Are there too many layers of governance in public education? That question has been on my mind since I watched a panel discussion earlier this week titled “Are Local School Boards Vital in 21st Century America?” at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Washington, D.C.
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Articles tagged with NSBA
NSBA’s winter conference is underway
The National School Boards Association hosts a number of training and networking opportunities throughout the year and among the biggest is the winter conference in the heart of Washington D.C., which kicks off today and runs through Tuesday. The editors of ASBJ will be on hand, reporting on the most pressing issues in education and federal policy. To follow our coverage visit School Board News Today.
Student bullying remains a pervasive problem, whether in school or online
News stories about teen suicide are always the toughest to readthere’s always an overwhelming sense that something or someone could have prevented such a tragedy. Last week, two particularly troubling cases made national headlines.
You probably heard about the firsta high school freshman in Massachusetts committed suicide in January after being bullied relentlessly after what news reports say was a brief relationship with a boy at her school. According to those reports, numerous students are now charged with crimes ranging from civil rights violations and stalking to statutory rape, and the community is questioning what school officials knew and when, and why they didn’t stop the harassment.
Then there was another incident in New York, where afterward anonymous persons posted derogatory comments on a social networking site about a teen who had committed suicide.
In these types of cases, parents and community members want answers from the school officials.
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Words of wisdom from education association’s top brass
Question and Answer pieces, or Q&A’s as we call them in the industry, are one of my favorite type of articles to write. It’s essentially a profile of someone whose thoughts, deeds, or mere persona we deem interesting, so right off, it’s an intriguing assignment.
Though to be honest, when you get the opportunity to delve into a person’s life or passions, you find that just about everyone is interesting in their own way.
I find this process of discovery to be the other reason I like Q&A’s so much; the ebb and flow of conversation is essential in flushing out the tiny details and little known factoids that make the final product so rich.
And while I think the final product of my Q&A with two of education’s heavy hitters was a rich and insightful look at the future of school leadership and governance, I got none of those above perks.
Though, let me be clear, it was through no fault of my subjects, NSBA Executive Director Anne Bryant and AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech. I can tell you, firsthand, both of them are fascinating people— and I’m not just saying that because one of them is my boss.
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Playtime, a crucial key to fighting childhood obesity
A cowbell — that’s what my mother used to call us to dinner after an afternoon (and, sometimes, early evening) of play. Bent, rusted, big, and loud, it rang from the back stoop, beckoning my brothers and me from the backyard or from an even more wild and wonderful place behind our house: a place we called, simply, “The Lot.”
The Lot was a weedy ..well, a weedy mess, really. It was the drain field for the subdivision behind us. And I’m sure it was filled with ticks and chiggers and poison ivy and snakes. And, of course, we loved it. We played baseball there in the summer, and when it rained a great deal, as it tended to do sometimes in St. Louis, The Lot would fill up with water and become a lake. (Probably a dirty, germ-laden, storm sewer of a lake, but a “lake,” nonetheless.)
I thought about “The Lot” today as I read a news release from the Alliance for Children on the importance of free play — both at home and at school — and its central role in fighting a childhood obesity epidemic that has become a cause célèbre for Michelle Obama and many advocacy groups, including NSBA.
“We’re delighted that Michelle Obama has taken up this issue as her major focus as First Lady,” said Joan Almon, the Alliance’s executive director. “Efforts to reverse the obesity epidemic have until now focused almost entirely on nutrition and physical activity with disappointing results. The missing ingredient in this recipe is play — good, old-fashioned, child-initiated play, the kind that used to keep children moving and active for hours each day.”
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Not Black and White
NSBA and the College Board have released a report spotlighting the Court’s most recent decisions and what they mean to schools as they try to decipher how to forge ahead while maintaining high quality education for all students. This report, titled “Not Black and White: Making Sense of the United States Supreme Court Decisions Regarding Race-Conscious Student Assignment Plans,” will be showcased at NSBA’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) Annual Conference in Atlanta this weekend. The report explains the Court’s decision and its impact on race-conscious policies and practices districts may currently have in place. It also discusses how best to pursue diversity-related educational goals, as well as how to manage the associated legal risks in the future.
The Supreme Court rulings earlier this year are a topic of discussion as school systems across the country strive to answer the question, “What does this mean for us?” The topic is not new to BoardBuzz, we covered the issue here and here.
When the news hit back in June, media coverage on the Court’s decision was widespread and NSBA’s General Counsel, Francisco Negron told ABC News, “We have our work cut out for us, but I think it’s a task that school boards all over the country are up to.”
For more information on NSBA and the College Board’s latest publication view the press release and for answers to your FAQ, click here.
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