Many U.S. school districts unprepared for infectious disease outbreaks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed school districts across the United States to determine if they had comprehensive plans in place to respond to natural disasters.
Philly Voice, Aug. 9, 2018
Full story Researchers: Social media may reveal how to engage students

Teens' social networks may reveal how their brains work, according to studies by University of Pennsylvania neuroscience researchers. In this commentary, Emily Falk director of the Penn Communication Neuroscience Lab, and Michael Platt, director of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, note that by better understanding how students make connections, they can learn more about how to engage students.

Scientific American online (7/9) 

Inside the $3 Billion School Security Industry: Companies Market Sophisticated Technology to ‘Harden’ Campuses, but Will It Make Us Safe?

August 9, 2018 by MARK KEIERLEBER

The 74 Inside an underground meeting room attached to the U.S. Capitol, past guards and metal detectors, lawmakers and officials from leading security companies discussed a burgeoning threat of mass school shootings and the dire need to “harden” campuses before someone else gets killed. “If you think this cannot happen to you, I’m here to tell you I used to think the same exact thing,” said Noel Glacer, a Florida-based security professional. The message — belied by the statistical rarity of school shootings — was part cautionary tale, part call to action. Glacer is no dispassionate observer. In February, his son, Jake, was in a psychology class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a gunman opened fire, killing 17. Glacer urged people in the room to donate to SOS Parkland, a nonprofit that’s raising money to equip the city’s schools with additional security. “It was horrible,” he said, recalling the Valentine’s Day shooting. “It can happen to you. It can.” Glacer spoke at a roundtable in Washington in late June, part of the annual conference of the Security Industry Association, a trade group. Attendees included Trump administration officials, legislators from both parties, security-company executives, and industry lobbyists.

https://www.the74million.org/article/inside-the-3-billion-school-security-industry-companies-market-sophisticated-technology-to-harden-campuses-but-will-it-make-us-safe/

Ex-racist, crime victim's story moves students

The unlikely pair of a former skinhead, Arno Michaelis, and Pardeep Kaleka, a trauma therapist whose father was killed by an associate of Michaelis', are teaching students how to practice unity. The duo's story has moved some students to start their own social-justice projects aimed at serving the community.

Education Week (tiered subscription model) (7/10)

Interview: Family engagement key to improvement

Research supports the important role that family engagement can have on student outcomes, according to Karen Mapp, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In this interview, Mapp shares some best practices for family engagement, including an intentional focus on building relationships and an environment of collaboration.

The 74 (8/6)

Students take on PBL through school publications

Working on school newspapers and yearbooks provide students with project-based learning experiences, according to Jeannette Acton, director of the Interscholastic League Press Conference Director. Educators say that besides teaching students about journalism, communication, collaboration and workplace skills, school publications also show students that their voices matter.

Education Dive (6/20)

Survey: Video use is increasing in schools

More educators are regularly using video in their lessons, according to an online survey by video-services company Kaltura. Results also show that about 21% of the surveyed educators said more than half the number of their students also are creating videos.

T.H.E. Journal (7/11)

PA. district preps students for kindergarten

A Pennsylvania school district has enrolled about 14% of its incoming kindergartners in a summer program that teaches basic skills to get the students ready for school in the fall. An official said data from one school show that 90% of kindergarten and first-grade students who participated in past summer programs were reading on grade level.

The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)