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Even if the old spoon under the pillow trick hasn’t worked for the students in your district yet, it doesn’t mean it won’t be your turn next!
No matter how well prepared you are, weather cancellations can be cause for confusion. It’s worth taking a few extra precautions so your families know exactly what the story is.
Here are a few simple tips districts can follow to make sure weather communication messages are reaching home without causing confusion:…Read More
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
A notable new lawsuit against social media industry leaders by the Seattle school district has left legal experts divided on how the case will unfold.
The complaint — which alleges that the school district and its students have been harmed by social media’s negative effects on youth mental health — could lead to sweeping changes in the industry, one expert said. Or, as others expect, it could fizzle out with little chance of winning in court.…Read More
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
This is my first year as a teacher and I’m teaching sixth grade, so both my students and I are new to the school. I’m wondering if you have any advice for how to make students feel welcome in a new building? — I’m New Here
Dear I’m New Here,…Read More
SAN MATEO, CA — Treering Yearbooks – a company modernizing traditional yearbooks – enables schools across America to make yearbooks accessible to all students by integrating a new online donation option.
As the season of giving commences, it’s the perfect time for schools to rally together their communities and provide the gift of lifelong memories to students. When the donation feature is enabled, books can be purchased and donated directly to the school through Treering’s website. Yearbooks are a portal to the past; a book that captures the best moments from childhood and tells the story of the formative chapters of life.
Janet Yieh, Family Partnerships Coordinator at Presidio Middle School in San Francisco, CA, utilizes fundraisers as well as Treering’s early purchase incentive to ensure that every 8th grader graduates with a yearbook. With Treering’s new donation option, Yieh can encourage parents, teachers and community members to join the initiative and donate yearbooks directly from their smartphones or computers.…Read More
When we built a new 3-story high school building on our former baseball field, we knew that we wanted to incorporate spaces where students could learn and teachers could teach in a very collaborative manner.
So, along with our new classrooms, in most areas of our school there are now two hallways with resource classrooms running down the center. Those are our collaborative spaces, and they’re where we got to be creative in terms of planning and design.
We didn’t want to just order 200 of the same chairs and hope for the best, so we worked with MiEN to select furniture designs and other elements that would best define and complement our new collaborative spaces. Here are four other steps we took to achieve our vision:…Read More
Los Angeles — Silver Lining Stuffies launched its inaugural line of storybooks and companion stuffed animals crafted to provide children with the tools to cope with mental health conditions. The first three books, Slow Down, Alfie!, Andie & the Worries, and Frankie & Gloob, address attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and depression. Each stuffed animal stars in its own story as a lovable, relatable character who learns to cope with a unique set of difficulties, helping to normalize the experience of mental health challenges.
Silver Lining Stuffies was born out of the darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when CEO and founder Sara Moore recognized the massive toll it was taking on the mental health of many, particularly children. As someone who has lived with depression and anxiety from a young age, Moore empathized and was propelled into action. As a child, she was fortunate enough to have a supportive family that provided the resources and tools to cope with depression and anxiety, which she continues to use.
Unfortunately, her story is not the norm. 1 in 6 U.S. children aged 2–8 are diagnosed with a mental or behavioral disorder every year, and only 20% of them ever receive treatment. Silver Lining Stuffies aims to improve that by offering parents, educators, and children strategies to deal with these conditions, and by donating part of their proceeds to relevant organizations.…Read More
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
This story was produced as part of the Medill Media Teens journalism program for Chicago Public School students at Northwestern University. The writer worked under the mentorship of Medill graduate Anandita Bhalerao.
With working 25 hours a week at her minimum wage job at an ice cream shop, juggling a stressful workload with AP and honors classes, and dealing with anxiety, sometimes Jones College Prep sophomore Meghan Cuddy just needs a break. …Read More
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
Students across the country are heading back to school. Will there be enough teachers waiting for them?
ABC’s World News Tonight claimed that there was a “teacher shortage crisis.” The Washington Post described a “catastrophic teacher shortage.” Some local school officials say hiring this summer has been particularly difficult.…Read More
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
A collaboration between two schools co-located in a midtown Manhattan campus has bridged both of their missions in the most fruitful way possible: a hands-on project giving their respective students real-world life skills.
Students at Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction have donned the role of architects, designing a one-bedroom apartment for their “clients” at P.S. 138M, a District 75 school serving children with moderate to severe disabilities.…Read More
Recently, a co-worker of mine shared a story from when he was in high school. During one chemistry class his teacher happened to light a small fire within a dish and began stirring in different compounds. First the fire turned green, then purple, and then finally blue. The students, who normally struggled to engage with the coursework, were completely enthralled. They began asking questions, forming hypotheses, and started investigating the subject themselves. A fire had been lit in that classroom – both literally and metaphorically.
Stories like these remind educators about the power of student engagement. Teaching, in many ways, is like building a fire. You simply gather the kindling (tools and strategies), create a spark (curiosity), and then add some logs to the fire (content). Still, many of us can have trouble striking that match. All too often, our students’ attitudes can feel dampened by apathy or outside distractions.
Building the blaze …Read More