The No Child Left Behind Act is well-known across the nation; put in place to drive student achievement and hold schools more accountable for student progress.  However, part of this act that may not be so familiar is the McKinney Vento Act.  This law was put in place to help homeless students.

School districts across the nation teach numerous students that are considered homeless.  A homeless student is as a student who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. Some examples are students who live:

• In a shelter, motel or hotel

• In a house or an apartment with more than one family because of economic hardship or loss

• In an abandoned building or a car, at a camp ground or on the street.

• In temporary foster care facility or with an adult who is not a parent or legal guardian.

• In substandard housing or with friends or family because of being a runaway or unaccompanied youth.

Often times, because these students are living in an unstable environment, it makes it more difficult for these students to get to class each day.  Since government funding is based on daily attendance rates, it is extremely important that schools do all they can to get these students to school. 

This issue has been extremely apparent in some school districts, such as Waco ISD in Texas.  There are 1,500 students designated as homeless in this school district, making up about 10-percent of the student body.  The school district does everything it can to keep attendance rates up for these students, including sending buses to take these students back and forth, even if they are outside the attendance zone.

One way schools can monitor homeless students’ attendance is through Automated Attendance Alerts.  This notifies the guardian or homeless liaison when the student is absent and tracks attendance trends.    This would allow them tomonitor attendance, create bus routes, or utilize other features for that specific student population.  Monitoring attendance rates could allow them to better gauge the effectiveness of their efforts in improving attendance amongst homeless students.

Does your school struggle with truancy?  Learn more about how Alert Solutions’ Automated Daily Attendance Alerts can help you reduce truancy in your school!

Students at Oak Manor Elementary School in California had previously lined up at water fountains during recess, waiting to take a few small sips of warm water.  With the fountains in high demand, students felt rushed to quickly take a sip of water,, causing most students to lack proper hydration.  One solution for students had been to bring their own water, mostly in disposable bottles, to school with them.  This has led to an increase in school waste.

In order come up with an economic and environmentally friendly solution to the drinking fountain problems, Ukiah Unified School District (UUSD) has begun addinghydration stations to schools like Oak Manor.  The hydration station allows students to fill reusable colored water bottles, which can be purchased from the school, with cool water.  The hydration station is essentially a cooled water fountain on wheels.

K-12 school administrators across the US are aware of the existence of bullying and the huge problem it creates today.  Millions of students are affected by some form of bullying.  School administrators incorporate bullying prevention strategies in their schools, but how affective are these efforts?  Is an anti-bullying poster hanging in the school hallway enough?

Bullying has escalated in recent years, especially through the growing use of social media technology.  Although students are most often the victims in school bullying instances, adults are the ones creating and enforcing anti-bullying policies and rules.  Administrators teach students not to bully and encourage students to report any bullying instance they experience or witness.  This is a great start to promoting bullying prevention, but by adding student engagement metrics, bullying prevention policies can be even more effective.

K-12 students are a group undoubtedly affected by their peers.  This sometimes is the cause of bullying, but can also be an asset tobullying prevention.  Many times bullying is done to attract the attention of their peers, so preventing it requires influencing the audience.   If the majority of their peers disapprove of the incident, then it will lessen the power of the bully and bullying will decrease.

Empowering student leaders will not only show students that disapprove of bullying, but will give other students the courage to show their anti-bullying support as well.  Student leaders are a resource all school administrators have access to, giving them greater capability to reduce bullying incidents through increased student engagement.

Here are a few examples of school districts in the US that are encouraging student leadership through their bullying prevention strategies:

Morgan County Schools, West Virginia

Distributes surveys to students asking how they treat each other and then uses student leaders to address concerns found in the results.

Kelly Middle School, Oregon 

Asks students to attend staff meetings to talk about bullying issues.

Boardman Elementary School, New York

Teaches sixth graders about the dangers of bullying and how to stand up against bullying.  These “Caring Majority Ambassadors” then pass what they learn onto the younger students in school.

How does your school prevent bullying?  Check out our Speak Up! anonymous two-way communication module to help you combat bullying issues!

Do you remember waiting in line for your school lunch?  Options tended to be pizza, a sloppy joe or some other mysterious item.  Today, new school lunch guidelines have shifted away from these types of meals in favor of healthier options to help combat obesity.

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States, especially among those who are below the poverty level.  Families in this group are already at greater risk for obesity, and children are more likely to eat a school supplied lunch.  This has led to higher USDA standards on school lunches.  Studies have shown schools exceeding these guidelines have a better rate of decreasing obesity.

