http://www.naset.org/ NASET News Alerts en http://www.naset.org/fileadmin/tt_news_article.gif http://www.naset.org/ NASET News Alerts TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:39:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2487&cHash=8d153b2a33 There isn't a lot of research that links early childhood test scores to earnings as an adult. But new research reveals a surprising finding: Students who learn more in kindergarten earn more as adults. They are also more successful overall. Harvard University economist John Friedman says he and a group of colleagues found that students who progress during their kindergarten year from attaining an average score on the Stanford Achievement Test to attaining a score in the 60th percentile can expect to make about $1,000 more a year at age 27 than students whose scores remain average. Taking into account all variation across kindergarten classes, including class size, individuals who learn more--as measured by an above-average score on the Stanford Achievement Test--and are in smaller classes earn about $2,000 more per year at age 27. To read more, click here Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:39:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2486&cHash=13f9fed221 Federal authorities are encouraging school districts to spend education stimulus money to save jobs and blunt the effects of statewide budget cuts, but districts have been slow to draw their share of the funds."We really hope that you'll do your best to see how these funds can help alleviate the layoffs and budget crises that your districts or states are facing," Maura Policelli, a senior adviser with the U.S. Department of Education, said in an online seminar, or webinar, last month. "That does require some courage, and it does involve the possible risk of investing in staff that you may not be able to retain in the 2011-12 school year," she said. Districts across the nation have been slow to tap stimulus money that is targeted for specific programs - particularly the money intended to bolster programs for students with disabilities or those who come from low-income households. To read more, click here Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:42:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2485&cHash=445b6dbbc9 A short delay in school start time appears to be associated with significant improvements in adolescent alertness, mood and health, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Beginning at the onset of puberty, adolescents develop as much as a two-hour sleep-wake phase delay (later sleep onset and wake times) relative to sleep-wake cycles in middle childhood," the authors write as background to the study. The study also notes that, "adolescent sleep needs do not decrease dramatically, and optimal sleep amounts remain about nine to 9 1/4 hours per night." Judith A. Owens, M.D., M.P.H., of the Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, and colleagues, studied 201 students in grades 9 through 12 attending an independent high school in Rhode Island. For the purposes of the study, class start time was delayed 30 minutes, from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Additionally, students were required to complete the online retrospective Sleep Habits Survey before and after the change in school start time. To read more, click here Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:35:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2483&cHash=d36561cdf9 In the summer of 2007, a student with an intellectual disorder arrived at her adult transition class, ready to be assessed for possible placement in a work program. However, half-way through the assessment she suddenly became lethargic and nonresponsive. Then, without warning, she passed out, nearly collapsing to the floor before the examiner caught her fall. The incident startled the special education providers and other students who were in the room. Luckily, the examiner - who had knowledge that the girl suffered from various conditions such as fainting and seizures - knew how to aid her during this moment while another teacher in the classroom called 911. While this incident was sudden and dramatic, it is not uncommon, especially for those who work with students with special needs. This incident also reveals the need for teachers, parents, and other special education providers the need to ensure a student's safety and well-being. To read more, click here Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:43:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2477&cHash=ac9b4e9d95 Epileptic activity in the brain can affect language development in children, and EEG registrations should therefore be carried out more frequently on children with severe language impairment to identify more readily those who may need medical treatment, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg. The thesis studied 60 children of varying ages, divided into groups. The first group comprised children with language dysfunction, for example children with slow speech development who find it difficult to express themselves or who have an inadequate langugage comprehension. To read more, click here Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:19:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2475&cHash=3765f43481 ADHD may be caused by alterations in the serotonin neurotransmission system combined with a tendency to experience psychosocial distress. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions found that ADHD behaviors in children and adolescents were associated with interactions between low and high serotonin activity and self-blame in relation to inter-parental conflict. To read more, click here Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:09:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2470&cHash=8734e36a89 WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama announced that on Monday, his administration will send to Congress the blueprint for an updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act that will overhaul No Child Left Behind. The plan will set the ambitious goal of ensuring that all students graduate from high school prepared for college and a career, and it will provide states, districts and schools with the flexibility and resources to reach that goal. The audio and video is available online at www.whitehouse.gov . Remarks of President Barack Obama "Lost in the news of the week was a headline that ought to be a source of concern for every American. It said, “Many Nations Passing U.S. in Education.” Now, debates in Washington tend to be consumed with the politics of the moment: who’s up in the daily polls; whose party stands to gain in November. But what matters to you – what matters to our country – is not what happens in the next election, but what we do to lift up the next generation. And the fact is, there are few issues that speak more directly to our long term success as a nation than issues concerning the education we provide to our children. Our prosperity in the 20th century was fueled by an education system that helped grow the middle class and unleash the talents of our people more fully and widely than at any time in our history. We built schools and focused on the teaching of math and science. We helped a generation of veterans go to college through the GI Bill. We led the globe in producing college graduates, and in turn we led in producing ground-breaking technologies and scientific discoveries that lifted living standards and set us apart as the world’s engine of innovation. Of course, other nations recognize this, and are looking to gain an edge in the global marketplace by investing in better schools, supporting teachers, and