News Items
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County will be honoring Carol West (New York State Parental Information and Resource Center, Project Director) on November 10, 2011 for her retirement after 37 years of service. We hope you can join us for this celebration. Please feel free to share with other community members who may want to attend. We are creating a memory book for Carol. If you cannot attend, but have a story to share, please send it to us. For more information click here.
New detailed College and Career Guide for Students and Families has been prepared by Deanna Lothrop, PIRC School Coordinator through funds from Syracuse University-Office of Supportive Services in the School of Education. Syracuse University partnered with the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and the New York State Parental Information and Resource Center (NYSPIRC) to provide the College Access Challenge Grant to ensure students and their families are supported in the process of identifying, applying to and preparing for college. Click here to download booklet.
Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Educators to Engage Families for Student AchievementHarvard Family Research Project and the National PTA® have teamed up to bring you the third brief in their ground-breaking series about family engagement policy, highlighting the need for teacher education programs to prepare teachers to better work with families.
To be effective, teachers must be prepared to collaborate with families to support student success. When teachers understand families and communicate and build relationships with them, students benefit. Many studies confirm that strong parent–teacher relationships relate to positive student outcomes for students, such as healthy social development, high student achievement, and high rates of college enrollment. Thus, by giving teachers the support they need to work with families, teacher education programs can have an even greater impact on student achievement. To read more click here.
PARENTS WANTED for COMMUNITY EDUCATION COUNCIL in New York City (NYC)
APPLY NOW TO RUN FOR AN OPEN SEAT ON YOUR COMMUNITY OR CITYWIDE EDUCATION COUNCIL!
TO SELF NOMINATE, LOG ON TO:
http://www.powertotheparents.org/
Why Should Schools Address Bullying?
Bullying is intentional, aggressive behavior that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting, kicking, threatening, teasing, name-calling, excluding from a group, or sending mean notes or e-mails. A child who is being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. Often, children are bullied not just once or twice, but over and over again. (Oleos, 1993; Roland, 1989; Smith & Sharp, 1994).
One third of teens report being bullied at school. Most bullying occurs inside the school, with fewer bullying incidents occurring outside on school grounds, on the school bus, or on the way to school.
In New York State, the recently passed “Dignity for All Students Act” (effective July 1, 2012), requires school districts to provide staff training and designate one person in each school who will be specially trained to deal with bullying issues. Districts must also revise their codes of conduct and adopt policies “intended to create a school environment free from harassment and discrimination.”
To read more about why schools need to address bullying; action steps to reduce bullying and cyber-bullying; and additional anti-bullying resources see our new Technical Guides on this important topic.
Myths and Misunderstandings About Bullying
Kindergarten Transition Activities and Screenings for 2011 in Jefferson County
Parents can check out the scheduled time and date of upcoming Kindergarten screenings for their school district as well as the contact person, website, phone number, and address.
Guidebook for Parents on Facebook
This is a guidebook for parents designed for them to help understand what Facebook is and how to use it safely. They will be better informed and able to communicate with young Facebook users in their life.
Beyond Random Acts: Family, School, and Community Engagement as an Integral Part Education Reform
Beyond Random Acts provides a research-based framing of family engagement; examines the policy levers that can drive change in promoting systemic family, school, and community engagement; and focuses on data systems as a powerful tool to engage families for twenty-first century student learning. Because education reform will succeed only when all students are prepared for the demands of the twenty-first century, the paper also examines the role of families in transforming low-performing schools.�
Breaking New Ground:Data Systems Transform Family Engagement in Education
Harvard Family Research Project and the National PTA® have teamed up to bring you the second issue in our series of ground-breaking policy briefs. While the first brief, Seeing is Believing, looked at a variety of innovative practices to promote family engagement, Breaking New Ground: Data Systems Transform Family Engagement in Education narrows its focus to highlight sharing student data as a way to engage families and improve parent–teacher communication.
This brief describes how investments in student data systems are taking family engagement and student achievement to a whole new level. In addition to addressing areas where a student most needs improvement, the data can serve as a catalyst for home–school communication. Parents benefit from having information about key indicators on which they can have an impact, like student attendance, growth in learning, and achievement. The information opens the door for meaningful conversations with teachers and students so that parents can make informed decisions and take action to improve performance, school climate, graduation rates, and other important issues that affect their child’s success.
Cyberbullying-what can we do?
The Cyberbullying Research Center is dedicated to providing up-to-date information about the nature, extent, causes, and consequences of cyberbullying among adolescents. Cyberbullying can be defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.”
Child Rearing Practices:A scientific analysis ranks the 10 most effective child-rearing practices.
Definition of Family Engagement:Family Engagement Systematic, Sustained, and Integrated Strategy to Promote Student Achievement from the Harvard Family Research Project
Military Family Resources:
Parental Involvment:
Schools Working to Increase Parental Involvement (30 minute NPR podcast)
Research overwhelmingly shows that parental involvement in a child’s education improves academic performance. But there are a lot of reasons why parents keep their distance — including cultural and class divisions. Guests discuss strategies to get parents more involved in their kids’ schooling.
-Ten Tips For a Successful School Year
-Parental Involvement Podcast – aired July 22, 2010 Nevada NPR radio slide presentation
-Transforming Schools through Family, School, and Community Engagement -Race to the Top Fund: Final Rule for the US Department of Education