncan, a massacre of that magnitude would not have taken place. He apparently has a friend in Newt Gingrich as BoardBuzz recently reported here.

The Charleston Post and Courier reports that:

Nearly 20 lawmakers have signed on to a measure that would allow concealed weapons on public school and college campuses. If signed in to law, South Carolina would join Utah as the only states that have laws allowing people to carry hidden weapons on campuses.

Nationwide, 38 states, including Virginia and South Carolina, ban weapons at schools. Of those, 16 explicitly prohibit weapons on college campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The measure faces some formidable opposition including U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales, the American Association of University Professors, and the South Carolina School Boards Association, whose executive director Paul Krohne commented, "It is disconcerting that we are considering a proposal that would open the flood gates for more weapons in school - even lawful ones."

Posted at 10:21 AM | Link to this story | Comments (4)

April 25, 2007

BoardBuzz is agog. Yes, you heard it, agog. How else can we react to Newt Gingrich’s remark promoting more guns on campus? In the wake of increasing incidents of gun violence at schools across the country from Columbine to Red Lake to Virginia Tech, it is amazing that some people insist guns belong on campus and apparently in the classroom. The United Kingdom’s online newspaper Guardian Unlimited (yes, this one was heard the world over, folks) quotes our former House Speaker as saying, “In states where people have been allowed to have concealed weapons, in Mississippi and Kentucky, there have been incidents of this kind of a killer who was stopped because in fact, people who are law-abiding, people who are rational and people who are responsible had the ability to stop them.” And, he said it on national TV! Right on This Week with George Stephanopoulos!

And Gingrich isn't the first to espouse vigilante justice. Back in March, BoardBuzz got wind of this story of Nevada State Senator Bob Beers' proposed legislation that would put guns in the hands of "trained teachers" in order to prevent violence at schools. Yeah, that'll work.

And, so, BoardBuzz wonders how anyone can still believe that the availability of more guns, especially on school campuses anywhere, decreases rather than increases violence involving those very implements. Espousing the kind of vigilantism that Mr. Gingrich seems to be suggesting is contrary to the very notion of a civilized society in which the public square (or school campus) is secured by the rule of law and our value in civil order rather than the holsters on our hips.

Posted at 3:54 PM | Link to this story | Comments (2)

February 13, 2007

BoardBuzz can't seem to get enough of cell phones lately (here and here). In the ongoing debate over where cell phones are allowed and where they aren't allowed, another group has stepped into the fray. The American School Bus Council is expected to announce new guidelines today that will ban cell phones for school bus drivers "when the bus is moving or when students are getting on or off."

The organization is urging school districts to enact the ban, citing the research that indicates cell phone use causes drivers to lose focus.

"We don't want those distractions to be part of the school bus driver's environment," the group's co-director, Pete Japikse, said.

Japikse said the group also will urge state lawmakers to take action. There are at least a dozen states with laws or regulations prohibiting school bus drivers from talking on the phone.

The council includes public and private transportation providers, school bus manufacturers and state officials responsible for pupil transportation.

The measure follows a similar one by the National Transportation Safety Board, and is being applauded by the National PTA. About 25 million students in the United States ride the school bus each day, according to the American School Bus Council.

Posted at 3:35 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

January 26, 2007

The continuing debate over cell phones in schools, well, continued this week with an article in USA Today. The piece focuses on Milwaukee's ban on cell phones, which begins Monday and will affect the 222 public schools there.

The ban was prompted by "fights that escalated into brawls when students used cellphones to summon family members and outsiders." Under the new policy, if a student uses a cell phone, it will be confiscated.

Many states banned electronic devices in schools more than a decade ago when pagers and portable music players became popular, says Tom Hutton, a lawyer with the National School Boards Association. The laws were aimed at pagers, then a tool for drug dealers.

And Milwaukee isn't the only place where bans have taken hold. The article notes that Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School in Glyndon, Minn.; public schools in Biloxi, Miss.; New York City public schools; and Deep Springs Elementary School in Lexington, Ky. all have some form of a ban in place. In fact, "Eight parents and a parents' group are suing New York City public schools, which last year began enforcing a ban. Their lawyer, Norman Siegel, says the parents don't believe phones should be used in school. 'The issue,' he says, 'is the right of the parents to provide safety to and from school.'" It's definitely a sticky issue (which BoardBuzz has covered here, here and here), that pits schools' need for a learning environment free from outside disruptions against parents' belief that students need for the phones in case of emergencies.

Chances are we won't be hearing the last of this subject. What do you think about cell phone bans? Leave a comment and let us know.

Posted at 11:15 AM | Link to this story | Comments (3)

October 6, 2006

In the hairbrained idea department, BoardBuzz caught wind of this little tidbit which has garnered some media attention in the wake of the recent school shootings. As it turns out, Republican Rep. Frank Lasee of Wisconsin wants school staff to carry guns.