committing to clear standards that will produce graduates with more skills. Our competitors understand that the nation that out-educates us today will out-compete us tomorrow. Yet, too often we have failed to make inroads in reforming and strengthening our public education system – the debate mired in worn arguments hurled across entrenched divides. As a result, over the last few decades, we’ve lost ground. One assessment shows American fifteen year olds no longer even near the top in math and science when compared to their peers around the world. As referenced in the news report I mentioned, we’ve now fallen behind most wealthy countries in our high school graduation rates. And while we once led the world in the proportion of college graduates we produced, today we no longer do. Not only does that risk our leadership as a nation, it consigns millions of Americans to a lesser future. For we know that the level of education a person attains is increasingly a prerequisite for success and a predictor of the income that person will earn throughout his or her life. Beyond the economic statistics is a less tangible but no less painful reality: unless we take action – unless we step up – there are countless children who will never realize their full talent and potential. I don’t accept that future for them. And I don’t accept that future for the United States of America. That’s why we’re engaged in a historic effort to redeem and improve our public schools: to raise the expectations for our students and for ourselves, to recognize and reward excellence, to improve performance in troubled schools, and to give our kids and our country the best chance to succeed in a changing world. Under the leadership of an outstanding Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, we launched a Race to the Top, through which states compete for funding by committing to reform and raising standards, by rewarding good teaching, by supporting the development of better assessments to measure results, and by emphasizing math and science to help prepare children for college and careers. And on Monday, my administration will send to Congress our blueprint for an updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act to overhaul No Child Left Behind. What this plan recognizes is that while the federal government can play a leading role in encouraging the reforms and high standards we need, the impetus for that change will come from states, and from local schools and school districts. So, yes, we set a high bar – but we also provide educators the flexibility to reach it. Under these guidelines, schools that achieve excellence or show real progress will be rewarded, and local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down. For the majority of schools that fall in between – schools that do well but could do better – we will encourage continuous improvement to help keep our young people on track for a bright future: prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. And because the most important factor in a child’s success is the person standing at the front of the classroom, we will better prepare teachers, support teachers, and encourage teachers to stay in the field. In short, we’ll treat the people who educate our sons and daughters like the professionals they are. Through this plan we are setting an ambitious goal: all students should graduate from high school prepared for college and a career – no matter who you are or where you come from. Achieving this goal will be difficult. It will take time. And it will require the skills, talents, and dedication of many: principals, teachers, parents, students. But this effort is essential for our children and for our country. And while there will always be those cynics who claim it can’t be done, at our best, we know that America has always risen to the challenges that we’ve faced. This challenge is no different. As a nation, we are engaged in many important endeavors: improving the economy, reforming the health care system, encouraging innovation in energy and other growth industries of the 21st century. But our success in these efforts – and our success in the future as a people – will ultimately depend on what happens long before an entrepreneur opens his doors, or a nurse walks the rounds, or a scientist steps into her laboratory. Our future is determined each and every day, when our children enter the classroom, ready to learn and brimming with promise. It’s that promise we must help them fulfill. Thank you." Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:39:00 -0500 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2469&cHash=5c8732b6cc Right now, the state of Illinois owes tens of millions of dollars to school districts across the QCA, something local educators are saying is making it hard to provide kids with the education they deserve. On Saturday, those teachers met with Rep. Phil Hare to plead their case for federal funding and major changes to No Child Left Behind. "I think it's really in a crisis situation and it needs to be addressed," says Rowva High School teacher Chris Campagna. Teachers say their districts are reaching a breaking point when it comes to funding. The state of Illinois owes districts across our area millions of dollars. Without that money, superintendents say they're going to have to make some painful changes. To read more, click here Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:11:00 -0600 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2468&cHash=020c5b99ae Thirteen-pound babies may make headlines, but they aren't the norm. In fact, U.S. infants are getting smaller, according to researchers at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute's Department of Population Medicine, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Their findings, published in the February 2010 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, suggest that birth weights in this country have declined during the past 15 years. The study analyzed data on birth weight, maternal and neonatal characteristics, obstetric care and other trends from the National Center for Health Statistics Natality Data Sets, looking at 36,827,828 U.S. babies born at full-term between 1990 and 2005. Birth weight -- a combination of fetal growth and length of gestation -- was recorded in grams. The investigators teased out certain factors, including the mothers' age, race or ethnicity, education level, marital status and tobacco use, as well as the amount of weight the women gained during pregnancy and how early in pregnancy they received prenatal care. They also considered the women's risk of conditions like hypertension and use of obstetric procedures such as induction of labor and cesarean delivery. To read more, click here Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:14:00 -0600 http://www.naset.org/807.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2467&cHash=86d1f907a5 The research suggests that while it is still rare to prescribe powerful psychiatric drugs to 2-year-olds, the practice is becoming more frequent. The data, compiled from 2000 to 2007, and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, could inform testimony at the upcoming Boston-area murder trials of the parents of 4-year-old Rebecca Riley. The girl died of an overdose of mood-stabilizing medication in 2006. A Boston child psychiatrist, Kayoko Kifuji, diagnosed Riley with bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when she was 30 months old, and placed her on several powerful drugs: Depakote, an antiseizure medication also used for bipolar disorder, and clonidine, a blood pressure medication. To read more, click here Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:45:00 -0600