Schools exceeding these guidelines have done so by:

Student safety is one of the biggest concerns schools administrators have.  Students not only need to be protected while at school, but in transport to and from school as well.  In order to help increase school bus safety, Child Safety Network has created the Safe Bus Safety Network.  This program is designed to bring safety enhancements to schools with limited funds.

The Safe Bus Safety Network includes driver training, GPS and utilizes school alerts to decrease accidents and student injuries.  Numerous injuries and even some fatalities are caused each year due to school busing.    Improving the safe practices of the driver, students, parents and community members can drastically reduce these occurrences. 

The Safe Bus Safety Network could be a great addition to school districts, and with the option to take advantage of their automated notification system, the program will be especially successful.  By having an automated notification system, parents can choose to receive alertsfrom school administrators via text, voice or email.  These notifications could be tied to school bus delays, school closings or other emergencies.  The School Bus Safety Network also uses GPS tracking to determine estimated arrival times to pick up locations, which can also benotified to parents requesting to receive alerts and updates.

Here are some reminders for motorists, students and parents regarding school bus safety:

1.)   When approaching a stopped school bus with its lights flashing, drivers in both directions are required by law to stop. 

2.)  Parents should find and practice the safest way for their children to get to and from school or their school bus stop.

3.)  Students should arrive to their bus stop about five minutes before the bus’ scheduled arrival time.

4.)  Drivers should not pass other vehicles in school zones or at crosswalks.

5.)  Students should wait for the school bus to stop and for the driver’s signal before crossing the street or boarding the bus.

6.)  Students should avoid any loud or disruptive behavior while on the bus that could distract the driver.

What is your school doing to provide school bus safety?  Do you have an automated alert system? Learn more about Alert Solutions’ PowerSchool Communication Suite, today!

For centuries cursive writing has been a staple in America. Today, however, this once mainstay of elementary education has found itself on the “cut list” in some school teachers’ curriculums.  National standards for education in the US no longer require cursive instruction due to a move towards a more digital curriculum. 

There is great debate on the subject, separating those who support cursive instruction and those who agree with its removal.  Some educators, students, parents and community members feel cursive writing has become obsolete.  Writing letters has become foreign to many due to cell phones and social media, and note taking is being done more often on laptops and tablets.  Educators supporting cursive instruction’s deletion from curriculums see it as a step towards preparing students for a successful future. This, combined with dwindling school budgets and a greater emphasis on standardized testing prep, has these educators opting out of teaching cursive writing.

To help more kids and families get moving and make exercise a lifelong habit, President Barack Obama has declared May 2013 National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.   This month is aimed at helping families make healthy choices and bring exercise into their daily lives. 

Both children and adults can benefit from physical activity.  For the younger generations, not only is there an improvement to their health, but their ability to learn and succeed later in life also increases through exercise and physical activity.  Physical activity can improve muscular fitness, bone and heart health, reduce their risk of heart disease and improve cognitive functioning.

Communities, schools, health professionals and families can work together to create greater opportunities for physical activity.  National Physical Fitness and Sports Month can raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity.

Some ways to help promote National Physical Fitness and Sports Month from a recent article are:

1.)   Encourage families to make small changes, like taking a walk after dinner.

2.)   Motivate teachers and administrators to make schools healthier by ensuring physical activity is a part of every student’s day.

3.)   Identify youth leaders in the community who can talk to their peers about the importance of being active.

Other physical activity recommendations and strategies to increase physical activity at home, in the community, and at school or in the workplace can be found by visitinghttp://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/index.html.

How are you participating in National Physical Fitness and Sports Month? Share your thoughts on our blog! 

One question always on high school students’ minds is, “What do I want to do when I graduate?”  With a steady focus on their regular high school curriculum, standardized tests and other activities, students can have a hard time figuring out what career path they would like to pursue.  In order to show students more options, some schools, such as Wheeling High School in Illinois, have developed new pathways available for high schools students.

These pathways allow high school students to not only graduate by taking a regular high school course load, but to also gain significant experience in a career field.  School administrators are seeing a greater need for career exposure and helping students identify their career interests.  For example, those students interested in health careers can work in the school’s student athletic-training facility to earn a Certified Nursing Assistant credential and take electives in Advanced Placement Psychology or sports medicine.