Lasee cites other countries, including Israel and Thailand, as using guns effectively to deter school violence. "To make our schools safe for our students to learn, all options should be on the table," he said. "Israel and Thailand have well-trained teachers carrying weapons and keeping their children safe from harm. It can work in Wisconsin."

The director of school safety for Milwaukee Public Schools, Pete Pochowski, opposed the idea. "Statistically, the safest place for a child to be is in school," Pochowski said. "We have problems in our schools, but not to the point where we need to arm our teachers and principals."

Posted at 4:43 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

October 3, 2006

The three school shootings in the past week have educators, students, and school officials on edge and wondering what can be done to curb violence and deal with the tragedies. Both the New York Times and USA Today have articles that don't merely cover the tragic events, but also analyze security and student fears. And this morning the Bush administration announced that it would hold a conference to address school violence.

The New York Times article examines schools' efforts to re-examine and tighten security in the wake of the attacks in Wisconsin, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. The article notes, "Some school administrators and security experts said that they were worried about a new pattern of violence for which schools were not well prepared— outside adults with grudges or suicidal urges entering schools — and that news coverage could inspire more crimes," and goes on to say, "Psychological training and increased security that many schools instituted after the killing of 13 people in 1999 at Columbine High School in Colorado have given teachers and principals new tools and insights to spot potential trouble, the experts said. News organizations, some scholars say, have recently given somewhat less prominence to school violence as it has become less novel, a trend that could also reduce the likelihood of mimic attacks."

USA Today examines how the shootings may affect students emotionally. "School safety experts say that the first order of business in classrooms across the nation today should be to take the psychological pulse of children." The article points out that even students not directly involved in the tragedy may be affected and that the stress and fear of the shootings might "stir up a memory from a child's past." However, the article stops short of suggestions for educators or parents for dealing with these stresses.

CNN.com is reporting that, "The Bush administration, alarmed by recent attacks at public schools across the country, is bringing education and law enforcement experts together for a conference on coming to grips with the problem." Which BoardBuzz finds interesting, because yesterday the AP reported that federal funding for a grant program aimed at preventing school violence and substance abuse have been dropping since 2001, and the administration has gone so far as to recommend cutting the program altogether. The article does note that "The Office of Management and Budget rated the program as ineffective several years ago. Evidence did not show the program was changing students' behavior to reduce violence and substance abuse."

Bush's proposed conference will aim to "discuss the nature of the problem and federal action that can help communities prevent violence and deal with its aftermath." It will include representatives from PTA, education, and law enforcement groups.

Posted at 3:15 PM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

September 5, 2006

Sure, we've heard "Where do babies come from?" but how many inquisitive youngsters (or oldsters, or even in-betweensters) have pondered where our beloved school buses come from? Wonder no more.

This interesting blog item from the National Association of Manufacturers not only tells us how it's done, but also links to a cool video of the birth of a bus. With 450,000 school buses covering millions of miles of road every day, it's good to know about the tlc that goes into getting one of these yellow giants on the road.

Posted at 2:00 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

August 18, 2006

The American School Board Journal's's August cover story, Keeping Student Athletes Safe, is rather timely given the recent high profile stories about student athletes collapsing during workouts and Little League baseball considering limits on the number of pitches young baseballers can throw. The article examines what it takes to keep student athletes safe.

The journal points out that "despite catastrophic scenarios making news, the vast majority of injuries suffered by student athletes are not life threatening. The National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) estimates that about one-third of the 7.5 million students who play interscholastic sports will get hurt, but only about a quarter of those incidents will require a doctor's visit."

Fred Mueller, head of the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, notes, "Catastrophic injuries are few and far between. But something like permanent paralysis is shocking to the community and to the athletes themselves."

ASBJ also asserts that "overuse, once the bane of seasoned athletes and the elderly, now accounts for more than half of all sports injuries among middle and high school athletes. The stress of repetitive and often improper movements on bodies that are not yet fully developed has created conditions like Little Leaguer's Elbow and Swimmer's Shoulder, and has made age-related arthritis an adolescent affliction."

Check out this story as well as the other topics covered in the August issue of American School Board Journal, including Board Member Boot Camp, School Uniforms, City-County Partnerships, and much more.

Posted at 3:49 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

August 10, 2006

Is bringing an aspirin to school the same as bringing crack? A plastic knife the same as an Uzi? Zero tolerance policies would have us believing so. But how far is too far to go in the effort to keep students safe at school?

A new resolution from the American Psychological Association released yesterday says that zero tolerance policies are backfiring and "are not as successful as thought in creating safer environments to learn. These policies, which mandate that schools severely punish disruptive students regardless of the infraction or its rationale, can actually increase bad behavior and also lead to higher drop out rates."

