August 3, 2008 - August 9, 2008 Archives

The Summer Olympics begin Friday and even if you are not a sports fanatic, it is a truly awe-inspiring show of athletic prowess and discipline. Here at home, the global test of talent serves as a good backdrop to student athletes, many of whom are beginning preseason training for fall sports.

Unlike Olympic athletes, however, middle and high school athletes typically don’t have the same kind of high-caliber coaching and medical staff in their programs. In fact, less than 40 percent of high schools employ certified athletic trainers. These trainers are important members of any athletic program because they are able to prevent sports injuries, treat them when they do occur, and use methods to safeguard against their return.

Staying abreast of the latest research in sports injuries is equally important, as new discoveries and guidance are being offered all the time. For example, heat stroke used to be defined as when the body’s ability to perspire stopped, resulting in hot, dry skin. Today, however, it is determined when the body’s core temperature reaches 104 degrees, which is not easily observable and could still mean the individual is sweating.

For more tips and pointers on what you should be considering to keep sports programs and students running smoothly, reach into ASBJ’s archive and read my article, “Keeping Student Athletes Safe.”

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor

Beat the rush and apply early -- American School Board Journal is accepting applications online through October 15 for the 2009 Magna Awards, a national program that honors best practices in school districts.

Co-sponsored by ASBJ, the National School Boards Association, and Sodexo School Services, the Magna Awards recognize programs that showcase district leadership, creativity, innovation, and commitment to student achievement. Nominations are being accepted at www.asbj.com/magna2. There is no cost to apply and eligible districts must be members of the state school boards association.

An independent panel of judges looks for programs that are developed or actively supported by the school board and the result of appropriate board leadership and collaboration.

Nominations are judged in one of three categories -- under 5,000 enrollment; 5,000-20,000 students; and over 20,000 students. One grand prize winner is selected in each category and receives a $3,500 award from Sodexo School Services. Five additional winners and honorable mention awards also are selected from each enrollment category.

All Magna winners and honorable mention recipients are recognized in a special supplement published with the April issue of ASBJ. Winners and honorable mention recipients will be recognized at the School Leaders Luncheon during the NSBA Annual Conference in San Diego in April. The Magna Awards publication is also published online at www.asbj.com/magna.

Kathleen Vail, Managing Editor

We spend a lot of time looking at and talking about data and statistics related to the vast increases in immigrant and minority students in U.S. schools. But, as an ELL counselor told me on a recent visit to a Georgia high school, “Sometimes we get hung up on statistics, but when you meet these people, it’s a whole different ballgame.”

For part of our upcoming series on diversity in U.S. schools, I spoke with author Laurie Olsen. More than 10 years ago, Olsen wrote a groundbreaking book, Made in America, after spending two years observing immigrant students at a California high school that she dubs “Madison High.” Like many schools, Madison was dealing with unprecedented numbers of students from different parts of the world who came to the U.S. with dramatically different experiences, beliefs, and goals. The book is now being re-released on its 10th anniversary.

While I was first skeptical that a decade-old book could still be relevant given the changing nature of diversity, I realized there was still a lot to be gleaned from Olsen’s firsthand experiences. At Madison High, she details the cliques of students—how Chinese girls who spoke Mandarin tended to cluster in one area of the hallway, for instance, and so many students who were torn between upholding their culture and also wanting to assimilate to American life. One female student from the Middle East was conflicted about dating, as her parents had already chosen her husband and arranged her marriage.

But while it’s vital for immigrant students to be mainstreamed into regular classes, it’s also important to allow some self-segregation in social settings, Olsen says.

“For immigrant students, who spend all day in English-taught classes where they are struggling to understand and struggling to be able to express themselves or participate, it is a welcome and needed relief to be able to relax and participate in social interactions without facing the language barrier,” she says. “It is important for us to recognize that for an immigrant, holding onto one’s home language, using one’s home language is important to identity, important to communication with family and community. When immigrants use their home language, it does not mean they are rejecting English. Immigrants overwhelmingly want to become English proficient. There is no contradiction here. People can, and in most places in the world, people do, have two or more languages.”

Olsen has been back to Madison High recently, and in the interview she gave me insight into how the school has changed and grown in the past decade. I wish she had included these updates in the new edition of the book, but it is detailed in our interview in the upcoming September ASBJ. And look for the additional outtakes on ASBJ.com.

Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor

It’s both astonishing—and disturbing—that school officials are dealing with a small but growing number of parents who do not want their children protected against infectious diseases.

In Florida, the number of parents seeking a religious exemption to the state mandate on immunizations has more than quadrupled over the past decade. Arkansas has seen exemptions double in recent years. This summer, dozens of parents rallied outside the New York state capitol this summer to demand the right to opt out of vaccinations for religious reasons.

Local school officials always have had some parents who fail to immunize their children. Those with religious objections seek an exemption to the law (allowed in 28 states) or turn to home schooling. But most parents simply are unaware of the mandate, are unable to take time off work to visit the doctor, or don’t take the requirement seriously.

For those latter parents, school officials have state laws to help them. Last November, for example, school officials in Prince George’s County cracked down by forcing the parents of 2,000 children to show up at the county courthouse to “get their children vaccinated on the spot or prove they’ve already had the shots” or “risk up to 10 days in jail,” the Associated Press (AP) reported.

But what about this new phenomenon: The parent who claims a religious opposition to vaccines—but really doesn’t?

It’s happening more and more, AP reports. “The real reason may be skepticism of the shots or concern they can cause other illnesses. Some of these parents say they are being forced to lie because of the way the vaccination laws are written.”

If you follow the issue, you know why some parents—only a few thousand, thank goodness, are taking this route. The Internet has spread a lot of disinformation and scary rhetoric about vaccines as the cause of the growing autistic population, and despite government studies showing no evidence of a link, the controversial debate has done its damage.

So what should school boards do? As you’ve quite enough on your plate, I’m not going to make any suggestions. I’ll settle for simply reminding you to be prepared to hear about an issue arising in your schools. Hopefully your school nurses and principals are well informed—and ready to reach out to concerned parents.

Just keep in mind something that Dr. Genon Wicina, a pediatrician, told Florida’s Press Journal newspaper: “These diseases are still around. They’re worldwide, and they’re not eradicated. We live in a global world, with people coming into our area from all over. . . . As more and more people chose not to get immuniations, that puts everyone at risk.”

Del Stover, Senior Editor

Stories abound about how the deteriorating economy has affected American life; and most of them aren’t good. Earlier this week, the U.S. Conference of Mayors provided even more examples, laying much of the blame for the country’s implosion on the federal government.

“Washington has lost its values, lost its principles, lost its sense of purpose; engaging in endless debate and partisan bickering while people in this country continue to suffer,” USCM President and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz declared Wednesday at the first of five forums across key cities that will delineate an action plan for the first 100 days of a new administration.

Held in Philadelphia, the first gathering focused on the faltering economy and the rise in crime that it has spawned. In a survey of 124 cities in 36 states and Puerto Rico, 42 percent reported crime has increased in their communities as a result of the economic conditions, with robbery accounting for the majority of the crimes committed, followed by theft and burglary.

Even more disturbing, half of the cities surveyed said they have seen a marked increase in youth violence, with most of it occurring within gang and on the streets, though a substantial portion (21 percent) was also happening at school.

Buffalo, NY and Westland, Mich. both reported spikes in school violence and Boston has seen the average age of juvenile suspects and victims decrease by about two years.

For school districts, the buckling economy has been most prominently seen and reported as budget reductions, hiring freezes and program cuts. As painful as those are, an increase in school and youth violence is the last thing anyone wants to report.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor