Just saw this video on the Washington Post’s Answer Sheet. The post encourages people to “watch video and think about the nightmare it is for many kids with disabilities to take standardized tests.”
The video’s creator, Meredith Gavin made the video as a “commentary on the curriculum chosen to be taught with new Common Core NYS Standards, Race to the Top and a class size of 27 3rd graders.”
Memorial Day, and the long weekend associated with it, is much more than a reminder of summer’s impending arrival. This holiday honors the memories of those we have lost, particularly those who have served our country.
For area schools, it’s a poignant teachable moment.
A few weeks before Memorial Day on a Saturday, a group of O’Rourke middle school students, from the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District (BH-BL), goes to several local cemeteries in the town of Charlton to put fresh American flags on the graves of veterans buried there. This project is coordinated by middle school social studies teachers and the town of Charlton historian. Aside from honoring veterans, it is a cool opportunity for middle schoolers to see local history in action — kids look for the oldest gravestone in the cemetery and learn about region’s earliest settlers. They remove the old weathered flags from the year before and put out fresh ones using the town historian’s list.
Also in BH-BL, the high school Student Government Organization (SGO) holds a Memorial Day ceremony each year in Freedom Circle — a grassy circle right in front of the school where several memorial stones honor deceased BH-BL graduates who served in the military. A number of local veterans attend in uniform, and the entire senior class comes outside to stand and witness the ceremony. (Other classes watch and listen indoors from their homerooms via a video link.) The high school band plays several tunes.
Niskayuna High School honors American service members who sacrificed their lives for their country, including three of its own graduates killed in Vietnam, at its annual Memorial Day ceremony on Friday, May 24. The event takes place each year at the flag pole in front of the school, and brings three or more generations together, including students. The ceremony is a tribute to the three Niskayuna graduates who were killed in action in the Vietnam War. It is held in conjunction with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9132 Lt. Vernon F. Hovey III Post in Niskayuna.
The ceremony also honors the Niskayuna High School seniors who plan to enter military service upon graduation. Nine members of the Class of 2013 plan to enter the armed forces after high school. In keeping with recent tradition, Principal John Rickert will read the names of Niskayuna High School graduates who have served in the armed forces since September 11, 2001. This is the 21st year of this Niskayuna High School tradition.
And check out students from Forest Park in South Colonie, who created “Hero Bags” for for our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How does your local school commemorate Memorial Day?
As we did last year, we’re going to get all David Letterman on you and present our:
10. It’s a great opportunity to teach your children about civic responsibility, AND a good chance to practice for November.
9. So you can cancel out someone else’s vote. Whether it’s your spouse, your boss or that buddy you refuse to talk politics with, you probably know someone else who is going to vote the opposite of you — but you can even the score in the voting booth.
8. Because if you vote and a friend or neighbor doesn’t, you can tease him or her about it forever.
7. Because Election Day is the one day each year when every resident is equal. Your vote has the same impact as anyone else’s.
6. Because elections are often decided by only a few votes.
5. Because we will live with the consequences. Whether you agree with the decisions made by your district’s Board of Education in the final budget or not will be moot if you don’t exercise your right to vote.
4. Because they are our children and our future. The people we elect, the budget we accept or reject: these will both have far-reaching impacts. Be sure your opinion counts by voting.
3. Because in the case of low voter turnout, a minority of the residents can determine an entire district’s future.
2. Because you’ll be really steamed if you forget to vote, then wake up Wednesday morning to find the result isn’t what you wanted.
1. So YOU can decide. Why let other people decide what is best for you when you have a voice? Your vote is your voice. Don’t silence it…vote!
And our BONUS reason to vote: “I VOTED” makes a great Facebook status or Tweet!
Today we’re talking about why everyone should make it a priority to get to the polls and cast their ballot tomorrow.
First of all, are you planning to vote tomorrow? take our poll and let us know!
Voter turn-out for school budget votes has historically been extremely low, unless there is a hotly contested school board election or some other form of drama surrounding the school’s budget that year. We think this is a real shame. People often complain about the high taxes we pay here in New York, but then they neglect the opportunity to get involved in the budget process of the one taxing entity that they have a say in.
Many schools have a proven track record of making a concerted effort to involve the community in their budget process. And every district in the state is required by law to hold a public hearing on the budget in the weeks before the vote. Opportunities are there for everyone to get involved in what is happening in their local school district, even if their only action is to head to the polls tomorrow and pull a lever.
If we’ve convinced you to vote, go Google your school district and do some research. Find out what time the polls are open and read up on what the district is proposing. How will it impact kids and your community?
However you vote, we thank you.
U.S. News & World Report has published the 2013 Best High Schools rankings.