An article in USA Today notes that "Kids feel less safe and perform worse academically in schools with high suspension rates," and "students' higher suspension rates predict higher rates of future misbehavior and school failure."

Tom Hutton, staff attorney for NSBA, weighed in on the subject, noting that NSBA has urged local school baords to give administrators more discretion, but noted that, "school boards have to deal with community feelings too. Boards hear complaints about 'more sensitivity training' and people sometimes ask 'Why are they doing all this warm, fuzzy stuff?'"

For more information about "zero tolerance" and policies on school safety, check out the 2006 CUBE Issues Seminar, Legal Issues Related to Developing School Board Policies to Support Safe Schools.

Posted at 12:39 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

July 26, 2006

BoardBuzz found this interesting tidbit in the North Country Gazette about a new Web site aimed at keeping Florida's kids safe on the internet. Using information from a new poll about parents' perceptions of their childrens' safety, the site, which was unveiled last Wednesday, "contains such tips as not keeping a computer in a child's bedroom where it's hard to monitor, to monitor children's email, online journal or personal page and to never give out identifying or personal information or post children's photographs on public websites."

The statewide poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, indicated that

49% of parents (whose children use the Internet) allow their children to surf the Internet when they're not home

14% of parents (whose children have access to a home computer) report the computer is in the child's bedroom, the one place experts warn most against placing a computer

47% of parents incorrectly believe a child is more likely to be abducted by someone the child does not know, when in fact experts continue to warn that children are most likely to be abducted by persons already familiar to them

53% of parents said they are familiar with the chatroom codes their children might encounter, yet only 15% of those knew that the commonly used chat room code "A/S/L" stands for "Age/Sex/Location"

Supported by local, corporate and goverment sponsors, including the Florida School Boards Association, the Web site contains information, tips, and local resources for parents in Florida. Although BoardBuzz found the site informative and useful, not just for Floridians, but for any parent interested in keeping their children safe. We especially liked the Chat Room Dictionary page which TILII, translating all those word/symbol concoctions that are all the rage on the net. Now we're SETE.

Posted at 11:08 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

May 26, 2006

As with anything, there are good blogs and bad blogs. And school districts are starting to use the force against the dark side. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on how Community School District 128 in Illinois is handling the situation. Like many school districts, District 128 has a student code of conduct that students, primarily those participating in extracurricular activities, must agree to and sign in order to remain eligible.

The district, with the support of its two student board members, amended the code to include, "Maintaining or being identified on a blog site which depicts illegal or inappropriate behavior will be considered a violation of this code," as a new requirement. Student member Tom Engstrom, a senior at Libertyville High School, said, "The Internet is in the public domain and if used improperly can be potentially dangerous to some."

In another angle, school districts, administrators, and many who care deeply about education find themselves trying to harness the power of the blog for their own purposes. This Week In Education notes several successful and unsuccessful attempts at education-themed blogs.

Posted at 9:30 AM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

May 8, 2006

NSBA has joined National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) to launch a national awareness campaign entitled "Help Keep Kids Connected and Protected" aimed at educating teachers and parents about safe online practices for teens using social networking sites or online communities. NCSA is a public-private alliance of companies, associations, and government agencies dedicated to cyber security awareness and education for home users, small businesses, and the education community.

With more than 65 million young people flocking to social networking sites like MySpace.com, most teachers and parents still lack the basic awareness and knowledge of this new social meeting place and how to communicate with their teens about being responsible users.

"Millions of teens use social networking sites to interact with their peers, but they are unaware of the threats these sites can pose," said Ron Teixeira, executive director of the NCSA. "This collaborative national effort is focused on encouraging teachers and parents to talk to their teens about safe online practices."

NCSA has created a user's guide to aid educators and parents in how to keep children and teens safe when socializing online.

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April 24, 2006

Twice in the last week, authorities say they prevented mass shootings in schools. The first is in Riverton, Kan., where five teenage boys fully intended to go on a shooting spree at their high school but were stopped after one of them discussed the plot on a Web site, law enforcement and school officials said.

The latest is in a small town near Anchorage, Alaska, where six seventh-graders suspected of plotting a deadly attack on a school were arrested this weekend. Nine other seventh-graders also were suspended in possible connection with the elaborate scheme to kill faculty and classmates using guns and knives at the school, where about 500 sixth- through eighth-graders have four weeks until summer vacation, AP reports. The name of the school (really) is North Pole Middle School, and is about 14 miles southeast of Fairbanks. The group wanted to seek revenge for being picked on, the town's police chief said.

What led to these nick-of-time arrrests?

