School officials in districts across the country are moving to three-day weekends in order to battle budget constraints, U.S. News reports. Nearly 300 districts operated on a four-day school week last year, with several additional districts making the move this year, and more contemplating the move for 2013. Cutting an instruction day allows schools to trim transportation, janitorial, and utility costs. The Chattooga County School District in Georgia, for instance, reported annual savings of nearly $800,000 after switching to a four-day school week in 2010. But the shorter week requires students to power through longer days when they are in school in order to meet minimum class time requirements set by states. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has spoken out against four-day weeks, and school boards in several states have shot down attempts in their districts to move to shorter school weeks…
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Learn how to recognize and help depressed students
One fifth of females between the ages of 14 and 17 reported feeling severely depressed at some point, according to a recent Department of Education report, and there are many factors of high school life that can lead to such feelings. Teachers, who often see these factors firsthand in classrooms and hallways, should know how to interpret the signs of their students’ depression, U.S. News reports. The Department of Education report shows that 21 percent of high school females reported having a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) at one point in their lifetime, which it defines as a “period of at least two weeks when a person experiences a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities, plus at least four additional symptoms of depression (such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and feelings of self-worth.)” Only 10 percent of males in the same age bracket, the report states, have experienced one of these episodes…
…Read MoreTeachers publish their own textbooks
When David Rockwood, a teacher at Payson High School in Utah, decided to combine two of his areas of expertise–athletics and psychology–into a new course, he ran into one major roadblock: There were no sports psychology textbooks targeted to a high school audience, U.S. News reports. So, he decided to write one himself. Rockwood is reportedly one of a handful of high school teachers nationwide who have written textbooks for their classrooms. There are many reasons a teacher might write a textbook: for niche courses, such as sports psychology, for which a suitable book doesn’t exist; to self-publish supplementary material for a class; or because sudden curriculum changes can put widely used textbooks out of date. In Marietta, Ga., for instance, Laura Speer wrote a textbook that aligned with new math standards the state implemented that combined algebra, geometry, and statistics topics into one course. Textbook manufacturers decided it was too expensive to produce books specifically for schools in the state, so she took matters into her own hands…
…Read MoreTeachers use cell phones in the classroom
You won’t find Willyn Webb telling her high school students to put away their cell phones, even though they are technically banned in her Colorado district, U.S. News reports. She’s been using cell phones to augment her lessons at Delta County Opportunity School for years. It all started when she forgot a stopwatch to time a student’s speech, and another student whipped out a cell phone and used its built-in timer. From there, Webb kept finding new uses for basic text-enabled cell phones. She now uses phones to poll students in class and send homework reminder text messages to students and parents. Students also use a Google text-messaging service that allows them to look up a variety of facts…
…Read MoreStudents compete to design better lunches
Instead of pizza and hotdogs, high school students in six U.S. cities are trying to serve up healthier lunch options to their classmates as part of a national cooking contest, U.S News reports. Students in public high schools with vocational culinary programs in Chicago; Denver; Jacksonville, Fla.; St. Louis; Washington, D.C.; and Winston-Salem, N.C., will compete to make the tastiest, healthiest lunch to serve their peers in the Cooking Up Change contest. The catch? The six-person teams can only spend about $1 per lunch and must order food from their school system’s food supplier…
…Read More5 new ways colleges are reaching high school students
Each fall, the recruiting season seems to be the same process for colleges and universities: Send recruitment mailers to prospective students who signed up online or at college fairs to receive information and wait for them to arrive on campus for the standard tour and Q&A session, U.S. News reports. While discussions about rejuvenating the recruitment strategy presumably take place in admissions offices annually, the threat of declining applications due to a new campaign that flops may be serving as a roadblock to innovation. Still, there are some colleges and universities that are breathing new life into the recruiting process in order to supplement–or buck–the traditions. Here are five examples of schools using social media and technology to connect with prospective college students…
…Read MoreRankings: America’s best high schools for math and science
U.S. News and World Report, known for its annual rankings of America’s top colleges and high schools, released today its first-ever list of “Best High Schools for Math and Science,” the Huffington Post reports. Topping the list from first to third place: High Technology High School in Lincroft, N.J., BASIS Tucson in Tucson, Ariz. and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va…
…Read MoreMaryland to require environmental literacy for graduation
On June 21, Maryland became the first state to require high school students to learn about the environment in order to graduate, U.S. News report. Now, U.S. senators are trying to get a similar measure passed nationally. The bill has the support of more than 1,900 organizations, including businesses, nonprofits, and environmental groups. The No Child Left Inside Coalition says environmental education “promotes higher order thinking skills” and is correlated with higher test scores…
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