Here are some interesting articles we received and discovered this past week…
ENJOY!
Schools Add Laundromats To Battle Student Absenteeism
Quote from Article:
At schools around the country, officials are tackling student absenteeism by focusing on a non-educational problem: a lack of access to laundry facilities.
At West Side High School in Newark, New Jersey Principal Akbar Cook says a lack of clean clothing was a big reason 85 percent of students at the school were absent between three to five days a month.
“They were being bullied and it wasn’t just in the building, it was on Snapchat — I’m sitting behind you and take a picture of your collar ‘look at this dirty guy,'” Cook told WCBS reporter Lisa Rozner. “So you go home and you couldn’t even escape it if you were on social media.”
A lack of laundry equipment at students’ homes and their parents’ long work hours contribute to the problem.
“I’ve seen kids in the back of the class talk about kids in the front of the class and how they smell and how their clothes look dirty,” student Nasirr Cameron explained to WCBS.
And…
About 90 percent of tracked students improved their attendance by six additional days compared with the prior year in two school districts where Whirlpool installed laundry machines. The company, which has since expanded the program to 10 districts, found that “high risk” students increased their attendance from 82 percent to 91 percent during the term.
District Deeds Synopsis:
A fascinating article about a creative solution for absenteeism.
According to a Press Release by The Whirlpool Corporation… Care Counts™ School Laundry Program Exposes Link Between Clean Clothes and Attendance …
“Every single day of school matters. When students miss school, they are missing an opportunity to learn,” said Martha Lacy, principal, David Weir K-8 Academy. “Absenteeism strongly impacts a student’s academic performance. In fact, students with excessive absence rates are more likely to fall behind, graduate late and even drop out.”
Students in the pilot program improved more than just attendance rates. Teachers surveyed saw that:
- 95% of participants showed increased motivation in class
- 95% of participants were more likely to participate in extracurricular activities
- 95% of participants interacted with peers and enjoyed school more
- 89% of participants got good grades
A perfect example of a creative partnership between smart School District leadership and a corporate partner to benefit the neediest Students and their families.
District Deeds is sure that there are many San Diego based corporate partners that would jump at the chance to partner with the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) on a similar program.
Unfortunately all SDUSD Stakeholders are lacking is a smart and creative Superintendent and Board of Education.
14 Percent of Your Students Have an Actual Plan to Commit Suicide
Quote from Article:
Fourteen percent of your students have a suicide plan. Thirty-one percent report suicidal thoughts, but 14 percent of them actually have a plan. One in 10 female students report being forced to have sex. For males, it’s 1 in 28.
These numbers are all trending in the wrong direction. And they are bleak. They make your heart hurt and your chest tighten.
IN A CLASS OF 30 OR SO KIDS, 10 HAVE THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE AND FOUR HAVE AN ACTUAL PLAN.Teachers, just think about your class. In a class of 30 or so kids, 10 have thoughts of suicide and four have an actual plan. One or two of the young women have been raped—and it’s 50-50 that a young man has.
Here is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Study: CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey – 2007 – 2017
District Deeds Synopsis:
A sobering article that brought the CDC Study down to the individual classroom level.
Four kids in a class of 30 with an actual plan for suicide…shocking!
We followed a link to a New York Times article titled “Sex and Drugs Decline Among Teens, but Depression and Suicidal Thought Grow”that covered even more of the study:
“The numbers of teenagers reporting “feelings of sadness or hopelessness,” suicidal thoughts, and days absent from school out of fear of violence or bullying have all risen since 2007. The increases were particularly pointed among lesbian, gay and bisexual high school students.
Nationally, 1 in 5 students reported being bullied at school; 1 in 10 female students and 1 in 28 male students reported having been physically forced to have sex.”
“1 in 5 students reported being bullied in school”…WOW!!!
That means that there could be over TWENTY THOUSAND SDUSD Students that have been bullied at school in person or via social media.
We hope that posting this article and study helps SDUSD Stakeholders to better understand the risks our kids face on an every day basis and to keep us vigilant in making sure we hold district leadership accountable to keep ALL our SDUSD schools safe.
The Best Educational YouTube Channels For Kids
Quote from Article:
I’ve long had a complicated relationship with screen time for my young sons, but have come to see its benefits, especially if the focus is on quality over quantity. This has inspired me to publish lists of my favorite TV shows for young kids and for families; a compilation of educational videos; and a list of recommended apps. Now for the next frontier: YouTube. My ten-year-old LOVES “Geography Now!” and “Extra History,” from which he’s learned at least ten times more social studies than he has from Montgomery County Public Schools. It feels like a miracle that there’s such good content being produced, and makes me wonder what else we should be sampling.
To that end, I had our Fordham Institute research interns take a spin around the yonders of YouTube, and I asked for help from our readers. Many thanks to those of you who responded.
District Deeds Synopsis:
This was a fun article to read and fun to explore the recommended YouTube channels.
The author’s 10-year-old son was right…“Geography Now!” is great!
Here is one of our favorites….FIJI!
Good stuff!
Now for our Quote of the Week:
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” –
Have a great week!!!
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Please Click the Link Below and sign the Petition Today and READ the COMMENTS to Support the REMOVAL of Marten by SDUSD Stakeholders!
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