In Kansas, authorities were alerted to threats on the Web site myspace.com. That quickly led to the identification of the five suspects and the recovery of an undisclosed number of weapons at the home of one of the suspects. In Alaska, a student told a parent about threats overheard at school last Monday, the day before the shootings were to occur. USA Today has updated info here.

So something is working. Some kids are talking to parents, and some authorities are slowly waking up to the reality of how much of kids' lives are now lived on the Internet. There likely are other examples of prevented tragedies like this across the country that have not made the news. Listening to kids is more important than ever.

Posted at 2:28 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

March 31, 2006

Increasingly, students across the country are deciding that their immediate participation is required in the hot political issue of the moment. And that participation requires and empowers them to walk out of class, to the nearest march or demonstration, they believe, sometimes with faculty leading the way. Schools seem powerless or afraid to do anything about it. The liability concerns here alone would seem to make this an important issue for school boards to confront in a serious way.

For instance: Johnny walks out of class to march in today's demonstration. On his way, he is struck by a car. In fact, that particular scenario was precisely in the minds of some school officials in California this week. Legal Clips summmarizes the L.A. Times: "City of Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton notes that about 500 students walked out onto the busy Harbor Freeway as part of the protest. 'That's not free speech, that's insanity,' says the chief."

The discussion around these issues too often seems stuck in confusion mode. Or denial mode. Principals and school district leaders often seem paralyzed. What should school policy look like in this area? And who has the courage to enforce it? Students walked out of class in Northern Virginia every day this week objecting to a U.S. House of Representatives bill on immigration reform. More are planned for today. An example of the confusion, from today's Washington Post here:

"Some Fairfax students said they had heard students with unexcused absences could face suspension or, for organizers, expulsion. Fairfax schools spokesman Paul Regnier said it was too early to know what the punishments would be."

Students in Iowa, Tucson, and Houston marched as well. One school district in Texas is promising discipline for students who walked out of school this week to march.

Legal Clips links to this letter (pdf) to parents from Long Beach Unified School District from this week. It is an intriguing read, to say the least. What do you think?

UPDATE: A student at a demonstration today in Northern Virginia was stabbed, the Washington Post reports.

Posted at 2:47 PM | Link to this story | Comments (2)

March 23, 2006

The House recently passed a bill, Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act, that would give the nation's 15,000 school districts access to the national criminal database maintained by the FBI when conducting background checks of job candidates.

This article in Ed Week noted that currently school officials in 21 states do not have access to the national data and primarily rely on state data. NSBA senior attorney Naomi Gittins pointed out that the House bill makes sense because teachers and staff move across state lines, and when districts are restricted "to only using their state crime databases, they may be missing a lot of information."

Now, let's hope the Senate acts quickly on the bill.

Posted at 9:00 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

March 14, 2006

A school board member in Miami-Dade County, Florida, is taking on the video gamers by fighting back against a new game that glorifies bullying in schools. Designed by Rockstar, the same company that brought consumers the hugely popular Grand Theft Auto game, Bully features a thuggish teenager in prep-school clothes terrorizing other students. Video images shown on this morning's Today show included the bully kicking another student in the back, fistfighting, firing a slingshot, and holding a student's head over a toilet. The Miami Herald reports:

"This game is built entirely around bullies and is staged in a school -- it's the antithesis of everything we're trying to promote," said School Board member Frank Bolaños, who introduced a resolution urging Rockstar not to release Bully, asking local merchants not to sell it and asking parents not to buy it.

A board committee unanimously approved his resolution Thursday, and the full board is expected to vote Wednesday. If it's approved, Miami-Dade's would be the first major school system in the country to take sides against Bully, according to Jack Thompson, a Coral Gables attorney.

Is it time school boards take on this issue?

Posted at 10:32 AM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

January 27, 2006

Keeping alcohol out of school events continues to be a big challenge for many schools. Powerful article here from Michigan about a judge who happens to be one tough opponent for students who get caught drinking at the prom. The story is about what happens when several of those students fail to take the judge seriously. Big mistake. Coverage in the Detroit Free Press includes reader comments. They offer a fascinating look at the culture of underage drinking today, with its many defenders. Worthy reading.

Posted at 11:30 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

January 4, 2006

Research indicates cheerleading injuries more than doubled from 1990 through 2002, while participation grew just 18 percent over the same period, reports a study published Tuesday in the offical journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. AP here. The study estimates 208,800 young people ages 5 to 18 were treated at U.S. hospitals for cheerleading-related injures during the 13-year period. Most of the injuries were suffered by 12- to 17-year-olds; nearly 40 percent were leg, ankle, and foot injuries.

The study recommends that coaches get professional safety training and that high schools and cheerleading associations adopt uniform safety procedures and also develop a national database for injuries. That is something the Memphis-based American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors has been advocating for several years, AP reports.

Posted at 7:56 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

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