The Best High Schools rankings, which are available online only, are produced in conjunction with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world. The report includes detailed information on more than 21,000 public high schools, including school-specific data on enrollment, ethnicity, location, school type and results of state assessment proficiency tests and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests. Using some of this data and a comprehensive methodology, the schools were given a college readiness index score, with the top scoring 4,805 schools receiving a gold, silver or bronze medal and – in the case of gold and silver schools – a numerical ranking.
With the start of state testing last week, there has been a lot of discussion of the new Common Core standards. In an editorial “Moving Ahead With Common Core,” the New York Times came out in support of the new standards.
Here’s an interesting analysis from Education Week’s Curriculum Matters blog.
What do you think of the Common Core standards? Have you noticed a change in your child’s homework as the new standards are being implemented?
In an effort to put a positive spin on the new state exams, a group of middle school math teachers from the Schalmont Central School District challenged their students to complete a special project they titled “Let’s Get Ready to ‘Rock’ the Test!”
What resulted was a variety of student-created poems, songs and videos about the state’s new math curriculum and various test-taking tips.
Read more about these students’ creativity in preparing for the state exams.
Have a story you think would make for a great Stories From Our Schools feature? Drop us a line at edspeaks@neric.org.
Following along with our testing theme from yesterday about new upcoming New York State standardized testing that will be given in schools this month, check out this group of elementary children who are going in with the right attitude!
This a guest post from Dr. Teresa Thayer Snyder, Superintendent of the Voorheesville Central School District. It was originally published on the Superintendent’s page of the district’s website.
As we enter the final quarter of the school year, we are also entering the testing marathon. Over the next ten weeks students will be taking NYS exams in ELA, Math, and Science, in grades three through eight. Older students will be taking AP exams and Regents exams. In addition to these high stakes tests, students at all levels will be taking post-tests in every subject area to fulfill the Student Learning Objectives required to demonstrate growth for the purposes of teacher evaluation.
I am posting this in order to articulate as clearly as I can that this is not sound practice for school children—it is politically driven, not educationally driven. It is an inordinate time commitment when classroom time is so precious. A much wiser thinker than I once said, “Children do not get heavier because you weigh them.” I think that sage comment applies in this era of test mania. Children do not become smarter because you test them. Children become smarter by their daily interactions with content, curriculum, and caring educators.
We know that there are so many factors that affect our students’ performance at any given moment. If you do an internet search on how to improve standardized test scores, you will note that there are thousands of tips—rarely any of them related to teaching and learning. Everything from eating bananas, to taking a nap, to listening to classical music, to cooler room temperatures, to petting your puppy seems to be included in tips to improve scores. Those of us who have been around the block a few times will tell you that a youngster’s outcomes on any test can be affected by whether the sun is shining, or whether a child had a decent breakfast, or an argument on the bus. I read a letter from a teacher in another district last June who lamented that her students who were sitting for the 9:00 a.m. Regents English exam had been out at a rock concert the night before and some had not slept more than a couple of hours. Sleep is associated with better outcomes! Again, these deviations in outcomes are related to factors extrinsic to the interactions in the classroom.
We will, of course, be administering all of these required exams because we are good soldiers, but I feel compelled to also take on the role of the “Loyal Opposition.” I have worked in this field for so long and with so many children (each as unique as their thumbprints) that I simply cannot pretend that compliance with the requirements is good educational practice for the youngsters in my care. I have spoken my piece in every forum available to me. I ask parents and teachers to put these long Spring days of testing in perspective. Not one bubble sheet will define the capacity of our children to become what they choose for themselves in the future.
All this being said, please know that teachers assess all the time. We deal with a dynamic population. Whether I assess a child’s grasp of one to one correspondence by observing them counting out manipulatives in the primary grades, or whether I assess an older student’s comprehension of complex text by interacting with them verbally or in writing, it is my job as an educator to assess and address understanding and deficits. Assessment is rigorous and complex—it is too important to simply be reduced to a bubble sheet. Let’s confirm to the students that teaching and learning are about time and space. We will work hard on our end to support the students in their diligent work of compliance with this quarter’s expectations—and take some time to watch Spring unfold.
Blue Creek Elementary (North Colonie Central School District) third graders recently spent a morning handing out bags of pajamas and books to children at Parsons Early Head Start in Schenectady, concluding a school-wide learning project that began in September.
Parsons had a need for pajamas and books for age infant through five, as they are helping families with young children learn the importance of reading with their child from a very early age.
Parsons is the largest multi-services agency in New York’s Capital Region dedicated to helping families and their children. The agency provides counseling services, parenting education, child abuse/neglect prevention and treatment, family strengthening programs, early childhood family support, special education, youth development programs, and mental health services.
Learn more about how Blue Creek students helped out (Story originally ran in Colonie Spotlight)
Have a story you think would make for a great Stories From Our Schools feature? Drop us a line at edspeaks@neric.org.