Georgia, Illinois, New York and Tennessee are all participants in the Jobs For the Future network, as are California, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.  School administrators want to use these pathways to make high school more relevant by informing students of the options that await them post-graduation and finding paths that coincide with their interests. 

Although this new system is a great addition to schools, there are some hurdles school administrators face when implementing these programs:Some students may not continue their schooling after high school and numerous school programs currently exist that introduce career options for those students. However, many of the new pathways being offered are meant to engage students in challenging courses that do not deter students from higher education.  These pathways are linked to labor demands and careers likely to be in demand.

1.)  Business engagement: School administrators face the issue of how to provide hundreds of students participating in these pathways with work-based learning experiences.  Businesses are being sought for involvement in the program by developing pathway curriculum and evaluating student skills.

2.)  Funding: State officials are looking into creative ways to source funding for these programs.  For example, some pathways are being developed specifically to meet criteria necessary for certain grants.

3.)  Demanding curriculum:  High school requirements already give students a challenging curriculum, so fitting in these new pathways can be difficult.  One option to help overcome this, most recently examined in Texas, is rolling back some graduation requirements in order to give students more access to these pathways. 

How does your school work with students to prepare them for high school graduation?  Share your thoughts on our blog!

The environment and the sustainability of our planet is an important topic, especially during this week’s Earth Day celebrations.  Across the globe, students, teachers, parents and community members are doing their part to hold events, create projects, educate and learn about the environment.

Some K-12 students who put outstanding effort into tackling environmental challenges are the participants of the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. This national, environmental project-based sustainability challenge inspires K-12 students and offers them the tools to improve their schools, communities and the world.

In light of Earth Week, the winners of this competition were announced.  With the guidance of a teacher or mentor, these elementary, middle and high school students took an environmental issue and created a replicable green solution.  A panel of environmental advocates, science teachers and professors judged the competition and selected the winners based on each project’s creative and viable solution as well as community engagement.

The students were judged in categories based on grade level, with prizes for winning teams.  This challenge was an exciting way for students to take an interest in important environmental issues people are facing around the world.  These students’ projects can help affect change and make the world a better place.

The 2013 Challenge Winners consisted of the following schools:

• High School Grand Prize Winner:

  • Rockdale Magnet for Science & Technology (Conyers, GA): “Optimizing Solar Cells for Sustainable Use”

• Middle School Grand Prize Winner:

  • Phillips Middle School (Chapel Hill, NC): “Zero Waste: iRecycle and iCompost”

• Elementary School (Grades 3-5) Grand Prize Winner:

  • Kelly Mill Elementary School (Cumming, GA): “Tackling Trash with Tires”

• Elementary School (Grades K-2) Grand Prize Winner:

  • Riverside Elementary West School (Taylor, PA): “Aqua Busters”

As cyber bullying becomes more prevalent, school administrators are finding it necessary to modify their policies on bullying.  Many school districts already have bullying policies in place, but not all of them address the issue of bullying through electronic mediums, such as social media sites and text messaging.

With technology booming, bullying has gone from pushing and teasing in the hallways to cruel text messages and social media posts.  In the past, bullying has been more overt, making it easily witnessed.  Now, cyber bullying offers some anonymity to bullies and may not be easily witnessed.  Many times this leaves it up to the victim to report any instance of cyber bullying, and often, victims are too scared or embarrassed to notify their parents or teachers.

These attacks are not currently addressed by many school district bullying policies.  School administrators are aware of the increasing incidents of cyber bullying, and are making steps to try and integrate a solution into their current policies. 

One example of a school taking steps to revamp their policy is Aspen School District in Colorado.  As it stands, the Aspen School District defines bullying as “any written or verbal expression, physical act or gesture intended to cause stress on students in the school environment.”   The school board is now considering incorporating cyber bullying into this district-wide policy.

There are a few concerns school administrators have when modifying their policy to include cyber bullying. One concern is a student’s First Amendment rights.  Since many cyber bullying incidents do not happen on school grounds, administrators fear that punishing students who cyber bullyothers may result in lawsuits for infringing upon these students’ right to free speech. 

Despite First Amendment right’s concerns, arecent article explained there is a case law that states a school district has the jurisdiction to enforce a policy against bullying as long as the attacks impact the student’s ability to learn.  Having realized that cyber bullying has a huge impact on a child’s academic success, school districts need to do what they can to combat bullying in any form. 

How is your school dealing with bullies and cyber bullies?  Check out our Speak Up! anonymous communication module to help you combat bullying issues!